TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:33 am

I just wanted to coment on the various messages regarding the topic of the Split on ebay!
I too am reluctant to say if that green Split is a good deal or not.
But what I do want to question is do higher priced Splits that are nice and mostly correct maybe missing a few things here and there but matching #'s really sell very often?....Is there a lot of people out there waiting to spend $15,000 to 25,000 on a fairly correct Split, but that still needs work or parts?
I see that there are a few Splits that look like good deals currently on
The Samba. A $20,000 52...looks OK and a $17,000 Split Rag looks like it needs work but is complete and rare! Both have not been snapped up!
It just seems that people say a correct Split fetch's high $...But who's buying them?

Anyone?

Mon Jan 30, 2006 9:27 am

Well if you read my posts above, I can sum it up. The car was restored as a driver/show car. It was already on the 64 pan and titled as a 64 and was found in a junkyard. If you're looking for something that you can just hop in and drive and not worry about destroying the value of it, this is a great little car. I have no major complaints about it, aside from some personal likes that I would do to the car. But I gotta admit, if someone here buys it and want's to track down a 51 pan and all the other stuff it needs, then can I have some of your $$$$$$? :wink:

Mon Jan 30, 2006 11:35 am

I agree totally with you Splitster. And I would dare to say that if you are even slightly skilled with tools etc. you could get that split back to its original in less than 5k...

Mon Jan 30, 2006 11:59 am

I don't know. If I'm going to spend over 10 grand on a car that is 50 plus years it has to be an investment/serious hobby, not something I would do for reliable transportation or something that I would slam to the ground for kicks. That just doesn't make sense to me and I think that is the real issue that is being argued here. It maybe hard for some people to see eye to eye on this because certain folks have more disposable income than others or they feel more passsionate about preservation.

Personally, as an investment/hobby where I am spending 10 grand or more, I'm going to want something orginal, complete, matching numbers, so that I know that no one has gone and hacked the car up or repaired anything in correctly. I'm going to be picky about what I am getting. As described however, to pay a little more than what something is worth wouldn't bother me in this situation which is unlike the case with the green split. Why? Because if I buy a car as I described, it will be for the long term. My experience tells me that custom,modified, or incorrect cars tend to lose more value despite what maybe put into them. Especially when more time has passed and certain trends or fads go out of style.

Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:14 pm

Hebster52 wrote: I agree totally with you Splitster. And I would dare to say that if you are even slightly skilled with tools etc. you could get that split back to its original in less than 5k...

Say what?

$5k? YEAH RIGHT.

Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:20 pm

Ok. So I know some people aren't that skilled that they can do most of the work them selves and do pay for all the work, sourcing down parts etc. Ofcourse it goes sky high $$$$$ that way... :shock:

Just my opinion again..

Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:23 pm

Hebster52 wrote: Ok. So I know some people aren't that skilled that they can do most of the work them selves and do pay for all the work, sourcing down parts etc. Ofcourse it goes sky high $$$$$ that way... :shock:

Just my opinion again..

Even if you did 100% of the work yourself, just the parts alone would be way over $5k.

Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:03 pm

Quote: Even if you did 100% of the work yourself, just the parts alone would be way over $5k.

You are right about that, going by the recent classified ads. It would be 5 just to source out a complete pan, 16''s & drivetrain and the normal parts needed to do the mechanicals over. Maybe in northern Europe they have more totally rusted out donor splits than here.

That green one is stalled at $8500 for now, a classic car dealer is on it. I'm guessing it will go over 10. There was a fake split about a month ago on ebay. Advertised as a 55 with a late 40s split clip, and that the sunroof was from a "mid 50s". May have been a 2 fold. 1970 pan & motor. Sure looked more like a 56 built in late 55. It was unfinished with some stuff missing and went just under $4k. Who knows, maybe that green one will all have us scratching our heads if there are multiple snipers on it.

Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:15 pm

You know, everyone accuses the regulars of being negative about cars, especially ebay cars and cars in the classifieds and there's some truth to it.

What people forget is that usually someone is thinking about spending money on that car and is looking for honest opinions on it.

Right or wrong when you're looking at a car based on a few digital pictures and someone is thinking about making a major financial decision based on the comments people make, well, I think it's only right that folks dwell on the negatives and pick a car apart. Even if that means making a car sound worse than it might actually be.

I would rather read a dozen posts complaining about how everyone here is a bunch of negative haters than read one single post talking about how a guy got screwed out of his savings buying a car that wasn't as good as he thought it was.

I've read those kinds of posts and they aren't fun.

Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:43 pm

when asking for opinions you need to take it with a grain of salt. i was interested in a totally restored 50 deluxe. i had seen it at a show back in 2001. i heard many opinions as to why the car was no good. many people had never even seen the car. i crawled underneath it at the old norwalk show. me and a friend were impressed. when the car came up for sale i was able to go see it in person. i then brought kevin with me for a second pair of eyes. we both agreed it was a car to buy. it now is in my garage. i guess the point is to listen to the opinions of people who have seen the car you're interested in and not the opinions of those who are going by what they heard about it.

Tue Jan 31, 2006 1:51 am

The car has rust in the fender wells wrong apron,pan,semifours,bumpers, but it looks nice from afar, but far from good. nice paint taillights decklid glass body trim, but the rust in the fender wells, and the front tire well is a mess.