Way Over Market?: 1974 Pinto Hatchback

“But it looks so cute sitting in that garage,” is a declaration you might make after seeing the ad for this 1974 Ford Pinto hatchback. Go ahead. Try measuring your own reaction by looking at the ad here on craigslist. Perhaps you’d be tempted further, to make a drive to Winston-Salem and have a look for yourself. But could you justify an asking price of nearly $30 G’s to make this your new ride? Or is the seller just shining you on with an over-the-top figure that he or she knows is going to place the car in the “unobtanium” category? That’s for you and your wallet to decide.

People throw around a lot of language in the collector-car world. “All original,” “Rare,” and “Collectible” are examples of this. So often, we pass these words by as we peruse ads, giving credit for qualities that are, at times, in the mind of the seller more than in the sheet metal and chrome of the cars themselves. It’s just kind of funny how this Pinto tries to be so many things. Luxe. Look at those paint-accented full wheel covers. Stylish. Look at that white vinyl top, and would you ever think to complement that with a matching lower-body accent stripe? No, maybe not, but it works. What this Pinto isn’t is powerful, with whatever get-up-and-go surely held back by an automatic transmission and AC, though those are nice options in their own right. So driving might be a bit sluggish, but then again, your mission here is less to get places that to look good doing so, and to preserve a bit of automotive history in the process.

Certainly, Ford’s sub-compact had an impact on the market. In an era when Japanese cars were starting to take over with their fuel efficiency and reliability, the Blue Oval sold over half a million of these in 1974 alone, the biggest single Pinto sales year in a run that stretched from model years 1971-80. Over that span, three million Pintos found happy new owners, a remarkable number and one that tops Ford’s domestic rivals in the segment—combined.

So what to do? There’s not a lot to go on in the ad. You Barn Finds Pinto experts can weigh in on what you see, perhaps, but there are some questions remaining even if this car is as pristine as it is claimed to be. Is this collectible? For the right price, maybe it is. It’s the fanciest Pinto you’re ever going to see, arguably, and not half-bad looking in its color, style, and proportions. Is it useable? Sure, why not? It’s claimed as a low-mileage car, if what’s presented is to be believed. But it’s not hermetically sealed from the factory, having traveled 50,000 miles already. So buy, use, and enjoy. But don’t get anywhere near the asking price, unless you just have to have this one and are convinced that there’s nothing else in the market that can make you happy. Even then, buying with the expectation of getting the money back in this half-century is probably a fool’s errand. You’re too smart to overpay, aren’t you?