Am I paying to much for a 66 restored to 75%

[samantha]

I have been looking for a bronco for a while as a surprise gift for my husband. I have found one and wondering if the asking price is too high? He's asking $18,500 for a 66 bronco 75% restored. I'm told the engine is a V8 and was rebuilt and it has 2500 miles currently. I know nothing about Bronco's except my research online. Is this too much? Any thoughts are appreciated. I am attaching a pic. Its obvious which one is the 66. LOL. This is the only pic of it I have.

 

[broncobsession]

Pic didn't work. Seems awful high for a project. What is left to do?

 

[DirtDonk]

You won't be able to post a pic direct to the site Samantha. You can use an online hosting site like SuperMotors or one of several others. The trick here is to pay the 12 bucks yearly subscription, but that's not usually something someone who just joins up is likely to want to do until they've determined the value of ClassicBroncos.
As an alternative you can e-mail any pics to someone with the yellow "contributor" word below their screen name. You can see it under mine to the left.
I'd be happy to post it up.

I'd be skeptical these days especially of someone with a half-built project. Even one that's "75% finished" because we've heard that before. Right up there with "rust free" and "original and unmolested" and "barn find" etc. Lots of sketchy characters just cashing in on the popularity.

In other words, like just about any other 40 year old project, expect to pay another 20k on top of that 18k you're being asked to fork over. Especially if you will need to have the work done professionally. If you and/or your husband are able to work on your own restoration/modification projects though, that amount can be much lower and much more fun to spend!

Definitely post up any information you can give us, along with pics, so we can all help.
It's almost eery, but in all the years I've been here, I've never once heard of a single case of someone snaking a sale out from under someone else. So if you feel you need to, you can probably even post up an Craigslist ad link if you have one.
Of course, there's always a first time for anything, but it's been a pretty safe environment here so far.

Even as jaded as we are with Broncos selling in the 20, 30, 40 thousand dollar range and even more, we're still aware that there is a lot of crap out there, a lot of over-priced crap out there, and even a lot of very nice rigs that are still over-priced out there. So I think the members here are still reasonably good judges of price.
That said, there seem to be a lot of people willing to pay the high prices initially and are willing to tackle the project. So even if yours is only worth 10K or so, someone may still bite and you can miss out.

We'll cross our fingers though.
Good luck!

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

Oh, I forgot to mention too, if you live near any of us, chances are pretty good you might find someone willing to go over and kick a few tires and poke around for unseen errors in the sellers ad-type. ;D
I think more than a few friendships have been struck up here over the years over just such a circumstance.

Paul

 

[fatboy]

Also what is the goal of the truck for the lucky recipient? Do they want a restored 66, or do they want a 66 - 77 bronco? Do they want it to drive to the ice cream shop on the weekend or bang it around on rocks and mud? I would think for $18,500 you could have a decent driving truck, but prices have been getting rather silly lately. A local member will go a long way to being another set of eyes for you, but without pictures I am sure you will get the same answer, "we need pictures".

 

[okie4570]

Welcome and good info/advice above.............rarely do you find bad/incorrect info here, it's a great site. Lots of variables to your question and as stated above, more info and pics needed. "Restored" means different things to different people, also the word "Original" means different things to different people, so the more you can tell us, and what part of the country your're located, the more we can help

 

[67RT]

$18,500 should get you a very solid truck that is ready to go. Maybe not a '66, but a very good Bronco. Have it inspected by a professional first and foremost. Don't drop that kind of money on a project. There is a reason the owner did not finish it...

 

[samantha]

WOW, everyone. Thank you for all the responses. This is really helpful and certainly new territory for me. I know where I live and in the 400 mile radius, Broncos are in high demand for the years 66-77 and it seems just about anyone is willing to pay higher just to have a bronco. Frankly, I'm not interested in paying a premium just because it is a Bronco. That being said, every where we travel, my husband points out broncos and as I've read, not one bronco looks the same. The purpose of the vehicle for my husband is to do some off roading, throw our mountain bikes in it and go up to the mountain, throw our paddleboards on it and go to the lakes, take the dogs in it downtown. Basically a summer vehicle. I will find out more details and I will send a pic to one of the contributors for posting. Here's what I know so far: The owner is a custom fabricator in town. He bought it from a family that had it sitting on their farm for 10 years unused. Its drive ready. Its was modified to be a 'summer vehicle' although I could connect a hose for heat and get a soft top with doors so we would be able to use it in the winter too if we wanted. Its actually a pretty cool truck but the $18,500 is throwing me. The person selling it said he's asking $18,500 but that is what he's put into over time. I would want to add a fold down seat in the back, upgrade the seats and belts and add some custom painting to it at some point down the road but my hubby and I will use it for fun outdoor activities instead of restoring it completely. Its just that $18,500 is a lot of money for fun. LOL!

 

[Crawdad]

For that much the Title's VIN better match the frame's vin! Don't just go off the glovebox door's temporary vin tag. Visually make sure they match.

 

[DirtDonk]

And don't let him sell you on the "66 is more valuable because it's the first year" thing either. That's true for someone who wants to restore it perhaps. If it's a weekend vehicle, it's not worth any more to you because it's an early vs later build. Frankly, the later ones are usually nicer, more solid, have more niceties (if there is such a thing on a Bronco!) and don't have as much trouble when buying parts. That first year of production causes all sorts of headaches when parts don't fit because the original was different from all the rest.

Just a few things to think about.
Good luck though! Nice to have one laying about waiting to head out to parts unknown. As long as it's reliable that is. And a lot of Broncos out there aren't yet. Especially when they're being sold half-way through a refresh.

Paul

 

[okie4570]

Look at the broncos here on classicbroncos that are for sale by classicbronco members, as their price will usually reflect what it's really worth. Use those numbers to compare to what you may find out there. Also notice that many of the broncos for sale here on this site say "not mine" in the title.............those may not have accurate value prices to compare with.

 

[lowbush]

And don't let him sell you on the "66 is more valuable because it's the first year" thing either. That's true for someone who wants to restore it perhaps. If it's a weekend vehicle, it's not worth any more to you because it's an early vs later build. Frankly, the later ones are usually nicer, more solid, have more niceties (if there is such a thing on a Bronco!) and don't have as much trouble when buying parts. That first year of production causes all sorts of headaches when parts don't fit because the original was different from all the rest.

Just a few things to think about.
Good luck though! Nice to have one laying about waiting to head out to parts unknown. As long as it's reliable that is. And a lot of Broncos out there aren't yet. Especially when they're being sold half-way through a refresh.

Paul

To expand further on this, for a 66 to be valuable for being a 66 it has to have all the 66 parts, there are some parts that where only used on the first year and first 3 year bronco's and they all have to be there for it to have any more value over any other year. If the vin has a U15 as the first 3 digits then it is less valuable as a 66 than a U13 or U14. Also as someone else said, if the frame vin does not match it's not a 66.

 

[samantha]

Am I paying too much

Oh, I forgot to mention too, if you live near any of us, chances are pretty good you might find someone willing to go over and kick a few tires and poke around for unseen errors in the sellers ad-type. ;D
I think more than a few friendships have been struck up here over the years over just such a circumstance.

Paul

THanks Paul. Okay, how do I send you a pic?
Samantha

 

[Crawdad]

Samantha, may be I missed it but what state are you in? There's a nice uncut green EB down here in SC on CL.