Roses Are Red, Contingencies Make Me Blue: 1964 Volvo 1800S

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Even with some recent price appreciation, Volvo’s P1800/1800S/1800E family of cars continues to be one of the better deals for a classic coupe.  The combination of Pelle Petterson’s fluid design, Volvo’s sturdy reliability, and a not-too-big/not-too-small production numbers means you can drive one without being commonplace like a Type 1 Beetle, but have parts/knowledge support better than a Type 34 Karmann Ghia.  The problem is that nice/restored examples are starting to demand premium cash, so the trick for a deal is to get an almost finished project for a deep discount.  Like this 1964 Volvo 1800S offered here on eBay for $8,200 with a few hours to go, located in Wichita, KS.

At first glance, this 1800S looks really nice for the money, the paint is nice, brightwork is clean, engine rebuilt…but, when you start to read the seller’s comments, things get a little sketchy:

Professionally rebuilt engine (B20) that I was told had over $3000 invested has not as of yet been started….New intake and Weber carburetor —— along with what I was told was recently professioally rebuilt SU carburetors with intake.

The key statement here is I was told; here the seller is abdicating himself of any responsibility for the quality or goodness of the rebuild.

The same type of contingency is added to other statements.

The paint is “I believe” great.

Even if the seller says the paint is great (without quotes), the statement stands on its own as an assessment by the seller, not some kind of authoritative statement, but adding the “I believe” with quotes brings a degree of opacity to the statement akin to the legal disclosure on the back of our Magic Mountain ride ticket.

The seller continues…

It looks to me that the interior and bottom of car has been painted or POR’d and has just a couple of holes left to be welded.

It looks to me like the bidding is currently reflecting the enthusiasm level of the seller, which means you might be able to score a good deal if this is just a very honest seller trying not to over hype his car.

See another classic that might just be a good deal? tips@dailyturismo.com