Posted: 6/25/2013 5:14:01 PM EDT
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Hey guys. As some of you may have already seen I have recently picked up a Colt Series 70 in a trade. I really wanted to get myself a railed 1911 or something I could fix up myself. People I have talked to say not to do anything to the Colt as it will diminish the value. I took the Colt down to the dealer who offered me $750 in trade. Does that sound about right for this pistol or should I be asking for more?
Pic of Colt MKIV Series 70. No box. All original parts as far as I can tell with some minor scratches 
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$750.00 trade from a dealer is pretty good. You can probably pull more [the idiot scratch devalues it by $50-$100 to me] then that but you're talking maybe $100 or so probably and you'll still have them try to talk you down some. I see some other wear also, the big money is for pristine one's.
FWIW, I'd likely offer you around $750.00 also. |
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That's a pretty good trade value actually!
My dealer would have offered you probably $500. Remember that you save the tax as well towards your next purchase. It's a nice gun and I would try and keep it and buy whatever else you want. What kind of railed 1911 you looking at? Remember that your gun has a few things going for it. It says "Colt", it's a series 70 and they aren't making any more so should hold it's value pretty well. I say if you want to play gunsmith on something with a rail then pick up a RIA tactical and go to town. |
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I'd mod the one you have. Agreed Unless he goes for a rail I would hate to jackup a good gun. My dealer says he can get me a Sig Scorpion for $980. I'm going to see if he can get me a similar deal on a Kimber TLE/RL II. Maybe I can get him to come up on his offer for my Colt. |
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I would keep the colt you have and add things , a series 70 colt can be fitted with a very nice rail from NOVAKs
Or put an add up for trade - lots of people would love to have that and you may get an even up trade But if all else fals $750 is a better than average offer |
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That's a pretty good trade value actually! My dealer would have offered you probably $500. Remember that you save the tax as well towards your next purchase. It's a nice gun and I would try and keep it and buy whatever else you want. What kind of railed 1911 you looking at? Remember that your gun has a few things going for it. It says "Colt", it's a series 70 and they aren't making any more so should hold it's value pretty well. I say if you want to play gunsmith on something with a rail then pick up a RIA tactical and go to town. I know they stopped for awhile, but I thought they were still making 'em? |
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I'd mod the one you have. Agreed Unless he goes for a rail I would hate to jackup a good gun. My dealer says he can get me a Sig Scorpion for $980. I'm going to see if he can get me a similar deal on a Kimber TLE/RL II. Maybe I can get him to come up on his offer for my Colt. I'm not with you on that one. It's not a WWII gun or something or super rare is it? What's not to like about it anyways??? That is one fine 1911. A lot of people say a colt is a really good platform to work on. And I guess some smith's prefer it. But it's your gun. |
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OK, you got me on a technicality in that yes, they are making "series 70" guns again just not the originals. They do still list them in their catalog here
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That's a pretty good trade value actually! My dealer would have offered you probably $500. Remember that you save the tax as well towards your next purchase. It's a nice gun and I would try and keep it and buy whatever else you want. What kind of railed 1911 you looking at? Remember that your gun has a few things going for it. It says "Colt", it's a series 70 and they aren't making any more so should hold it's value pretty well. I say if you want to play gunsmith on something with a rail then pick up a RIA tactical and go to town. I know they stopped for awhile, but I thought they were still making 'em? |
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I'd mod the one you have. Agreed Unless he goes for a rail I would hate to jackup a good gun. My dealer says he can get me a Sig Scorpion for $980. I'm going to see if he can get me a similar deal on a Kimber TLE/RL II. Maybe I can get him to come up on his offer for my Colt. I'm not with you on that one. It's not a WWII gun or something or super rare is it? What's not to like about it anyways??? That is one fine 1911. A lot of people say a colt is a really good platform to work on. And I guess some smith's prefer it. But it's your gun. No this particular one according to the serial was made in 1979, and they made about 29,000 of them. Aside from a few minor scratches its in great shape. I actually love the gun, that's why I'm torn on getting rid of it. It comes down to the fact that if I keep it i'll want to get it parkerized, new sights and such, and according to people I've talked to that will diminish the value of the gun. |
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Here's a thought...who cares what it does to the value if you never plan on selling it?
I don't mean bubba it all up or anything but tasteful mods done by a reputable smith and keep the receipts and you may be ok. Or keep it forever, make it what YOU want and enjoy it. You will never get back what you put into it having it customized but if you know that and accept that and/or never sell it and enjoy the use of it more then do it. And if you have kids you can pass it down as "dad's gun" and not what Colt thought you should want. I sold my PS90 because I hated the white ring sight so bad it never went to the range and I hate GI sights so I'm tempted to screw with some of mine as well. Another thought would be to send it off to the Colt Custom Shop and let them do what you want to it and then it remains an all Colt gun. It is a nice gun but don't feel bad about making it what you want. It's not like shredding the shroud of Turin or anything 
I'm having the same debate in my head right now about a 38 Super LW commander and am still not sure what to do. |
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I say sell it outright to someone that would really appreciate an original Colt series 70 and buy what you want with the proceeds. I bet you can get more cash in your pocket for it that way, and when you walk in to your local shop with more cash you might be able to get a better deal.
If it's not what you REALLY want, don't try to turn it into it. Many people(myself included) would LOVE to have that as it sits now. You can put it on the EE and have it sold within an hour. But that IS a really good trade value, assuming your local dealer has fair prices and not sky high prices. |
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Here's a thought...who cares what it does to the value if you never plan on selling it? I don't mean bubba it all up or anything but tasteful mods done by a reputable smith and keep the receipts and you may be ok. Or keep it forever, make it what YOU want and enjoy it. You will never get back what you put into it having it customized but if you know that and accept that and/or never sell it and enjoy the use of it more then do it. And if you have kids you can pass it down as "dad's gun" and not what Colt thought you should want. I sold my PS90 because I hated the white ring sight so bad it never went to the range and I hate GI sights so I'm tempted to screw with some of mine as well. Another thought would be to send it off to the Colt Custom Shop and let them do what you want to it and then it remains an all Colt gun. It is a nice gun but don't feel bad about making it what you want. It's not like shredding the shroud of Turin or anything
I'm having the same debate in my head right now about a 38 Super LW commander and am still not sure what to do. He can get into a railed factory 1911 with modern features for a lot less money than having that one modified. |
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. I actually love the gun, that's why I'm torn on getting rid of it. It comes down to the fact that if I keep it i'll want to get it parkerized, new sights and such, and according to people I've talked to that will diminish the value of the gun. keep Colt save the money for gunsmithing and purchase a 2nd pistol with features you want. |
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Yeah, I'm painfully aware as I had been meaning to send two off to them and talked to them on the phone the other day and they said maybe mid-fall before they would be taking on more work.
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... Another thought would be to send it off to the Colt Custom Shop and let them do what you want to it and then it remains an all Colt gun. . They aren't accepting work now, so the wait might be a couple years  |
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I say sell it outright to someone that would really appreciate an original Colt series 70 and buy what you want with the proceeds. I bet you can get more cash in your pocket for it that way, and when you walk in to your local shop with more cash you might be able to get a better deal. If it's not what you REALLY want, don't try to turn it into it. Many people(myself included) would LOVE to have that as it sits now. You can put it on the EE and have it sold within an hour. But that IS a really good trade value, assuming your local dealer has fair prices and not sky high prices. Seeing that I'm new to 1911's, what would be a good asking price if I decided to sell locally/EE knowing that my local dealer will give me $750? |