The Coronet—Leslie Forsyte

Abstract

This case and its companion, "The Coronet—Cameron Baker" (UVA-QA-0763), 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 Leslie Forsyte, the founder of a vintage car restoration company. Forsyte's current project—the restoration of a 1970 Dodge Super Bee—only requires doors in order to be completed. After months of searching, Forsyte has finally found an ad for a 1970 Dodge Coronet, a car possessing doors that match the Super Bee's. Excerpt UVA-QA-0764 Rev. Apr. 27, 2012 The Coronet—Leslie Forsyte As the founder of Vintage Motor Car Ltd. (VMC), Leslie Forsyte had over the past decade built a thriving business in rebuilding vintage automobiles and motorcycles. VMC had earned a national reputation for expertise in restoring 1970s-era high-performance American “muscle” cars. A current project was the restoration of one of the most unusual cars of the 70s: a 1970 Dodge Super Bee with a powerful “hemi” engine. Fully restored, this car would easily bring $ 110,000 at one of the annual specialty car auctions, such as Barrett-Jackson or Pebble Beach Automotive Week. VMC had all the original body parts for the Super Bee except the two front doors with window glass. For six months, VMC had been searching unsuccessfully for reasonably priced original equipment manufacturer (OEM) doors. It seemed as if they didn't exist. As the project dragged on, the client had become increasingly anxious because she wanted to show the car at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance car show next month. Reproduction doors and windows were available at a cost of $ 3,500. Because they were not OEM, however, they would most likely devalue the car by at least $ 10,000. So far, the client had not been open to accepting reproduction doors. Coronets in very good condition were occasionally listed from $ 5,000 to $ 8,000 on classic-car websites. At the moment, there was one available for $ 7,250. Forsyte hated the thought of buying the whole car just to get the doors, and transporting it from several states away would be expensive. VMC had $ 15,000 invested in the project, not to mention its reputation and a prestigious client on the line. The Super Bee project had to be completed in the weeks ahead, and the doors were the only impediment. Although the Super Bee had the same body panels as a Dodge Charger, Plymouth Road Runner, and Dodge Coronet, months of reading nationally published classic-car classified ads, checking local auto classifieds online, and scouring the newspapers from all over the state had not produced any doors that matched the Super Bee's. . . .