Pierce-Arrow Prices

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I?m a new member who wants to buy a PA. One of the hardest things I am dealing with is price. I?ve purchased current copies of the Collector Car Price Guide (CCPG) and the N.A.D.A. Appraisal Guide and of course looked at many of the prices on the internet. Almost universally, the asking prices for cars in excellent condition are significantly higher than the guide prices that I find in the CCPG or NADA, so it seems that the price guides are more useful for comparative rather than for absolute values. I?d sure like to know what others think. Along these same lines, does anyone have an opinion of whether $65,000 for a very nice (90+/100) 1932 Club Sedan is reasonable? The car was restored in 1984, looks pretty, and runs exceptionally well. Finally, I?m curious whether any members have had any experience buying or selling their cars on eBay Motors.

Thanks in advance for your comments and insights.

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Two years ago, I sold my wife’s red 1995 Cutlass Supreme Convertible on E-BAy. I wrote a two page description, supplied a car-fax, and documented every bit of the car’s history. I sold it for $8500, which was every bit of the car’s value. It was a superior piece, it was described precisely, and sold.

I took a $1000 down payment on Pay Pal, and waited for a certified check before releasing the car. In retrospect, I would no longer take a certified check, but have the final payment done by wire transfer to one of my accounts.

Before the transaction was completed, I had almost 1000 hits, and 100 people watching the sale at completion. Tony

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Hi Joe,

Welcome to the fold. Pierce prices and in fact all collector car prices have spiked over the last few years. Personally I’ve never had much faith in the accuracy of value books. I think you’ll learn more by watching the market and networking with other collectors. 65K for the car you mention is along the lines of what many are asking for similar cars these days. Weather or not they are selling at those prices I can’t say. Ultimately the value of anything is what someone is willing to pay and the owner is willing to accept.

As to E-Bay, I would strongly suggest before purchasing a car of 1960s vintage or earlier you or someone you can trust look the car over on person.

Good luck on your search,
Rick

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Hi Joe,

Welcome to the Pierce Arrow Society! I agree with Tony and Rick’s comments. I have also "shopped" for a car on Ebay. However, as for most anyone, buying one of this cars is a pretty big commitment of time, energy, and money. I learned that even though there may be 20-50 or more pictures of a Pierce on an Ebay listing, you are far better off to either go see the car for yourself, or hire someone reputable to see it and assess it for you. We looked for several years for the "right" car, and thought we had found it several times based on the listings. However, after visiting these candidate "right" cars (before the auction concluded), they turned out to be the wrong cars for us. Not that the cars were necessarily mis-represented, but pictures on the computer can hide a lot of issues! A lot can happen to a car in 69 to 106 years! And there is nothing like driving a car in person! To me, the key was to identify what your goals are for the car. What year(s) are you interested in? What models are you wanting? Open car? Closed car? Are you interested in a car to restore, a complete car in driving condition, or a show car? This will help you focus your search a little. Rick has a good point with respect to prices. There is "asking" and there is "getting". As there are not exactly a lot of Pierces for sale at any one time, you will likely see some of the same ads over and over again. In your research, you can sometimes see price erosion on recurring ads. This is a small supply/small demand market. There are also some people spending more money on cars during restoration than they will be worth when it comes time to sell the car. The problem comes when they try to recover their whole investment and try to sell at a high price. You kind of have to look for value in the car and the work that has been done to the car.

Good luck in your search and happy motoring.

Chris Diekman

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Thank you Tony, Rick, and Chris. Your comments are quite valuable and much appreciated.

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