Ned to sell '65 356 Cab - what value?

[rswannabe]

I could use some help here. My parents have decided they want to sell their 1965 356C Cabriolet, serial number 161251. The car is light ivory with a black top and black interior. They bought the car in 1989 after it had been sitting in storage for 12 years. Originally a california car, we can show title going back to 1966, and that my parents are only the second registered owners. They bought the car with 53,000 miles on the odometer and now it is showing 68,500. We have every reason to believe that this is the original mileage and the odometer has not been rolled. I will go to the car this weekend and pull off the engine serial number and original color code (R131 I believe, but I'll have to confirm that) as I'm sure people will be wanting them.

When they purchased the car it was a robin egg blue, but they had it taken down to bare metal and repianted light ivory. The bare metal repaint is fully documented and shows the car has no rust, no damage, and is perfectly straight. At the same time all chrome was redone and all rubber replaced. We have complete records for the past 15 years and all work has been performed by Denny Akers, including a top end rebuild in 1996. Denny is a well know and very reputable Porsche wrench in the area.

This car is a beautiful car, tight and solid. I would say it is a "street concours" auto. I found the car for them in 1989, but have been away from the 356 scene for a while now and am out of touch with what current values are. I could use some help with putting a number to this.

Thanks,

Brooke

[C. Clark]

Nice car,have you tried, www.356registry.org/
They seem to up on prices and recent sales, Bruce Andersons mag. "Excellence" could be a reference also. By the look though it should command a very good price.
Chas.
356
912

[id10t]

The Excellence pricing isn't quite right - I'd check the "Market Watch" of the 356 Registry magazine. Also, check the Registry's website for people who do PPIs.... one of them may be close, and may be willing to do an inspection and give you an estimate.

[rswannabe]

Thanks

I had taken a look at the classifieds on the 356 Registry site, but not a lot there. Does the 356 registry have a web board like this? If so I have not been able to find it.

I like the idea of checking out local people who perform PPI's. I'll look into that.

Please keep the suggestions coming.

Brooke

[id10t]

The Registry has a listserv "356talk" - http://www.356registry.org/356talk/join_or_leave.html

[Wayne 962]

I've typically seen these trade hands in the $35K range...

-Wayne

[aylanco]

Interesting. The original color appears to be Aetna Blue, a color available on T5-B series cars, 1960-1961. Of course anything could be special ordered. Does the color tag say 6003? That is the color code for Aetna Blue.

[rswannabe]

Aylanco,

Funny you mention the color. I was trying to identify the original color and found a connunfrum. Whe my folks bought the car it was blue as shown in the pictures. I though it might have been sky blue (code 6403), but the plaque on the driver's door sill says 131. That does not even seem to be a correct color code designation for the year. I have had some people speculate that someone replaced the plaque when it was repainted. Well, we were the ones who changed the color to white and we did not change the plaque. Anyway, why would someone take the time and effort to change the plaque and not use a corect color code?

I wonder if this was aspecial order color orginailly, hence the odd code on the color plaque. What do you think?

I really need to order up a cardex on this car to settle this I think.

[id10t]

Problem with the Kardex - you just don't get that much these days for the $110... used to be you could get all sorts of good info for $35, but German privacy laws, etc. have cut back on the info available.

[Zeke]

Wayne says 35, I say probably more. Case in point: Last week, a man offered me a '64 cab COMPLETELY disassembled and unpainted. Apparently, it is an awesome body. The car is at Emory's. Price: 30K. Not what I'm looking for, so I didn't pursue negotiations. However, I think the guy, whom I won't name, is serious and probably will get his price, or close to it.

[rswannabe]

Zeke,

I had already come to a similar conclusion. When my folks told me they were thinking of selling, I put a ballpark price on the car of $35,000 pending further research. I wanted to make sure I was not under pricing so I started doing my research (hence this and other posts). I quickly realized there had been a significant price jump in the last few years. From what I have learned in looking at sales comps and talking to many people, I think this car is worth somehwere around low to mid $40's now. This value pending on my being able to prove it is matching numbers. The Kardex is now on order.

My parents now have two months (lead time to get the Kardex) to decide if they want to sell it. I hope to convince them to keep it (one more play toy for me ).

Brooke

[Soterik]

Number matching, but non original paint color.....$40K + ....? possibly....what's been done to the interior, what's the engine look like? Getting into the mid 40's also means getting into some of the details, and they should be pretty nice. Toolkit in the car? Wood steering wheel? Deluxe horn rim? Original Radio? etc.

Ask Denny...he'll put a price on it for you....

Eric,
Seattle

[rswannabe]

Thanks. I have alredy talked to to Denny and his input was low to mid $40's.