How much should I pay? 2005 Taylor 714ce

Social Exodus · #1 01-25-2019, 08:32 PM

A friend of mine would like to sell his 2005 Taylor 714ce guitar. It is very dirty and has much battle damage to be fair. It has large repaired dings, scratches and dents in it from the 14 years he's owned it. I don't want to cheat him because he's a friend of mine. On the other hand the guitar plays fairly well and with some TLC I could bring it back to its former glory for the most part except for the dings and scratches. Is $800 an insulting offer for such a guitar?

fazool · #2 01-25-2019, 08:44 PM

That is a totally reasonable offer.....maybe even a little generous, given the described condition.

phavriluk · #3 01-25-2019, 08:46 PM

Seller might take the guitar to a store that takes consignments and ask them to appraise it as-is. At least neither of you will be likely to assign an unrealistic value to the guitar.

Social Exodus · #4 01-25-2019, 08:50 PM

Back in 2016 a similar guitar in fact the exact same guitar in mint condition was offered for $1,800.

3notes · #5 01-25-2019, 08:53 PM

I think it's fair. I also think many will post it's a steal.

woodbox · #6 01-25-2019, 09:20 PM

As perspective, about a year ago, I sold my pristine 2005 714CE for near the other number you mentioned, around $1800 as I recall.

I'd bought it new, and took very good care of it..
no dings, cracks or scratches, none.

I have friends who think I'm crazy for being so gentle with my guitars,
but they all want to buy them from me because of that.

Value of a beat up one?
Sorry, I'm not much help there.

edward993 · #7 01-25-2019, 09:23 PM

The large variable here is the "large and poorly repaired" dings ...I don't know what that is w/o pics, so that could be a big deal, or just a "meh" ...no way to judge without more concrete info.

2005 means original AA-battery ES system; not that great IMHO. If it still works well, you're good. But if it has issues, you'd be better off upgrading to ES1 version 3 (aka ES1.3 used in guitars from 2010 forward). Or just consider it dead and pop in a Baggs Anthem and you're rosy!

Depending on those dings you mentioned, sure 800 is good for both of you; if the dings are less serious, maybe even 1K ...but again, hard to value w/o pics. I think you're good with the 8 bills. The 714s are superb guits, and why Taylor abandoned the cedar/rw combo is a mystery --and a loss-- to me, personally! Stellar guitars, these.

Edward

Social Exodus · #8 01-26-2019, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Social Exodus

A friend of mine would like to sell his 2005 Taylor 714ce guitar. It is very dirty and has much battle damage to be fair. It has large repaired dings, scratches and dents in it from the 14 years he's owned it. I don't want to cheat him because he's a friend of mine. On the other hand the guitar plays fairly well and with some TLC I could bring it back to its former glory for the most part except for the dings and scratches. Is $800 an insulting offer for such a guitar?

So to close the loop then, I took this guitar and stripped it down to the wood as far as hardware goes and I gave it a thorough cleaning as well as cleaning the machine heads and so on and so forth. Long story short she cleaned up pretty well. I talked to my friend to make sure he actually wanted to sell this now that it's cleaned up and looking better. He said yes because he doesn't play it because he's left hand and he wants to get a left-handed guitar.

So I am paying him $900 with two caveats. First if at anytime he feels it was an unfair deal, I will sell it back to him for the amount that I paid for it. Secondly, if I ever decide to sell it he has first right of refusal to buy it back for the same amount.

I have never liked making deals with friends when buying or selling anything. I've seen that sort of thing wreck friendships. In this case though, he has an insurance policy so it'll be fine and I think we're both gonna be happy. Turns out I really like the cedar top with rosewood back and sides combination for fingerstyle playing lol

Meanwhile because he's still learning, I pointed him towards a lefty 214ce Dlx model with layered Koa back and sides and a Sitka spruce top because he really likes the pretty wood combinations - plus it's just about what I'm paying him so it's kind of a win-win really.