Value of 1983 Plymouth Reliant

My mom has a 1983 Plymouth Reliant which has been garaged for several
years since she stopped driving. I don't think the blue book is too
high for this car, but it has only 32,000 original miles, original
paint, and the interior is in great shape. Due to the condition, I
think the value should exceed blue book. Is there an online source
other than e-bay which I can compare value?

 

www.kbb.com (Kelly Blue Book - not sure they go back to '83 anymore -
but they may have a separate older car valuation area on their site)

I doubt the low mileage and good condition will get you a lot of extra
on selling price - some yes - but not a lot.

I'll tell you this: Rural mail carriers love those cars for their routes
because they're inexpensive and hold up in that type of service, and if
something happens to it, they haven't lost a lot.

My elderly (late now) mother-in law had an '86 Reliant with less than
50k miles, and when she traded it in, the owner of the used car lot that
she traded it to told us that he had the names of mail men who wanted
him to call them whenever he got a K car in - that they would take all
he took in. I saw him a week later and he told me that he had it sold
the day after he took it in.

I think the bottom line is this: You won't get rich selling that car,
but you should have no problem selling it (as a utilitarian, maybe even
disposable, commodity - not as a high dollar collector's item).

HTH.

 

Hi!

Oh wow. Whereabouts are you located? I might be interested...*very*
interested. (I'm in Illinois.)

The fact that the car has been sitting--even in a garage--is a problem and
it will hurt the value. When a car sits, it becomes a target for furry
things looking for a home, seals start to leak, and things like the battery
can go bad (even if it was disconnected). Unless it's looked over very
carefully before starting, something could go catastrophically wrong--for
example, if the oil had turned to glop but it still looked like there was
enough of it in there, the engine could be damaged. Hoses and lines could
burst.

I bought an '84 Reliant for $100 with 70,211 original miles on it. The
interior was very good, the body was weathered and there was some rust that
later turned into a lot. It needed a fuel pump and battery. But mice had
been in it, and they made the whole thing very stinky. You can see all the
air fresheners I put in the car at http://greyghost.mooo.com/k-car/ and I
put two box fans over the trunk after cleaning it out, because that was
where I found all the nest stuff and some dead mice.

I have no idea where it came from, but I saw a nice looking 1981 Reliant
with the Chrysler engine (2.2?) at a used car lot. After the dealer replaced
the windshield and a tire, it could have passed for brand new. The thing was
*perfect*. I don't know where it could have been hiding to stay that clean.
He got $500 for it, and I would have liked to have bought it. I saw it about
two months ago--and sadly, it was trashed. The hubcaps were gone, the
windshield was broken again and it had little rust polka-dots over the
formerly spotless white paint. Somebody even broke the Pentastar off the
trunk lock .Sad...

Anyway, if you do want to sell this car and aren't terribly far away, I'd
like to hear from you. E-mails can be sent to wct <atsign> walshcomptech
<dot> com.

William (what can I say? Twenty plus years after the last ones were made,
I've come to realize that I really do like K-cars!)

 

Thanks for your reply. I know It's not a collector car. I just thought
with the good condition and low mileage, we could get a fair price.
Don't live in a rural area though. Our mail carriers are spoiled with
Post Office issued trucks!
My moms friend needs another car since someone rear ended his. He
wants her to essentially give him the car. His logic is since he
considers himself a good friend, that the car would stay in the
"family" Incidentally, my parents friend is almost 102 years old and
still has a valid drivers license!

 

Hi William- I'm in California.

 

Hi!

Thanks for replying. That's too bad. Had you been a bit closer, and if you
were thinking of selling it, I'd have been one of the first in line.

I hope it finds a good home, and goes to someone who will take care of it!
Even though it's not worth much dollar-wise, it's still pretty cool to see
an unspoiled example of almost any older car.

William

 

Looks like my parents will sell it to their 102 year old friend. This
guy has season tickets to the UCLA Bruins basketball games. He drives
himself to every game.The only thing that scares me is he drives in
Los Angeles traffic. I hope I'm still driving at that age. I only have
45 years to go!