73 Karmen Gia convertible

I didnt want to put this in the classified because it is not for sale, atleast not yet. A friend of mine wants me to buy his car. He is trimming down his stuff due to medical reasons. He told me it has been gone through completely and he has an amount in the upper twenty thousand dollar range into it. I saw it today and took these snapshots, after which he invited me to buy it. Told him I would think about it. It's beautiful to say the least.
I humbley request anyones opinion as to the low and hi resale value of this car. I know there are a lot of air cooled fans here. I looked on ebay and am guessing 15-20k?
Much Appreciated

Hello, Steve

I've been into VW for over 25 years, and have owned north of 70 vws, including a few ghia's. I currently have two, a 1963 sedan and a 1961 convertible. Ghia convertibles are a odd market to say the best.

A 57-59 Low light restored stock is worth $35-45k
A 60-64 )the following year, slightly dif.$15-25k
a 65-69 same body different dash then 64...$12-23k
A 70-72 larger tail lights and dif bumpers.$9-14k
A 73-74 largest bumpers and tail lights and the most un-wanted..$7-10

I'm sure you have been around cars long enough to know you normaly never get back what you have in a car..... Plus yellow is not as popular as red....

I would check two sights for verification of what I said. Compleeted listings on ebay (the ones in green and the ones that sold) and the samba .com Good luck

Yeah what Kevin sed. The later "Americanized" Ghias don't turn most people on. The bumpers, large tail light treatment and clunky newer steering wheel aren't popular. Too bad too, cause that car looks like it's really done up nice! Not sure of the price he thinks about getting for it. If you can get by those short comings and could get the car for a reasonable price, it would be a really nice driver to tool around in.

~WB

I like it. Love the funky german yellow color. I had a 2002 that color. It hides pollen and in my world that goes a long way.

Depends on just how 'gone thru' the car is. What motor,,gearbox. Kevin's right of course. Folks aren't all that high on the late models with the f'up bumpers and tails'. I personally like that look.

The convertible is the wild card. I'll take a guess and say it goes for 13k tops...and 11 lower end of the market

IMO Kevin hits the market value pretty well. Being a convertible is a big plus to value. Condition could be a plus, can't tell from the photos on that point. Yellow is a often minus, that color of yellow, 1970's German yellow is a big minus, for resale. The big taillights, bumpers and the front end treatment are a very big minus. It is not uncommon to only get 30-50% of what has been spent on a restoration back when a car is then sold. There are exceptions but generally speaking what has been spent and what it then sells for are not directly connected in any fashion....and when you toss in wrong body style, in a wrong color, you get the 30-50% sorts of returns...just the way it is and in a down market most of the quick sales are well under the money. I am aware of one restoration that fits this criteria, a '48 Chevy 4 door sedan, that returned 10% of the cost...ugly year, ugly body selection, and a no holds restoration....NOS everything.....big loss. I am not suggesting this Ghia is in that boat, but it would be very difficult to sell at over $15k and it might well linger at $12k unless there is a party who "just has to have it", like a friend or family member...$7-10k, should sell immediately...

Thanks you guys, I knew I posed the question in the right forum.. your opinions/ estimates, and time to respond very much appreciated.

Late last October I passed on buying one of the same model (though in the much more attractive (IMO) blue at a firm $9500. The car was for sale for a few weeks but did eventually sell presumably at the guy's price. It was bone stock with less than 80K miles and was very clean overall, with only the type of wear that comes from carrying kids around. Front tires needed replacing and there was an oily impression under the engine engine that looked to come mainly from the pushrod tubes. Started right up cold and ran smoothly. I liked it for $7500. but there wasn't any dealing to do with the guy.

I'm a big Ghia fan, I have owned a few in my day, including a lowlight convert. the earlier years up to 67 are the best, but most important over all else is numbers matching, originality....that is where you see the rediculous price hike, anything else is just another car...to me, Kevins list represents numbers matching....