'53 Zwitter Price Advice

[wolfywho]

Hey everyone,

I looked at a '53 Zwitter today that is for sale. The asking price is $12,500. I didn't spend a ton of time looking at it, but here's what I gathered so far:

Body and chassis #’s match (January 1953). Engine was April 1960.

Rear apron and rear fenders were later Oval metal. (I didn’t do a bondo check in the areas where they filled in the exhaust cutouts.

Front apron was "correct".

Had original 4 tab hood, but had some damage that was fixed with some pretty poor welding (seen from the inside), but looked pretty good from outside. Didn’t do a bondo check.

Ribbed doors.

It had a gas heater installed, which appeared to be correct vintage. That was interesting & unique (and rare I think for a '53. I think '53 was the first year such a heater was available?).

Body seemed solid, pan seemed solid and original. Again, didn’t do any bondo checks on it though.

Had original ’53 plate on it. Not sure if it’s the original owner or not yet.

Speedometer was later model Beetle, not original.

So, nothing that was too out of the ordinary or unfixable I guess. But, I'm thinking that $12,500 is too much for it, considering the work that could/would be done to bring it back to original. I'm no expert though.

Any advice/input would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Here are some pics:

[john7]

id probably pay that for it. i kinda like the look and id probably leave it alone. has it been sitting awhile or has it been driven
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[wolfywho]

[Oldnslow]

I can see your dilemma. The price does seem high but if it doesn't need a lot of rust repair you may be ahead of the game. The area you live in isn't exactly Arizona when it comes to rust. To put it another way you might find another one for $5000 but it would need $8000 in rust repair and parts. Step one is to go back and take a long look and make sure it is really what it appears to be. How many zwitter splits are there in Michigan?

[Oldnslow]

[Rich's 50]

Seems to be priced right to me, unless if it has rust and hidden issues

[Bruce]

[wolfywho]

[bwaz]

I paid a little less a few years ago for my zwitter. It had more done to the resto, but was missing more parts than yours. As it's been said, if you feel the car and want it, the price is fair being you can look at in person and decide how much rust repair it will need. What you initially see as a rust problem is usually deeper and more to repair. Even if you just want to clean it up and drive it, you have to want the car... that is as important as $500 more or less when buying it.

[Blue Baron]

For that price, it would be nice to get the '53 1131 engine with it. Could be a bargaining chip.
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[bwaz]

[wolfywho]

[bwaz]

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=471462&highlight=value

[Bruce]

[wolfywho]

[usariemen]

[Bruce]

[Wannasplit]

Decide how much of a purist you want to be.

I recently passed up a '53 because it was sitting on a '57 chassis, I just would never be able to reconcile the fact that I had to explain the car everytime someone asked about it. So, I will wait for a more original car and will probably pay a lot more for the "right" car.

So it comes down to preference. Splits aren't common cars. Unless you are willing to pay market price (which is astronomically inflated right now) you may not come across another split.

$12,500 seems high. Personally I would not let the motor stand in the way if you could get the car for 7 or 8.

.

[ToolBox]

That is not a one owner car. I figured it would have sold at the auction.

[wolfywho]