Carrier for sale in the US (ebay)

[horsa]

I'm surprised the carrier without top armour sold so cheaply when compared to the wrecks that got that much money a few months ago. While this one wasn't perfect (what there was anyway), it did run and that alone should have made it worth more I'd have thought.

Rob's old carrier may not be a truly fair test of the market if it doesn't meet reserve. Reason I say that is the seller could have a friend bump the price along to edge it closer to reserve without meeting it. People on this forum could do the same if the $30K reserve amount was factual and so bid without fear of a financial obligation.

Guess we'll know in a week if someone really wants it bad enough. But they'll miss out on the fun that goes into working on their own project.

[rob love]

The first one actually tempted me. In part for the running powertrain, although the engine did not appear to have the oil cooler outlets so may not have been original, but rather for that nice 166 link track.

I agree with David about the fun of putting one together. There are, as far as I am concerned, several fun stages to a carrier (and most antique vehicles at that).

First is the initial purchase, and the daydreaming of what you are going to accomplish.
Second is the big easter egg hunt for all those little missing bits and pieces. This can take years, but each find or ebay win gives us the little adrenalin dose we need.

Then the third stage, the assembly. This stage is actually more like work, and is actually spurred on by the adrenalin of the cuts and bruises gained during those 2:00 late night work episodes.

The fourth stage comes when you put that final 48 hour work stretch in before some deadline, whether that be a parade or a display, and then drive it out of the shop.

5th stage will be the parades and displays where you get to hear the veteran's stories. This stage is priceless.

There are likely other stages, but I guess the final stage is seeing your carrier sell on ebay for $30,000 US, and feeling like you maybe should have held on to her for another couple years and earned a good lump of tax free change.

The carrier now on Ebay had it's first real drive after stage four down the MooseJaw hanger line to the loading dock where it drove up into the back of an MLVW and headed to Winnipeg for the VE day 50th anniversary. It drove from Kapyong Barracks via motorcycle escort to Polo Park for a display, then downtown Wpg for the parade, got it's photo on the front page of the Wpg Sun with a load of Wpg rifles vets on board, then on the Forks for another display, and back to Kapyong by motorcycle escort again. Next day, back into the MLVW for the 9 hour drive back to MooseJaw. It did close to 20 miles that weekend, and didn't even hiccup once. I worked until 3 in the morning the night before leaving getting all the lights installed just to tease Gordon Falk, who didn't have lights on his. As I was overhauling and installing the rear axle convoy light at 2am, I thought to myself that this was enough and called her a night.

Come this summer, when I am back from Kandahar, I will be putting a bit more effort into stage 3 of my present carrier. Seeing this old girl on ebay makes me miss her.

[rob love]

Originally Posted by horsa

People on this forum could do the same if the $30K reserve amount was factual and so bid without fear of a financial obligation.

That is a dangerous game to play, especially if the seller lowers the reserve part way through the auction.

[RichardT10829]

David the 30k figure came direct from the seller i have a copy of the email if its required.

I have to be the sour puss here guys, i think you would be a fool to pay 30k for a carrier, more so in todays economic climate, people just dont have that kind of spare cash lying around now, and the economy is going to get worse over the next two years, we in england will never fully recover from the recession all be it that it will get a bit better than it is now. in my area there as been in excess of 20K people made redundant. large firms are folding left right and center.
i suppose it is a buyers market for carriers, (if you want one cheap) as folk need money.

i really hope this guy gets the 30K he wants, but i was always told at the very begining when looking for a carrier "dont pay more than 17K for a US or Canadian one" and "dont pay more than 25K for a fully restored good quality British carrier" this person has many carriers but shall remain nameless.

looking at Robs old carrier it is nice yes, but it is what we used to refer to classic cars as a "Bitser" in other words its built up from bits of other vehicles ie not original and by Robs own admissions the carrier certainly has no provinence to active WW2 fighting service the guys name is Chris ? if this helps ID the owner

i am new to all this guys so if i am way off base i appologise, i meerly compare this situation to experiences with the classic motor trade where provinence and originality is everything and makes the difference from a 40k price tag to a 4k price tag.

cheers folks

Ps my comments are not intended to cause any offence to anyone who are restoring / own carriers or any MV.


Richard

[horsa]

I sure wouldn't throw bids on it just to get my name out there as one of the temporary high bidders and would also caution others against it. Just meant in the other post that it does happen and will artificially inflate the perceived market value of an item if it didn't make reserve. And wouldn't you be surprised if you bid below the presumed reserve and you saw the bidder status that reserve had been met

Richard has been doing the right thing. He knows what he is looking for after all of these months and has researched prices and the factors he'd encounter with shipping from North America to the UK. Hold out and find the project vehicle that is right for you. It's out there waiting.

Doing your own restoration, even if you farm segments of the work you can't do yourself out to a shop, will be more satisfying in the end. Rob's got the progression of stages down pretty good. Lots of highs and lows spread out over time. Works out better in the end since it gives you time for your busted knuckles, cuts and scratches to heal up.

[rob love]

I agree that 30K is nuts, and for a bitster at that. But the buyer doesn't know it's a bitster, and it is presented as a complete unit which has seen war service. No offense to the ebay sellers on this forum, but this seems to be par for the course when it comes to ebay.

The recession may take some of the guys out of the game, but there are still lots of guys out there with too much money. Quite frankly, in my neck of the woods, nobody I know has lost their jobs, and the only reason I know that something is going on is because gas is half the price it used to be. Otherwise, if I hadn't read about in in the newspapers, I wouldn't know it existed.

I see the old girl has now crossed $15,000. Still a long way to go to reach that reserve.

[alleramilitaria]

dave the wreck that sold a little while back was one of the "got to have it for my project" deals. some german unit from the peoples republic of CA. are building a 39 ford truck and want to make a tracked truck out of it. it was going to sell for what ever the asking price was. i met the guys (nice guys) when they were going to pick it up.

[horsa]

Hey Dave, I know the impulse buyer types well. Reminds me of our mutual friend who buys the golden jeeps. Bet those guys on the left coast wish they had waited for that last cut-down but running carrier for their project. Would have been a much easier conversion.

Guess you survived the latest Texas ice storm since you are posting early this morning. We only got a quarter inch of ice here overnight but it will be shorts and short sleeves weather again by tomorrow afternoon. Good thing since I have some things to paint outside this weekend.

[alleramilitaria]

had to go and chip the ice off the other halfs truck, she is from NSW and so not used to advers weather. the thing was about the other carrier was that they already had a running ford truck and so didnt even take the motor of the one they got. they hualed it back to CA with a light trailer and a F150.

yea about golden jeep boy, how many $3000+ data plates has he got now?

does he still have his $20,000 project T-16? it will look good if it ever gets finished.

stop up some time, i have added about 75 new british items to the store.
dave