I have a guy that wants to buy my spare set of windshield moulding. They are original pieces, above average condition with no pitting and a decent shine but not show quality. There is a ding in one of the pillar pieces but other than that nothing is bent. The ding can be tapped out to be presentable. I have seen the catalogs asking for $250 and up for an original set and $129 for repros. Any thoughts on what I should ask him for?

Thanks.

All that stainless trim can be fixed and polished to be better than repro parts. I would buy original and have it fixed before using repro stuff. Having said that I would ask $130 or so. Another $100 in polish and repair he is a set for less than $250.

I think I paid $125 for a used set I didn't need...cost (me) quite a bit to remove dings and polish the old ones however.

Keep in mind that you can still get the side and upper piece new from GM. With shipping these will cost about $180-$200. But, the lower 2-piece section is unobtanium, and a good one is worth about $50-$75, as I have Ebay'ed a few in this price range.

If you are thinking that you can sell your set and get a repro set and have money left over, I can't say enough about how sorry the quality is in the repro sets. I have one and probably could not give it away. I now have my own buffer motors and tons of time invested in reconditioning my sets...its money well spent to keep the originals IMHO.

-Kevin

Yep, the original stuff can't be beat. I buffed mine 28 years ago. Still just like new or better. First gens used stainless all over the topend of the car. Aluminum trim was restricted to wheel wells and the rocker molding. Compare to the plastic of later second gens.:noway:

Nice original trim is the way to go, but keep in mind that SS is a difficult material to work with as far as restoring.

The repo trim doesnt fit nor polish well.

If you are thinking that you can sell your set and get a repro set and have money left over, I can't say enough about how sorry the quality is in the repro sets. I have one and probably could not give it away. I now have my own buffer motors and tons of time invested in reconditioning my sets...its money well spent to keep the originals IMHO.

-Kevin

Nope, the car I bought came with two sets. I polished up everything I had and kept the best pieces for myself figuring I could get something for the leftover set. Unfortunately, I know all too well the "quality" of repro parts.

Thanks everyone for your feeback.

I'd say $100-125 for a set that needs polished. If you pay to have it polished, the going rate in my area is $15/foot, whether it's dinged or not. I'd guess about 15-17 feet for a total of $ 250 or so.
Don't know the quality of his work, but a guy on ebay is always selling "professionally polished" sets for about $300. Of course, "professional" can mean they're great, or can mean someone got paid to do it, regardless of the quality of the results.

I did mine with a polishing wheel on a grinder. I thought they looked great until I put them next to ones done on real equipment. Needless to say, I redid mine on "real" equipment. Worked a deal with a guy to use his polishers in exchange for some new wheels and rouge sticks. Took me 10-12 hours to complete the fronts, rears, driprails and inside mirror. ...and like I said, they were already pretty nice.