Can you guys give me your opinion on the value of my duster? I am not looking for anything specific, just what you would ask form the public if you were selling this car:
1974 plymouth duster
brand new gunmetal grey paint that's about a 7.9 if 10 is showroom quality.
black vinyl top which could use replaced
freshly rebuilt (about 500 miles ago) 225 slant six 1 barrel
904 tranny
7.25 rear
console shift
buckets from eddie bauer edition f#rd explorer
runs 65 lbs of oil pressure cold, 45 runnin down the road, engine pulls strong and tranny shifts firm.
I need to get a gas saver if i wanna stay in college and the usual sorces don't give me any idea what i should ask for my car. the ones on ebay are either falling apart or chopped up for the strip. Mine is a good stock type daily driver with a little added comfort
thanx

Supply and demand in your area will moderate the price. Your duster since it doesn't have the OEM seats, and the top isn't in good shape, but you do have a desireable console...in my area your duster would be worth anything from $1800 (at best) to $800. You should clean it up and take it Carlisle and see if you can unload it there.


-D.Idiot

do you think it would bring more than 1800 at carlisle with a new top ect? it does have a beautiful set of rally wheels with some wide firestones...

Heh..around here a car like that would get $2500 if it looked good. Around here in the rust belt you just dont see cars like that pop up much.

Gas saver? If you get that /6 running right it should pull down 20mpg with out much work. My dart does that and it isnt even running right.

If you do the math with the amount of money you save in gas over your old car it would take a LONG time for the new car to pay for it self.

well...the car is relatively rust free...maybe 2 bubbles on the hole car...here in pa that is unusual. if i get 2500 for it, i can get a neon (38-40mpg)

Neons are trouble. Theyre expensive to repair, and they depreciate.

Your $2500 neon may be hard to sell for $500 in two years. Trust me, keep the Duster and take care of it. It will take care of you.

_________________
I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

Say you get a Neon 40 mpg...vs. Duster 20 mpg

Duster:
Already paid for
Insurance (based on what I pay for having 2 at age 35...) $600/year
Gas at $40 a week (that's what I go through in a given work week commute, estimated at $2.15/gal for regular) x52 weeks $2080
Parts: 3000 mile oil changes $100
Tune up items for one year $120 (this estimates that you get one set of plugs and wires, rotor, cap, and your cheap rebuilt starter and alternator take a dive, oh and lets add two ballast resistors, and some misc. light bulbs...next year lets spend the $$$ on a carb rebuild instead of a remanf. starter...)

So $2900/year


Neon (newer):
Insurance (my company says:) $1000/year (hey, it's a new car they have to pay off when you wreck it...)
Payments $150/year if paying long and hard with $2500 down
Gas: 52 weeks x $20 = $1040
Maintenance:
Oil changes $100 unless you get a 'deal' where they 'up the price' pf your vehicle and give you free oil changes as long as you own the vehicle...
Head Gasket: $$$ replacement and labor, plus you're out your car until it's replaced
Tune-up and emissions equipment check: last time I had this happen on a newer Dodge it came to $400 (worse if you get a clogged injector or some odd eprom warning code....)
So $2500 initially...and $2190/year if you go without having anything 'checked up' most of it is labor and diagnostic costs, unless you have to get something not on the warranty....you'll get your $2500 worth after 5 years, but then you'll be faced with everything in the itemization below...


Old Neon (early 90's)
Insurance: still $1000/year (hey it's still a newer car if only 10 years old to most places)
Gas: 52 weeks x $25 (engine's a bit used, and doesn't get 38 mpg any more...try 32-35 at best)= $1300/year
You might get lucky and pay for one with $2500 but then:
Maintenance:
Mandatory Head Gasket failure.... $60+tax for the gasket then 6-8 hours of labor at $60/hr call it $420 (hope it lasts for a year or two)...you might also have to have the head milled to flatten things out again due to warpage...
Routine oil change $100...if she's a 'leaker' add another $50 because you have to 'add a quart every so often'
Routine Tune up and emissions check up :probably close to $400 depending on how much labor it takes to keep it smog worthy...

So $2300/year + another $800 for replacing broken parts, head gasket problems, and keeping the thing smog worthy...

any mechanics want to comment on how much it really costs 'flat rate' to fix the head gasket?

-D.Idiot

ok firs thing...definitly goin with an old neon....that was my intention all along. I have one in mind in particular for less than 2500 thats in decent shape.
I am not about to cover it with insurance......i have liabilty and thats it....same with my duster.
if the head gasket breaks....i will pay that 60 bucks and do the labor myself...i have spent about 200 hours in the grage in less than a year because of my duster...i'm not afraid of a little top end work on a neon.
100 for an oil change? i have changed the oil in my nieces neon about 10 times and it goes in and out like almsot every other engine in history. oil and filter 15$....
i am putting about 60 bucks a week into my gas tank.....i thought this out...i am not stupid

and for the record my area does not have smog restrictions for either car

$60 bucks a week !!!??? Holy snickies!! I drive a V-8 Dakota and don't run through that much gas. Either you put on a boatload of miles, or somebody's stealing your gas every night.

Roger

it's the first.....i go to school during the week and work at home on weekends meanings that the drive home alone puts about 300 miles on the odometer. then i work about 35 miles form my house, my girlfriend lives another 10 miles past work...and during the week here at school i drive SOMEWHERE everyday

Since you didn't say whether you were doing the work yourself, and having watched the Nazi State College police haul down my ex-girlfriend's neighbor for changing his oil and checking his plugs in his own garage when I was last there in 1998, I thought you'd have to go to Jiffy-Lube and shell out $20-$30 a change...I average 300 miles a week from work and 10 weeks =3000 mile oil change 5 times a year $100....I do my own but I use a good Wix filter ($7 per), and I buy oil the case so I save bulk wise, but I also have to add in the cost of lubing the ball joints and things, along with some 'incidental' costs (don't forget that air filter).

Anyhow, good luck on selling it.

-D.Idiot

DON'T do it...The Duster that u no longer appreciate will forever remain "the one I shouldn't have sold"..Lot's of people drive down the road everyday in a Neon thinking,"I sure wish I still had that old Duster I used to have"...............................

BTW, Neon/Cloud headgasket jobs run around $600 at our shop, which includes W/P, T/B, new bolts (TTY).
The new MLS headgasket has brass rivets holding it together; installed, they poke out behind the block. Before you buy, get under the car and look up the back of the engine next to the trans. If you see the brass, you should be all set (assuming it was installed correctly). If not, you'll be doing it again.
If you do have to do it, find a 2.4 and do the gasket before you stab it in there!
engun swops r kool

Cloud would be a good name

_________________
I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.