If you'da spent that much money on a Chevy....

[BobPalma]

...then you'd really have something worth the money.

I was taken aback by the selling price of this Laguna Blue 1964 Daytona convertible on e-bay: An R1 clone with air: $35,000:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1964-Studebaker-Daytona-convertible-/160864179449?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item25744094f9

So I thought I'd have a little fun and see how comparable 1964 and 1965 Chevys were doing...you know, the ones "worth restoring" from an investment standpoint.

There were 345 Completed Listings when I keyed in years 1964 and 1965 for Chevrolets, so I wasn't about to spend all afternoon and make a career of the project. Nonetheless, here's some comparables.

A nice '64 327/Glide that sold for $28,100:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/64-Impala-Convertible-FRESH-PRO-RESTO-Numbers-Match-Super-Nice-Fun-Cruiser-/230841114092?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item35bf33ddec

Geeze, a 409 didn't even get bid to $30,000:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/RARE-1965-Chevy-Impala-409-Convertible-Frame-Off-nothing-spared-/300770325227?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item46074ef2eb

This Malibu is a six, so that certainly held the money down:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1965-Chevelle-Convertible-2-owners-very-nice-/150887131547?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item232192e99b

The hyperbole on this '65 Impala is 'way over the top, it would appear, but they did sell it for less than $10,000:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Gorgeous-Thoroughly-documented-1965-Chevy-Impala-Convertible-1-owner-V-8-Nice-/110940127986?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item19d48c02f2

'Betcha the custom touches held this Malibu down, or it would be comparable to the subject Daytona:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1964-CHEVROLET-CHEVELLE-MALIBU-SS-FULL-RESTORATION-LOW-MILES-STUNNING-/110938586192?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item19d4747c50

Ditto the color and goofy tires / wheels on this '64 Impala:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1964-CHEVROLET-IMPALA-2D-CONVERTIBLE-CUSTOM-WE-SHIP-WORLDWIDE-/120970345405?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1c2a64fbbd

Well, that was just scanning the first three of seven Chevy pages (awful lot of Corvettes!), but the $35,000 Daytona, assuming it really did happen, is good news for anyone "wasting their money on a Studebaker" when "you could be restoring something that was really worth the money!"

Ah, conventional wisdom....BP

[pushrod63]

Growing up in the 60s and 70s I never had the "typical" urge to own a Camaro, Nova, Chevelle, Mustang or any of the other popular "muscle cars" of the day because every second car on the road or in the High School parking lot was one of these. This summer I managed to get to three different, somewhat local car shows and out of probably 1000 cars and trucks, I saw only 4 Studebakers and two of those were resto mods with Chevy drive trains. I do understand that restoring something that has every part available to replace makes the job easier and cheaper, but for me, the "hunt" is as much of the journey as the resto itself. I like a good challenge.

[studegary]

There were only nine bidders. The second highest bid was only $19K. To me, that would be close to the market for the car. The final bid jumped from $19K to $35K, which must have been the reserve. Either one way out bidder that just had to have the car or there was something funny going on.

EDIT: The last five bids were in the last two minutes of the auction. This is not that unusual, but it did double the bid on the car.

[Jet Green Daytona]

I was taken aback by the price of this car too since at the international meet there were a few flyers up asking $50,000.00, then a day or two later it dropped to I think $36,000.00. When I got back from the meet I saw it on ebay with a starting bid of $23,000.00. I broke the eBay rules and sent him an offer, he turned it down, but in the mean time, he dropped the opening bid to $14,000.00. The bidding started off slow. I work at night so it was to my advantage that the auction was ending at 11:00 am. I made sure I was home and online and started in on the bidding war. I am the 2nd highest bidder at $19,564.64. I didn't really understand how it went from my bid right up to $35,000.00 in the last 2 seconds, but supposedly the highest bidder typed in $200,000.00 instead of $20,000.00 so it automatically reached its reserve and the auction ended. The owner contacted me later to let me know he still has the car since the high bid was a mistake. I stuck to my highest bid, which I also think is a fair price for the car, but again he turned it down. He indeed wants to get $35,000.00 for the car. I have not seen the car or met with the owner, and I have no doubt that he could actually have that much or more money into the car, but for me that puts it out of my league. I have been watching the eBay prices for about 5 years now, maybe even 6 and I think the highest I saw a 64 Daytona convertible sell for was between $17,000.00 and $20,000.00. I know there are a lot more people in the club that can give an accurate value to a 64 Daytona Convertible than I can, but I felt I was making an educated guess on the value.

I don't compare prices to the more popular cars, but I look to the great Classics made before WW II. I am pretty sure you can get a nicely restored 36 or 37 Cord 810 Sedan for equal money to the original asking price of this Daytona, and you will not loose money on the Cord. Sure owning a Cord is not everyone's cup of tea, but considering it was made in 36-37 it is for all purposes a "Modern car". It will easily do highway speeds, comfortable driver and despite what general knowledge exists, it is a reliable car.

Todd

[BobPalma]

I was taken aback by the price of this car too since at the international meet there were a few flyers up asking $50,000.00, then a day or two later it dropped to I think $36,000.00. When I got back from the meet I saw it on ebay with a starting bid of $23,000.00. I broke the eBay rules and sent him an offer, he turned it down, but in the mean time, he dropped the opening bid to $14,000.00. The bidding started off slow. I work at night so it was to my advantage that the auction was ending at 11:00 am. I made sure I was home and online and started in on the bidding war. I am the 2nd highest bidder at $19,564.64. I didn't really understand how it went from my bid right up to $35,000.00 in the last 2 seconds, but supposedly the highest bidder typed in $200,000.00 instead of $20,000.00 so it automatically reached its reserve and the auction ended. The owner contacted me later to let me know he still has the car since the high bid was a mistake. I stuck to my highest bid, which I also think is a fair price for the car, but again he turned it down. He indeed wants to get $35,000.00 for the car. I have not seen the car or met with the owner, and I have no doubt that he could actually have that much or more money into the car, but for me that puts it out of my league. I have been watching the eBay prices for about 5 years now, maybe even 6 and I think the highest I saw a 64 Daytona convertible sell for was between $17,000.00 and $20,000.00. I know there are a lot more people in the club that can give an accurate value to a 64 Daytona Convertible than I can, but I felt I was making an educated guess on the value.

I don't compare prices to the more popular cars, but I look to the great Classics made before WW II. I am pretty sure you can get a nicely restored 36 or 37 Cord 810 Sedan for equal money to the original asking price of this Daytona, and you will not loose money on the Cord. Sure owning a Cord is not everyone's cup of tea, but considering it was made in 36-37 it is for all purposes a "Modern car". It will easily do highway speeds, comfortable driver and despite what general knowledge exists, it is a reliable car. Todd

That certainly explains it, Todd; thanks so much.

Gary pretty well summed it up in Post #3, "or there was something funny going on."

Do ya' think?

That said, it looks like the car could be sold immediately for $20,000. That's nothing to sneeze at compared to those Chevy prices; awfully close! BP

[Jet Green Daytona]

Hi Bob, Gary was not alone in thinking there was something funny going on, when I looked at the bids and saw it jump from my bid right up to the $35,000.00 mark(I've never seen that happen before), I immediately thought something was fishy, but then again I thought good for the seller he got the price he wanted. When the seller first wrote to me and said the high bidder made a mistake, all I could think is how can someone make a mistake when placing a bid? Something must not be right. After several e-mails back and forth he explained what the mistake was by the ultimate high bidder.

I have to admit, I need another car like I need a hole in my head, but that convertible sure is nice looking. I would of course have to sell my Daytona sedan. I would have been there this past Friday to pick it up if he accepted my offer, just in time for IDYSD. I'm still watching to see what happens next with this car, since its only about a 5 hour drive north of me to go get it.

Todd

[jclary]

It takes a true "Studebaker personality" to pursue and pay what it takes to own a Studebaker of your dreams.

After all...(and I have said it many times)...anybody can buy a Chevy!

A Studebaker...any Studebaker...is different...and that has a value all its own!

[gohdes]

I don't think 20K is out of line at all, it definitely looks worth it with the shiny chassis. maybe a little more, but I wouldn't think too much higher than 22k or so. But it sounds like it's not even close to what the seller wants. I don't know if I have seen any Lark/Daytona convert sell for more than 20K.
Seller must be trying to get what was put in it, which never happens. If it did, I have a 60 lark convertible for sale for higher than the price of this 64!

[Jet Green Daytona]

I certainly don't fault the seller for trying to recoup some of his expenses from the restoration or his purchase of the car, but there is a market value for any car, which is never going to equal the cost of a perfect restoration.

"It takes a true "Studebaker personality" to pursue and pay what it takes to own a Studebaker of your dreams.

After all...(and I have said it many times)...anybody can buy a Chevy!

A Studebaker...any Studebaker...is different...and that has a value all its own!"


I say the same thing when people ask me why I bought a Studebaker, besides the fact I bought what I wanted, anyone can own a Chevy or a Ford. I go to a lot of local shows and cruise nights and most of the time I am the only person with a Studebaker. Its almost amazing how some of the GM muscle car owners are suprised to see what a 64 Studebaker came with as compared to a 67 Buick, like an inside hood realease. I thought for a while that I wouldn't be interested in selling my Daytona unless I found a prewar Studebaker, but I saw a few Daytona convertibles at the international meet and that got me thinking....Yeah, it was that easy to change my mind. In the mean time, I am still enjoying driving around in the sedan.

Todd

[wittsend]

Hummm..., if the "high bidder" made a mistake what was it??? Surely he wouldn't have attempted to bid $3,500 woops..., accidentally added another zero if the current bid was at $19,000+. So then, perhaps he intended to bid $25,000 and hit the" three" key by accident taking it to $35,000? Seems a bit careless regarding the spending of such a large sum of money. And with Ebay there is a two step process. You enter the bid and send it. Then you have to "Confirm" the bid before it becomes official. So there was opportunity to see a bid made in dollar enter error.

This is just speculation but I have heard of sellers having someone else bid "off the charts" to prevent a sale because they don't like the numbers that the car is at. You can not bid on your own auction, but a friend can "assist" you. The surprise of someone doing that is Ebay still sees it as a sold item and the seller is liable for the fees on the $35,000 sale (which can add up).

There is a resolution process for "dead beat bidders" but I have found it to be quite tedious. Twice I listed a Halda Twinmaster on Ebay specifically stating USA bidders only. Both time the high bidder was from Europe. After the difficulty the first time I just "ate" the $20 fee and the item sits in my drawer to this day.

Was there a "Reserve" on the car?
Tom

[studegary]

Hummm..., if the "high bidder" made a mistake what was it??? Surely he wouldn't have attempted to bid $3,500 woops..., accidentally added another zero if the current bid was at $19,000+. So then, perhaps he intended to bid $25,000 and hit the" three" key by accident taking it to $35,000? Seems a bit careless regarding the spending of such a large sum of money. And with Ebay there is a two step process. You enter the bid and send it. Then you have to "Confirm" the bid before it becomes official. So there was opportunity to see a bid made in dollar enter error.

This is just speculation but I have heard of sellers having someone else bid "off the charts" to prevent a sale because they don't like the numbers that the car is at. You can not bid on your own auction, but a friend can "assist" you. The surprise of someone doing that is Ebay still sees it as a sold item and the seller is liable for the fees on the $35,000 sale (which can add up).

There is a resolution process for "dead beat bidders" but I have found it to be quite tedious. Twice I listed a Halda Twinmaster on Ebay specifically stating USA bidders only. Both time the high bidder was from Europe. After the difficulty the first time I just "ate" the $20 fee and the item sits in my drawer to this day.

Was there a "Reserve" on the car?
Tom

I believe that the reserve was $35,000. If less than that was bid, the high bid amount would only increment up by the next step. If more than the reserve is bid, the bid goes up to the reserve, at least until someone raises it beyond that. If someone put in $200,000 instead of $20,000, that would give the result shown, as previously explained.
I have had a deadbeat bidder on a Studebaker. Even with a relisting, people are then leary of the vehicle. I lost $4K on that one.

[Jet Green Daytona]

Hummm..., if the "high bidder" made a mistake what was it??? Surely he wouldn't have attempted to bid $3,500 woops..., accidentally added another zero if the current bid was at $19,000+. So then, perhaps he intended to bid $25,000 and hit the" three" key by accident taking it to $35,000? Seems a bit careless regarding the spending of such a large sum of money. And with Ebay there is a two step process. You enter the bid and send it. Then you have to "Confirm" the bid before it becomes official. So there was opportunity to see a bid made in dollar enter error.

This is just speculation but I have heard of sellers having someone else bid "off the charts" to prevent a sale because they don't like the numbers that the car is at. You can not bid on your own auction, but a friend can "assist" you. The surprise of someone doing that is Ebay still sees it as a sold item and the seller is liable for the fees on the $35,000 sale (which can add up).

There is a resolution process for "dead beat bidders" but I have found it to be quite tedious. Twice I listed a Halda Twinmaster on Ebay specifically stating USA bidders only. Both time the high bidder was from Europe. After the difficulty the first time I just "ate" the $20 fee and the item sits in my drawer to this day.

Was there a "Reserve" on the car?
Tom

Tom, this was a reserve auction, so the seller had no advantage of bidding the car up to meet the reserve only to not sell the car and have to pay the final value fees. After several e-mails back and forth between the seller and myself, it is completely honest that the highest bidder made a mistake. It happened in the last 5 seconds of the auction or maybe even less, like 2 seconds left. Adrenaline starts to flow, emotions are in place and oops, he made a mistake, yeah careless maybe, but it happens. The mistake was the high bidder typed in $200,000.00 instead of $20,000.00 that's why it got bumped up to meet the reserve price. Its easy to assume in this day and age that it was foul play, but its not always the case, there are some honest people left, and people still make mistakes.

I've sold over 1200 items on eBay, and you would be surprised how many times I see bids cancelled for the reason that the bidder typed in the wrong amount. In all of my cases as a seller its happened before the end of the auction, so there was no harm, and no foul.

Todd

[Bish]

I know the retired man who owns this car. It is indeed VERY nice. He paid $25,000 for it, had it shipped, and had to pay to have some fairly major engine work done to boot. Incidentally, Chevrolet made over 1 million Impalas in 1965; they're as common as dirt. Just sayin'.
Bish

[showbizkid]

Meanwhile, you can score this little beauty for about 1/2 the asking price of that 409 Chevy, and have at least as much fun in it. More proof that Bowties are overrated these days.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Plymouth-Barracuda-Formula-S-1968-Plymouth-Barracuda-340-Formula-S-/251141395716?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3a79319504

[BobPalma]

Meanwhile, you can score this little beauty for about 1/2 the asking price of that 409 Chevy, and have at least as much fun in it. More proof that Bowties are overrated these days.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Plymouth-Barracuda-Formula-S-1968-Plymouth-Barracuda-340-Formula-S-/251141395716?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3a79319504

Those Formula S Barracudas are indeed an excellent fun choice, Clark; a good recommendation.

The guy should have used the words FENDER TAG was scrapped, not VIN TAG, for Pete's sake. He did clarify it when answering an inquiry, however. BP