mobiltec
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1954 Jewel In Progress...
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Post by mobiltec on Sept 20, 2013 6:11:52 GMT -8
Here is a perfect example of how Flippers lie in their advertising. If this trailer could "look BEAUTIFUL in no time!!" as it claims in the ad, why doesn't the owner make it look that way prior to selling? This trailer is only worth $100 in my opinion and I wouldn't even pay that for it. I would charge the seller for removing it from his property.
Don't be fooled. Just because it is old and it rolls, (maybe) doesn't make it worth anything other than scrap.
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kathleenc
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Post by kathleenc on Sept 20, 2013 6:29:54 GMT -8
I agree it might not be worth the asking price. But in many parts of the country, it is next to impossible to find a vintage trailer. So somebody COULD buy this, completely rebuild then redo the inside to their liking, have the outside look vintage, all for less than it costs to buy a new mostly plastic trailer. I personally like to have more of the guts present, for templates if nothing else. Seems the pricings are going up fast for everything vintage. At least they are around here (Texas).
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Sept 20, 2013 6:39:23 GMT -8
I'm working for a guy from Texas right now here in CA. He says that virtually all the private hunting grounds in Texas are full of these trailers. He is in the Dallas Fort Worth area and claims to see old trailers on properties everywhere. Just because you don't see any for sale on Ebay or Craigs list doesn't mean they don't exist. Again I don't look for trailers that are advertised. I look over back yard fences and in storage lot auctions and places like that. They are around. You just have to turn off the computer and go for a drive and keep your eyes open.
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keri
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Post by keri on Sept 21, 2013 20:33:07 GMT -8
I live just south of Dallas and know of three right now that are just sitting around. They're definitely out there----I saw a Scotty in Eastland a month or so ago that probably hasn't been moved in a long time. It's funny that once you get tuned into looking for these things how many you actually see.
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Ten
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70 Shasta 16SC + 1964 Airflyte
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Post by Ten on Sept 22, 2013 3:28:58 GMT -8
That may well be the situation in Texas, but it is a totally different ball game here in New York. Driving around with your eyes in the fields and people's back yards can get ya killed on the roads here. It takes quite a lot more study to see into the back lots here in the rolling hills, than it does in the open country in Texas. I travel quite literally thousands of miles a month, many are the same miles, but I do see a lot of the region and then travel for family on weekends. I can count on one hand how many Shastas I have seen in captivity in peoples' yards. On the other hand I can count the number of "field finds"...the ones you know have no wood left in the interior and no likelihood it could ever be towed without new undercarriages...
This makes me more aware of these types of ads all the time.
The most important lesson of all in these types of ads is to look lots further than what the photos in an ad show before you are in love and mind made up you are buying. There is a factor of the rarity, and they do not last long. One needs to be able to decide rather quickly how much one is actually worth to them, as far as how much it will (not "might") need done, and how much of that is inclusive in their skill set. This means not only deciding on a "value" for something with no true guidelines as to value, but how much one can afford to tie up if it does not work out. It also means valuing the materials and the time that it will take...back to the original claim "this will be beautiful in no time!"
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on Sept 22, 2013 18:00:02 GMT -8
It's also important to remember (and sorry for being cynical here) that right now, vintage trailers are, in some respects, the "flavor of the month." Flippers know that and profit by it. In a couple years they'll be selling something else. They don't take the time to learn much about what they have - ever notice how often they don't even get the brand, model or year correct?
There are legit folks out there, and several of them are on this website. But they don't "flip" trailers by putting lipstick on the pig. They either fix what's wrong, or let buyers know what the trailers' issues are. The owner of that darling Cardinal above didn't do that. Someone with plenty of money and who knew what this trailer needs might be willing to pay the $1200 for the honor of spending another $4000 to make it glorious, but otherwise it's not worth much more than half that. Sad.
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