The Coronet—Cameron Baker

Abstract

This case and its companion, "The Coronet—Leslie Forsyte" (UVA-QA-0764), are intended for undergraduate, executive education, and MBA audiences. They were written for a "Bargaining and Negotiating" elective. This case is from the perspective of Cameron Baker, who owns a 1970 Dodge Coronet and needs to sell the car. Baker has a prospective buyer who has come to look at the car.

Excerpt

UVA-QA-0763

Rev. Apr. 27, 2012

The Coronet—Cameron Baker

Five years ago, an old car came into Cameron Baker's life. The grandiose plan had been to restore the car into a showpiece as a family project during Baker's son's high school years. During those years, little had been done on the car, and upon Baker's son's graduation from high school, he had lost all interest in the project. Nonetheless, the elder Baker maintained sentimental hopes that someday the project would resume. Last week, however, Baker's son announced he would not have time to work on the car. Baker's spouse then declared, “Get it out of our backyard, now!” The car needed to go so that a fire pit could be built on that spot for the neighborhood picnic next month. Having a dilapidated car sitting in the backyard was not the image the Bakers wanted to project.

The car was a 1970 Dodge Coronet. It had the same body as the 1970–73 Dodge Charger, Plymouth Road Runner, and Dodge Super Bee, so all the body parts were interchangeable, which made it an ideal car to restore. Regrettably, the car was not a Super Bee, which was by far the most valuable of the three models. Last year, a fully restored Super Bee had sold at a classic car auction for $ 81,000. Baker's “backyard wreck” was in fair to poor condition. The two front doors were in good shape with no rust and with the original glass windows. There was only minimal rust in the trunk. The metal on the back quarter panels showed minor rust holes and would require an expert to repair them. The rest of the car was rather rough: The front window was cracked, the interior upholstery would need to be completely replaced, and the motor was complete but did not run. The car would roll onto a trailer.

Baker had checked with the local junk dealer and was offered $ 500 for the scrap value of the metal. Baker had also been perusing several local used-car classified websites for several weeks and had not seen a truly comparable car for sale. Baker had seen a 1971 model that sold for $ 1,200, but the motor ran. It was time to sell this thing, clean up the backyard, and build the new fire pit. Baker advertised the car on two local classified-ad websites as for sale and “in fair condition, best offer.” It had been listed for two weeks without one phone call.

. . .

Keywords: negotiation, bargaining