Hi Everyone :neutral:


I have come across a 1988 first gen TN magna, manual, no air/steer finished in gatsby cream in colour in mint showroom/museum condition with only 49,000 klms, and believe it or not it was literally only driven to church on Sundays and once a week to the shops to pick up the groceries. The current owner had to hand in his licence at 79 yrs old and he has it from new.

I can get it really cheap but my question what do you think something like that would be worth with say a set of whitewalls on it and a few accessories on it. I rang shannons and they told me that $3500-$4500 would pull it up in this condition saying that they are really not popular, just wondering if you think that is a fair price for agreed value and basically would it be a reasonable buy at the right price?

cheers

You would have to get it a lower price than $3500-4500,many later models for less

Sorry?
You think this car is actually worth buying? lol
Honestly, cars deteriorate just sitting around. Unless it has had regular oil and coolant changes, chances are it will give you real problems with engine corrosion, rubber hoses falling apart from old age, tyres needing replacing, etc.
Best check the service records.
If it hasn't been touched in the last 10 years, walk away.

Then again, if you are a keen home mechanic and are prepared to do a full engine/gearbox & clutch /brake system/cooling system/fuel system rebuild and can source the parts, offer $500 and be prepared to spend a few thousand dollars on getting it back to usable condition.

EDIT: You wouldn't be the first young buyer who buys a really old car in "mint" condition to find out it has or develops so many problems after a few months of daily use the car ends up at the wreckers. Parts availability are a real problem for a 27 year old car of any make.

I have a few "old" cars and they are a recipe for continuous repairs.


A lot of parts simply fail due to age related deterioration.
Finding OEM sources of failed parts can be a real issue.
Replacement of failed parts often requires some creative retrofitting with generic components.
That said - most are doable/fixable as a DIY hobby mechanic (non essential ones you can just ignore!).
Some items may well need changing even if they still look mint.
(like near new looking tyres that are older than 8 years = $400 outlay on an $1000 car).


As MadMax implies, you've got to be prepared for a major rebuilt when buying a mint looking old car (or recoup with salvage disposal value of $100 plus $ bits you can sell).
Really though, there are no guarantees in terms of avoiding a major breakdown with any car (only guarantees on dealer sales!)
If its been maintained well, there is a good chance it won't suffer from a major breakdown for quite a few 1000 K's (IMHO).


Long and the short, it all depends on your capability, funds, time to do stuff, risk profile etc etc.

Probably won't even start. Old fuel and rust in the tank, probably needs a good clean-out and maybe a new fuel pump and carburettor. (Not that you can buy those parts)

$1000 in QLD would be the max price on that TN registered and rwc

no aircon and no powersteering - manual - ..is this a carby .

then expect mechanical issues

some of the parts you cant get new

the rest has been covered by the fellas

This magna if 14 inch mag or steel
you can only get about two tyre brands in Australia that fit legally

15 in mags gives you options

Sounds like at such a low mileage, manual it's possible there will be people who will be keen to get engine/suspension/panel parts at a good price. "it will be difficult to get parts" .. become the one who has them.?

Madmax brings up an interesting point (indirectly!) viz,
Car is low mileage apparently because of occasional short trips (church, shopping).
Short occasional spells - not good for car longevity and possibly leading to stale, polymerised, fuel in the fuel tank.

Fuel pumps are easy to come by - OEM fuel tanks might not be so easy to come by - carburettors???.

On the other hand, its a mint looking car, in and out, and with a bit of luck on the mechanical side of things, it might well turn out to be a bargain (at $1000 or so!).
I wouldn't write it off simply because of the warnings about possible negatives.

Take it for a spin, smell the fuel, look at the exhaust fumes, listen for strange noises, make a fair offer.

Buy it then sell it to one of the members for a good profit

wagon master ---has not logged in since posting the question
so cant have seen any of the replys

Thanks Ray, I could up in Queensland in a couple of weeks, may be worth a look.

message me when you can

Hi

Thanks again for all the replies and suggestions, its just as i thought that the problems of buying a low klm car thats been it storage for years may not be a safe/straight forward exercise as i thought it was going to be.

Just taking into account everything that would need to be renewed such as /RWC/brakes/fluids/radiator/hoses/tires/suspension components it all adds up quickly as most of these items would perish over time as opposed to distance travelled. Looking at possibly replacing some/all of these items into account and adding the initial purchase cost of the vehicle it would quickly add up to a point were you may question the fact that you may have over capitalized on the car/ versus resale value / popularity / insurance value.

I'll have another look and maybe see if they are more flexible on the initial purchase price and as per previous post regarding parting out the vehicle, it may end up a better option, but i guess that would be a last resort measure.

thanks again

cheers

Hi Everyone

Found out a bit more info on the car, it has been in storage the last few years but has been started regulary and driven thru gears etc about every 3-6 mths, looks new inside and out, motor looks like new/quite/no smoke cold/hot, has all stamped log books and service books with all services stamped showing klms are genuine (i think around 48,000-50,000klms) from new, tires are only 3 yrs old, mint inside and out except for layer of dust from storage.

Car is located in Ipswich queensland and has been stored under cover since purchase from orig local elderley owner, i think they are looking for around $1650 for it, unreg.

I have purchased a later model, so if you are interested please feel free to contact owner when i post up info later this week.

I'm going to take some pics of it and hopefully post them and obtain a phone number/ and or email address so you can contact the seller if interested in viewing, otherwise it will be listed on ebay next few weeks.

cheers

thank you wagonmaster for the follow up


typical . I lived in Ippy last three years before moving
-dont know this magna or owner

Hi

His relatives have given me some more info.

Its just a basic carby setup, no air or steer as was ordered with a "poverty pack" from new by the elderley owner, as they did in the early 60' Holdens.
Funny i lived in Ipswich for the last 59 years and i did not notice it either, but i wasn't really looking at magnas back in the 90's/0's!
It was bought new from Faukner Motors Ipswich on Warick Road , still has all log books and service books stamped with all works done. he did change the oil every 6-12 mths and did other services/oil changes as well as the logbook services due to the low klm use.
Its weird looking at the logbook and seeing how little he used the car. Some weeks was only driven from his home in Eastern heights to the shops (BIG W) and home again, he was that fussy with it he used to wipe it down and cover it with sheets in the garage after each drive of no more than 5-15 klms a week i guess.

He did say longest trip was up to the Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba!!

I'm going to take some pics tomorrow, it will be dusty as has sitting under a 60 ft carport with other cars, will get some pics of interior/ motor / logbooks , will get a contact number as well so you can call the car enthusist who has it in storage.

You could drive the car anywhere interstate as it has been regulary started up and driven thru the gears, i would be surprised if you had any problems as long as you did the basic checks before go.

Buffy....if he has thread notifications enabled in his profile he will be receiveing a notification they day after a post is made......

Perhaps he is up to date but hasnt felt a need to reply

Perhaps im totally wrong and you are right.... :)

Hi Ribec,
not sure if you are talking about me above ie: ( "Buffy....if he has thread notifications enabled in his profile he will be receiving a notification they day after a post is made......perhaps he is up to date but hasn't felt a need to reply, Perhaps i'm totally wrong and you are right) ..................

If it is me i dont use forums much so don't really know about "thread notifications" being enable or disabled?? i only joined this forum to get some idea of the value/interest in this car as i thought the members may be interested in having first crack at this car instead of the current enthusiast listing it on ebay straight away.

I actually thought about doing something with the car for a split second, but my interests lay elsewhere and i don't really have the room to store it either.

All i'm doing is just passing on the information to whoever in the club may be interested in this car, im not getting any sort of recompense/fee for doing this, it just seem to make sense , if you have a rare old really low klm magna sedan than obviously the "Magna Car Club" would be the place to offer it to its members first !!

I took 21 pics of the car this morning, its covered in dust on the outside from sitting under the carport, would easily wash/polish up like new/ interior pics are mint / engine bay is dusty / have pics of log book entries stamped by orig selling dealer as well to confirm klms, only thing i could see is the hoodlining material is starting to sag (looks like the same material that was in ea-ed fords which sagged aswell from new, bad glue ?)

Oh and I got the klms wrong as well in all the excitment of the chase, i thought it was aprox 48,000 klms from new, it is actually 53,000 klms from new and next problem is i can't see how to post up these pics on the site as an attachment, all it seems to have is a "link address" , so how do i get these pics up on the site (21 pics all up) for all to see along with the guys name/phone number ???

cheers

its a post for me wagonmaster
I am buffy --- I am waiting for a member to come back online

you are doing great
thanks for the information and safe travels in the car you chose to buy

This is the last first gen magna forum on the australian internet --- where such a low km TN magna is of interest

Car is located in Ipswich QLD , call it a genuine BARN FIND if you want Is a genuine 1 owner car, I couldn't get any better pics as cars are stored each side of it and also behind it, so what you see in these pics is it!

Complete with log books all stamped by dealer to confirm klms are original, did have 4 new tires fitted before put in storage. Was always parked under cover since new by orig owner who used to cover it with sheets after each drive. It was used a little in the first 10-12 years of its life, but as the owner got into his mid 70's the usage dropped to only a few klms weekly.

Only negatives would be hood lining is starting to sag from the roof same as the ea-ed fords did bad glue from new. The car is currently stored under a very large 40 foot carport, in the pics you can see it parked beside a low (less than 50000 klm ?? XC Ford sedan) dont be fooled by the car being covered in 10 layers of dust etc, has been started regulary and gone thru the gears/clutch/etc, but would easily clean up with a good wash/ detail/and hand polish. Interior is mint except for hood lining.

### Please contact owner, his name is Barry and he can be contacted only between 6pm and 8pm weeknights and weekends, please no messages as he cant get them for some reason on his phone, so just call him on 0421820830 cheers

Here is a link to pics, i hope i did it correctly???

http://s744.photobucket.com/user/mr_fuzzy_one/library/Magna%20Sedan%2053000%20klms%20pics

thank you for your time

for me
if it had been a wagon

efi conversion
and air con added
15 in mags



http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh59/magnabuff/magna/motor.jpg (http://s253.photobucket.com/user/magnabuff/media/magna/motor.jpg.html)

Excellent work, Wagonmaster, looks like a good find