New AMD fenders bring down the value of an orginal?

[69*F5*SE]

I want to get the new AMD fenders because they are dead nuts new but what's it doing to the value of my original fenders value. I paid $600 for one of my current original fenders not that long ago off ebay. It's in good condition but it ain't new and needs some work. I was going to have them dipped and e-coated but now I'm at a standstill of what to do because that'll take what I have into them to more than what I could get new.  I feel I'll just take a loss if I list them on ebay.  What do you guys think?     Ted

[Charger1973]

I think there will always be people who want original parts vs repro no matter how nice they are.  If nothing else get the new ones and keep the originals as spares.   

[Hemidoug]

How the heck are you going to tell? No different then cutting a can and welding it in as a patch panel.....I'd be willing to bet more then one restored Mopar has a soup can patch or two....

[69*F5*SE]

I was hoping to sell my unrestored originals on ebay and get the new AMD's but the new AMD fenders are plastered everywhere on ebay now.  I just don't want to lose hundereds of dollars trying to sell my originals which need some work.  I want the new ones but don't want to lose as much as I have in the originals I purchased for the same price on ebay as the new ones.  Between a rock & a hard place with this one.  It's like I have no choice but to lose money.

[BB1]

mmm keep the old rusty fenders or get new ones.

What a hard choice. 

[69*F5*SE]

Thing is is that I paid what they want for the new ones for the old ones that need work.   Nobody will give me what I paid for them now that the new ones are out. 

[Ghoste]

Without sounding sympathetic to your plight because I am and I truly hope you can get your money out of the old ones, but, bringing down the price is one of the things that I like about high quality repops.  Some of the rusty junk out there was getting stupidly overpriced.

[68charger383]

I sold some rare cuda parts which were reproduced. The repos put a cap on the prices I could get for the original parts, especially considering what I could have gotten a few years back before the were reproduced. However, the buyers were people with top end cars (hemi/6 pack) where the original parts and numbers made a difference.

As far as a standard item like a fender, I'd say from this point forward your looking at selling them for a discount below the price AMD is currently getting for the new ones. Plus if they can ship the fenders cheap,...you'll have to eat that in your price since fenders are around $150-$250 each to ship and package via UPS/greyhound etc.. 

[dpm68]

How the heck are you going to tell?

Zackly.

[69bronzeT5]

I don't honestly care if they bring down the value or not...I'm not building my '69 to sell, I'm building it for ME I would definitely take the new AMD fenders over my rusty ones.

[Aero426]

I applaud AMD for bringing much needed parts to market.   However, not everyone wants Chinese fenders on their car.    I'm sure it will hurt value some, but if your fenders are in good condition, you should still be able to pull a decent return.   

You may be better off selling them locally where someone can see and touch them.   No shipping either. 

[jeryst]

I think there will always be people who want original parts vs repro no matter how nice they are.  If nothing else get the new ones and keep the originals as spares.   

I agree. I wont buy a repro unless the original is unavailable, or it costs at least twice the cost of the repro. Just a personal thing, but I like authentic parts.

[njsuperbees]

sorry your letting value ruin your hobby
for the longest time restoring a car was a money losing proposition
you did it for the love of it,not because it was profitable because for the most part it wasn't.
greed and popularity changed all this
now the pedulium is swinging back.
the economy and new products help this happen.
and the one's who put value first are learning the hard way.
your stuck with having to sell those fenders at a loss now.
just like i'm stuck with a extra 69 rr hood that needs a little work that i will take a hit on.
because you can buy a new one.
the thing is i look at it as the cost of my enjoyment of the hobby and if it ends up
turning into a sled that i will use on the hill in the winter,it doesn't bother me a bit because
breaking even or profiting isn't why i'm in the game.

  my advice to the others worried about the value of things is to start looking ahead at
whats coming out new and dump what you have asap because the same thing is gonna happen.
sure the mint, or nos stuff will hold its value but if it needs some work or is less then perfect
your gonna take the hit.
i would rather pay the price for something i have to do minamal work to then to pay the same or near it
for alot less. you might want to do the work needed and make them nice and sell
and take a loss on the time. anyway you cut it your gonna take a loss.
good luck

[challenger70]

sorry your letting value ruin your hobby
for the longest time restoring a car was a money losing proposition
you did it for the love of it,not because it was profitable because for the most part it wasn't.
greed and popularity changed all this
now the pedulium is swinging back.
the economy and new products help this happen.
and the one's who put value first are learning the hard way.
your stuck with having to sell those fenders at a loss now.
just like i'm stuck with a extra 69 rr hood that needs a little work that i will take a hit on.
because you can buy a new one.
the thing is i look at it as the cost of my enjoyment of the hobby and if it ends up
turning into a sled that i will use on the hill in the winter,it doesn't bother me a bit because
breaking even or profiting isn't why i'm in the game.

  my advice to the others worried about the value of things is to start looking ahead at
whats coming out new and dump what you have asap because the same thing is gonna happen.
sure the mint, or nos stuff will hold its value but if it needs some work or is less then perfect
your gonna take the hit.
i would rather pay the price for something i have to do minamal work to then to pay the same or near it
for alot less. you might want to do the work needed and make them nice and sell
and take a loss on the time. anyway you cut it your gonna take a loss.
good luck

Well said, it's a hobby not a business.

[Joshua]

Look at '32 Fords for example, you can buy complete, repoped bodies from Brookville, yet the price of originals have not gone down.......there are people and always will be people who prefer original pieces over repop....

[nakita7]

Think of it this way...there's nothing aftermarket that brings the value of a car up....

[charger01]

I applaud AMD for bringing much needed parts to market.   However, not everyone wants Chinese fenders on their car.    I'm sure it will hurt value some, but if your fenders are in good condition, you should still be able to pull a decent return.   

You may be better off selling them locally where someone can see and touch them.   No shipping either. 

Pretty sure the new stuff is made in the usa .  Dont know anyone who would put chinese stuff on a musclecar.

[charge-it]

I applaud AMD for bringing much needed parts to market.   However, not everyone wants Chinese fenders on their car.    I'm sure it will hurt value some, but if your fenders are in good condition, you should still be able to pull a decent return.   

You may be better off selling them locally where someone can see and touch them.   No shipping either. 

Pretty sure the new stuff is made in the usa .  Dont know anyone who would put chinese stuff on a musclecar.

There are tons of people putting chinese parts on their cars. Just ask P.G. Classics or BE&A.

[charger01]

I applaud AMD for bringing much needed parts to market.   However, not everyone wants Chinese fenders on their car.    I'm sure it will hurt value some, but if your fenders are in good condition, you should still be able to pull a decent return.   

You may be better off selling them locally where someone can see and touch them.   No shipping either. 

Pretty sure the new stuff is made in the usa .  Dont know anyone who would put chinese stuff on a musclecar.

There are tons of people putting chinese parts on their cars. Just ask P.G. Classics or BE&A.

Those arent american ?  That's just sad....Not only is the current automobile industry going foreign.  Now they have classic muscle?  Is nothing sacred?

[Troy]

Think of it this way...there's nothing aftermarket that brings the value of a car up....

Um, yeah - if your car is already finished. An after market console will make a car worth more than a cracked original. A repro '71 Cuda grill is better than a big hole in the front of the car. If you have all the original parts in perfect condition then I'd agree but most people don't. Any part is better than nothing and a decent part is better than a junk one. This is why I have 5-6 of everything - I keep upgrading as I find nicer pieces.

I think the only people who might possibly care about original vs repro are the ones buying rare, high-dollar cars. They can afford the limited supply of NOS parts any way so it doesn't matter. These same people generally prefer a car that has all its original parts (never wrecked or rusted). For the average guy building a 318 car into a 440 clone then I can't see why they would care - as long as it fits their budget and the car is on the road. The value will be much higher for the finished car than a rusted, dented project - and it may actually get done in this lifetime. The guy in the middle with a semi-rare car and a reasonable budget is the one who will have a tough decision.

Think of the junk quarter panels and floors we've had for years and all the expensive cars that have sold recently that probably have them. Front fenders for these cars (at least 2nd gen) have been hard to find in good condition since I bought (and wrecked) my first 68 in 1987 and quarters have been nearly non-existent for longer than that. Front fenders are generally abused. I've seen countless cars with odd-shaped or cracked tips due to all the filler required to make them straight again (those pointy ends tend to get banged into everything). I can't imagine that most people would prefer a heavily worked original over a direct replacement that's the right shape to begin with. Fenders are bolt on parts any way so if the next owner wants originals then make him find them.

For comparison sake...
The Classic Body Designs quarter panels (American made) list for $2,400 each and most people here had fits over the price and swore they'd never buy a set. The AMD panels are supposed to be $600 (or $700?) and are made in China yet people can't get them fast enough. That tells me that the average guy would rather finish his car within his budget than hope he can sell it for ~$4,000 more when he's done. I think most people that are going to just sell the completed car would go for the cheaper parts to begin with. Once the paint is on who is going to notice a difference? Heck, before the paint is on who is going to notice the difference?

In the end, the consumer drives the market. I talk to a LOT of vendors and there are certain parts that they just won't make (here or overseas) because the final cost will be more than people are willing to pay. If a particular part will sell well at $200 but not at all at $400 then the manufacturer will try to make it at the cheaper price. Some will cut corners to do so but others may just bow out and make something else.

Troy

[Ghoste]

And on a related note, I'll bet there are going to be a LOT of cars sold sold in the near future with reproduction parts from China that will be touted as being all original and almost no one will know any different.  High dollar cars included, maybe even especially the high dollar ones.

[charger01]

And on a related note, I'll bet there are going to be a LOT of cars sold sold in the near future with reproduction parts from China that will be touted as being all original and almost no one will know any different.  High dollar cars included, maybe even especially the high dollar ones.

I believe you are correct on this assumption.

[jaak]

If you have decent fenders that just need a little work, I would use fix and use those and put the 1400 for new fenders into something else for your car. And then you don't have to worry about the "value", which I don't think is a big issue. Like mentioned in an earlier post, the average enthusiast puts money in these cars for a hobby, not profit.

Jason

[69*F5*SE]

I started this thread to gain viewpoint and that's what I've got so far. Some very good viewpoint. Thanks   Ted

[Mike DC]

 
Show me a reproduction part from any major brand that is made of steel that's as thick/stiff as the original stuff. 


Even when a company claims that the sheet-thickness of the metal is the same, the alloy content of the steel is still usually weak enough to easily feel the difference by hand.

 

[SFRT]

I will bet 600 b ucks that if I took my new amd fenders, beat the crap out of them and then painted them and my original beat to crap fenders at the same time NO ONE without a friggin mass spectrometer would be able to tell the difference.

I for one am STOKED that I do not have to do a bunch of bodywork or track down 'pristine originals[..just bolt up the new ones...and if they get wrecked, happily have my insirance company pay for another set of readily available amds.

[SFRT]

Show me a reproduction part from any major brand that is made of steel that's as thick/stiff as the original stuff. 

Even when a company claims that the sheet-thickness of the metal is the same, the alloy content of the steel is still usually weak enough to easily feel the difference by hand.

 

first thing I did was measure the amds with the gauge. its exactly the same as the original. alloy? I will bet the new ones alloy is BETTER than the crappy OG metal.

[Mike DC]

 
SFRT,

I haven't come into any contact with the new AMD stuff so I'm not saying you're wrong.  I don't know.



I'm just saying that I've heard a lot of bull about original-grade replacement metal for many years in this hobby.  But I've never seen any of it that didn't feel weaker somehow. 

Heck, Goodmark's black EDP-coated metal for their biggest panels is very thick too.  Always has been.  And yet I can still flex their best sheetmetal with my bare hands and tell the difference between the old factory Mopar stuff very easily.

   

[jerry]

since you have those expensive originals fix them and use them. thats a no brainer. that will solve your  problem of worrying about selling your good usa built fenders. the price of junk being what it is crush em.

[Hudson Hornet !]

For my own car I would rather repair the original panels if I had the choice. I have been in the auto refinishing industry for many years and I can tell you that repo parts have their place, but if you can save what you have do it. I for one would pay a premium for a car with all repaired original panels if they were repaired right. As for the chinese stuff, you can keep it, we have enough of there crap already. I can tell you many horror stories about replacement chinese panels rusting out in a year or two. Before you guys flame me, please realize that this is my opinion, and if it is different than yours- deal with it. 

[69*F5*SE]

Yeah, I'll probably still get my OEM fenders dipped and e-coated. They're still in pretty good shape and there's a facility near by that will do them for about $125.00 each.

[Hudson Hornet !]

I would think that would be your best bet!

[six-tee-nine]

I don't really follow the point here. Which story do you like best? :

1) the car is fully restored with original parts yeah, even the original fenders are on it. (But they are patched and bondo'ed, witch the guy probably won't tell you).

2) This car is fully restored, but I'm sorry it does have aftermarket fenders cuz the original where too rotten to restore...


Come on, isn't our hobby about bringing back these old cars from the dead?  What is worth most? Sloppy originals or nice and crisp aftermarket parts.....If original is worth the most the an unrestored car would have to bring the most money...

[JimShine]

Every item reproduced has affected values of the less than ideal original parts.

Front valances were fetching huge money, then the reproductions came out and now only a very clean original will bring any money. How about console bodies? People spent hundreds of dollars for less than perfect console bodies to replace their busted or missing originals. The repop comes out and now those old bodies are almost worthless.

Clean, original, straight front fenders will command decent money. I doubt it will ever be what they brought in years past. But your average grade fudged up fender laden with filler will be a hard sell at any money. Just because there is original metal under the bondo isn't going to be enough of an incentive to get most car guys to choose original over reproduction.

How many Chargers have been sold over the years totally restored with new and unmentioned quarter panels? If any mention is made it is usually in the rare case that the car still has its originals intact. Why would fenders be any different in the future?

I can understand why some prefer original parts. I know I have a thing for original interior parts and detest vinyl dye. We all have different ideas of how things should be.

[69charger2002]

the best thing to do if you have crap to sell... is know when the quality repro parts are coming out. and UNLOAD right before.. i did it with tail panels, Vinyl top check pieces, fenders, gas caps,  inside taillight trunk covers, grills, front valances, consoles, 4 speed top plates.. you name it. i wasn't really in it for the money either.. but let's not be silly here... if you know a tail panel is worth 700-800 one month, but in 2-3 months when ebay is flooded with new ones for $399, do you really think it's smart to hang on to an original tail panel KNOWING you may not get $200 for it 2 months later.. yeah that's why my building has half the parts it used to, but i was able to sell off all my extra crap i'd never use all of. and get good money for it. now i can buy tail panels with the extra profit and use them for displays in the garage
trav

[Hudson Hornet !]

six-tee-nine,
                      I have been in the industry for a very long time, and I KNOW when a car has been fixed the right way or not. I did not say I would rather have original fenders that are full of mud over new chinese fenders, I stated that I would prefer CORRECTLY restored original panels on a car. You know, some people know how to metal finish!! LOL!

[Mike DC]

 
That's what I'm getting at.


We're still not really debating "old-vs new," but rather "old-vs-inferior-new."

[Hudson Hornet !]

Mike DC I agree whole- :2thumbs:heartedly!

[moparstuart]

Mike DC I agree whole- :2thumbs:heartedly!

   I sold aftermarket body parts for 11 years exclusively ,still sell then now off and on for the last 10 years .  They have there place and if you cant get anything else use them.
That being said I would find good used ones or fix what i had before useing them on my own car.  There is no substitute for originality or OEM quality .

[Mike DC]

 
I might really not mind getting all new panels if the quality was 100% there, but so far the repro industry hasn't delivered on those promises. 


I'm eager to see & feel the new AMD panels for myself.   

[nakita7]

So, either way, these parts will work for someone, whether a purist or not. Some will use, some won't. Repro parts will always have to be produced, because of the simple fact that supply runs out. I personally like my cars 100% Chrysler, but hey, let's face it, that's pretty hard to do. If I saw a car I liked For Sale, and it had an AMD fender on it, I would still buy it. I would prefer an original, but, oh well! Kudos to all the manufacturers making these repro parts, it is needed...but, getting back to the original question, I still think they bring the value down, even if slightly, at best it evens out...

[six-tee-nine]

six-tee-nine,
                      I have been in the industry for a very long time, and I KNOW when a car has been fixed the right way or not. I did not say I would rather have original fenders that are full of mud over new chinese fenders, I stated that I would prefer CORRECTLY restored original panels on a car. You know, some people know how to metal finish!! LOL!

Of course, I did'nt say everybody that fixes his originals fills them up with bondo.....But especially about sheet metal i feel OK about using aftermarket pieces. On the otherhand I'm also pretty sure that the more aftermarket pieces become available, the less valueable our cars get simply because it becomes easyier to restore them.
What I'm not a fan of, is buying everything new what you can get and then restore the rest. I still believe the other way around is the best one....Restore everything you can then buy the parts you are missing or are unfixable. And among the last ones there are enough parts that come around original.
I don't buy every piece that is broken new, cuz sometimes original ones that work fine but need a fresh up cost a fraction of a new part......

[moparstuart]

I feel some origial parts with minor flaws ad character to your car , they make it experienced and yours .