ERA ON EBAY

[Fran Hall RCR]

GUYS ,ON EBAY RIGHT NOW IS AN ERA FOR BUY IT NOW PRICE OF $85,000.JUST TYPE IN GT40 REPLICA

Hey Ron

Seen the ERA on E-Bay . And as an owner and
builder of an ERAGT I would consider this is a bargain assuming it is a fresh car. I know I am close to completion of my car and have more $ than this invested not to count the many hours of blood sweat and tears. Of course half the fun is building it Right....

Jerry DeLongchamp
ERA GT-40 2022

[Ron Earp]

I think, correct me if I'm wrong, but this would be a bargin for an ERA.

Figure:

60k for the basic kit
6k for a transmission (maybe too little $$)
12k for parts ERA doesn't include (A/C,pipes,brakes,wheels,etc.,etc.)
4k for that motor (maybe too much $$)
3k for Paint (even at 3k, cheap job!)

85k and there is probably a lot I'm still missing. And, no 2 year wait.

I think if I were looking for an ERA this might be the way to go.

Ron

The ERA GT40 I would think has to be at the top of the replicas, its monocouque and it has all the right Parts transmission etc. If this is true, it does not say much for the resale of these cars. I have never tracked the resale value of the GT 40 replicas, however I have tracked the resale of the superformance AC 427. The SP 427 as far as I have seen in the past sell for at least what were invested in them, and some times more. It may be when you get over 50,000 dollars its a hard sell on the used market. Perhaps some of you would like to comment on this subject. I know a lot of pleasure comes from the building of these cars, and resale is not everything.

No doubt about it....

HI-QUALITY space frame replicas do limit
the resale value of the ERAs.
VERY few folk appreciate the difference
between an ERA and RF to justify a BIG
$$ premium. (I've seen ERA's advertised
over $ 100k!!).

And with CAV (and others)coming out with
competively priced monocoques, I would
expect this trend to continue.

This is not a knock on ERA...it's just
the forces of the world marketplace taking affect.

MikeD

I have done a little investigating about the ebay gt40. So far it appears to be a right hand drive. The serial number is 42. The car was built by Street Stuff not ERA. The original kit was purchased in 1991. I have been bidding on the car but the current bidder has some automatic bidder that always outbids you by $100. I just wonder what his limit is. I think $85k is an excellent price for a built car. Condition is a big factor would you plunk down that much money on 11 year old kit car. I would pay $50K sight unseen figuring i could fix anything and still come away with a great car.

LLoyd ERA GT40 on order for a year

[Ron Earp]

Mike D,

I would agree with you on your assesment of the pricing for ERAs. Very nice cars though, at least the ones I've seen, but I have seen spaces frames just as beautiful or better.
And, I'm told from two space frame manufacturers with data, that some of the latest space frame offerings they have greater structural strengh and rigidity than the monoque designs. This pays off in longitivity and track handling.

That being said, some people just have to have as close to an original as possible - even if there are some compromises and advantages - thus CAV and Roaring Forties are both producing monoques for 2002 introduction.

For me, I like the RF space frame construction and feel it will make a good track/road car. Seems that if it were ever damaged seriously, that is beyond glasswork, it wouldn't be so hard to fix. Just more sheet metal and tubes and a welder. Any GTD racers have experience here?

Ron

[ January 05, 2002: Message edited by: Ron Earp ]

[ERA535]

Ron,

It has been my experience that an impact to a space frame doesn't just cause localized damage - they are not easy to repair correctly.

Monocoque chassis damage tends to be local.

FYI

[DaveWharran]

After all is said, it is interesting to note that ERA has had a consistant backlog of customers willing to wait for 2 or more years to get an ERA GT. The wait was 2 years when I gave them my deposit 2 years ago (yes, it is scheduled to start build this month!). I understand the wait is longer than 2 years now. Obviously, ERA must be doing something right or potential buyers wouldn't be lining up and be willing to wait 2 or more years to get a car. Maybe ERA could hire more people and turn out more cars. Maybe they're happy and comfortable keeping production numbers as they are. I applaud them for keeping their product exclusive. Kind of reminds you of Harley Davidson's business. There are a lot of motorcycle manufactures out there with product setting in the showroom ready for you to buy now. Harley has waiting lists for their machines. I have a Honda by the way. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Is it hard to spend $100K on the car? Unfortunately, not at all. When you start adding options like leather interior, pin drive wheels, AC, etc., the cost to ERA will exceed $60K easily. It's not hard to spend $10K -15K on an engine. A ZF is $5K to $11K. Pin drive wheels can be as much as $900 per. Paint costs are astronomical. And so on.....
Is an ERA overpriced? Not from what I've seen. The workmanship and attention to detail and authenticity in their cars is excellent. Do they make money on the custom parts they sell? A little maybe, but not much. Example, they will sell you rear halfshafts for $400 per...they also give you a detailed drawing with dimensions and Spicer part numbers if you want to have them made yourself. I took the drawing to the local driveshaft fab shop and ask for an estimate. Guess what? $410 per. I've gotten a detailed price list from Peter on the ERA pin drive components. Their prices on the GM stuff and custom made stuff look pretty reasonable.

It's nice that there are more and more manufactures coming onto the scene. It is bound to increase competition. 2 years ago when I gave ERA my deposit, there weren't many replicas using a stainless steel monocoque chassis (that I could afford). At the moment, there still aren't. I was willing to pay a bit more and wait for an ERA becuse it had the features I wanted. Maybe when some of the other manufactures get their monocoque chassis cars ready to go, it will cut into ERA's business. Maybe not. Folks are still lining up.
I don't think I'd want to give $85K for a car sight unseen though. Plus, even with all the hassles, the last 2 years of getting parts ready has been fun. Building the car is a big part of the fun and pride of owning it.

Dave

Lloyd,
I believe the reserve on this car is 85,000 dollars, and is jumping up 100 dollars when someone bids because the reserve has not been reached. This is normal on ebay.
The seller has said nothing about the age or condition of this car, I find this a little strange.
From what I have been told the monocoque is a stiffer car and is more exspensive to make. After all they have built space frame cars in England before the GT40. It was easier for them to build the space frame. The monocoque handles the door openings better than the space frame from a stiffness point, this is what I have been told.

[Ron Earp]

For interest, anyone have pricing info on CAV and Roaring Forties stainless steel monoque cars?

R

Ron

I think Malcom posted the "expected" price
of the CAV monocoque on the forum previously.
As I recall it was something like
$ 65k-$ 70k turnkey (less engine).
If true, that would get you a running car
for a LOT less than ERA.

Will this cut into ERA's GT40 sales?
I think it has to.
Will it affect ERA's fortunes or change their business practices? I greatly doubt it.
As mentioned, they already have a 2-year list.

Considering ERA's attention to detail
(ZF trans, duplicate latches, etc)
I think it's STILL the best.
But on behalf of us "economically challenged"
resale value IS A BIG CONCERN, and the space
frame cars, because they are less expensive,
usually have the advantage in this area.

Of course for those who don't need to worry
about resale value....
Sorry to drag this out, but it's a topic
that I struggle with when balancing the
needs of the family vs the needs of me.
And hearing how others deal with this issue helps.

Mike D

Some time back I was told from a cav dealer that the new cav stainless monocoque, completed car, would sell for about 8000 dollars more than the space frame car. The labour rate to produce a car in South Africa would work to their advantage. This company may have help from the S.A government to help the export market. I am going to buy a GT40, However I will look for the best Value for the dollar. The car I want does not have to be a space frame or monocoque, as long as it is well engineered. It will have to have a gear box with ratios that suit me. I will run a 302 crate engine for street use only.

It would be good if the makers of all the GT40 cars published prices on this forum. Lets hear from them on what they have to offer with no hidden costs. I bought the SF 427, because when I checked it out it would have cost me more to build it to the same level.

[Brian]

Mike, I am very fortunate to have a mechanically minded 11 year old son and our replica is a father son project. So my wife provides a lot of encouragement to us as it keeps the family connected.
Economics are a probably the biggest concern going for us regarding this effort. I make a modest income and have had to come up with novel approaches to both initial financing and obtaining subsequent parts. We bought the basics from GTD and have been backfilling with items being sold by folks in the UK. It's a struggle to balance the books at times and the car project always takes the back seat to our family's needs, this forces a longer build cycle, but that's just the way it has to be.
This is one of those times when the journey is just as important as the destination.
Keep the faith, you can make it happen. Brian

Malcolm
I e-mailed the seller who gave me the age of the car. There is a buyer TREED111 who has some kind of automatic bid software. Everytime you put a bid on the the car. He instaneouly outbids you by $100.00. Try it
I'm also concerned with 11 years of product enhancements from ERA. At one time the chassis (i believe) were maid out of ordinary steel not stainless. I'm also sure the kit was consideralbly cheaper 11 years ago.

LLoyd

[Brian]

LLoyd, No special software. The way Ebay works is that when you put in a bid, it increments your bid to the front of list by the bid increment amount. So for instance, something was being currently bid at 50 bucks and I was willing to go, say 75 bucks, but the bid increment is a dollar. When I bid 75 bucks, the current winning bid will be 51 dollars, if somebody bids 52 bucks, I jump right back in at 53, this cycles until the bid gets to 75 bucks, which is my high bid, then somebody else can move in front of me. So if the bid increment on the ERA is 100 bucks, and the individual in front has set a hight limit, for instance several thousand dollars higher than the current bid, he keeps incrementing in front of everybody until his limit is reached. Hope this helps to clear it up. Brian

got it thanks Brian

LLoyd

[Ron Earp]

Well,

The ERA car didn't fetch $85k. If it was a good car it should have been worth that much from what the folks building them say.


ERA On Ebay

The market is definitely soft but I hope an underlying trend isn't developing.

Ron