Why are Ghias undervalued?

[SkrapMetal]

[Douglas Denlinger]

[thom]

[itty bitty splitty]

Ghia prices in australia have ranged from fairly reasonable to insane. The supply and demand here is due to not alot of ghias that were landed here. I have an original right hand drive december 61 vert. I am currently chasing a 1200cc motor and some tiny bits to finish. I have a theory that all hand built coachworked cars will ALWAYS increase in demand. We just dont make a style of car that is a classic with these georgous lines..

[Roark]

Itty... you say that a lot of Ghias made their way to Austrialia.. is there a reason for that? Were they especially popular there
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insert witty comment here

[vw (o\!/o) nut]

[hpw]

[Evil_Fiz]

So where are we now almost 12 years after the last post?

In a recent thread (Trying to get some idea what it's worth before I sell it) asking what a Ghia is worth a range of $3,500 to $38,500 was floated with supporting links to The Samba Classifieds. It looks like to some degree we are approaching the $35,000 mark that museum pieces could not fetch in 2006 ...maybe.

I searched for all Ghia ads on TS on 7-6-18 and got an average selling price for the first 50 out of 224 results of $10,154.48 with a median price of $9000 and a range of $1,500 to $39,000. I took the raw numbers (Euros or Dollars) and added "Zeros" for the ads with "ASK" for the price. I know the method is not scientific or the results highly credible but it's a loose indicator of the current market on TS.

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Emil
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“…It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.”
kiwighia68

See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted

[John Moxon]

The real reason that KGs are still good value in the "Coachbuilt World" IMO is that they don't have the "sporting heritage" or "Snob appeal" of a Porsche. Nor do they have "Snob appeal" even within our own VW family despite being the most beautiful design of all aircooled VWs. Why is that? Possibly because of the enduring chauvinistic, hairy-chested, Neanderthal attitude, that it's a "woman's car."

However if they're the attitudes that continue to make our favourites affordable...long may they continue.
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John.
Judson Supercharger Information on The Samba
My 1958 Shorrock Supercharged Karmann Ghia
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[rcooled]

There's one market factor that might start elevating the prices of Karmann Ghias and that's the soaring prices being asked for a very similar car: The Porsche 356. They're changing hands for nearly 10X the price of a Ghia in similar condition, with very nice driver-quality coupes selling in the $60-$80K range.

As more & more people get priced out of the 356 market, we may see them turn to the next best thing...the Karmann Ghia. If people other than regular VW enthusiasts start buying up Ghias, the prices will rise...and they could rise quickly. A similar thing happened in the early Porsche 911 market. All of a sudden, everyone wanted one and prices for average-quality cars shot up three-fold in just a very short time.
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'63 Ragtop (current)
'65 Ghia coupe (totaled)
'67 Ghia convertible (current)
'69.5 Ghia convertible and
'62, '63, '65, '69 Bugs (all long gone)

[TDCTDI]

However, it’s downright insulting when someone sees yours & thinks that they’re throwing out a great number by offering to buy yours for $2,000. Yeah, it may be ugly, but there’s more than that in the tires & suspension (and I’m the fool that went the other direction & raised it.).

Just for future reference...

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Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[Braukuche]

Porsche buyers will not buy Ghias as an alternative, other then the fact that they built some models of 356 and 912s along side each other at Karmann, they really have nothing in common. I've seen a lot of Porsche guys with split buses, but not with Ghias.
The real big money market would be non VW collectors who are looking for something unique and undervalued but with the potential of status and value growth. Problem is someone has to lead the charge and that hadn't happened yet and may never until current owners start taking the brand seriously meaning doing legit restorations.
Thats what happened with 356 and 912s. It was the enthusiasts who spent money and time on a cars no one took seriously until they did and the values shot up.
I've said it before but Ghia owners are our own worse enemy when it comes to the cars getting respect,
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Go Reds! Smash state!

Retirement is here!
1956 Ghia
1959 SO-23 Westfalia
1960 double cab
1960 Baja Bug
1963 stretched double cab
1962 Golde sunroof Ghia
1963 356 B coupe
1963 Notchback
1967 21 window less rusty now

[Bleyseng]

Alot of new collectors have been getting into the Porsche 914's as they are a Porsche and sporty especially the 2.0L cars. I have both and the driving experience is night vs day with the 914 a way better road car in fact it loves high speeds vs the Ghia which at 70 mph is my limit.
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70 Ghia Black convert-9/69 build date-stock w/133k 1600 SP-barn find now with a rebuilt tranny and engine
77 Westy 2.0L w/Ljet, Camper Special engine-95hp and with LSD!(sold)
76 Porsche 914 2.1L L20c, 120hp Djet (sold)
87 Syncro Westy Titan Red 2.1L 2 knob 100k miles

[rcooled]

[Onceler]

Modified VW's have been around as long as pure stock VW's. I'd hate to see only strictly "pure" VW's as the only approved direction for the hobby.
Anyway, how much have the Ghia's appreciated since 2006?
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1972 Karmann Ghia

[John Moxon]

[sputnick60]

Having completed a '66 Ghia restoration I thought to try my hand at a 356C restoration and I have to say the Ghia is a much better design when it comes to rust. The 356 is totally a rust bucket with mud hugging crevices that spawn rust in all the wrong places. This particular 356 even has had rust cut out of its roof!
If you want to look at my 356, just click the link in my signature block and see how much remediation it sucks up.

With such a volume of extra work, a car needs to valuable to bother with at all. So a 356, with all it petrol head, racing nut, high performance charm ( despite a lack thereof) is desired by people who simply want to own one and have the money to pay for it. I met one such guy at a dinner party a few months ago. He just paid $200K(AUD) for a 356C cabriolet that needed another $20K (AUD) worth of work to make it road worthy. He is wealthy and wanted to be seen in what is his idea of a really cool car. His money, his perception, his car. And he wasn't interested in any of the mechanical or technical details. The message he wanted to project in this car is "I'm loaded, I have this really cool car,so I'm better than you". Status and perhaps, it can be argued, frail ego. Or a shrewd investor?

There are people who would pay over $100K for an L series Stratocaster or '57 Les Paul. Its brand perception that has much to do with it. An old Ibanez guitar doesn't command such high prices because it isn't as well regarded. That sets the modus operandi for the investment market.

Similarly, a Ghia doesn't have that attraction despite being a much better looking vehicle and, as I can attest, one that is better built. It also doesn't have as much nostalgia value as a kombi. It lacks status, except with those that love them. Us. I believe the Ghia will continue to rise in value but will always lag the prices of the desirable marques.

As for my 356, I'm not that much of a fan of the marque. The project is just a fun project and an investment. If I find someone at a dinner party who might like to buy it for more than I've sunk into it, then it will be sold. I like my Ghia much more because it attracts a whole different kind of attention and that holds value for me.

Nicholas
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'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
'65 Porsche 356C Coupe...
2005 Mecedes Benz C180 Kompressor Estate
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[iowegian]

[John Moxon]

[Era Vulgaris]