Honest opinion CUCV M1009

[deserteagle]

Hi all. I need to know what others think about my restored M1009. I'm trying to sell it but without luck.
Is my asking price too high?

Link to my add
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?137310-Cucv-m1009



Thanks!

 

[Al Harvey]

Deserteagle, First thing is that is an amazing truck. Beautiful restoration!!! I believe it would be impossible to say too much nice things about your M1009. Pricing something like that is hard determine. The hardest part is finding someone willing to spend what you are looking for. You have to consider multiple view points, first off there are many in the Military Vehicle hobby who don't hold the CUCVs with high regard. Also the average CUCV (granted in average shape) is $3K-$6K.

Not sure if your experienced in selling restorations or selling vehicles in general but most people who restore cars will tell you that you seldom are able to make money on a full restoration after you count your time and money that you put into it. The key thing for you to decide is what are you willing to take to sell it and how long are you willing to sit on it waiting for that amount. One example I'll use happened to me, I had a Ford Powerstroke I was selling, I wanted to get at least $8500 for it. I had a bunch of tire kickers calling about it, finally got one guy who was interested but didn't want to give that much for it. I decided to sell the truck to him for $7500 because that was cash in my pocket. Now I could have easily waited and probably got the $8500 but I needed the money more then I needed the time it would take to keep trying to sell it.

I think it is a beautiful truck and you have done an amazing job with it. I do not think it's fair for us to say it's worth less or more then what your asking. That part is up to you, you have the time, sweat, and money in the truck. Just my opinion.

 

[cbturf]

I just bought a 2002 loaded Lexus LX470 with similar miles for $13k! I love my CUCV but it is what it is. It is an old loud stinky truck and nothing else. M1008-09 are not collector items. I think you are either going to keep it as a labor of love or eat a huge loss. I have never seen a CUCV sell for over $10k and there have been some nice ones out there.

 

[AECS]

That is a lot of money for an old truck. I can get a lot more comfort and capability out of something newer. I learned with a VW I put 11k in years ago that you will never get it back. Most people that love old cars, want to do the restore/rebuild themselves, to their own specs. Even rich guys that farm the work out like to be able to pay someone to build it to their specs.

 

[Drock]

Most people have never heard of these trucks, much less would drive such a truck with no O.D., A.C., or all the other modern amenities for that price. And the narrow audience of guy's that would drive ah truck like these, is the type of guy that would build one himself. I would suggest trying out ah good classic car auction. You mite get somebody to impulse buy it for your price.

 

[machinist75]

If I won the lottery and money wasn't a concern I would give you that and a couple more thousand for building such a cool blazer.

 

[turnkey]

Nice looking Blazer....High on the price way high ..But nice rig.

 

[CARNAC]

I will agree it is an awesome looking truck but nobody is willing to buy stuff unless it is dirt cheap. I could account for $7K spent on my M1009 and the best I got offered was $4 and I'd have to transport 1500 miles. I lost money on every CUCV I've owned. My sole survivor is heading for scrap cause it's easier to deal with it that way. My fully functional M923A2, M1061 trailer, M101A2 will probably head the same way but I think it's time to sit down and shut up before I say something that will get me in the dog house.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

Carnac, You and I can do better than scrap prices on that m101a2.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

It's a 30 year old Blazer.

It's a really nice one, but it's a 30 year old Blazer.

Just for fun, I tried to price it at Edmunds.com. They don't go back that far, so I ran it as a 1990, because that's as far back as they will go. I assumed 50,000 miles, and added in the diesel. In "Outstanding" condition, they call it at $2500 bucks.

That's a long way from $17k.

I hope you didn't drop that much money in it thinking you'd get it back someday. That's not going to happen. Even if you are talking about a rare classic like a '63 Vette or a '65 Mustang, it's extremely rare to get your money back out of a restoration.

And then there's that, "custom made" wheels business. You may think that's the greatest thing since sliced bread, but to the vast majority of buyers, that says, "Uh-Oh! Can't get replacements!".


Sorry to pile on the bad news, but the sooner you face reality the better for you.

 

[Warthog]

CARNAC before you start scraping stuff give me a call. I may have some to add to the pile.

 

[Durango_USMC]

Its a great looking truck but 17k.... youll probably be waiting a good long while for a willing buyer. Good luck with the sale though!

 

[98G]

That's looks to be the best of the cucvs I've seen. I just can't imagine going over about $7500 for even a perfect cucv.

Those of us that like the cucv will also like the other military vehicles. At $17k, you can cherry pick your choice of the 5ton trucks to include wreckers and dumptrucks. At $17k you're on the cusp of a pretty good HET or HEMTT.

If the military truck of your dreams also has to do daily driver duties, then at $17k you're not too far away from a hmmwv with a title.

You asked for opinions, there's mine.... and it may be worth about what you paid for it.

 

[JoshHefnerX]

That truck is really beautiful from the pics? Why sell it, instead of enjoy it?

Josh

 

[Gripy]

very, very clean m1009. But I would say that it will not sell at $17k. Under $8K I think it would sell pretty fast. As mentioned before that you almost never make any money on restorations.

Heck, I bought my m1008 for $4K and have spent more than $10k on it. I know that I'd never make my money back by selling it. So, I'm going to keep it.

So, why sell it?

 

[m38inmaine]

If it were mine I would not have the white lettering on the tires showing, loose the tow rope and the tailgate stencil should be on the outside. The rest I like, nice job.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

I watched a m1008 that was as perfect as your m1009 on eBay last week. It ended at $8500 but didn't sell because the reserve wasn't met.

 

[deserteagle]

Thank you all for your comments. I restored my M1009 with passion and love. Didn't think of it as business making money. I knew that If I decide to sell it most likely I lose money, maybe $5,000 at the most. I opened this thread because I was watching eBay military vehicle section with very similar m1009s and in my opinion were not as good as mine, yet getting more hits. I took it as an indication of what general public likes. Steelsoldiers however, are more into military vehicles and I value your opinion more than eBay watchers. Thanks again!

 

[joshuak]

I restored my M1009 with passion and love.

That's one fine looking truck!

 

[Sergeant1983]

It's very seldom a positive cash investment to restore a piece of history. You end up paying more out than you will ever get back. You can always donate a MV to a museum for a tax write off for more than you can ever sell one for. I have the only M1009 for events in West TN. Our local museum does not have a vehicle newer than the Vietnam era. On a positive note, I have Vets come up to me all the time wanting to check out my CUCV and talk about their experiences. To many, it's a healing experience to open up to a fellow Vet, driving around in an old MV. One recent Vet said he retired in 2012 and on his last deployment to the Middle East he said they still had a few CUCVs still moving people and equipment around the secure airfield. Many museums do not have much of anything between Vietnam and current. You have an important piece of history.