1985.5 Pininfarina Azzurra Spider

[PhilStar]

Hi Everyone,

My wife while stationed in Italy purchased a 1985.5 Pininfarina Azzurra Spider. She had it shipped back to the states when her tour ended in 85. She drove it for years, but for the last ten or more it has sat in the garage. It still runs strong, but needs paint, carpets, upholstery and foam, etc... Would it be more cost effective to invest in a complete restoration at this point, or just sell it as is. The bottom line is, where would I make the most amount of money? Thanks for any suggestions.

[seabeelt]

By shipping it to my house

[Frog2Spider]

My 2 cents worth of advice is this:

One consideration is that the sale of a 'restorable' car is most likely going to be faster and easier because fewer dollars will be involved to complete a sale.
Also, keep in mine, that the realistic 'top end' price is somewhere around $ 12,000. After buying all the parts, how much do you stand to make for your labor?
Bottom line. If you don't plan on keeping and enjoying the car, sell it 'as is'.

Dave.

[PhillySpider]

Wait until the 2017 Spider hits the FIAT dealers and sell it as is where is.

[Boris61]

Are you sure it isn't a Spidereuropa? I believe I read that nearly all Azzurras were sold in N. America. Please post your link when you decide how you will sell this. Good luck!

[Jimb]

My personal preferences by far is to restore a car myself. My colour choice, I know the amount of work that went into the prep before paint and upholstery, I can do everything that I feel needs to be done like chrome, pull engine before paint etc.
So, I vote sell it s a restorable survivor.
Jim

[DieselSpider]

Base on how many have said that they will never recover their investment in restoring their 124 Spiders I would say aside from refreshing the carpets, polishing it up and such to sell it as it is if you do not intend to use it yourself.

[weengra]

Caveat: I have not seen your car, apart from your quick and extensive list of needs. No mention of rust - if present, all bets are off.

A good rule of thumb is that it's always cheaper to buy a restored car than to take a project car to a restored level, unless you are a mechanically inclined person who can weld, wrench, fix panel issues and paint. Most folks are restoring FIATs for the experience as a hobby, not a business investment. So, if your goal is to maximize your financial return and you aren't trapped in sentimental amber, sell it as fast as you can. You'll never get your money back out of a restoration, even on a 1985.5 car.

[RRoller123]

+1. Pull a "Wheeler Dealers" on it if it is just a financial decision. If not, then do what many of us have done and spend years of happy labor and thousands of dollars we probably shouldn't have, to take a $5000 car and turn it into a $5500 car. Happily.

[joelittel]

Like Rroller123 says, Wheeler Dealer the car if it's just a transaction. Fix anything that would keep a potential buyer from driving it home and find a thing or two to improve upon to make it stand out from the rest. Ie with yours get all new seals and rubber, steel braided brake lines and refurbished brake cylinders.

Bringatrailer.com may have past sale prices for reference.