The Lancia Fulvia I was tracking on Ebay sold last night for ,250. I’d set myself a ceiling of $12,000 so someone else has ended up with what is hopefully a wonderful example that’s full of potential. It’ll take some work based on the photos I saw, but it’s a good start.
On top of my concerns about the car, I also have concerns about the auction bidding. Take a look at the bidding progression, at right (click to enlarge). There were only two bidders. One had a purchase history and the other was a newly created identity. The new ID kept pushing the price up just a little then backed out as the auction drew to a close. Does that feel legit to you?
Given the less-than-stellar vehicle description, this bidding pattern is quite suspicious.
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Regular visitors here will know that I change vehicles like I change my underwear and I’m constantly window shopping for something new.
I have to say I haven’t been this interested in a new vehicle in ages. This Fulvia has slipped through my fingers and despite my hesitations about the seller, I think it could have been a good car. I’m going to keep looking for one and given their relative affordability in other markets, I won’t be limiting my search to Australia.
This is a cracker of a little car with a wonderful backstory, design to die for and lusty small car performance. I’d be proud to own one. As long as it’s red 🙂
There are currently two bids on the car and given that it’s a ‘No Reserve’ auction starting at $10K, that means it WILL sell to the highest bidder – tonight.
The auction started at $10K and is currently at $10,100. Neither of the bids are mine. I’ve set myself a ceiling somewhere not far above the starting price. I have to aim low simply because there’s so much work to be done on the body and the interior.
I went and saw a local Fulvia last night, just to see one in the flesh and to see if I’d fit in with a helmet on. I’d need to put a sports seat in it, but it will be possible to use this for club events.
The auction finishes at midnight. It could well go past my ceiling before then, but hopefully I’ll still be in the game. It’s a big commitment given the work that needs to be done, but I think this car is worth it. I’ve had lots of very positive communication with the Lancia community online in the last few days. Very dedicated, passionate and encouraging.
I’ve long had a theory that any given model of vehicle is worth X-amount of dollars in good condition. If you get it for X-minus-Y dollars, there’s a good chance you’ll have to spend Y dollars (or even Y-plus-Z dollars) on repairs or restoration to bring it up to good condition.
That’s proving to be the case with the Lancia Fulvia I’m looking at right now.
I first saw the car on Carsales.com.au with five photos and an asking price of $21,000. I talked to a few people and that price seemed a bit ambitious. The ad read as if the car was quite good, with some modifications but with the original parts included. The photos presented the car as if it was in quite good condition. At $21,000, I expected this Fulvia to be ready-to-roll with little to do other than routine maintenance.
I figured if I could get this car for around $16K or so, then I’d have a wonderfully interesting car to scratch my increasing Italian itch.
The Lancia Quest got turned on its head completely on Sunday, however.
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On Sunday, I found that the same car had been placed for auction on Ebay – with a starting reserve of just $10,000!!!
I called the owner to have a chat about the car. He said the starting price was set so low simply to get the ball rolling on the auction. Fair enough.
But having conducted two unsuccessful Ebay auctions for my Alfa Romeo GTV6 in the last few months, I know that you can have several dozen ‘watchers’ for an auction that ends with no bids. There’s a very real chance that someone will jump in with a last-minute bid and pick up this car for just the $10K starting price.
My question, therefore – why is he willing to risk this?
During my call with the owner, he mentioned that a $10,000 sale would likely be “car only”, that he’d keep the spare parts to sell individually. He doesn’t mention this in the ad and if I was the successful bidder, I’d feel a bit peeved about that.
Anyway, I called on a Saab mate in the same city to see if he could visit the seller and check out the car, which he did yesterday.
The car’s been sitting for a while and they had a little trouble getting it started, but it fired up eventually. Lars found the driving experience somewhat intoxicating. The car responds well and the exhaust note is just fantastic. That’s what I was hoping and expecting to hear.
Less encouraging is the over-all condition of the car. It looks like it’s been repainted in recent years, but a closer inspection reveals that the preparations for that repaint might have been sub-standard. There are various chips, cracks and marks that indicate there might have been some swift filling done in less-than-ideal conditions.
There’s also a small oil leak somewhere at the bottom of the engine (see photos, below).
Then there’s the interior. The seller has installed some seats from a Subaru into the car. The original seats are available, but he’s already told me that they need refurbishment. There are cracks at the top of the rear seat, the window furniture looks like it’s 45 years old (which it is), as does the top of the dashboard. The wood trim around the gauges is in good condition for age, but will benefit from a good sanding and re-finishing.
All things considered, this car seems to be more of a running restorer than a $21,000 ready-to-go car.
Images from Lars’ visit with the car, below.
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You might think I’m being too fussy…..
Well, back in 2006, the car below was passed in at auction in Melbourne with a desired sale range of -15,000. The Lancia I’m chasing is nowhere near as well finished as this one:
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That one was passed in at a lower price, but that was back in 2006. I have a feeling it would achieve that price quite comfortably today.
So what’s “my” Lancia really worth?
I reckon there’s a good $10K’s worth of work involved with this car and that’s if I can learn to do some of it myself. The reserve price on the Ebay auction is probably just fair given what’s left to be done in order to bring this car up to the desired level of operation and presentation.
The auction ends tomorrow at midnight.
Strategy 1 – Place a last minute bid for $10K and hope I’m the only one bidding. Secure the car at this lowest price and negotiate on the spare parts that I want (which is not all of them).
Strategy 2 – Trump the auction with a negotiated price of around $12-13,000 for the car and all the parts. The seller is very open to receiving offers before the auction ends. Take other bidders out of the equation. The seller has said he wants around $15 for the whole package, but it never hurts to ask.
Strategy 3 – Wait for the auction to end and see what happens. If it sells, I no longer have a decision to make. If it doesn’t, then hope to agree on a price that will satisfy the both of us.
All of this pre-supposes that I’ll actually fit in the car whilst wearing a helmet. I’ll find out the answer to that question tonight thanks to a local owner who’s willing to move a few cars around in his shed so that I can get access to his Fulvia.
I’d really like to get this car under the right conditions. It wouldn’t be much good for a run to the hardware store but there’s not much else that I do with a car that it wouldn’t be suited to. Between this and the 9000 Aero I’ll pick up in Sydney next week (yes, we bought an Aero to replace Mrs Swade’s 9000CS), 95% of my motoring needs will be covered completely.
I know I’ll have to commit extra funds to a restoration but given the Fulvia’s character, history and rarity, I think it’ll be worth it. The bonus is that the car will be relatively pain-free to run until those funds are saved and the work commenced.
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If you’ve got another 7 minutes or so to spare, watch this new video from Petrolicious. It’s not the same car. It’s not even the same brand. But it’s the same feeling.
So the GTV6 is sold and we’ve decided to shelve our plans for building a new home. That means it’s Game On for car shopping!
I had a couple of important criteria for my next car, key among which were that it had to be good for a long distance east-coast road trip that Mrs Swade and I want to do in a few months from now, and that it also had to be fun and engaging for me as a daily driver and club car. Those criteria were going to be difficult to resolve.
I think we’ve solved that particular dual-purpose problem, however.
Mrs Swade has agreed to an upgrade from her Saab 9000CS to a more potent and more functional Saab 9000 (our car has a number of electrical and functional niggles that would be uneconomical to repair). Yes, we love the 9000. I’ve currently got a bead on two suitable 9000s in good order, one an Aero and the other an Anniversary model. I’ve craved an Aero for years and the one I’ve found seems to be in good order after checking it out with a friend who knows the car. The price is right, too, and 9000 Aeros in good condition are only getting harder to find. It’s likely I’ll pull the trigger on that one very soon.
That takes care of the cruiser that’ll make for a wonderful utilitarian family car for us. So now to the fun car.
The usual suspects are on the list. Porsche 944 (either S2 or turbo), Alfa Romeo GTV V6 (the wedgy coupe from 1998 onwards), Alfa Romeo 33 16V. My mate Eggs has even got me looking at Maserati BiTurbos (the survivors have to be well sorted by now, right?).
As you can see, Italian is a factor here. I belong to an Italian car club and while a lot of members own an Italian but bring their reliable Japanese cars to the track, I’m an advocate for flying the flag at all times.
Something Italian that I’ve never considered before, but has recently become available is a very nicely sorted vintage Lancia coupe. We have all manner of brands available in Australia but even here, Lancias are relatively rare. Most of the Lancias for sale are Betas from the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. For those who are unfamiliar, the Beta is the car that killed Lancia thanks to rust issues. That old joke “on a quiet day you could hear them rusting at the dealership” applies.
This isn’t a Beta, though.
This is a 1968 Lancia Fulvia coupe. Isn’t she pretty?
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Here’s the text from the ad:
1968 Lancia Fulvia Coupe,1.3S excellent condition, great little car that’s lots of fun to drive. Car comes with koni adjustable shocks, stainless steel exhaust, sports seats & 4 point harnesses (comes with original seats & new standard seat belts), factory sports air filtration kit (comes with original filter set up), HF wheels & flairs, Sandro Munari signed steering wheel, re-conditioned brake calipers & master cylinder, some spares included (electrical & mechanical).
It seems to be set up nicely, yes?
If you’re unfamiliar with the Lancia Fulvia, I encourage you to spend the next 2 minutes watching this excerpt from the Top Gear Lancia special (it goes for 8 minutes, but two is all you need). It spends a couple of minutes on the Fulvia that will inform your thinking.
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Yes, it IS amazing to look at.
But did you hear that engine????
Lancia used a narrow-angle, high revving V4 in the Fulvia. It’s a 1.3 and it only pushes out around 90hp but then the car only weighs 895kg. It’s not fast, but it’s extremely nimble and even said to be quite reliable, too. If Clarkson’s only knock on it was its historical price, then there’s got to be something to explore with this car. There’s a lot to like about it, that’s for sure. It’s rare. It’s Italian and it’s genuine in both styling and performance.
But then, there’s the practical side to consider.
It’s 45 years old and the question has to be asked – could you use a car such as this 3-4 times a week without fearing too much for its future? One of the main reasons I sold the GTV6 was that it ended up as a garage queen that was driven only once a week because I had the Brumby for regular duty. The Brumby will go. I want something that I both want and HAVE to drive when Mrs Swade has use of the Aero.
Is it fanciful or irresponsible to think that a Lancia Fulvia can be used on a regular basis?
This Fulvia is for sale for $21,000 and it’s located in Queensland (around 2000kms and a boat ride away) so it’s no small decision. I’ve found a club member here in Tassie who owns one so I’m hoping to check out his local example to see if/how I’ll fit in it with a helmet on, as well as taking the chance to simply appreciate one in person.
Despite the challenges it might present, I have to admit I find myself far more smitten with the idea of getting this car than I do with any of the others on my list. Am I a complete idiot?
Here are a few more Fulvia videos to watch and listen to. Enjoy.
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Petrolicious, as always, do it right…..
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Overview of second hand Fulvias in Britain (old video)….
