How much is it worth/talk me out of it...

[Tasty Geezer]

I sold my first bronco right after college to pay off CC debt and get my wife an engagement ring...cried the next day and for 2 years I regreted it(selling the bronco) and was constantly on the lookout for another one. I finally decided to sell my daily driver and purchased a 1977 Bronco as my only vehicle. I did this while my wife was 9 months pregnant. I know that seems backwards to the way most people think, but it made sense to me. Nothing safer than a solid piece of metal going down the road with the precious cargo. Somehow my wife was on board with this, probably because she knew how much I missed my 74 bronco.

Long story short...My little girl is 3 years old now and I have a son that is 4 months old. The wife just started residency in pediatrics and works like 80 hours a week and I have full responsibility for the kids. The kids ride to daycare, grocery store, ice cream, red box, drive-in movies, beach...EVERYWHERE in the bronco. My little girl loves it everytime and my son will too when he realizes what a bronco is. My 3 year old daughter is in a carseat in the back and my son rides in the front facing backwards. Once he is old enough he will move to the back so my wife can have her seat in the front back. I've never had trouble with putting kids in or taking them out of their carseats in the bronco and that includes when they are both asleep and I just carry them inside to their beds...it's all in what you make it...and as i see it only one decission that can be made...

My bronco is part of the family...and will always be. My little girl is already asking if she can have it when she drives.....and she is only 3! ;D Guess I need to get another one for my boy! ;D

 

[hyghlndr]

I am always looking for another ;D

Deciding when to sell is best done with a clear head. I have had a bunch of early Mustangs and Broncos....only one or two still haunt me from parting with. A few I have fell in love with and had all my adult life.

I recently bought a rare 68.5 428 Cobra Jet Mustang the previous owner owned 20+ years. For him it was a retirement bonus and neither of his kids had a passion for it.

 

[bax]

From an older now perspective.
I had a very nice drag race car in the early 80. Well heck I had a couple but the last one was a tube chassis chrome molly car. I had a blast in that car and raced it for 3 seasons. Well wife and baby come along and you have to do whatever is needed to support your family. Car went by by, I did not make money on it but I did get a good price. 25 years later hopefully you will have both the time and money to support your new / old passions. Do what you feel is within your capabilities.

 

[sprdv1]

I say No..!!! Keep it

 

[fordguy]

if you need us to talk you out of it, you are not ready to jump in the deep end. i have owned and sold a lot of vehicles, including several rods, but the bronco is not for sell and it is a long ways from being finished. dont ask why, because i dont know but it is a keeper. dont sell unless you are a hundred percent, you will regret it.

 

[Justafordguy]

What was the question again?;D

 

[needabronco]

Keep the Bronco, it's paid for!

Find away to pay off the CC debt and cut all but one up. If you can't afford to go to Italy, then WTF are you thinking? Don't go... Save up for a year or two, last I checked Italy is a pretty stable country and isn't going anywhere.

 

[Sbolt19]

I've never been in the situation where I had to think of selling something, wanted or not. But my opinion is that you shouldn't sell it. Both of my boys (5 years & 19 months) would rather ride in my Bronco than in my wife's Durango. I took the top off it this summer for the first time in almost 7 years & when I put it back on, my older son asked if I would take it back off because it was "cool to ride around in the air". The fun factor alone with the kids is something that I wouldn't give up just to be able to pay off some debt a little earlier than I would like.

As for what I think it's worth? I wouldn't want to give you a number to say sell it at, but I would put a 15k price tag on it and if the guy bites, sell it, pay some of your bills, your trip & buy another one to tinker with. With the economy the way it is right now, you can find a solid EB in the 5-7k range and then you can do another build.

 

[JaxLax]

Has this thread helped you determine a value for your bronco yet ? LOL!

yup.
whatever someone will pay for it.

I've done my homework. I've watched eBay and the For Sale here. I know what I have invested in the truck and the general rate of return on each item. It's not hard to find the number that it's sellable at. The questions tend to be: do I pay myself; what percentage am I willing to lose; overall market depreciation in the short term ahead.

But I don't fret. I am going to contact the guy. I'm going to let him look at her. I'll let him make the first offer. I have nothing to lose. I've already told the intermediary (a mechanic friend of mine, which is how he found me in the first place) that I don't HAVE to sell, so if he's serious about acquiring her he's going to have show up with ca$h.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I'll let him make the first offer. QUOTE]

That goes along with what I've always heard , first one to mention a number loses.

 

[1970mule]

well since you said you already planned the trip and saving . and it is not priority to sell then just keep saving and you will have a trip and a bronco. and drive the bronco more so you remember why you have it. But since you are not hard up or bad off why sell the bronco?

the only timei thought of selling mine is when i was super pissed off cause crap was breaking left and roght could not figure out some problems and such. but whne it ran great i would never think of selling my boy.

and ask yourself why do yuo really want to sell it? are you over broncos? if so no harm just sell it to someone that will love it. so she does not end up scrapped.

 

[JaxLax]

I'll let him make the first offer. QUOTE]

That goes along with what I've always heard , first one to mention a number loses.

How so? No matter what he offers (beyond a blank check) i can always walk away.

What if I start at $25K? And he accepts. How can that be losing?

 

[recoiljunky]

If you sell it, the money will slowly disappear and 2 years from now you will have no bronco and no money. At least that's how it works for me.

It's paid for and not costing you much, insurance and registration, to keep it. Besides your kids to be will love it.

EXACTLY!

I've got a buddy who recently had a native american artifact appraised at $4,000. He asked me if he should sell it. I said, "You'll just waste the money of bar tabs and cheap women. In a year you won't have anything to show for it. You'll never have another $4,000 arrowhead." He still has it.

 

[Baja71]

What if I start at $25K? And he accepts. How can that be losing?

Because he was about to offer $28,500 and move up to $30 if he had to. ;D

 

[JDJ]

I'm on the same boat as the majority. Don't sell it. You will prob end up regretting it.

I had a '90 Mustang LX hatchback 5.0L (also had/have a '88 5.0L coupe, lots of bolt ons) .....It was paid off, body was almost perfect, interior was all black (first yr for that option), almost completely stock, and run like a top. I was going to college and drove home 100 miles one way just about every weekend. My folks and I had a BUNCH of extra car around the house. My folks said if I sold some of the extra cars and one of my mustangs that I could have the cash from their extra cars to purchase something that was newer and got better fuel milage. I was tryin to sell the coupe because I loved my hatchback more and the hatchback was just in all around better shape without the go fast....... saw a buddy at a swap meet and he told me he knew a guy that wanted to buy one and was going to look at one the next day. I gave him my number to give to his friend.
Later that afternoon his friend called....I gave him details of both cars. He was interested in the hatch. Met him the next day (sunday morning). Told him what I had to have.......He offered me $300 CASH less than I was asking. I took it and have regretted it ever since. Wish I still had the car the way it was when I sold it.

I haven't seen the car since it rolled way with the new owner.......

 

[JDJ]

I thought about trying to find it and try to buy it back......but I doubt the new owner took as good of care of it as I did...

 

[HoosierDaddy]

What if I start at $25K? And he accepts. How can that be losing?

Because he was about to offer $28,500 and move up to $30 if he had to. ;D

There's your answer , exactly correct.

 

[Steve]

I would much rather transport a newborn in a Bronco than any of the plastic and tin things they are selling these day's!

Not me. New vehicles are engineered MUCH safer than an EB. There's no comparison between a 40+ year old truck and a new car with crush zones, air bags, etc.

As for selling, I'll ask: Why keep it if you never drive it? I've owned a whole lot of classic cars, muscle cars, street rods, etc. When I find that I don't drive one any more, for whatever reason, I sell it and never look back. It's just a vehicle. Getting emotionally attached to a car is stupid. (Of course, I think naming a car is pretty stupid too...)

 

[Izzy]

The truth is, everyone is right and everyone is wrong. It all depends on personal memories, personal desires, and personal goals.

The things that stood out to me about your comments were; 1. You already are afraid you might regret it. 2. You don't need the money. Those two reasons make me suggest that you shouldn't do it. Regret is much easier to get over when you did something for a good reason. Say something happens medically and you need the money, or a kid goes to college and you need the money, then atleast you can say, the money went somewhere worthwhile. If you don't need the money and you sell it, like someone else said, 6 months later the money is gone, that's when regret really hits you.

Either way, if you keep it, we will be here to help you enjoy it. If you sell it, we will be here to help you buy another and build it again.

Good luck, it's not an easy decision, but either way, keep us posted.

 

[JaxLax]

As for selling, I'll ask: Why keep it if you never drive it? I've owned a whole lot of classic cars, muscle cars, street rods, etc. When I find that I don't drive one any more, for whatever reason, I sell it and never look back. It's just a vehicle. Getting emotionally attached to a car is stupid. (Of course, I think naming a car is pretty stupid too...)

My issue continues to center around this.
So i'm paying for minimal upkeep, insurance, and the like, but i only put 200 miles on the odo in the past year.

I've got a number, I'm going to let the guy come and look and then make an offer whenever he's done his own research.

If he hits it, she's gone.

I'll always have a project, it just may not be a Bronco. It could be another 7.2 speaker setup from plank wood and loose resistors into a crossover, another dining table with 6 chairs, or something else.