After owning my 1979 Jeep Cherokee Golden Eagle for over six years – replacing its engine, trying to diagnose oil pump issues, towing it from Detroit to LA — I’m finally selling it. But I’m trying to figure out how. I know I want it gone, but I don’t want to regret selling it for too low of a price, especially knowing how valuable it could be. But it doesn’t run. Should I get it to run before I sell it? Should I have a shop just fix the engine, and then I sell it for a bundle more? Or do I just let it go as-is, and move on with my life? This is my dilemma.
I think letting go of the Golden Eagle is going to be hard no matter what I do. While it is my least favorite car to drive and work on thanks to its big, gutless motor (which is attached to a slushbox that eats what little power that motor makes), it’s undoubtedly my most beautiful one. Between that, and the fact that I don’t like giving up on projects, this is just a tough call to make. But, as I mentioned in my “How I Knew It Was Time To Give Up On Some Of My Car Projects” article a few days back, in the last 18 months my life has changed in ways I couldn’t possibly have imagined. And those changes have pushed my 1979 Jeep Cherokee Golden Eagle out of the picture. It must go, but I want to be smart about it.
What is a Jeep Cherokee Golden Eagle going for these days, anyway? Well, a mint one can go for six figures, but a normal-ish one? This one on Bring a Trailer went for $22 grand:
It looks significantly nicer than mine, though mine, with a bit of polish, a little welding, and of course some engine work, could get pretty close. I don’t have the bird on the hood, and my hood paint is fading, and it needs a few patches, but I think six or seven G’s could get mine looking similar. Add time in there, and I should probably lop 10 grand off that $22,000 asking price. Hell, maybe I’ll knock 14 off.
So I’ve got the Golden Eagle listed at $8000. I’ve received some interest already; two folks seem to want it at that price. They may restore it and turn it around for $50,000. Would I be OK with that? I think so; if it’s a thorough fix. If they just get it running and sell it for $15, would I be OK with that? Should I just get the motor running?
It’s tricky selling a car with so much potential. But I’m inclined to just take the money and run. And just stop thinking about it. It’s these lines of thought that have led me to hold onto it for too long in the first place. But I’m ears if you, dear reader, have any thoughts on the topic.
Please don’t fix it up with the mentality to get it to look “pretty close” if this car is as rare as you say. The buyer would still need to fix all the things that you jury-rigged. Sell it as-is.
…by selling it.
Take the money and run. How stories end with one day I will restore it..
Honestly if you’re not driving it then sell it.
Don’t make someone else buy “someone else’s project”. Sell it as is.
Or, donate it.
I do not believe the pricing comparisons on this – with a running motor this thing should be worth at least 2x what you can get for it as-is. We also know you can pull the engine in an afternoon and if I remember correctly the issue was oiling the far cylinders (or was that the previous engine?). Anyways ask the mechanics at Galpin if there is a good engine rebuilder (one that they would use for their personal projects) and have the engine rebuilt – it will likely need a bottom-end rebuild, oil pump, hot-dip, but maybe not a valve job. This should be affordable – especially if you get Galpin’s wholesale pricing (note that most folks in the industry will give the jobber price to the dealer even if they are not a routine customer). Then spend another afternoon installing the now working engine, get it driving around the parking lot (do NOT hoon it!), and sell it for real $ list it for $18k and take $15k.
Just let it go. That is one lesson you need to learn, and soon. If not, what you own will end up owning you. Change is natural in life. Letting go of the old life is not easy. Look how many people have a string of broken relationships because they wouldn’t stop acting like a single person. Relationships are weird like that. Sometimes you have to let go of something so you can dedicate that time to your partner. But trust me, it is worth it. And two, are you sure you weren’t using wrenching to fill a void in your soul, a place a certain someone special is starting to fill? If so, let the projects go, make more room for her. Keep a little something for you, like 1 project car, but let the rest go…
What Lizardman said. Life should be lived, not spent counting the regrets parked ‘round back. Move on
How to not regret it when you feel more like a caretaker than an owner?
Find someone who has one in the condition you want yours to be in, eventually.
Sell or give yours to an enthusiast who is excited about restoring it.
Rest easy knowing that there’s still at least one out there in great shape, and maybe a second one like that eventually.
I think you should go one of two ways:
1) Sell/cut your ties with it ASAP as it is. Don’t get it working because then you’ll have a harder time parting with it.
2) Keep it. Go the route of your buddy Jim from Jeep and restomod that thing. He did one with a Hemi that I’m sure you’re familiar with, and he’s almost finished with one with a healthy LS.
Straightforward calculation:
What is the cost to elevate it – get it running, make it pretty?
Will you recoup all of that cost plus some compared to what you can sell it for now?
For example, if you can sell it for $8k now, and it would cost you another $8k to fix it up, could you then reasonably expect to sell it for more than $16k? If no, sell it for $8k now. If yes, then may be it is worth it, depending on how much more than $16k you can sell it for.
Also, do NOT use BaT to estimate value. Cars there regularly sell for more than they would on any other platform.
Using that math most lower end collector type cars would end up scrapped. I think it is more a question of whether you have the resources and are willing to put in the time to make it into the car you want, or at least a car you would like, if you are keep it, if you can’t or won’t sell it, do t be one of these guys that sits on a car for 30 years intending to restore it someday.
Something to consider that I haven’t seen in other comments…
You’ve got people interested in buying it as is, they WANT to put work into it. Maybe they’re going to flip it, but maybe they’re excited to really make it their project and make it their own. You could put that same work into it (which it doesn’t seem you have the actual desire or time to do), maybe recoup your money, but also maybe put it out of the budget of those people who want is specifically for the joy of putting in the time and work. Get it running and price it higher and you’re more likely putting it into the hands of people who’ve got more cash to toss around and just want something that looks cool. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that, that’s car people like me.) Just keep in mind, you aren’t in this to eek out every dollar from the deal, and selling it non-running for a lower price opens up possibilities for those who have lower budgets and might be really hoping for something that can be a personal achievement or even a shared family project.
How comfortable in life are you?
Time ≠ money etc etc
If it goes to someone who will bring it to life then that’s good, I think in your story it’s time as an investment is long gone.
I’ve learned from the various mistakes I’ve made in the past that the problem with a car in your Jeep’s condition is this: the difference between bringing that jeep up to a decent driver and bringing it up to something that sells for 50K might be more than 50K.
I had the exact same year, model and colour, but with the Levis interior. Still regret selling it every time I see one.
Now there’s your chance!
…and entertain us with a series of witty restoration articles.
Sell it exactly as is and put your energy into growing the site. The reward from that will be multiple times what you would get from putting the Jeep back together.
If it makes you feel better I sold a a running (but not well) 83 Laredo in the same color for $800 back in 2006. It just needed too much work for me at that point in my life.
Ask a friend to do it for you.
Get it running and XPEL it = Profit!
In soviet California, Jeep expels you
I find that just giving a car like that away to a friend or someone who is a brand/model enthusiast is better than the regret of selling.
You should not get it running. You don’t have time or energy for that. If you can get $15k for it in running condition though I would say pay someone else to get it running, which will undoubtedly cost less than $7k and will make it easier for you to sell it as well. That’s what I would do anyway. But you getting it running is not realistic so don’t pick that option.
Think about yourself a year from now. Will you say ‘Wow I’m glad I gave up that project that has been looming over me for years and got 8k in return.’ OR will you say ‘Wow I’m glad I still have that project waiting for me to finish it.’
Run a cost benefit analysis. But take yourself and your work out of the equation, as we’ve established that you don’t really have time.
Let’s assume if you sell it now for $8K, $5K of that is profit, so you are in $3K right now.
How much will it cost to get it running? Not perfect even, just functionally rolling under its own power? Will Galpin shops do the work at a discount price? Have you become friends with any techs who would do the job for you at a friendship rate? Analyze your expected costs, factor any discounts you can wrangle (discounts only count if they take you personally less than 30 minutes to achieve), then re-run the numbers.
Is it worth $15K now? If so, how much did you spend? If you spent $3K and virtually no personal time on it, you are in $6K and now bank $9K. You’ve added $4K with very limited personal involvement. But what if its really only worth $12K? Now you’ve added $1K, so its less of a value proposition. What if its only worth $10K? Well now, you are only banking $4K, so you’ve actually worked harder to REDUCE your takeaway.
Keep emotion out of it. Turn this in to pure business and numbers. Get your girlfriends help to see the realities where you might still wear rose colored glasses.
Run the numbers, pick the higher number option. You’ve already decided it has to go, so just maximize your profits while minimizing your effort.
The issue is: I have no clue what it’s worth, running or not. 8K seems good non running. But running? Maybe 11?
Then yeah, go with a low ball gut number. If you think $11K running maybe, then call it $10K and do your review. If you aren’t making extra money at $10 by the time you pay for everything, let it go. I’ve had two things happen in my life when I sold something because it got deprioritized.
1) I felt relief. I had a Subaru SVX that I had manual swapped, but a buddy blew the clutch and I never got around to fixing. Then the cats went missing so I had another layer to deal with. I finally sold it for a song. While I see them for sale periodically, I never have regretted selling that car.
2) I feel relief combined with new desire. I’ve sold a few things, and the stress of owning is always nice to get free from. But then months later I find myself wanting another. But I can take my satisfaction imagining working on one again, and looking at ads and sharing them with my friends while they mock me relentlessly because I failed the first time :D. But since I don’t own those that I look at, I feel no guilt about not working on them. And I know if I finish my other stuff, I can probably buy another one if I’m that in love.
Overall, guilt over making my wife live in a place that looks like a junkyard goes a long way to controlling my collection. Prevention is easiest solution!
The total addressable market for an unusual old jeep is David Tracy clones with your incredible skills and passion for Jeeps. How many are there…
1) in the US, total? 30?
2) not already owning one? 10?
3) geographically or financially close enough to make sense to buy it? 2?
4) ready to buy it right now, and aware of this? 0.
The market for this vehicle is exceedingly small, and it currently has a negative value. It’s worth less than $0.
Donate it to the local radio station, take the tax break, and move on.
I once lovingly painted a BMW r50/5 that I had sanded to bare metal while in grad school. I had primed it, wet sanded it, it was beautiful.
I then put the first coat or so of paint on it while it was in my parents garage. The fumes were overpowering. So I cracked the garage door just a few inches to ventilate the place, and there was a goddam F7 tornado of dust and debris that blew into the garage, and stuck to every painted surface on the bike.
I sold it quickly, cheaply, and with great fury…
Sell it to Dennis Collins. He does jeeps right.
If you get it running first, we all know what’s going to happen… You’ll decide to keep it.