what is a 73 charger 340 rallye worth?

[thebandit343]

I am in the process of selling my 73 charger 340 rallye and am trying to figure out what it may be worth. I am looking for opinions, except for the guys that say it is only worth $3000. Here is what it is. It is an all original 73 charger 340 automatic rallye car. It has 88,xxx original miles on it. It is white with white vinyl (new), with blue interior, original. The car was heavily undercoated from back in the day and saved the original metal floors. This car has everything that it did from the factory in 73. It will have a new paintjob, and all of the aluminum, chrome, and stainless was all professionally redone (triple chrome show quality finish). That alone is over $2000. It comes with the original rallye wheels and bulge hood. The car is in great shape, not 100% show quality, but extremely nice. I am looking for a price range. I have looked at other ones like this and some are asking $10k or more, for a non numbers car with a decent paintjob. Am I out of line ot start asking $18k obo? Let me know what you think, and if you feel like insulting me, keep it to yourself. I don't have any pics yet, the car is still in the shop.

[jaak]

I don't think that is an out of line asking price by the sound of everything. I had a 73 340 (replaced with a 360), 4 speed Rallye, that was not the original color, interior was new (but changed from green to white, had a lot of work done to it (but nowhere near original) and was a nice driver. I sold it for 6600, and it took nearly 2 months for me to sell.

With that said problem is.....as everyone says (and it's true), in this economy it is hard to sell an old car in this economy. There was a member on here that restored a 73 Rallye (440 car, I think) on here....very nice car, and it was for sale a long long time. I don't know what he sold it for, but I know he dropped the price a few times (I'm thinking it started out in the 18-20k range).

Another problem is (now this is observation, I personally don't feel this way), a lot of people whether it be Mopar, Ford, of Chevy guys feel the last year for the muscle car was 71. 72 and up cars was when changes were being made due to insurance and fuel regulations. So I think that thins out the market for people willing to pay a lot of money for 'post-71' car. I have seen some nice 72-74 rallyes that I thought sold for less than they should (on eBay and various Mopar sites). I remember another Rallye, guy was asking 9k and it was a nice looking car, the last ad I remembered seeing, he had dropped it down to 5500.

But then again, they say there is a buyer for everything out there, just set your price and stick to your guns, someone will come along eventually. With the low miles, numbers matching, and all the quality work you put in it, I don't think 18k is unreasonable.

Good luck,
Jason

[moparonecharger]

Iam going to add my   to this. If your not doing the the restoration orginal your not going to get that kind of money out of it. Also if is not a numbers matching engine. that hurts as well.    $5,000 -$6,000 if not show quality...  Then again if a guy/kid that dont care about the numbers or color to be orginal then its all about what that person likes. if it was done all orginal then I can see $10,000 -$12,000   higher if you had a 4 speed car.

[jaak]

Iam going to add my   to this. If your not doing the the restoration orginal your not going to get that kind of money out of it. Also if is not a numbers matching engine. that hurts as well.    $5,000 -$6,000 if not show quality...  Then again if a guy/kid that dont care about the numbers or color to be orginal then its all about what that person likes. if it was done all orginal then I can see $10,000 -$12,000   higher if you had a 4 speed car.

The original post says its a numbers matching engine (88k original miles), and he is restoring it back to original color combo.

Jason

[moparonecharger]

I did say(  if not orginal motor ) I read that it has 88,000 miles on it.  I re-read the part about color and interior I didnt get that he is putting it back to blue which was orginal color. he said it was white on white with New white interior. Unless I read that wrong...  I stand behind the 5-6k unless its all orginal then the 10-12k range show condition.

[41husk]

I gave 7k for a 73 U code rallye.  The car was worth about 2k when it arrived.  I could not get my money back out of it, so I built a SuperBee tribute  It did have a ramcharger hood.  When it was done I got 22k on trade for my 09 SRT 8 Challenger.  Ask what you think you can get out of it.  You may have just what someone has been looking for.  Best of luck! I miss my 73!

[TheGhost]

We need pictures.

Sounds like a nice car, but my first reaction is that 18k is a bit high.  10-15k, depending on how it looks.

[thebandit343]

The car will have the original blue interior in it that is in great shape. I wish I had pics, but unfortunately the car is dissassembled right now. Plus, I have seen pics that make a car look awesome, and when I saw it in person, it was horrible. But I get what you are saying. Once the car is painted, I will post some.

[Ghoste]

It's tough trying to sell a disassembled project.  18k might leave it in your garage a long time unless you find that right buyer who absolutely must have a 73 340 Charger and is prepared to finish the job.

[Gary42]

Well I guess I should add my  to this since I own a 72 Rally 340 matching numbers car. I agree with most all your posts, except for one thing. Many MOPAR guys are now "understanding" that 68-70 Chargers are harder and harder to find, and if found, they are more often then not "basket cases," so unless you have deep pockets to pay for some of the outrageous monies they want for a "decent" Charger, a 71-73 Charger is the way to go. "Most all" cars come with problems/issues that will be passed on by the previous owner/s, as true with the 71-72 special edition Chargers.

Even though still small in comparison, many of the MOPAR gurus are now accepting that the very "last" true muscle cars ended in 72. If not for the mere fact that the "Dukes of Hazard," which made the 69-70 Chargers popular, would they be sincerely in demand/popular or that difficult to acquire? Keep in mind, "after" the 1972 Rally cars were produced, Chrysler began to follow the Federal guidelines in "car safety/emission control" standards. Starting in 1973 Chrysler added the follwing items and made changes to the 1973 line of Chargers. Replaced the bumper mounts (front and back; IE, moved them out away from the body per federal guidelines), added the "new" bumpetts (front and rear). changed the styling of the rear quarter windows, added new emission systems, changed the body style and lines, and began making the smaller engines standard because of fuel costs for example. Not saying you could not order one with a bigger motor, just saying there were so many changes due to federal regulations of consumer safety issues it took the 73 Charger's to a non true muscle car classification.

Now with that being said, yes I agree that economy has placed buying a "solid" Charger on the back burner. I have seen so many guys placing ads for selling their cars (68-70) due to family growth, bills, "I was going to restore it, but I have other plans now," and just plain "I need the money" for something I can actually drive each day. Restoration "projects" are more expensive then most people realize, and more often then not-they cannot be completed to a "good standard" in your garage. Bad thing is: they often want too much or the car is sincerely not worth it or the risk in today's economic crisis. Its just hard to find someone to buy a 73 Rally Charger that is not "big block," and standard. Even though there are some that are still numbers matching cars, it comes down to the most important thing: is it a 71 R/T big block, a 1972 Rally big block, is it a high or low sequence number, and "what" if any added features did the car come with. Do people who buy the 68-70 Charger put them thru the same rigorous questions or detail as they do the 71-73 Chargers? No, because all they want is a 68-70 Charger, even when its "not" numbers matching, but its a big block car, lol. Does the car have the build sheet, how many fender tags were on it, etc. Like I said, MOPAR people are still just now accepting the 71-72 special edition big block cars as the last of the "true" muscle cars, so its difficult to put a price on a 73 Rally unless it came with allot of many added "want" options. That's the name of the game, and like it or not that's they way most people feel (I'm not one of those people). Trust me, I know what it feels like.

You can put $25,000.00 into a really solid 72 big block Rally car, and hope to get that back. More often then not, you are left with two choices: take the loss, or make it "your" car until the day comes when they are in demand. Like my dad always said: it might be "worth" a million dollars to "you," but to another guy its simply worth the $2500.00 investment. I don't like that analogy, but its more often the true case. Hope you find what price your looking for, just remember you have to sit down and think realistically and do your research. Demand is the name of the game, and the "listed" goodies, as they say, will make it more appealing. I think you will see that these cars are still not in demand at the present time, and until the 68-70 Chargers in good running condition are all bought up, or you have a "real" Daytona and Superbird, you might be having this car for an extended period of time. Just my thought I guess.

[41husk]

Well put! and honest

[moparonecharger]

Well put  >>>> Gary42

[Gary42]

41Husk.......just have to love that car. Still wish it were in Larry's shop, should have bought it when he got it done, lol. You are a very lucky man!

[41husk]

Thanks! I love it !!!

[EccentricMagpies]

Your car has great colors, the white with white top and blue interior.  That being said, I think that the auto and current economy will bring it down about 4k-6k from your 18k you are hoping to get.

To compair, here is a big block auto in nice looking condition (still for sale) for ~2k more than where you are at:
http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/3170197502.html

but there was a '73 Red BB Rallye on Moparts for about 2 years before it sold to a member here.  Last time I seen it was posted at 10,500.

[EccentricMagpies]

I should add.. I'm envisioning your car (when completed) to be very simular to this members car.  (other than the 4psd, BB, and black interior)


http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,93077.0.html

[Chargerguy74]

but there was a '73 Red BB Rallye on Moparts for about 2 years before it sold to a member here.  Last time I seen it was posted at 10,500.

There's a sucker born everyday. I'm assuming we're talking about the same car, but it went a little cheaper 

[EccentricMagpies]

but there was a '73 Red BB Rallye on Moparts for about 2 years before it sold to a member here.  Last time I seen it was posted at 10,500.

There's a sucker born everyday. I'm assuming we're talking about the same car, but it went a little cheaper 

  I figured it went cheaper... just the last price I seen it listed at.

[thebandit343]

It's tough trying to sell a disassembled project.  18k might leave it in your garage a long time unless you find that right buyer who absolutely must have a 73 340 Charger and is prepared to finish the job.

Who said I am selling a disassembled project for 18k? Please read the whole post, this car will be a completed car when I am done.

Thanks Gary for your input. I believe everything that you posted. I know I may have to come down a bit in price if need be, but I figured if  I started at 18k I can come down, but if I start at 12k, I can't budge.  What kills me about this economy, is that you can't build a car for what some of these guys are offering for cars. This guy I know just got his 67 camaro out of the restoration shop that it was at for 2 years and his bill ended up being $70,000 and it is a base model convertible!!!!

[Homerr]

Unless one has a hemi, vintage raced car, or one with really unique options I think it's difficult to get more than $0.10-0.20 per dollar on the labor part.  This means people will pay for the hardware - but not the labor to paint, labor to assemble, or labor anything.  The car economy being down now means that some of us with some skill and/or experience can look for a project, or potential project, to put together.  When the market is up the cost of professional labor can be added into the cost of a vehicle.  It's not all that fair really, but the mopar marketplace has its ups and downs.

If your car is in a shop with you paying them to do everything then you might be out some cash.  If you're doing the assembly and hard work yourself you might break even.


BTW, if you haven't checked - here's a '73 340 Rally in yellow/black (orig.) that went for $15,000 recently.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1973-340-Rally-Dodge-Charger-/160872967544?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2574c6ad78

[moparonecharger]

timebandit343
There is No way in Hell I would of paid $70,000 for a restoration  and it took 2 years  thats bull crap...  Yes I know It happened because, He let it happen. the car should of only took no more than 2 months 3 tops. If the guy was working on it full time. He got ripped off....  

I have my own story. I had a good friend of mine that work at a Dodge dealership ( thats how I meet him we both worked there I was in parts he was a body man  )  
My Charger was pretty decent and he gave me a quote I gave him half of the money to do my car. He had money problems all the time. He fit and painted  like 30 cars in 2 years finally I had enuff. I had to repo my own car from his garage..  That opened my eyes up and said when ever I get my rare 340 4 speed rallye car done. Iam going to get it in writing price and WHEN it will be done.. If your going to spend $70,000 like I said a couple of months. I was being nice to my friend for the fact he was going to do it at a good price. at the time I wasnt in a hurry..

As homerr said your not going to get your labor cost back...  thats why your better off selling the car they way it is. so you dont take the hit.

Just like remodeling your home. I built a 28 1/2 X 32 foot garage I spent $25,000 if I had some else do it it would of cost proably $40,000 to $50,000 it only increased the home value like $15,000  I know because I when through a divorce and Ex want a lot of money for the house. 

[1974dodgecharger]

theres a rally edition 73, 400, 4 speed, here in pheonix dude is asking 4500 down from 6500 he asked for 6 months ago. Just think I offered him 6k he said "NO' these are chargers they go up in value daily he told me...I guess in his case it went down.

[Gary42]

From where I sit and from what I've read, it comes down to the very same issue you had when you posted this thread. Are you "willing" to spend the money to restore this car to make a profit, or are you willing to just put enough into it to "re coop" what you already have invested? My take stands the same I guess, I would have never spent $70,000.00 plus (yes the plus because I'm sure there has to me more completed before the car is back is standing in original condition), because as we all know, the car market has fallen drastically in the past four years. With that alone being the deciding factor, you have a decision to make.

If four years ago would I think you might be on the right track? Yup. Would I tell someone to invest into this car because MOPAR's no matter what year will always hold its true value? Yup. None of us ever thought for a moment that the economy would tank, but like they say, "all good things must come to an end." So the guys of yester year who made a killing selling piles of crap, just because it was a MOPAR, has killed this market. Why? Remember: EVERYONE wanted a "Dukes of Hazard car, no matter how much bondo was holding it together, Its a MOPAR for crying out loud, lol. Many of the members here have hit the "target" when they said, "you can hope to recover the materials list," but the cost of labor will be on you. So, unless you have some really great person/s in your life who are willing to make this a "weekend" project with you and not charger you an arm and a leg, what are you striving to achieve?

My own personal opinion? I would make a decision on "how much money" will I spend, and if I were going to spend it, would I be keeping this car for me or resale. I think that "maybe" one day this market will recover, but will it recover enough to demand the prices it once had? NOPE. Once people got into restoring rusted out old pieces of crap, they quickly realized that the "labor" alone was the deciding factor to move forward or stop and resale in hopes to recover their losses. Will I ever own that "million dollar" MOPAR on Barrett Jackson (which in my personal opinion had as much to do with the down fall of this market then the economy it self.) attitude changed dramatically and all of a sudden "everyone" was trying bail out at the sametime because they realized their investment/s were sinking faster then the economy was.

My friend, we are in the same boat as I see it. I have one just like you, and unless I decide to make changes that would attract the money I would like to get for my car, I will surely have to spend it. So my decision was easy for me, replace the 340 Mag with a 6.1 crate motor and drive it like its "my new Challenger." After doing the math it came to one simple thing, in comparison I will spend about the same to totally rebuild the 340 to the specs that I want then to just set it aside and replace it with a motor that will get me from here to NY without even so much as a burp. Keep in mind, its now desireable and its still a numbers matching car. Remember, like I tell allot of people,"having that "big block" MOPAR is great, but keep in mind they run like crap if you put anything short of 93 octane in them," so unless you know of a handfull of gas stations along your route that sell 93 octane, you will be mixing tank after tank the entire trip. Sorry but that's not my take on a "peaceful" trip. Just ask a few of the old guys on here, and if they are "truthful," they will tell you the samething.

I am friends of one of the best MOPAR gurus in the business, and he's the one that will be restoring this car, so I went to him for help and he alone helped me decide what I sincerely wanted from this car. Keep one thing in mind as you venture fourth my friend: if your going to go forward and make that car desireable to someone else, do it as cheap as you can because NO ONE should enjoy the fruits of your labor but YOU. Every car you buy today will need some work to be completed, so why not leave some for the next guy to have fun repairing? Just a thought I guess.

[1973rallye]

I should add.. I'm envisioning your car (when completed) to be very simular to this members car.  (other than the 4psd, BB, and black interior)


http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,93077.0.html

Not sure if this will help you to determine what your car is worth, however I just had an appraisal done on my car that came in at $19,000.00. Everyone I have shared that with has stated they think that is low by about $6000.00 given the level of the restoration that was done on my car. As pointed out by several members there are lots of factors to consider when determining actual value. It really comes down to what it is worth to you and if you can recover some of its value in the unlikely event something unforeseen should happen.

I knew it would cost me to restore it and have about 28,000.00 in receipts not including my time. I am enjoying it as much now as I did during the build.  Good luck with yours.

[Ghoste]

Other than the insane price spike a few years ago, you almost never have been able to sell a car for what it cost you to restore it.  Thats why its a hobby a not a really cool fun way to get rich.