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Is it worth restoring?

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    Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    No, not really, but my friend had a purple one for a long, long time and I often got stuck working on it.

    Actually, Borgwards are very well built little cars, but that 60s Teutonic Toaster styling just doesn't cut it, and the car's following is very small these days. Borgward even raced successfully, though not in world class events.

    There was a time Borgward was head to head with BMW. Had they only had BMWs imagination and forethought, they could have created the European Sports Sedan and the 2002. But they just stalled and stalled and BMW ate them up in the marketplace.

    Ah, hindsight is easy.
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    im_brentwoodim_brentwood Member Posts: 4,883
    Good point.

    Although, those Isabellas really were nice little cars....

    With my penchant for the oddball stuff, who knows? I bet I end up with one!

    Bill
    Just bought a Ford Zodiac
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    speedshiftspeedshift Member Posts: 1,598
    Bill, I'm starting to feel a little concerned about you. But being in the car biz you probably never pay too much--I guess.

    I don't think Borgward ever had a chance against BMW. "Beemer" just has more cachet than "Borgie".
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    im_brentwoodim_brentwood Member Posts: 4,883
    Buying classic cars is a bit of a sickness...

    However, it's not like I can get them at the auction tho :( There's not really a wholesale market on them. The few times truly nice classic cars show up at dealer auctions... they don't got for a steal...

    Oh well...

    Bill
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    speedshiftspeedshift Member Posts: 1,598
    Is it time for an intervention?

    No seriously I share your interest in oddball imports. Besides their quirkiness they take me back to when you occasionally--very occasionally--saw them playing in traffic.

    Is there a modern equivilent? I know a used car lot that also sells Kias so I guess the college kids didn't work out. Aside from that, the days of unprepared unfocused attempts to enter this market seem to be over. Well, maybe Fiat will try it again.

    When I commented about you being in the biz I meant you might have a more objective attitude toward old iron than someone who's strictly a hobbyist.
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    im_brentwoodim_brentwood Member Posts: 4,883
    Nah... big drain of cash I'm afraid.

    Weird thing is though, I could easily make $5,000 on this Vauxhall. When we sell a used car and make $5K on it, it's considered to be a very strong deal. (Sometimes you can get REAL Lucky at the auction... mentioned so I dont look like a crook..recently picked up a 21K mile clean Silver 00 Sedan DeVill for $22,700!)

    I do it as a hobby, but there's a part of me that keeps saying I ought to get into selling a few classic cars. Heck, for the fun of it if anything else! A 1974 Mini is easily worth $5K on eBay but I can buy them for $1,000 in the UK. Throw in shipping.. it's pre-76 so it's exempt from DOT and EPA....They can be quite profitable. It's something I am looking into.

    ANyhoo, I think you'll start to see a lot of the Eurocars come back.

    Alfa is coming back, so is Maserati, and I think that Long-Term the French will return. I think that the Peugeot 406 Coupe would be a hellof a seller here... It'd nail the Accord Coupe and Solara.

    Problem is, it's the certifying costs. In the old days, when GM decided to send a bunch of F-Type Victors over as a stopgap, allthey did was make sure they were LHD, had MPH Speedos, sealed beams and laminated windsheilds.

    They threw em on a boat, and voila! "Introducing Britain's Vauxhall".

    Not so simple these days.

    Bill
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