Oval Beetle Price Range Guide
Hi all ....
i hope that this is the correct section for this post ... i am hoping that someone here can give me some price guidance ...
i think that i have a chance to buy an old beetle suitable for a bare metal resto .... and i am hoping that someone here can give me an approx price range of what would be reasonable to pay for this type of beetle as is ie as a restoration project ... and as a comparison, what would it cost to buy one that has already been fully and totally restored ... and do they come up often?
it is a complete car in terms of panels and interior ... but is missing the motor and gearbox ... it is in reasonable condition ... and altho' it has some rust - it is largely relatively rust free .... i am not exactly sure what year it is ... but the oval window at the rear is split into two sections ... and finally, is there anything in particular to look for in buying this particular style of beetle ...
i know it's vague ... but at the moment, that's all the info that i have ... just hoping for a bit of a range in terms of what is reasonable
regards
A|T
"the oval window at the rear is split into two sections"
Do you mean it's a split beetle? Even better score than an oval A|T
have a read of this.
http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=68417
Rebuilding a car is lots of time, lots of money and lots of learning. Make sure your up for it too, and expect to wait a while before you get to enjoy it.
Hi vwkg ..
yes, i am pretty sure that it's a "split screen' rear oval VW beetle - i am not sure what yaers these were produced ...but i am guessing that it's pre 55 .. can anyone tell me more precisely .....
are there many of these around ...
Hi Mick ....
thanks for the reply and the link ... i am in the process of restoring a couple of split screen kombis so have a pretty fair idea of the resto costs .... and i think that now i have a reasonable idea of the price that i would expect to pay for a good solid split screen kombi project with all the "usual', but "not excessive" rust ...
but unfortunately i have absolutely no idea about beetles ....
so am really just wanting to get a feel for the "range" that these unrestored ovals sell for ....
and how that cmprs to one that is already (very well) done .....
and also if they come up very often ... are they relatively rare ... or just "uncommon" etc
again, thanks for the replies so far ..... does anyone have any approx numbers?
regards
A|T
I've seen split beetles on ebay for $53,000 before, supposedly original. Didn't see it sell. i believe there more common overseas.
I believe its always cheaper to by an already restored vehicle, but you don't always know the history. I'd say you'd spend a lot more starting from scratch.
I bought a half finished project and saved lots of dosh, but still spent a bunch.
There was a split window beetle at the nats for sale with 'make an offer'. You don't see them often.
Also depends if your going custom or original. i think its 'vwmad' on this forum who made his own rear split window from the standard oval window. Looks good too. Plenty more ovals around and can be picked up cheap.
if its that early its probly not worth restoring. would be much too expensive.
if you like you can call me and ill go have a look for you and let you know what i think you should pay for it.
nick
0422 721 253
bond wrote:if its that early its probly not worth restoring. would be much too expensive.
if you like you can call me and ill go have a look for you and let you know what i think you should pay for it.
nick
0422 721 253
that's what i was thinking too Nick
😎...........so if it's closer to my end of the coast, i will do the checking for yas, no probs
😂Its a bit late for april fools???????
69 Beetle
66 Beetle
56 Beetle
🙂 🙂 ...
Thanks for the generous offer to "check it out" ..... but never mind, i will have to pass on the kind offers this time .......
😂 😂 😂
mick said
I've seen split beetles on ebay for $53,000 before, supposedly original. Didn't see it sell
.... i'm presuming this is for a fully restored one ... not a project ????
now, anyone help with some numbers in regard to an approx price guide i would really appreciate it thanks ..
regards
A|T
OK so wher r u located
and as to a price theres the old saying how long is a piece of string
there r way too many variables to VALUE a split window beetle fora start what year do u think it is
and ther is NO approximations when purchasing or selling
Hi Dave ...
i'm located in sydney .... and will i appreciate that it's a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" type question ...
however, it's usually possible to give a range of what is a reasonable price for a car of thuis nature given that they both have very little rust ... and are complete cars in respect to panels and interior .... i have since been informed that they both do have motor and gearboxes as well ... and in fact are apparently runners ...
so, perhaps i can ask the question a bit differently ...
does anyone know of any rear window split screen oval beetles that have sold in australia over the last few years ... both restored or projects ... and at approx what price they fetched (and what condition that they were in?) .....
and generally, how many split screen ovals are around? ...
pm me if you prefer not to state a public price on any recent sales ...
i would REALLY like to get some approx general prices on this type of car if i can ....
regards
A|T
Split beetles are definitely rare.
Restored they go for lost of $$$.
Check out TheSamba.com, there is huge amounts of info on beetles of all vintages there.
They are American, but more than happy to help out with information etc.
Check out their classifieds, bound to find cars of similar standard in there, compare the prices (USD though, so just convert)
Hi,
I saw a `52 Split Bug sell at auction for $12000 a few years ago. It was complete but in need of restoration. Wasn`t very rusty but had some usual issues.
Fully restored I would say around the $50K mark these days as restored Ovals seem to be going for $15-$30K at the moment and Splits are much rarer.
Does the person who is selling this car know what he has got? If it`s "just an old Volksie" in his eyes then you may get it for a couple of hundred bucks to maybe couple of grand..
Otherwise I`d say around the 10k mark would sound about right if he knows what he`s got.
Is it RHD?
Cheers
Graham
A guy was trying to flog a 1949 Split on eBay a few months back. He was asking $30k and it failed to sell on two occasions. It was unrestored, with original engine and gearbox and in pretty good nick - not showroom but certainly drivable and worth keeping original.
Watch to make sure it is a real split, as you can buy just the split window section and graft it into a later year.
Vicsbarn has 3 splits for sale, and they have been there for considerable time. (
http://www.vicsbahn.com/beetles.htm)
Prices for parts for splits are very high. Zwitters (Oct 52 to 10 Mar 53) are not quite so bad as some interior parts are common to ovals.
Almost all splits are LHD. IIRC, only Ireland and South Africa made CKD kits that were RHD.
Any piks??
thanks for that help guys ... it has been very informative ....
it tells me pretty much what i want to know price wise .... i am still waiting to find out exactly what the seller wants for these two cars ....
i have seen some pics ... and one in particular looks in very good condition ... i will question as carefully as i can to make sure that they are "real" splits ... how would i be able to tell if it is a "professionally" done cut and welded? ...
i have been told that they are both 1951 models ... i thought that the split beetles were pre 1950 ... and that the ovals were being made by 51... so am a little "suss" about that ....
volumex mentioned that parts are expensive ....so does that mean that they have a different chassis, floor pan ... body panels etc to an oval? ... is it possible to get parts here in Au for these still?
and if i understand the post correctly you are saying that there were no split beetles bought into Au? ... we only ever had ovals here? .... what was the first yaer that vw beetles were sold in aussie? ....... these cars are definately RHD cars .... 🙂
regards
A|T
I think split window beetles were made up to and including 1953. VW started selling beetles here in late '53 into '54, and thus were all ovals rather than splits. Any splits you see in Australia are either imports or 'fakes'.
People, please correct me if I'm wrong.
🙂
'76 Golf
Splits were from start of English controlled production (say 1945) up to March 10, 1953 (chassis number 1-0 454 950, engine number 511 112)
Zwitters are a sub-set of splits, they have the oval dash, batwing steering wheel. They started October 10, 1952 (chassis number 1-0 397 023, engine number 481 713) and went to the end of splits (as above)
Australian "official" imports were (John, step in here anytime) 1 in October 1953 (no idea of construction date) and 30 in early 1954 (October production dates).
There were a number of earlier imports (ex-servicemen etc) so not all splits are recent imports.
Shell, chassis and floor pans are essentially the same between splits and ovals. The devil is in the detail. Bonnet handles, WV emblems, bumpers, headlight glass, brake reservoir, jack, speedo, steering wheel, glove box, seats, wiper blades, heating knob, popes nose, air cleaner, etc etc are all different to the 56/57 ovals - some are the same as the 53-55 ovals (fuel tank, window winders, door handles, quarter windows) but these are getting a bit pricey too. Head on over to the Samba and price up all the missing bits - particularly the motor and gearbox.
PM me your email address and I will send through some info.
Simon
