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I know we tend to focus on barn fresh finds, but the moment I saw this lovely VW Beetle split window, I knew I had to take a closer look at it. The seller claims this lovely Bug was a barn find that has been fully restored. I’ve always been a fan of these early Beetles, but they have slowly climbed well out of my budget. The seller claims this one has been restored to the highest level and looks to be as good or better than new! I just wish the seller had included photos of it prior to the restoration, so we could see how far it’s come. You can find this split window here on eBay in Aachen, Germany with a BIN of $48k. It’s a lot of money, but I have a feeling these cars will only keep going up in value, plus it just looks amazing!
Ten years ago this car would have been in the $6-12k range but it sure seems that VW prices are almost somehow tied to Porsche prices with certain models like the samba vans reaching the same batshit levels of crazyness as a 356 cabrio…
Yup, I agree that’s crazy money for this car. Except that a restoration of similar quality — assuming all is as advertised — would cost as much or more, which at least puts it in perspective.
Be glad I’m not buying, as I’d put the car on the road and treat it like a Real Car, enjoying it as a functional piece of history. It’s probably best that this will go to someone whose desire is to display it, and gloat over its shiny, pristine state.
For the same reason, I’m glad price keeps me from acquiring a Dino 246, as those are fun to drive, too.
How soon after the war people forgot these were Nazimobiles. But then that goes for all other German marques, too. Did you know that General Motors made various Nazi war machines in Opel factories during WW2? True fact.
Actually, It’s not a “true fact.” The German government took over Opel; GM no longer had any say in what was being manufactured. GM wrote Opel off as a loss, and only reaquired the company after the war.
These are among the most successful cars of all time, and I had one myself that was built a decade after this one, but I can’t get very excited about them now. They were mostly well engineered and well built for a car that cost $1700 brand new, and I’m grateful for all the reliable miles I spent in mine, but what I mostly remember is the cars I’d rather have been driving back then. It was a pretty long list.