What is a fair price to offer?

[PaFrank]

Going to look at an AR this Saturday... The gentleman selling it is in his mid 80's and I guess he figures it's time to sell.

I'm not sure of the manufacture, but i'm guessing it's an older Colt, but the contact that told me about it, says it was "made in the midwest somewhere"

It is supposedly unfired.

So my questions are:

If it is a clone, what is a fair price? and does the Colt name bring a premium?
What manufacturers are low end, and which are high end?

I need a starting point! What is the least I should offer, and the max.

I know I haven't given much info, but thats all i'll have till saturday morning.

Thanks!
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[M1Riflenut]

Chances are if its an older rifle its a 20" rifle,not a carbine,but ya never know. Tough to guess with no info as to age,condition,or brand but around here the run of the mill used AR's are priced between 600-900,some a bit more but don't recall seeing any for less. I know thats a wide gap but without knowing any info thats about all I can offer.
Brand new AR's,depending on brand and type,are running about 750 on up to 1500 or more.

[M1Riflenut]

Going to look at an AR this Saturday... The gentleman selling it is in his mid 80's and I guess he figures it's time to sell.

I'm not sure of the manufacture, but i'm guessing it's an older Colt, but the contact that told me about it, says it was "made in the midwest somewhere"

It is supposedly unfired.

So my questions are:

If it is a clone, what is a fair price? SEE ABOVEand does the Colt name bring a premium?YES IT DOES
What manufacturers are low end, and which are high end?This is like asking what's better,Chevy,Ford or Dodge! Basically Colt is considered by many to be "top tier",as are numerous other brands like Sabre Defence and others. Bushmaster,Rock River Arms,DPMS are just under these,Stag has come a long way,there are so many brands or AR's out there I could'nt list them all without looing it up. Best to find out what it is and report back.


I need a starting point! What is the least I should offer,600 and the max.900.Condition makes a big difference

I know I haven't given much info, but thats all i'll have till saturday morning.

Thanks!
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Highlights above

[PaFrank]

Thank you all for the info and advice!

Hopefully, I'll have news for you on Saturday!

[PaFrank]

Okay, I found out it is an Olympic Arms A2 style

[Fishnerd]

Not too expensive. They sell for $650-700 brand new

[DRB]

"made in the midwest somewhere"

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Since when is Tacoma WA the midwest? That is where olympic ARs are made.
I woudl offer $500 to $550 since new they are only about a $100 more. Now if he offers lots of extras then it may be another matter. FWIW Olympic Ars are not that well thought of. They generally work okay but they are worth no where near what a Colt would be.

[Jim K.]

No hard and fast rules, but with a gun in current production, retail on a used one would be around 2/3 of the new retail (street) price.

Jim

[PaFrank]

MET THE OLD BOY THIS MORNING...

Showed him recent auction results for Gunbroker and Auction Arms, plus a few retailers that had them for $600. He couldn't believe it. or wouldn't believe it, so he kinda shut me out. "Someone" told him it's worth $1000 so thats what he believes.

I guess I'll have to wait for his estate sale..

[Duane Hansen]

A year ago when everyone was panic buying, you probably could have gotten $1000 for it. Not today. When the scare starts all over again after the mid term elections, maybe we'll see the same thing all over again.

[22kid]

Offer them a dollar a caliber 22= $22, 45=$45 223 $223
And when you peal him off the ceiling ask him what he wants.

By the way I don't know how many 22's 25'and 32' I have bought that way.

The kid

[Conductor]

I work in a large gun store in Northern Virginia. We have over 300 handguns and about 250 long guns in stock. At the present time we have about 40 "black rifles" in stock, including ARs, SIGs, and AK variants. Among the ARs, we carry DPMS, Colt, S&W, Stag, Rock River, and one or two others. We do not and will not handle Olympic Arms. Our experience is that the poor quality of Olympic Arms is such that it leads to unhappy customers. So quite frankly, I wouldn't give the guy $200 for the thing. Save your money and buy a decent quality gun.

[lyman]

I work in a large gun store in Northern Virginia. We have over 300 handguns and about 250 long guns in stock. At the present time we have about 40 "black rifles" in stock, including ARs, SIGs, and AK variants. Among the ARs, we carry DPMS, Colt, S&W, Stag, Rock River, and one or two others. We do not and will not handle Olympic Arms. Our experience is that the poor quality of Olympic Arms is such that it leads to unhappy customers. So quite frankly, I wouldn't give the guy $200 for the thing. Save your money and buy a decent quality gun.


current, as in post late 80's early 90's or so, and I agree,

early production, when they were marked SGW Olympic, were good quality parts,
they were one of the first (if not the first) to offer heavy barrels, and their uppers/lowers were good (not milspec like some today, but still good)

I put together many SGW lowers back in the 80's without any troubles, and sold quite a few of thier other parts and rifles,

not sure what happened to the company, but they did have some issues, that may or may not have been corrected lately (I haven't kept up)

[M1Riflenut]

Pass on it,your not missing out on anything and might well be saving yourself some grief down the road. It's a $600 rifle at best and one of the "lesser" brands out there.

[wellcraft]

to bad the old guy got some bad info on how much the olyarms was worth since he will never get a grand for it in his life time. i don't think olyarms was commanding a grand even during the 94 AWB but if you were lucky you might have been able to get it last november during the obama scare. with that said i have a OA93 rifle and pistol that have both been 100% reliable.