[mgarblik]

I have only one real world experience to report. A very good friend sold his 1971 Mustang Boss 351 4-speed to a local, well known collector car dealer. They specialize in Corvettes but sell other collectible cars as well. He was the original owner of the car and it was un-restored but nearly perfect. Had about 30K miles on it. The dealer made the sale a no hassle, seamless experience for him. They didn't pick it apart because there was nothing really to pick on. They simply looked at auction results, several collector car current price guides and such. Took the max values and subtracted 40% from that value. Take it or leave it. Simple as that. They explained they had to make a minimum of 25% on every car to maintain their floor plan based on the amount of time they felt they would have it in their possession. It was a strictly a business deal, zero emotion. If they happened to turn it right away, then they really made out. In the case of this Mustang, they gave him 50K cash for it. Two months later, it sold 78K. If you can live with that kind of transaction, it's a no hassle approach.

One of the really big advantages dealers have over private sales is their ability to offer financing. I think some on the forum might be surprised by the number of mid level muscle cars under 100K that are purchased through financing rather than a cash sale.