Help with sale of 66 Bug

[Gershwin 1966]

Hello,

I'm writing from my Father's old account. He unfortunately passed away a little over a year ago. He often spoke of learning a lot from this site, and I know he got a lot of value and enjoyment from the time he spent on it.

The time has come to make some hard decisions, and one of them is to sell his prized blue 66 Beetle. He put a lot of work into it, drove it a good amount, and won many awards with it. Unfortunately neither my mother or is is not able to maintain it the way he did. So we are looking to find it a new home, hopefully with someone who will appreciate it and care for it as well as my father did.

I'm writing to see if anyone out there has some advice on where to begin with this process? Are there good websites to go to for sales? Do we need professional pictures? How can I best tackle its unique condition (see below)?

Background and what we've done so far:

-The car has 61500 miles on it, and is in cosmetically great shape. Similarly, the engine starts and runs great.
-We've had it appraised, but feel that the value seems suspiciously high
-My dad was doing some electrical work on the car and then fell ill before he could fully repair it. As such, the current electrical condition is a bit degraded. The headlights, right tail light and windshield wipers work. All other electrical items (radio, turn signals, etc) are currently not working.
-The car is still on the original 6V system. It would be cost/labor prohibitive for us to repair it either with the 6V system or a 12V changeover. We intend to sell it as is.
-The car has been kept in a garage and on jacks for the last year. I recently took it off the jacks and drove it for about a mile in a residential neighborhood. It seems to run great.

Again, if anyone has any insight on how to proceed or any advice at all, I'd really appreciate it. Just trying to find the best home for "Gershwin" (that's his name for the car).

Attached are some pictures of the car.

Thanks!

[Busstom]

That's a very nice '66, the color is Sea Blue if you weren't aware of it.

The easiest and most obvious option to me is just post it here on the Samba, you'll maximize views by VW people, hopefully by people in the Midwest who may want a clean, rust-free VW. (You didn't mention rust, but it sounds and looks solid from this perspective.)

The other option is a venue like Bring-a-Trailer, the auction site, but i personally know very little about that option.

Just beware, the prices here on the Samba are often exceedingly high by what some of us call "dreamers" looking to cash in...sometimes these people are long-time VW people who just simply won't part with their car unless they can get the money out of it that they feel it's worth or has been invested. Sometimes they can get it, often times not. Look at ads for comparable cars and associated asking prices, and then look at the ad details to see how many months or years it's been on the market and how many "views" it's had, and that will give you some idea if their particular asking price is working out.

In any case, best of luck selling it, I'd say try not to be in a rush and don't get low-balled, if you do, you may just be giving it to somebody who is going to flip it on this site or somewhere else, there're plenty of them out there.

PS: I just looked at your dad's gallery, it's got a lot of pics, only one of the footwell that reveals apparently minor rust, no deal breaker, but maybe dig around in those areas and underneath in the wheel wells and get pics of that for potential buyers or to post in your ad.
_________________
My name's Steve and it's pronounced "Bust 'em" (cuz people think I'm Tom)

[rcooled]

Sorry to hear of your dad's passing...that's a very nice looking VW he left you.

Busstom's advice to start here with TheSamba classifieds is good. If you don't get enough interest going that route, you might consider one of the many on-line auction sites. Bring a Trailer https://bringatrailer.com/ and Hemmings https://www.hemmings.com/stories/tag/online-auctions/ are two of the more popular ones.

Lots of good clear photos and a driving video will be very helpful in presenting your car to potential buyers on-line. Staying engaged in the auction to answer questions about the car is very important too.

Here's an example of a nicely done VW auction on BaT. Notice all the details that were shown in the photos (including some minor flaws)...you should do the same with your car. Take notice of the videos too.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1966-volkswagen-beetle-117/
_________________
'63 Ragtop (current)
'65 Ghia coupe (totaled)
'67 Ghia convertible (current)
'69.5 Ghia convertible and
'62, '63, '65, '69 Bugs (all long gone)

[Tram]

Beautiful car- love the name Gershwin and the connection to "Rhapsody In Blue".
Sorry about your dad's passing. I'm not a Beetle guy (Type 3 for me) but just from the photos you posted the incredible attention to detail is obvious. Sure you can't keep him?
_________________
Немає виправдання для війни! Я з Україною.

[finster]

sorry to hear of your loss. my father died last xmas so I know what you're going through and it can be hard dealing with their estate.
advertising a car (or anything) for sale online can be a hassle with tyre kickers, dreamers and schemers plus the constant flow of daft questions like if you want to trade for an 80s mirada and a goldfish...so another option is randy carlson's oldbug.com set-up.
you advertise with them, they field the enquiries and only pass on the serious punters to clinch the deal. but this will cost you - $750 according to his website - take a look https://www.oldbug.com/listing.htm

I have no affiliation to randy (I'm in the uk) but if he's reading this he owes me a beer
_________________
"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[iowegian]

What a beautiful car. In looking at all of the photos (with great captions) in Gershwin's gallery, I'd say that it was a very high level (not cheap) restoration
before taking a lot of lengthy road trips. Whatever electrical problems the car might have at this time have to be minor in the grand scheme of things.
As mentioned, a service like Randy Carlson provides would help in getting your mother every dollar this beauty deserves. Another option would be contacting the restorer who sold Gershwin to your dad.

[gt1953]

Put it in a few cars shows proir to selling and have the trophies in the back seat. That vehicle is a cream puff. It will sell for the what ever the asking price is. NADA classic car guide average 14K high retail could go to 33K
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[Dusty1]

[Busstom]

[Dusty1]

[BMFBMF]

Sorry about your dad. It's a beautiful car, don't let it go for a steal!
_________________
-----Slava Ukraini-----
1971 Stock South African Beetle 1300 : My mom's european "Thin Chick" spec. Completely stock with torsion bar front, swingaxle rear, smooth hubs, single MC, 40 mm shoes, 31PICT3 carb and 5 bolt drums all round, currently Running a 1976 SF:AS engine with the original SF:AD engine overhauled in a box, waiting to go back in one day.

[rcooled]

[Dusty1]

[Busstom]

[Dusty1]

[KTPhil]

Prices remain high because of the interplay of two demographic factors.

1. Yes, it is a diminishing hobby as those who knew them when they were young age.
2. But that same group is more affluent than ever, and can afford to indulge their hobby.

The price see-saws have been because of the changing balance of these two factors. In a good economy, the aging money wins out. In a diminishing economy, even the aged money gets more conservative.

My personal guess is that we are 10-15 years away from (1) outweighing (2). But we will see.

Now, back to advising the seller. I suggest he/she look here on the Samba for any nearby clubs, and have someone check it out IN PERSON and offer pricing suggestions in the area. If that seems insufficient, wider advertising may bring in better offers.

It's a well-maintained and/or restored example and should command a premium price. I would lean closer to $15K than $10K myself, if it's as clean and good underneath as it is on top, as I suspect.
_________________
Current Fleet:
- '71 Fastback
- '69 Westfalia
Retired:
- '67 Beetle
- '65 Beetle (x2)
- '65 Bus
- '71 Squareback

[OldSchoolVW's]

[Gershwin 1966]

Thank you all for the great information and the kind words. I've reached out to Randy, and that seems like a very promising avenue. I can see why my dad was such a fan of this site! Thanks again

[heimlich]

You can put a price and also add accepting offers.
_________________
www.vwnos.com [email protected]
Classic Brands. Classic Quality.
Not all parts are made the same. NOS OE/OEM parts made mainly in West Germany, Early Germany, and Early Brazil are where VW produced the best quality parts and best fitting products.
5% Off your order with coupon code: 5%OFF
Restored Distributors Available (<--Click here)

[DUNTOVFAN]

Really clean 66,a Beetle of that caliber would do great on Bring a Trailer. I bought a 62 off there last year. They've got a page with past sales that could give you an idea on value. There's some pretty hefty seller/buyer fees though.