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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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I see a Cadillac, Henry J, Mark 1?, Oldsmobile?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Certified Loony Category:
The Buick Truck -- opening bid $39.8K??? Try half that and take it.
Anybody who puts $93,000 into a 1920s Hudson sedan is going to take a beating on it.
The Overly Optimistic Category:
1938 Lancia -- nice nice car and of historical interest, but alas, it's not an open car and not the legendary Lancia postwar V-6, so of limited road use.
There Just No Explaining It Category:
Messerschmidt -- I don't know why anyone wants one either, especially at those prices; howver, the prices used to be even HIGHER before the bubble burst in the bubble car market ($25,000 and up).
1972 "new" Buick -- $11,000 for a "new" 1972 Buick wagon? Huh? If the buyer is expecting 15 minutes of fame, he might get 5.
The problem is that with a car with that few miles, what do you do with it? Pay a silly premium for the low miles and then??? Drive it and depreciate it? Or sit and gaze upon the beauty of it? Or trailer it to shows and try to explain to people why this '72 Buick wagon is unlike any other. That's going to get old REAL fast....
To a GM nut, I think that Buick is worth it. Someone who is more into cars than the profits. It'd be a trailer queen, but I think there are people out there who'd get a kick out of it. If I was loaded, I'd do a nut and bolt restoration of my fintail...not for profit, but because I like the car.
Umm, try the GM Nationals at Carlisle. There are always a few beasts like that out on the fun field. And at the Mopar Nationals, you'll always see some examples of the Chrysler equivalent of that car. And I'm sure at the Ford Nats, you do as well. Sure, it'll never be worth more than a high performance model or a convertible, but aren't wagons actually kind of a hot thing right now? I'm speaking relativey here, of course.
As for original cost, if anyone's interested, that '72 wagon was probably one of the most expensive models Buick offered that year. Back then, I don't think they had a LeSabre wagon. IIRC they just had a wagon called the "Estate", and it was considered in the same ranking as the Electra. About the only Buick that may have cost more back then may have been the Riviera. Musclecars back then were still pretty cheap. Unless you started optioning them up like little limousines.
Now, would I pay $11,000 for it? Hell no! But I could understand its appeal for someone who's into something like that.
Be a good demo derby car, though :P
I rememeber in the mid-80's going to a car show and seeing a rare V-8 AMC Spirit and thinking "What kind of goober brings a Spirit to a car show", but it turned out there were converstations around the car all day. People wanted to know what it was, and AMC guys zero'd in on it. It didn't win any awards, but it got as many possitive comments as negative.
Usually at the car shows I go to, it's just guys who are into cars having fun.
I usually end up not spending a whole lot of time checking out the row upon row of Camaros, Chevelles, Novas, Challengers, Barracudas, GTXes, Chargers, etc, because while I like many of those cars, it just gets kinda tiring seeing the same thing again and again and again.
Now I will admit, that on a few of the shows I've gone to, Grbeck and I have chuckled at the occasional Vega or whatever that might show up! I think I've seen an occasional Chevette or two as well. But then, we probably ragged on those cars when they were new, too! Heck, I remember, in 2nd grade, teasing this girl whose parents drove a Pacer! :P
As a kid I thought station wagons were cool, but once I got into maybe my early teens, I started seeing them as more of a nerd/mommymobile. But nowadays station wagons, especially standard-sized ones, are so far removed from the mainstream that they've become oddities, and cool again.
Now, I also happen to like the '72 standard-sized Buicks in general...I thought they were a cleanly styled, handsome car, and one of the better efforts of the time, so that wagon would have a soft spot with me. But NOT a $12,000 soft spot! But it's probably a better deal than the 1983 Skylark we saw at Carlisle, which only had around 7-8,000 miles on it, and IIRC had an ~$8000 asking price! :P
As for value, well...I think low mileage cars from the 80s are really worthless...because if you drive them you lose, and if you don't you lose, because nobody is going to care very much anyway unless it's a street rod or a GNX or maybe a polka dot DeLorean.
I've seen some low-mileage W126 series go for big money but I don't know if the buyers would care for them enough to do any maintenance work, as they can be costly to keep up.
Even the best W126 are still depreciating a little. I've seen the best cars bring over 10K, but those are so rare anymore. Coupes bring a little more these days, but not a ton. I think the big money is being paid by enthusiasts who will do the maintenance. The best cars will end up bottoming out under 10K and will likely sit there. The enthusiast base is just not big, and parts are so expensive.
That 420SEL would be something to really have inspected and beware of. I would want to know that it has been driven regularly and has been maintained. You don't want dried out gaskets and seals etc. If it was legit and genuinely as-new (including the interior, perfect paint, etc), it could easily pass 10K, but I would want to be sure there are no age and lack of use related problems.
Old 420s and 560s -- if they are the least bit shabby and/or have high miles, they are just beaters, and you should pay a beater price, because they are a) sedans, and b) money pits. If they are NICE, as in REALLY REALLY nice, maybe $5,000--$7,000 tops tops tops, with low miles.
As time goes on, the massive, punishing cost to keep these old luxo-boats going will eliminate them, IMO. (rebuilt engine? $16,000 to $18,000 dollars). All you'll see on the road is well-preserved survivors being used up...you'd have to be kinda nuts to restore one.
Still for $5K, it's a nice ride as long as it lasts....
high risk car, very high risk.
Not really my thang, but it did look like a nice ride. What's the going price on something like that?
That is painful.
A 126 will go to pot around the wheelarches, sunroof, rear windshield, headlights, and side trim. It's really kind of shocking. I've seen a couple with a bubble here and there - but once I saw a 1990 300SEL out of eastern Canada that was beyond redemption - lots of cancer eveywhere. Shame too, it was a lowish mileage (100K) car with the very rare rear sunshade option. I actually can't recall seeing a 124 or a 201 with any rust at all.
I also noticed a late '90s E320 with a bit of rust bubbling around where the trim meets the front of the rear wheelwell. Not so great on a $45-50k car.
Fintail, you will be interested to know that the 190E made it in the new book called "Automotive Atrocities." (I don't know why.)
That light ivory was about the worst color, yeah. I recall lots of early 201s in that color. Yesterday I saw an updated 124 like the one you mention, in black with gold badging. Tacky! Toyota really liked that junk back in the day.
I've heard of the door skins on those W210 late 90s E class rusting, too.
I don't think the 190E was a bad car...some of them have aged pretty harshly, but for a car that hit the road in 1983, it looks pretty OK.
Could have just been rolling down it though.
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