67 cost in 67

[far rider]

I

’m old enough to have bought a brand new 1967 Zenith Blue sunroof VW back in April of 67. I know the Doyle Dane Bernbach ads were a strong influence. My friends had GTOs and 396 Chevy- how did I go for a little VW.? Anyway at the time VW stuck to their posted price- there was no haggling. My dad and I went to 2 other dealerships , no budging on price, before buying at Taylor Motors in Maywood NJ ( my old hometown). Taylor Motors is now a BMW glass palace.
Here is my original sales receipt for $1816. $149 for the cutting edge 8 track player. And also posted is the original receipt for $1815 for another 67 bought in Colorado which I bought as a retirement gift to myself, a sunroof ZB car exactly like I had at 21. The initial price is almost exactly the same. Naturally I added an 8 track player.
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67 zenith blue sunroof

Contentment; when what you have is what you want.

[Bobs67vwagen]

I was 18 in the winter of 1969-70 on Long Island. My dad and I went to the local Volkswagen dealer in our town of Bay Shore but they did not have any colors I liked in stock. We drove east on sunrise hwy to Bianco motors in sayville. We bought a diamond blue bug off the lot in cash with leatherette, radio, and flared tailpipes for $1839 plus tax. It was a good day in VW memories.

[aquifer]

I like these kinds of threads. Very cool. I wasn't (quite) born yet in 67, but I did buy my first 67 in the mid 80's before I was old enough to drive, for $650. I still have all of the original paperwork and quite a few of the subsequent receipts. Still have the car too! Back then VW's were everywhere, even in my rural midwestern hometown. Now it's rare to see one as a daily driver - around here anyway!

Good stuff, thanks for posting!
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Project vehicles:
1967 Beetle #1. Bought in 2024, mostly original, October 1966 build date.
1967 Beetle #2. Bought in the mid 80's, restored myself in the late 90's, June 1967 build date.
1998 Jaguar XJR. Bought in 2015, rust free AZ car, refurbished myself. Driven in nice weather.

Parts needed:
Front & rear NOS or used OEM door panels for a '67 in the original Gazelle color (dark tan/light brown).

[far rider]

Good move to keep your VW. wish I was that smart. That’s great that you still have yours!
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67 zenith blue sunroof

Contentment; when what you have is what you want.

[aquifer]

[Bobs67vwagen]

That's neat getting your old car back and like you said free storage for those years. The 67 I have now I have had since the early 2000s and I will probably keep it. It has been garaged and has not moved since 2015 but will be coming out of hibernation as soon as I finish a pick up I am working on. 66 and 67 are my two favorite years for a bug and I have done many miles in them. They treated me well.

[jinx758]

$2,000 in 1967 has the buying power of
$19,185 in 2025 ...

Yikes ... stay safe

jinx
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" It's not valuable unless you learn something from an experience. " Henry Ford

It's not unlike the same difference ...

My Craigslist rescued 100 footer :
1971 Standard Bug
1776cc dual port
034 distributor
38mm EGAS Carburetor

[viiking]

I have a Feb 1968 German built Lotus White 68 bought by my Father on October 31st 1968 from the "House of David" VW dealer in North Ryde Sydney, Australia. It was a Dealer Display model and had not been driven.

VW sales were very depressed in 1968 and VW had a lot of unsold cars hence the late "sale". Australia at the time used a calendar year description for year model not the August to July typical in North America.

The cash price was $AUD 1999, a price point below $2000 which was important at the time due to the competition of other brands especially British Leyland, Mini, Morris 1100, 1800 etc.

I was with him when he bought it and he insisted on getting the one dollar back when he handed over the two thousand dollars in twenty dollar notes.

I can still remember that smell as we drove it home. He was so proud to have it.

I still have the car and am still restoring it to its former glory. Not sure if I can ever restore that smell, but it will remain in my memory forever.
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1968 1500 RHD Lotus White Beetle since birth. In the hospital for major surgery
1966 Lancia Flavia Pininfarina Coupe - in the waiting room
Discharged: 1983 Vanagon, 1974 1800 Microbus,1968 Low Light,1968 Type 3

[far rider]

That’s a special car for you viiking ! Glad you still have it. Good luck on your restore- post some pics.
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67 zenith blue sunroof

Contentment; when what you have is what you want.

[Bobs67vwagen]

Far rider I had a zenith blue 67 in the 80s and really liked that color. When I was playing cyo baseball in 1967 my coach picked me up to go to practice in his brand new 67 dark green bug. It sounded great, as Viking said it smelled great, it moved along very nicely, and it looked fantastic. If I could buy a low mileage near new 67 today, I think I would fork over serious money for it.

[tasb]

I grew up from the age of six at a YMCA summer camp. I knew how to avoid summer camp romances because they never lasted much past the summer. That is until the right one came along. I noticed one of the male cabin leaders working on the female water front director’s 1967 Beetle one weekend after the campers had all gone home. A week later I heard her comment that her Beetle still wasn’t acting right. I asked her if it was ok if I had a looksee. I found out her right rear wheel had not been torqued to the drum and two of the lug bolts had already come off and were bouncing around inside the hub cap. I made things right and we formed a friendship.

The next summer that friendship developed into a romantic relationship. Her 1967 Beetle played its part. At the end of the summer she told me that when it came time to give up “Put Put”. That she would give him to me as a gift.

Two or three years went by and one winter day I got a phone call from her. She was on her way to surprise me with Put Put but she was suddenly unable to shift gears and was stuck in Michigan City, Indiana. Before she called a tow and had Put Put scrapped did I still want him? Of course I said “yes”, talked my step dad into driving me out there from the north side of Chicago. I had developed enough skill by then to be able to shift without using the clutch and the two of us drove Put Put back to Chicago with her husband following behind.

It didn’t take me long the following week to discover that the clutch pedal had developed a pretty severe crack that expanded when the pedal was pressed. I drove Put Put for another three years before rust had made him unsafe at any speed. I still have the front license plate and the 12 volt Saphire radio in storage.

How much did I pay for my 1967 java green Beetle? $0
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Roads Scholar
1957 Kombi low mileage 36 hp governor equipped M 178 Slow Drag Winner 2014, 2015, 2018

1965 hardtop Deluxe Microbus owned since 1990 M 620 factory 12 v 1500cc

1961 (October)Single Cab- Road Trip Workhorse

Member# 2059

[Bobs67vwagen]

Nice story tasb, what year was that when you acquired the 67? I always found that having a stick shift bug was a great way to teach female friends how to drive it. Most gals found bugs to be "cute".

[tasb]

Looks like it was 1986 so it was 5-6 intervening years between working at the YMCA camp and her delivery of Put Put.
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Roads Scholar
1957 Kombi low mileage 36 hp governor equipped M 178 Slow Drag Winner 2014, 2015, 2018

1965 hardtop Deluxe Microbus owned since 1990 M 620 factory 12 v 1500cc

1961 (October)Single Cab- Road Trip Workhorse

Member# 2059

[zoomcat]

I recently acquired a fairly original 67, and it came with a binder of documentation including this:

[far rider]

Zoomcat, If there’s original paperwork like that guessing your find is in pretty good shape. Is it? Post a pic - love those 67s
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67 zenith blue sunroof

Contentment; when what you have is what you want.

[Bobs67vwagen]

It's interesting that the suggested retail at port of entry went up 200 dollars between the 1967 and the 1970. That was a bit of money in those days.

[AirHead1966]

I made this fake one for my 67. I think the cost is fairly accurate.