johnnyw

I have always wondered if there's a best way to be paid for your knowledge of where cars can be found ? I know of a person who has a lot of C3 corvettes that are in various stages of neglect and I was going to buy one myself from this guy but I felt his price was to high. I saw a lot of other cars that would be considered hard to find muscle cars such as 60's and 70's Chevelles, 60 model camaros and again the corvettes. How does a person protect their knowledge of knowing where these finds are and how do you get paid for that knowledge. It has always hurt when I have told others of where I find old cars or trucks just to see them bought and I gain nothing for the great information. I love to look behind every barn in every shed and in the woods during the winter when there's no tree cover and I keep a running knowledge of where these great find are, but the Corvettes seem to eat at me and I wonder if that knowledge is worth anything? Thanks for any advise or comment.
Johnny

edk136

I'm curious about where you live, do you get permission to go on other people's property as you stated you look behind every barn and IN every shed? I'm just saying around here, all the barn finds are just that, you find them in the barns which you cannot see from the road. I'm not trying to bust your chops but I wish I could find a gold mine like this just looking from the road and not having any previous knowledge.

Now to your question about reimbursement for knowledge, I guess it just depends on who you are giving the information to. The are some people, especially dealers, etc. that I would charge a finders fee but if it was my buddy and I could trust my buddy would not squeal like a pig, I would give the info. for free.

johnnyw

I'm just looking from the back roads and highways, around here just like most anywhere you'd get shot for being on someone's property. It's a crazy assortment of C3's and muscle cars that I ran across. This guy has been very sick and he has collected these car for the past 40 years or so. I get the impression that he has never before wanted to sell any but with his sickness it has brought a change of heart and I guess he wants to be a part of seeing that his family gets the most for the cars as is reasonable.

Sidepiper

I will give you $500 to fly out and meet you? PM me

edk136

Depending on how many people know about these cars, you could make some good money on just having the info. If I could, I would buy the car(s) that I wanted and start putting "feelers" out there.

markids77

The best way to get paid for your efforts is to buy some of the cars in question and resell them at a small profit so you can start the process over again. Keep the profit small but significant, and your overhead is virtually zero since you only hold the cars long enough to pass them on, and your pricing will still be in the "incredible deal" category. Plus you won't have to invest much beyond transport to your storage area, and cleaning them up a bit.

Early in my career I asked a boss how he had managed to become quite successful and his advice was... "Find something that works, and do it over and over again." If you cringe each time a find of yours goes to someone else, become the "middle man" and reap a bit of profit from your endeavors.

johnnyw

I have thought that if I you were to put together a proposal to buy them all and resale as you choose. I'm not saying it would take that much money but I do suppose you would need a good chunk since I understand there are about 20 C3's, but again I have only seen three and they were 1 Gold color 454 -4 speed Conv. 1 Gray color 454 coupe 4 sp and another that was a convertible an I don't know the motor was in it, These were all under a 2nd floor porch and were not in a good place and were on a dirt floor for the most part and covered with crap that he has collected up but they did also have old tarps and such on a couple of them. He had cleared out the car I was there to look at and had even cut the grass away from the end of the area so that we could get up to the car and around it.

markids77

One at a time... just one at a time! Perhaps you could strike an agreement with the owner to sell them as an agent and collect a fixed fee per car? I'm not talking thousands here but, say, a couple hundred per. There are many ways to do this... you need only use your imagination a bit, and talk straight to the current owner.

Indiancreek

I'd get pics and post them. Make an agreement for the location for there to be a set fee paid if a deal is struck.
Otherwise You could be paid a fee and there be no chance for a deal if the prices are to high. You could be getting your fee over and over for the same car.
I think personally, I'd want pics and an asking price before I'd pay a finders fee.

Raphiki

If they have been stored for a long time on a dirt floor they're probably rotted out. Without pictures and more information you'll find little interest from experienced buyers.

If you want people to pay attention to you and what you say you know, people have to trust you. You are new to the forum and haven't even filled out your profile. From all I know you might be one of those slick Iowa con men I'm always reading about.

TexasMadMan

I imagine Jerry Heasley would like to hear from you. You might strike a deal with him to not disclose the location and still make your money as well as helping him preserve history in photos.

Jerry lives in Texas. I've spoken to him on the phone and he seems to be a nice guy. I have enjoyed to book he wrote.

http://www.amazon.com/Jerry-Heasleys...rds=rare+finds

jdp6000

I would try and nail down a price on each and everyone of them. Take lots of pictures and put them up for sale. Cars are sold everyday sight unseen. It all comes down to price. Example if a couple of the 454's were in decent shape and priced right I think they would sell sight unseen. The only way to know is by how resonable the owner is.

For all you know he may only want a couple of thousand dollars for each of the 454's which could be an easy double. On the other hand he may want $35,000 which would mean you are wasting your time.

J

johnnyw

I'm not concerned about how many people pay attention to me, my question was simple and I assumed that the folks here would be a great deal of information when it comes to finding so many old C3's in the same location and just how to make the most of the information. I joined the Corvette Forum because I bought a C3 and so many of the people here are really kind and helpful with any question you might have. But I know you don't have read anything I post or reply if you don't want to.

johnnyw

Thanks, you are right I do need some pictures and if he holds to the kind of number he did when I went to look at the one he had decided to sell at the time then wasting my time is the most likely thing that will happen. I got the impression that his health was the driving factor in his decision to sell back in the summer. It seems that maybe a lump sum for all or most of the cars could sway a person to go ahead and let it all go because they have a lot of funds at one time and it also makes dealing so much easier but who the heck knows it's all a real unknown right now but I appreciate the great information from everyone.
Johnny

jdp6000

Did he toss out any numbers on the 454's?

Jim

johnnyw

He sure did, he said he wanted $14,000.00 and it had been modified by having big fender flares put on it. It was more than I wanted to pay because I wanted one to drive while I worked on it and the fender flares just turned me off. The other two cars under the porch seemed to not have had anything done to them in the way of modifications but that's from just looking at them from the outside and not looking under the hood or anything. He said these were just a few he had not taken to his other building and said he has a lot more there and said he has something like 40 or so car all total and that about 20 of them were vetts and I think he said they were mostly C3's. He even mentioned a 427 tri power.
Johnny

BOSTONCAMARO

my dad and I come across a lot of stuff and have over the years bought and sold stuff...he was a salesman on the road, in the automotive field....has a lot of contacts

in my opinion only real way to make money off barn finds etc, is to buy the stuff yourself and resell...if you did a finders fee etc, you will risk blowing up your contacts, say if some guy has an early vette, you refer someone else to buy it, that person throws you a few bucks, but then finds out this persons uncle also has some early hot rod stuff, like a 34 model a rolling project....see what I am saying?

it also is a lot of work chasing down cars and parts and often people are priced too high, especially in this economy, you need the space and resources to sit on the stuff...my family has a huge barn, that helps

jdp6000

I would put a little more effort into it. go back and take down the serial numbers and tag numbers and do a bit of research on how rare they are. Its probalby your only chance of picking out a rear barn find. You never know he may have something rare in there. Take some pictures while you are at it.

Example are the 454's LS5 or LS6? There is also the rare ZR2...14 built. Do the 454's have the M22 4 speed?

Jim

johnnyw

All very good points, I will make an effort to get back to see how things are now with this guy and who knows 30K may buy them all and then I can start selling them from my drive way!!
Johnny

72LS1Vette

Depending on where you live there can be issues with titles, etc. on the cars. It could be a real nightmare trying to get the paperwork straight on 20 or so cars if you intend to resell them.

For example, my 72 did not come with a title when new. State laws now require a title, so I had to get not only a bill of sale, but a death certificate (previous owner was deceased, wife selling the car) and a copy of the registration from the last time the car was registered.

Multiply that by 20 and add variations, like missing documentation.



Rick B.