Hagerty Says The Best Time To Buy A Project Car Is Right Now, Because The Seller Who Would Not Budge In August Will Often Take A Lot Less Before The Holidays

Picture a faded seafoam-green 1963 Ford Galaxie sitting under a tarp, with cat and raccoon prints across the hood and roof. Its owner stares at it through the kitchen window on a gray November morning and finally admits the truth: it is not going to run this year.

An automotive workshop with several cars, one partly disassembled, like a project car waiting for work.

That moment, according to Hagerty, is exactly when the smartest buyers start paying attention. The magazine’s writer argues that autumn is the best time of year to buy a project car, and the closer the calendar gets to the holidays, the better the deal.

The Seller Who Would Not Budge In August Starts Listening In November

Wrenching on a dead car under a hot July sun has a certain romance. Doing the same job in a parka, with a tarp slapping you in the back and rain blowing sideways, has none at all.

Hagerty points out that most project owners lack a heated shop. They have a cramped garage, a driveway, a carport or a rented storage unit that sends a bill every month whether anyone turns a wrench or not.

The calendar changes how sellers think about price. In June, owners still believe they will finish the job, so they price the car like the finished version in their heads.

By November that dream has faded. The summer slipped by without much progress, the days are short and wet, and a non-running car is costing money every month. In Hagerty’s words, a seller who would not budge off their number in August will often take a lot less to make that bill go away before the holidays.

“We Don’t Track An Appreciable Difference” Says The Price Guide Editor

Here is the catch, and Hagerty is upfront about it. Do not expect to see this effect in the price guides.

Greg Ingold, editor of the Hagerty Price Guide, says the guide is built on nationwide averages. At that scale, he says, “we don’t track an appreciable difference or swing in values seasonally.” What changes is the pace. “If anything, we see a slowing of the market activity, but not always with value drops.”

Up close, though, he sees a different picture. Ingold lives in Northern Michigan, where he says it is “absolutely harder to sell a project vehicle the closer the winter months approach,” and he adds that he knows it from firsthand experience.

So a project’s book value may not move in November, but the person staring at a tarp and a storage bill often will.

Fewer Buyers Want To Tow A Dead Car Home In The Rain

The other half of the story is competition. Few casual shoppers want to haul a non-runner home in a downpour, which leaves you up against a handful of serious buyers instead of a dozen dreamers.

Hagerty contributor Jeff Zurschmeide is living the seller’s side right now. He is selling a 1972 VW Safari, the Mexican-market cousin of the Thing, and says it is not a lack of interest. He simply is out of indoor space. In his words, “it or my Transporter would have to live outside for the winter,” and he is not going to let his Transporter get rust.

He says the same effect reaches beyond projects. “Fall is the best time to buy convertibles (like the Safari) or sports cars,” he says, because people used them all summer and cannot or do not want to stash them when the rain arrives. He is eyeing a few well-kept six-cylinder BMW Z3 roadsters for that very reason.

Ask The Questions A “Ran When Parked” Seller Hopes You Skip

Hagerty has a warning about one famous phrase. “Ran when parked” tells you the engine worked at some point, but not when, why it stopped, or what happened afterward.

The writer recalls an ad that said the car “ran great until it developed a knock and I parked it 10 years.” He never understood why the seller bothered with the first half of that sentence, since it might as well have said the car ran great when new.

So ask when it last ran, why it was parked and whether it has been kept inside. A seller who balks at those questions, Hagerty says, is probably holding something back.

The cold helps you here, too. A warm afternoon can hide a hard start or smooth out a rough idle, so ask the seller not to start the car before you arrive. You will get a more honest read on an engine at 40 degrees than at 85. Bring a towel if it is raining, because wet paint always looks better than it is.

A $4,000 Volvo Went For $3,500 Because The Buyer Showed Up With Cash

The writer backs it all up with a story of his own. His first fall purchase was a project-condition 1974 Volvo 144, bought in November 2007.

The seller’s wife had told him that spring to get rid of the car, even though he was partway through a restoration. He told her he had, then she visited his workplace unannounced and found it there. With nowhere else to put it and an angry spouse at home, he finally listed it for a quick sale.

He asked $4000. The writer paid $3500, because he arrived with cash and could take the car away that day. He also worked at a Volvo shop, so the seller felt better knowing it was going to a good home.

Later that week, the writer and his boss swapped in an M41 overdrive four-speed pulled from a 1975 244 at a Volvo junkyard. Before long the 144 was carrying him between the shop and journalism school with a better transmission, and the seller was delighted to hear it was being cared for.

Your Cold-Weather Shopping Checklist

Search listings now and watch how long they sit. A car that has been up since summer is a car with a tired owner.
Bring cash and a trailer, and be ready to load the same day. Convenience is worth real money to a stressed seller.
Ask when the car last ran, why it stopped and where it has been stored.
Request a cold start, and inspect for water damage and rodent nests in a car that has sat outside.
Be kind. A fair offer with a good-home promise is often better received than a lowball.

The lesson is simple. Winter is hard on cars and hard on wallets, and patient buyers can turn someone else’s stress into a bargain. The advice comes from Hagerty.

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