Noted this on Samba, but apparently the owner wasn't having much luck there, so now its on eBay.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1708717 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271644946660?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMa...

I previously had communicated with Bill Moore extensively about US CBs, but not much was known about this CB beyond its listing on The Register.
I have never been able to locate any pics of the vehicle and I don't think Bill had any either.
This is a pretty big deal IMO because: (1) the tiny number of CBs in the US, and (2) the owner wants to sell.
If you think finding a CB for sale in Oz is hard or difficult, try the same search here in US. Hell is more likely to freeze over than finding a CB to buy in the US.
As Bill often said," Rare as Rocking Horse Shit....."
I would ditto that thought x 2.
I would suggest whoever is cataloging CB pics for The Register and The Gallery, hop on this while its still posted.

This is gonna be a tough sell here. The owner wants way too much for it......(considering the mentioned engine issues) but maybe because it is so rare overall, and particuarly here in the US, if he's positioned well, maybe he can wait until the big fish comes to the bait.

42,500.00 USD = 48,361.99 AUD
Serious stuff without a doubt.

[img]http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTE5NVgxNjAw/z/kgUAAOSw8cNUSZlg/$_57.JPG[/img]

Hopes this wakes the forum up a bit.
:-)

Regards,
Steve

it will not..

Once the ikea flat pack of cbs is ready without assembly instructions that you're so kindly making john, at should get me busy busy

I'm sure there will be an allen key with it.

Its good to see someone is still following the CB forum and commenting. Maybe I stirred the pot just a little.
;-)

Well, I'm continuing to follow this US CB offering. At this point there certainly isn't any wild bidding going on. I don't see or anticipate any and I don't see the action coming anywhere in the range of the Buy It Now asking price. Oh course, we don't know what the reserve is.....and it may well be substantially less than the BIN price.

I did however researched a little further and found a cancelled classified ad on The Samba which may reflect what the owner's range or realistic expectations are. There's a huge differential to the current eBay Buy It Now figure.
Old Samba ad:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1700578 
$7,000 USD (7,923.45 AUD)
I don't know what the owner is smoking or imbibing to warrant such an enormous swing in price between The Samba and eBay, but my general impression is that if it didn't move at The Samba, a site of enthusiastic VW followers, buyers, and sellers, it isn't likely to sell on Ebay, even though the numbers of potential lookers is greater. There's just no way to justify that differential, no matter how rare CBs are here in the US.
I guess a lot of it is about how serious the owner is about selling and how long he is willing to wait to achieve something approaching his asking price. I'm not sure he's close to that right now.

Here's a interesting detail on this CB that you wouldn't typically expect to see on a CB in the US:


Regards,
Steve

Well, not surprisingly this offering didn't sell.
Reserve Not Met @ a bid of $6,700 USD ( 7,668.53 AUD ).
Within the last 15 minutes of the auction, the Buy It Now price was lowered to $32,500 USD ( 37,197.89 AUD ).
A 10 grand discount.
That only bumped the bidding a few hundred bucks.
IMO, the seller isn't being realistic at even the lowered BIN price.

Simply put, there appears to be no market for this CB with the vehicle priced where is was.
Even with its known rarity here in the US, it is overvalued.
Either the market will have to move upward towards the seller, or the seller is going to move downward to find the sales threshold, before this CB will have a chance to sell.
C'est la vie.

Because of the auction, now at least we know specifically where it is located: Richmond, Maine

Regards,
Steve

Well, the more I research this CB, the stranger the story becomes.

Today I visited The Samba and thought I'd have a look around Classifieds to see if the buggy that was in the eBay auction ending yesterday might magically show up again in a new listing.
No luck there, but oddly enough, an older classified result appeared I hadn't noticed before. Dated Oct. 23 2014.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1708717 

Guess what the pricing was???
$18,500 USD ( 21,304.84 AUD )
Huh??? You gotta be shitting me......
Please remember the Oct. 6 Samba Classified @ $7000 USD ( 8,062.24 AUD)
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1700578 
The recent eBay auction was priced at $42,500, then dropped to $32,500 the last 15 minutes of the auction............when it was previously priced at The Samba for $7,000 then $18,500???
What the hell is the seller doing??? I don't think he has a clue. Or doesn't think anyone is paying attention.
This has to be the ultimate when it comes to grasping at straws or flinging scores of darts at a target in hopes of hitting something.

I'm sure he could rationalize his reasons for all this vacillating in pricing, but to me, he's the supreme example of a real "squirrel" of a seller.

Not the type that instills confidence in a potential buyer.
Pretty sad, IMO.

Regards,
Steve

Still following this strange, goofy, maybe bizarre offering.

Its clearly winter here now in north central Indiana and residential brave souls are spending more time huddled around available heat sources inside. Gotta pass the arctic day in some productive fashion......
Care to step out side?
Current temp: 19°F (-7°C).
Tonight's forecast: 9°F (-12.7C).
To add insult to injury: Tonight's wind chill.... -10F (-23.3C)

Anyway, back to the US CB sale offering.
The Samba ad got reposted Sat., 11/15/2014
Pricing is still the same. $18,500 (21,243.05 AUD)
Probably a website requirement to renew in a certain time frame window. Last post: Thu Oct 23, 2014.
I have concluded its even colder in Maine and the owner is of questionable mental capacity.

Every ad posting I have seen for this buggy has claimed there is a "sale pending" notation.
I honestly don't think anything could be further from the truth.
It's all smoke and mirrors.
We have gone from a claimed $7,000 USD price and sale, to an eBay item listed @ $42,500 USD and then dropped to $32,500 before the auction close, to a new Samba listing @ $18,500 USD.

I'd like for someone who is smarter than I am to rap my knuckles to first get my attention, and then explain to me the logic utilized by this seller.




I would remind everyone of the eBay copy, and why this vehicle likely isn't worth the current asking price:

"The buggy's body is in good condition and gets looks wherever you go. It's like Christmas morning for someone who knows vintage VW's and see's it for the first time. There is some rust under the car in spots but nothing serious. The engine has run great and been properly timed throughout my ownership. A couple of weekends ago when I was on a cruise however, I spun a crank-arm bearing. This will need to be replaced. I got quoted $70 machined and replaced. I expect the new owner to go through a rebuild to replace the seals and any mechanisms that could use a clean or replacement. She'll be smiling again in no time. So to be clear the engine is there but needs a little love to be back on the road. If intentions are to display in a museum then the engine can stay as it is. She ran beautifully just couple weeks ago. Overall the car is in very good, restored condition with some usage wear since restoration. Please ask any questions. I love chatting about her. If you need send me a message and I can also give you my phone number for a chat. Whoever the next special owner is, I want them to be a loving one."
* http://www.ebay.com/itm/1968-VW-Country-Buggy-/271644946660?ssPageName=STRK%3...

This puppy's likelihood of selling at this time of year, in this condition, at this asking price, is about as likely as they Clayton factory starting up again.


This US CB makes George Banham's look like the ultimate Gold Standard of current CB's for sale. For me.....too bad George's CB is in WA.
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mount-pleasant/cars-vans-utes/1967-volkswagen-...
http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=106997 

Regards,
Steve

Just wanted to let everyone know that I was lucky enough to get Country Buggy KO294 delivered to me in Wisconsin today from Maine. Just so everyone knows I did not pay the crazy outrageous price near $40,000 USD. It was only a 4 digit number well below $10,000 USD. I believe the guy I bought it off of just was trying to flip it and make a quick dollar knowing how rare these cars were. I think he scared a lot of buyers off by flip flopping his price around so much, but I talked some sense into him and was able to get it to a reasonable price for its condition. I plan on restoring the car but do not know if I will do a full body off restoration or just repaint it and rebuild the motor. It is in fairly good shape and only has one small rust area on the car. I will keep you informed and updated. Wish Bill Moore was still around because he was great for the Country Buggy scene. I got to know him by talking with him online before he passed away and he will be missed. I was the overseas buyer in the States who he was looking to find a Country Buggy for.

He was the Guru of Country Buggies!

I am looking for a drivers side mirror for a right hand drive country buggy and a pair of front blinker lenses for a Country Buggy. If you have or know of anyone that has these items they would like to sell please let me know.

If anyone has any information that would be helpful in restoring this car please let me know.

Thanks and Good Day!

CBKO294,
Hey welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your acquistion! It's the place to be if you've got a CB, want to know something, and need parts. This is the mostly likely place to satisfy your needs. I'm another Yank who has been around for a while.....thankfully the mates put up with me.

I communicated with the Maine seller and his pricing was just absolutely whacky and made absolutely NO SENSE, although you had to be tuned in to several different places to figure out what was going on......which most people weren't. Glad you got it at a reasonable price. If you got it for 4 figures, you did well IMO because of the rarity generally, and their absolute scarcity in North America.

There's another CB in Milwaukee, Wisconsin somewhere, but Bill Moore never posted any details because I beleive he never knew more than that. No KO# or anything else, other than its supposedly black and has a hardtop. Its listed as Vehicle 339 on The CB Register.
Also there's a CB in Momence, IL, near Kankakee. That one is KO 335.
I know who the owner of that one is.

I know where most of the North American CB's are. There's even one in Indiana where I live, KO 788. I have communicated with a few of the owners. Some will communicate openly, others don't seem to want anyone to know what they have and where it is located. I'm happy for your openness and wish you much success in your restoration. Keep us informed. We love pictures here, so don't be shy about posting some, especially of the restoration, no matter which way you decide to go.

Drop me a PM or an email if you'd like to pick my brain off site.

Regards,
Steve

Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to the site. Feel free to post as many pictures as you can. Also, you need to have 5 posts before you can PM but you can go to test it out and log some posts there if you want.

Yogie

yeah i have seen a photo of the black hard top one that you said was in Milwaukee. I am an hour and a half from Milwaukee and always keep an eye out for it. I had heard it was also in Minneapolis but don't have any confirmation on that. I also own a 1967 Bug and was surprised to see how big a Country Buggy felt compared to the Bug.

The only CB I was aware of in Minnesota, belongs to Reed Cowan, a big VW collector. But he moved to Southern California 5 or 6 years ago, and the car moved with him.
Its KO 449. Ex Peter Thompson CB. I've communicated with Reed within the last two months.
If there's another one in MN, I have never heard that and know nothing about that possiblity. Nothing in The Register reflects that information.

Regards,
Steve

p.s. oh yeah, driving a CB would almost be like paddling around in an Olympic sized swimming pool compared with a bug.

Congrats on the purchase! Brand new front blinkers are still available from hella, the number is 2100, I don't know if you can buy them in America?

Thanks Jake,

Do you have a Website for them?