1973 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

Convertible Convertible

4 - Cyl.

Manual

1432011668

Clear

Gasoline

Please read the entire description before bidding. This is a great, low-mileage Ghia, but it is not perfect by any means -- I will go over this in detail below. The previous owner bought this car at an estate sale and told me that he believes that this Ghia has only 22,624 original miles. I can’t be sure if that is correct, but after examining this car closely, I think it might be possible. He was told that it sat unused in a garage in South Florida for many, many years. After coming out of storage, a repair shop went through it completely to make it road-worthy (new tires, brakes, brake lines, calipers, gas tank, carburetor, plugs, exhaust, etc.) It runs and drives extremely well. Here are some things that make me think the miles might be accurate: -- I can’t find any rust-through anywhere on this car. The original floor pans are simply spectacular from both below and above. -- The interior appears to be completely original and correct. The seats show almost no wear. -- The original carpets are excellent and are still attached to the floors at the original steel tabs. Looking under the carpets I found the original paint and tar-board insulation to be in excellent condition. -- It was rust-proofed when new by Dino-Kote. You will notice in the engine compartment that we cleaned off some of the undercoating and found the original paint underneath to be like new. -- The convertible top and headliner look like they are original and are in very nice condition. There are no rips or tears, and I can tell that it still has the old horse hair padding inside like the original would. It goes up and down flawlessly. I can’t see anything on the top that looks like it was ever replaced. -- The original knobs and switches on the dash look barely touched, with all the correct paint and markings still looking new. -- The original radio and courtesy light still work like new. -- The original spaghetti wiring behind the dash shows almost no deterioration. -- The doors open, close and sound like new. The side windows are flawless, and they fit and roll up and down as if the car was brand new. -- The original fiberboard glove box insert is nearly perfect. -- The original convertible top boot is in nice condition. NOW FOR THE BAD: -- This car has had some right-front damage repaired at some point in its past. I don’t have any documentation of this, but I can see that the right front fender and nose (and possibly the passenger door) were repaired and repainted long ago. The gap between the passenger door and right front fender is a bit too wide and there is a welded area inside the nose (you can see what I mean in the pictures below). -- The dash pad has two cracks where the radio speaker holes are. -- There are several small dents, dings and scratches in various spots around the body. -- The original oil bath air cleaner was replaced with an after-market air cleaner. -- There is some rust showing under the battery where it looks like battery acid leaked. In my opinion, this would be an amazing car if a good body shop corrected the earlier bodywork and then put on a really nice paint job (and you could change the color if you wanted to). MORE SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION: BODY / FLOORS / PAINT / CHROME: This is a remarkably solid car. The doors, hood and trunk lid open and close just like they should. The original floors are spectacular. I can’t find any rust holes anywhere in the body, floors, undercarriage or trunk. The bumpers and chrome are in very good condition. The wheels and hubcaps are absolutely beautiful. MECHANICAL: The engine starts easily and runs extremely well. The transmission shifts smoothly and the brakes are very good. The tires are practically new. Although there can never be any guarantees with a 37 year-old car, I personally would not hesitate to drive it anywhere. INTERIOR: The interior appears to be completely original. The seats, seat belts, headliner, etc. are in extremely nice condition for their age. Even the original carpets are still in very good condition. GAUGES / ELECTRICAL: All the lights, turn signals, gauges etc. work except for the horn and the low beams (I’m pretty sure the headlight bulbs just need replacing). Even the courtesy light shines brightly. The battery does not run down even when sitting for a long time. The original radio works excellent with clear sound. DEPOSIT / PAYMENT / LEGAL: A $200 non-refundable PayPal deposit is due within 24 hours of the end of the auction. The balance must be paid by cash, cashier’s check, or wire transfer within seven days of the end of the auction. Any cashier’s checks must clear my bank before the vehicle can be released. If the winning bidder fails to pay in accordance with these requirements, I may, at my option, make second-chance offers or re-list/remarket the vehicle and the deposit will be forfeited by the bidder. The sale location is Bell, Florida, Florida law governs, and venue lies exclusively in Gilchrist County, Florida. THIS VEHICLE IS BEING SOLD AS-IS, WHERE-IS, WITH NO WARRANTY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. I have tried to describe this vehicle accurately and I posted lots of pictures. If you are unsure about bidding please come inspect and test drive it first. Please bid only if you are serious and have the money to complete the purchase. If you are the winning bidder you will have entered into a binding contract to complete the purchase in accordance with eBay rules. SHIPPING / PAPERWORK / SALES TAX: Arranging and paying for shipping is the responsibility of the winning bidder. I am a long-time classic car enthusiast and a licensed automobile dealer (Classic Investment Motorcars Inc.) This means that we must complete standard sales forms, and if you are in Florida you will pay applicable sales tax and tag/title fees. If the vehicle is shipped out of Florida by common carrier I will not collect the sales tax; you will take care of that where you live. I do not charge any dealer fees, processing fees or other junk add-on fees. Please feel free to email me or call me if you have any questions. My number is 352-283-0268.On Oct-13-10 at 18:05:03 PDT, seller added the following information: Note that a cassette player is listed in the eBay options tab. The car does NOT have a cassette player. It has the original German radio. Thanks.