That is a very cool ride. After paying $48,000 (or a bit less), I wonder if you'd be upside down in it after restoration costs? I found two. At $139,000 and $159,000.
48k and from what is see is missing parts. the air cleaner is wrong. no details for underside. add another 100k if your not doing any of the repair work. project for the people with deep pockets. nice to dream.......it's just like everybody wanting their gs/gsx to be worth over 100k. take a poll and ask how many people here have 100k of fun money around. maybe count them on one hand. now back to the real world.
Which is probably exactly why this seller is getting rid of it. He probably found out just how much it'll cost to restore it properly and the work involved. That's the problem with a wreck of a desirable car; the whole sale revolves around the supposed "potential" the car has and not the facts. This thing's a wreck, it needs everything in order to be drive-able, and it'll never recoup the investment unless the buyer does all the work himself and farms nothing out. This car is one of those that if it isn't restored just right it's almost worthless, because no one will pay the kind of money invested if it's a lousy or cheap job, any more than anyone with half a brain would pay 48 K for a pile of junk. Deep pockets and a love for this type of car are a must, but I'm afraid it'll probably bounce around to all the morons who've seen a few episodes of whatever car restoration show is currently on and figure they can flip it for a huge profit. - Too bad.
So they're starting to come down in value...a 53 Skylark used to be a $100K car all day and night; interesting. All the more reason to pass up the turd in the ad.
Not necessarily. Sounds like they were drivers. I haven't seen any evidence that these have fallen in value.
Ok, that's a good thing. The trend recently is that values for cars from the late 30s, 40s and early 50s were starting to get soft, due to the fact that most of those who can appreciate those cars were dying off. Personally, I still love pre-war and post-war cars, but I'm over 50. Sure the Skylark, like the Olds Fiesta of the same year is a rare car and was always "hot". At any rate, unless the guy drops what he wants for that particular Skylark, it's still a turd and comes in as "not recommended for the faint of heart".
I saw one go for $355K at Barrett Jackson about 5 years ago. I haven't seen one go for more than $130K in the over 3 years.
355k was inflated. 100-150k for a prime example is where the market has been for at least the last 10 years.
A dream car of mine for sure. I missed a really solid blue one that ran and drove in 1990 and the transmission shop owner only wanted $1750. for it. I saw it sitting at the shop for a few years. When I finally asked about it , he stated that he just sold it a week before. It was at Art's Transmission shop in Lakeland, Fl right on N. Florida Ave. I was sick about it for a week . There was one for sale in NJ for 40k in the middle of a rotisserie restoration last fall. All the hard work was done and the body was flawless.
the June issue of the BCA Buick Bugle was just published and the issue is dedicated to the 1953 and 54 Skylarks. Fascinating stories and info.
One of my favorite lines is always "Was in running condition when last driven."......well no kidding. It's kind of like "It's always in the last place you look"
hell, I stripped and shipped one to the junkyard about 5 yrs ago. wasn't much left to that car to begin with. did save some engine parts from it.
