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All right all of you push rod guys I own my own Volvo shop and as a rule don't deal with anything pre '74 but I had a guy call my shop today with 2 544's for sale. First one is a 1960 and the interior is immaculate and the outside is shot and the other one is a 1961 and it is the opposite, great outer with a shot interior. He says he has 10 original hub caps, brand new mouldings in the wrapper, and a host of other stuff. He seems to think that he has 6-7K worth of stuff. He said you could restore either one of these cars but between the two of them you would have something really nice. Supposedly the '60 has been upgraded to 12 volts and has a B18b in it from a P-1800. Anyhow, I know it is kind of a pig in a poke but any idea what something like this is worth?
Thanks,
Mark
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posted by
someone claiming to be belinda
on
Thu Feb 16 15:17 CST 2006 [ RELATED]
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I only paid $500 for my running PV which came with an extra parts car, already disassembled. So I guess I'm not a good person to ask.
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Sounds like one good 544 would be the end result, after the addition of a whole lot of work.
Maybe $2 - 3k? *shrug*
Value is a real flexible concept on a rare car that is coupled with fairly low demand.
--
I'm JohnMc, and I approved this message.
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Kind sir,
There's an evil scumbag up near Tahoe who has a gaggle of 544's and a 220 on a lot between two freeways... only one of the 544's was all one color and looked like it ran, most didn't have complete interiors. All except the total basket case were maked $15,000 cash only! The 220 said 'rare' on it, so it got a $25,000 price tag. It didn't have a grill...
These all looked like they came off a farm somewhere. I called and offered $1,500 cash for one of the 544's that both ran and had a driver's seat, and he hung up the phone.
I'm sorry, but I'll never live that down. They're probably under a foot of snow now too...
Anyway, I guess it all depends what kind of market you're in. If you're somewhere that people have fistfulls of money, a head full of booze, and a mouthfull of absurd fantasies, maybe you'll get away with it too.
Good luck,
-Sean C.
--
1966 122s [Surgeon General's warning: This vehicle known to cause cancer by the State of California]
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Low-rust 544s that are nice drivers and good lookers inside and out seem to go for around $3K here in the Northwest. I would expect they're worth more, but have seen several very nice examples not move for that asking price or less. Maybe they bring more in other areas where most of them are rustbuckets.
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I guess it isn't a real Volvo shop then...
(My 2001 S60 T5 isn't a real Volvo either but it sure is fun!)
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George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!
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"I guess it isn't a real Volvo shop then...
(My 2001 S60 T5 isn't a real Volvo either but it sure is fun!)"
George, I appreciate the invaluable and sage advice, yeah right.
The rest of you guys, thanks for the input it does help me get an idea of it's worth. The guy said he would let it all go for 2K so it does not sound too far out of line but I really do not need another project right now.
Thanks again,
Mark
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I got my PV last spring. It was worth the $2100 I paid for it just to drive it a few hunderd miles last summer and drive it in the 4th of July parade. Swedish car day at the Lars Anderson Transportation Museum was a bonus.
I haven't had that much car fun in years. People stop on the sidewalk when I drive by! The only thing I did to the car was to install 850 seats and I "restored" the bar that holds the battery in. (I cleaned and painted it) I drove it at least once almost every week and to the auto store on December 30th here in Massachusetts.
If you can spare the dough, buy the cars and have a nice summer. At a Volvo garage, I am sure that you can unload the cars this fall and get your money back with interest. That is if you want to part with them.
They are remarkable cars and a lot of fun to work on. IMHO their character exceeds their value.
The other guys who answered your post are probably trying to figure out where the cars are!
BTW, I was so giddy, I picked up a stripped, $500 P1800, I'm going to get it in the parade this year if I have to sit on a milk carton!
--
'96 855R,'64 PV544, '67 P1800, '95 855, '95 854, the first three are mine, heh, heh, 405,000 miles put on 8 bricks
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posted by
someone claiming to be belinda
on
Thu Feb 16 15:21 CST 2006 [ RELATED]
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I agree!! It was totally worth the cheap thrill of just driving it home. :)
I actually had a guy and gal shout "What a Keeper!" the day I drove it home, just as I was rounding the last corner to enter my home block. Now I think it's worth dumping at least another $1500 a year into, just as a conversation piece alone. But I do miss driving it. :(
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They do seem to have a lot more character than other old Volvo's.
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I'm JohnMc, and I approved this message.
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I was a fan of these cars before 'Retro' was a word. I've overheard two different teenage boys explaining to others that my PV544 is next year's PT Cruiser. Riiiight!
As far as value goes, for a rusty or non-running PV, I wouldn't want to exceed $500. If things didn't work out, that's about the value the parts would bring on eBay. It sounds like you're actually buying one car (with a considerable amount of pabor required to build it) with some extra parts. Generally, the really rusty PV's can't be saved if it's gotten to the frame sections.
The body suffers from being very curved, so repairing the main shell is usually not worth the cost of repair.
If you could get it for $2,000 you'd be OK. More than that would take a pretty close examination to be sure you're getting enough stuff for your money.
You can always go to eBay Motors and search completed auctions to see what these cars have sold for recently.
I'm still thinking about that 544 with the Buick Grand National Turbo V6 in it. The owner is asking $2,500 and claims that it runs very good. Funny he didn't try to start it for me after I took the trouble to drive out there to look at it. Maybe if the shade-tree engineering was a little better, I'd buy it. As it stands, it needs an interior and very minor bodywork, plus unknown mechanical work. Apparently he used a front-wheel-drive axle in the rar, and it's too wide...
Steve
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