New to the Forum

[Curt]

Hi, thanks for the add.  My dad has an '81 Avanti and its for sale. Wondering if I should have the body fixed before we try to sell it.

[PackardV8]

Welcome to the Avanti forum.

There is no absolute answer to your question.  If you have a good relationship with a body shop and can get a better than retail price, maybe.  Usually, the entire car can benefit from paint, the buyer may choose another color than refrigerator white, he may have the skills to do it himself or a body shop owes him a favor or he may be clueless as today's real world costs of paint and body work.

One option is to rattle can spray paint the affected area so the contrast isn't so stark, then the photos on eBay will suggest an easy fix.  Set your minimum reserve and hope for the best.

 

jack vines

[studegary]

I suggest selling it as-is unless you can repair it yourself.  Put it on eBay with a good description and pictures(including these).  Have a very low starting price to develop auction interest and a reserve that you can live with.  Some bidders may do their own repairs and/or have no idea what this type of repair costs.  

[Avanti83]

On 6/3/2017 at 11:15 AM, studegary said:

I suggest selling it as-is unless you can repair it yourself.  Put it on eBay with a good description and pictures(including these).  Have a very low starting price to develop auction interest and a reserve that you can live with.  Some bidders may do their own repairs and/or have no idea what this type of repair costs.  

Do you have a price on the repair? It might be worth getting a quote as listing it in this condition severely limits the market. Otherwise, I agree with Gary. List it as-is with a reserve on Ebay and see where it goes. If it doesn't make the reserve, then you can weigh repair vs other options. I assume the damage happened without insurance which is too bad.

Here's an 80 that sold on Ebay this year without the damage for a bit over $9K. If you are a seller, they don't bring a lot of money. If you are a buyer, they don't cost a lot.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1980-Studebaker-avanti-11-/252795566577?hash=item3adbca39f1%3Ag%3AR~kAAOSwhlZYuMEC&vxp=mtr&nma=true&si=PYr490rS%2BKztstJ1kOpvZ%2BQvWNo%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Good luck, Bob

Edited June 4, 2017 by Avanti83

[silverstude]

 

 

How did that happen? Most of the damage forward of that dark spot is just empty wheel well space.  From this view, it would only take 3-4 hours to make a decent repair.  Painting it would be another thing.   

[Curt]

Thanks for the feedback, the damage happened while moving the car inside a Pole Barn and backed into a post. Yes all the the damage is in the empty wheel well space, which should make it easier to fix.  I am talking to a few shops here in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area and will have some repair estimates soon.  But we will probably try to sell it as it is, pricing it based on the repair estimates.

[mfg]

Other than the body damage your Avanti looks VERY nice!.....Too bad that damage isn't on the right side....I have a rear half right side Avanti fender collecting dust I'd sell on the cheap.......it would be 'just the ticket' for this repair

[silverstude]

 

 

Anyone on this Forum ever split the fender seams and removed an outer fender?

[Gunslinger]

When my '70 was damaged the outer fender on the drivers side had to be removed and replaced.  Essentially all this is done is to saw the fender off before replacing it.  Of course one has to have skills at doing fiberglass work.

 

[silverstude]

 

Thanks,   This almost had to do be done with my car, but managed to get away without it.