Good deal on a HD-28?

[webcat]

A guy I know is selling a HD-28 for his elderly aunt. They don't have a clue what it's worth and I'm not sure I do either. I told him I'd look at it and made a call to a local dealer who said they would give him $700 as a trade-in. He offered it me at the same price.

The guitar is in pretty good shape, sounds good and the neck plays well and is straight. He thought she got it 4 or 5 years ago for her son who recently died. Here's the thing, I went to the Martin site to check the serial # 400639, and I'm not sure if I'm reading the site correctly. That would put it at about 1978 or so. Now I'm thinking this guitar is in GREAT shape for being 25+ years old.

What do y'all think? A '78 HD-28 for $700? Sounds good but maybe I'm all wet. Maybe some of you Martin fans can chime in?
Thanks for listening -

'Cat

[Luigi]

$700 would be a steal IMO, especially if no neck reset is needed, no cracks, etc.......but my conscience would bother me a bit......the part about the deceased owner and elderly aunt might make me tell them they could sell it for more on the open market if they wanted to. If after that they still want to sell it to you fpr $700, grab it!

[webcat]

Actually that was my advice, to try and sell it outright. I told him he could probably get closer to $1000 (or more) if he was patient and tried online. His response was the hassle was more than he cared to put up with and he rather see it go to someone he knew and someoe who would care for it.

The year is what puzzles me. The Orion book lists an '03 HD-28 as 1100 mint whsle and $700 avg. But I don't know how a '78 would fare.

'Cat

[JimH]

They go for considerably more then 700.00
As an example, go to ----
http://www.williesguitars.com/Pages/78hd28.htm

1978 HD-28
Natural, spruce top, double bound body with herringbone top trim, rosewood back and sides, ebony fingerboard with dot inalys, and ebony bridge, scalloped top bracing, all stock, no cracks but lots of finish checking top and back, average playing wear top and back, super deep low bass response, nice and loud just the way you like it, comes with original hard case. $1799 On Hold.

[DM3MD]

If the condition is good, and all original (no crappy repairs/replacements...) then grab it, thats a steal!

[MichaelM]

I would maybe call one other dealer and see what they offer. Figure that a dealer is going to offer a few hundred dollars less than they think they could get for it by selling it (but that's their profit, or the sellers hassle)

I would, however, take it to someone and have them give you a quote, rather than a phone estimate (which make not be the same as what they offer for it.) Did you tell them the serial number, or did you just tell them when it was bought when you got the quote?

[Luigi]

Go for it, Cat.....if they want it to go to you, let it! Sounds close to the deal of a lifetime! Good luck,

[35fingerpicker]

I would say go for it. I only paid $40 less for my 1976 HD-28 but that was almost 28 years ago.

[webcat]

Originally posted by 35fingerpicker
I would say go for it. I only paid $40 less for my 1976 HD-28 but that was almost 28 years ago.

Wow! Those were the days huh? I know 700 then is like 2800 now but that still sounds good. Anyone know what the list on a '78 HD-28 was? Are HDs from that era more sought after? There are so many now that I've seen nearly new ones going for $1,600.

The used market around here is pretty soft, if he was willing to head to San Francisco or Los Angeles with it or sell it online he might do alot better.

Thanks to everyone who weighed in.

'Cat

[MichaelM]

Originally posted by webcat
Are HDs from that era more sought after?

From what I have heard, they aren't particularly sought after. It's not like the 60's models (which has more to do with the Brazillian Rosewood.) I have heard people say that the 70's were a bit of a dark time for Martin, so price really depends upon whether the guitar sounds good and whether it needs a neck reset....