Karmanns & Bring-a-Trailer Auctions

[Marcdeb]

A lot of the cars on BAT are being sold by dealers. The trend is more and more towards buying on line or over the phone. It's the times and It gives people the opportunity to shop a much larger inventory. Unfortunately, buyers are at a big disadvantage in today's market. Some buyers are very trusting and sellers can be experts at deception. If anybody knows how to evaluate a car, it's dealers but many of them will give as little information as possible and lie when it's to their advantage, which is often. I know there are some reputable sellers so I'm not lumping them all together. One of the the things I like about BAT is the conversation about the details. It's not about the people making the comments, its about the opportunity to hear different view points about the the photos and the sellers comments.
BAT offers a way to vet a car and that's what's important for buyers. If someone makes an incorrect or an unfair comment about a car, others will chime in and offer a rebuttal. If Sellers don't like the process, there's other ways to sell online.
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Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio

Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata

68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc

[LBSEA]

Hi everyone,

My first car was a 1970 Ghia (my dad bought it new in 1969). What are your thoughts on this Ghia?

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1965-volkswagen-karmann-ghia-7/#comments-anchor

thanks!

[Braukuche]

[LBSEA]

Thanks a ton.

[Peter D.]

I haven't seen this Ghia in person but I've met the owner when selling him parts. He's a good guy and really into Ghias. This one had paint and body done at Apache restorations in RI. If you look at their website they've tons of VW's and muscle cars. They do amazing work there. So if your concern is buying a Ghia with hidden rust and shoddy body work you don't have to worry about this one. You could nit-pic any Ghia to death with the small details but that's part of the fun for the next owner to play around with to bring it to bone stock.
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2019 Golf Alltrack, '65 Ghia Coupe Restoration in Progress

[Era Vulgaris]

[cgirlamo]

Hey guys, im the seller and thanks for the comments. I started with a very solid, original candidate out of CA and it came out great. Im surprised how she moves with an original 40hp 6 volt. Ive also learned that if you stick with 6 volt you have to get your grounds right. Im still fiddling with it, but its a great one. There are so few of these pre-67 ghias left! Nice to save as many as we can.

[kingkarmann]

[Braukuche]

[cgirlamo]

I'm not going for 40k and I've always liked what Chris Vallone (one of the best out there) does with Sewfine, not low quality TMI material. In terms of custom, the only custom thing on this is the color of the interior, otherwise all stock, so we are not making this huge leap to custom (admittedly the interior is a big part, but we haven't lowered it and all of that). A black TMI interior, and half a day aligning the front bumper and adding chrome trim would not have sold it, and definitely not for 40. It was fun - we don't need to sell and will keep it and enjoy it, just testing the market and if someone was going to be serious they could have had it. My next project is a 64 sedan, have to figure out what direction to take that one.

[Era Vulgaris]

I was expecting the car to bid at least to $30k. For people that truly know Ghias, and how expensive paint and bodywork is, that would've been a serious deal even at that price.

I don't know that the interior really held it back. IMO, it's a better looking interior than a "stock" TMI, and personally I'd rather have those blue and white Sewfine seat covers than plain TMI vinyl even if they're not technically correct. Maybe if it had been blue houndstooth for the fabric insert, that would've been a step above.
Honestly I think it was the numerous small finishing details that held it back: missing quarter window trim, missing license light trim, missing sun visors, side molding not properly lined up, doors not flush, globs of grease left on the front beam, sled tins not attached properly, and of course the bumpers. A few hours work of drilling the holes for the bumper ends and aligning them before the pics were taken would've gone a long way. I think when the discussion of the bumpers hit, it kind of stalled the auction.
With so many small things left unfinished, as a buyer one might start to wonder what else that isn't visible still needs to be taken care of.

But I agree with Braukuche about the photos. What 911r does is magic. I remember when he was selling cars on ebay before BAT existed, and even back then his photos were instantly recognizable.
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Currently own:
66 Karmann Ghia, L390 Gulf Blue, under construction, here: www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=760505&highlight=
99 Mazda MX-5 10AE, Sapphire Blue Mica, 6 speed, LSD

Previously owned:
98 Porsche Boxster, silver, 2.5L -- 67 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1500sp -- 98 BMW Z3, Atlanta Blue Metallic, 2.8L I6 -- 75 Porsche 914, Laguna Blue, 2270cc -- 72 Porsche 914, Signal Orange, 1.7 FI -- 74 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1600dp -- 74 Triumph TR6 with O.D., sapphire blue

[Era Vulgaris]

That '65 vert that sold back in August is now on ebay at 2x the price

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1965-volkswagen-karmann-ghia-convertible-4/

https://www.ebay.com/itm/275464900148?hash=item402...R6zostnuYA
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Currently own:
66 Karmann Ghia, L390 Gulf Blue, under construction, here: www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=760505&highlight=
99 Mazda MX-5 10AE, Sapphire Blue Mica, 6 speed, LSD

Previously owned:
98 Porsche Boxster, silver, 2.5L -- 67 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1500sp -- 98 BMW Z3, Atlanta Blue Metallic, 2.8L I6 -- 75 Porsche 914, Laguna Blue, 2270cc -- 72 Porsche 914, Signal Orange, 1.7 FI -- 74 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1600dp -- 74 Triumph TR6 with O.D., sapphire blue

[Marcdeb]

[kingkarmann]

[kingkarmann]

It's back!
1971 EV Conversion
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1971-volkswagen-karmann-ghia-convertible-24/
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"Depression is a malfunction of the instrument we use to determine reality.”

Mike Gerson

What is your "Bespoke Reality"?

[jeffrey8164]

Might be nostalgia worthy in a decade.
Not sure how many holes are punched into the body.
If I bought it, I’d return it to gasoline. 40 mile range is a death blow.
I’m out in mine a good 6 hours at a time covering more than 100 miles.
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Volkswagen!
Turning owners into mechanics since 1938.

“Let he that is without oil throw the first rod”
(Compression 8.7:1)

[kingkarmann]

1974 Coupe
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-volkswagen-karmann-ghia-30/
_________________
"Depression is a malfunction of the instrument we use to determine reality.”

Mike Gerson

What is your "Bespoke Reality"?

[Braukuche]

[kingkarmann]

1970 convertible
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1970-volkswagen-karmann-ghia-convertible-18/

The BAT gallery is showing some love.
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"Depression is a malfunction of the instrument we use to determine reality.”

Mike Gerson

What is your "Bespoke Reality"?

[crocteau]