Need pricing opinion on a Lark convertible 1962

[hottelecom]

Dear all,

I am preparing to possibly become a Studebacker owner. One of my friends is thinking of selling me her grand-mother's 1962 Lark convertible and I am wondering what a fair price would be for it.

It is in good condition with 50,000 miles. The motor has been replaced 10 years ago.

Any thoughts or opinions on the above would be appreciated.

Isabelle

[GTtim]

Isabelle, we're happy to hear you want to buy a Studebaker. You're not giving us much information on the car you want to buy so any numbers I give you are really subjective. Without giving it a lot of thought I would say that the value of that car would be between $5,000 to $12,000 depending on condition and equipment. If you'd like to give us more information we can refine those numbers some.
Good luck.
Tim K.

[Transtar56]

Congradulations, Isabelle, on you (mabey) aquiring a very sought after Studebaker.As has been suggested,we need much more imformation (pictures sure would help) about the car to be of much assistance to you.
I myself own a 62 Lark hardtop,V-8,auto,that I love,but Id rather have a convertable,and so would most others.
You see convertables cost more to begin with,are not to practical in northern areas,so consequntly they are quite rare(realatively speaking).
A lot depends on your cars condition,with rust being the most important factor.Convertables of any make are much more rust prone if their alloweed to sit outside for years and detererate.If this car has little or no rust,its a jewel just waiting to be discovered.
The top may need replacing,and the interior re-done too,not cheap,but worth every penny as an investment if your car is not rusty.
You say the engine was replaced about ten years ago,with what? A Stude V-8 will not be worn out in 50k miles,so I wonder why this was done.If someone installed a SBC,(small block Chev),it tends to lessen the value,but if you just plan on driving and enjoying the car,this may not bother you a bit.
Also so much depends on the rest of the power train,was it a six cylinder car with an automatic tranny?(not great) or was it a V-8 with a four speed(very great).
Tell us more and we can help you out.
A six cylinder rusty car with a nasty interior might be worth as little as 1000 dollars for parts,wheras,a really clean V-8 62 Lark convertable in very nice condition could well be worth 15-20k.
Get back to us soon with some more imfo,I for one would really like to know.
One thing I forgot to tell you,you won't have any trouble finding parts for your car at all,there are lots of good vendors selling original and re-produced parts.
Do a search on Google,or go to"Studebaker on the net" which will lead you all over the Stude world.
Good luck,and I love to see another new person taking up the wonderfull world of Studes!

[Roscomacaw]

Isabelle,

These other folks have spelled it out pretty well. Condition is as much a price-defining factor (maybe more) than make and model.
I think I can safely say that ANY convertible that's relatively intact is gonna have a value of at least a couple grand. But the way it's equipped (What engine - what transmission - options, etc.) and the relative condition of the running parts and the body are gonna be decisive when trying to establish an honest value.

Some photos would really be good for us to help narrow down the range of value. So many times some folks will describe a car as having "a little rust" and yet that leaves quite a bit of latitude for definition. To a guy like myself - in dry California - "a little bit" might be some VERY minor surface rust. Whereas to a guy who lives a rust-belt state, "A little bit" might equate to some small holes that will need to be cut out and patched!. So you can see the variance that could come without us actualy seeing it (thru photos anyway).

IF it's driveable - ask to drive it and see how it goes. If not, ask why it's not driveable. Was it parked because it was needing work or was it parked because Granny got to old to drive it? How long has it BEEN parked? If it's been more than a year, figure you're gonna have to have the brakes redone at the very least. Figure in engine belts & hoses, fresh tires, fluid changes, maybe even exhaust system work. Nothing is worse for these cars than to spend long times just sitting.

Since this is a convertible, see if you can lift up the carpets and look for holes in the floor. Some rust on the floors - even crusty rust - isn't that bad. But they can rust completely thru and that'll need attention by either patching the holes or replacing the whole floor pans which is a worst case scenario and expensive if you can't do it yourself. [:0]
If you can't get the carpets up, look underneath the car and see if you can see the underside of the floorpans from that vantage point. If they look solid - or even if they've go some small rusted spots, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Of course, it WOULD be worth mentioning to the seller when you're making your offer.

You see where we're coming from here? Hard to give you even a close guesstimate without knowing specifics and condition. Wouldn't be fair to you or the seller for us to just throw out a figure and say "there ya go!".

OH! One other thing.... We have some pretty sharp-eyed folks on this forum from Canada. I realize it's a BIG country but you MIGHT just be lucky enough to have someone with a "Studebaker Eye" take a look at it for you. I'm pretty certain anyone that would do it for you would give you and objective appraisal of it's condition and they wouldn't do so with the devious goal of trying to steal it out from under you.
For that matter, even if someone from this forum isn't geographically close, we could find a contact Ph# for a club chapter in your area and maybe find someone to help you decide whether or not to buy it and further help you as far as it's care and maintenace. Stude folks are always willing to help. That's a fact!

Miscreant at large.

1957 Transtar 1/2ton
1960 Larkvertible V8
1958 Provincial wagon
1953 Commander coupe
1957 President 2-dr
1955 President State
1951 Champion Biz cpe
1963 Daytona project FS

[hottelecom]

Guys,

Thanks so much for your feedback. It will be very useful. I am going to see the car tomorrow and will post some picts and give you more details when I return!

Isabelle

quote:Originally posted by hottelecom

Dear all,

I am preparing to possibly become a Studebacker owner. One of my friends is thinking of selling me her grand-mother's 1962 Lark convertible and I am wondering what a fair price would be for it.

It is in good condition with 50,000 miles. The motor has been replaced 10 years ago.

Any thoughts or opinions on the above would be appreciated.

Isabelle

[Transtar56]

Isabelle,I just noticed reading Biggs post that your from Canada.Im from Nova Scotia,but travel the whole Maritime region frequently.
Like Bob said,theres SDC(Studebaker Drivers Club)members in every part of the country,and someone in the club is bound to be reasnobly close to you.
Where all do you hail from?
Another thing you can do right now,go over to E-Bay,I don't know if theres a car like that on there or not right now,but you can bring up the history of at least the last few months to see what similar cars have sold for.