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My first Alpine

JMSiragusa

JMSiragusa

Gold Level Sponsor
Hello All,

New to this site and have learned tons, thank you everyone. I have noticed a few things as to the prices of Alpines and was hoping to get some feedback from those with some experience.

I have been monitoring ebay/craigslist/Hemmings and anywhere else I can find. I note that on ebay the good Alpines are ending with prices around the 8-10K range, even the really nice ones. Anyone have an opinion as to if this is the right price range, or are these auctions ending without a sale? I would have thought that some of the really good ones would be in the 15-18K range.

Also, while I love the original cars, it seems that a good V6 conversion may be a more practical as an everyday driver. I have not seen any v6 conversions for sale. Are these very rare, or just not out there now.

I hope to eventually find a good 66-67 Alpine. Thank you advance for any information that you share.

Best

John S.
 
DanR

DanR

Diamond Level Sponsor
I noticed you sent info on the V6 that is for sale for $10900.00

Very nice car from what I could make of the PICs. You would definitely have much more than that if you bought a car in decent shape then added all the stuff to make it go.

I don't know the car or the owner but it appears to be an excellent buy.
 
John W

John W

Bronze Level Sponsor
I'd like to see the underside of that V6 that's for sale. That's the deal of the year.
 
John W

John W

Bronze Level Sponsor
Actually, having thought about it a couple hours, the deal of the year might be the Seacrest Green (sp) mint cond Series II with hard top, od, everything. Ms Judy's car, for those familiar with the owners. I remember the car and owners from many years ago. If the owner has kept it in same show condition, a new owner could probably put a hundred thousand miles on that car before thinking V6. Easily the nicest Sunbeam on the planet. Would be like starting out with a new car. As good as it gets. That one is probably already sold.



JMSiragusa said:
Hello All,

New to this site and have learned tons, thank you everyone. I have noticed a few things as to the prices of Alpines and was hoping to get some feedback from those with some experience.

I have been monitoring ebay/craigslist/Hemmings and anywhere else I can find. I note that on ebay the good Alpines are ending with prices around the 8-10K range, even the really nice ones. Anyone have an opinion as to if this is the right price range, or are these auctions ending without a sale? I would have thought that some of the really good ones would be in the 15-18K range.

Also, while I love the original cars, it seems that a good V6 conversion may be a more practical as an everyday driver. I have not seen any v6 conversions for sale. Are these very rare, or just not out there now.

I hope to eventually find a good 66-67 Alpine. Thank you advance for any information that you share.

Best

John S.
Click to expand...
 
JMSiragusa

JMSiragusa

Gold Level Sponsor
I just thought I would give an update for those that might be interested and share some experiences of a new Alpine owner so far. I bought the V6 Alpine advertised on this forum at the beginning of June.

First, I have yet to actually drive or see the car. I bought the car based on many pictures and a few phone calls from the seller, as well as much of the information from this forum. The Seller has been wonderful, understanding and just made this an enjoyable experience. The car is currently on the way and I expect to get it in a few days.

Second, although everyone on this forum knows about Sunbeam, Alpines and Tigers, most have no idea. When I tell people I bought a Sunbeam, I mostly get blank stares. Then I say, it's the "Get Smart Car" and the older guys get it but the younger guys still are not quite sure. This even transfers to the insurance people. When trying to have my insurance agent of many years insure the Car, she did not know, never heard of a sunbeam, and when she called the classic car division, still had no idea. I ended up going with Geico's classic car insurance. Even the secretary of state here in Michigan had no idea.

Third, even though I have yet to see or drive the car, I find myself looking at how to upgrade things. Although the car is already in pretty good shape based on the pictures, I have considered upgrades to the dash (replace with wood), and maybe a rear disk conversion. Maybe I should just drive the car for awhile before even thinking about such things.

Fourth, shipping a car from Oregon to Michigan is not for the weak hearted. My first attempt was through a broker. This is not recommended. All that they do is post it to some website and hope some driver takes the job. My family teased my forever that the guys for "Shipping Wars" are going to go pick up the car. This is the show where basically they show the worst case shipping disasters that make good TV. I quickly learned and got a better transport company involved. So far so good.

So, that is it for now, I will update once the car arrives. Thank you for those that shared information about purchasing and Shipping an Alpine.

John S.
 
DanR

DanR

Diamond Level Sponsor
So you bought it!!!

John S, If you bought the car that was discussed, I'm sure you will have a real gem.

I believe i'd drive it a while to get accustomed to it. Find out just what you have then make small improvements that warrant.

I'd sure be happy to get updates and PIC's of your car.

I did try to get one of my sons to make the purchase. If it had been closer to SC you might have had some trouble getting that car;)
 
R

RebornAlpine

Silver Level Sponsor
Bought my 1st Alpine on Jan 2013 in Ontario, Canada. Have spent more number of dollars and hours of work than miles on the car so far. Previous owner(s) had done very messy/lousy jobs on the car. Poor me have to pick up the taps. I still love the car despite having had all kind of headaches. It's a lovely car if it would have been well taken care of. It turned heads when it was drivable. I have a lot to learn from you folks. I found this forum like a live Sunbeam encyclopedia.
 
M

mikephillips

Donation Time
No matter who you buy insurance from make sure to check the restrictions. Some classic insurers are very specific about what are permissable uses and what aren't. So for what you want to use it for you want to be sure its covered.
 
JMSiragusa

JMSiragusa

Gold Level Sponsor
DanR - Yea, it was very quick decision on this car. Basically bought the car from the pictures and a 15 minute conversation with the seller.

Should get the car sometime tonight. I will post once here.

P. Scofield/Mike Phillips - Thanks for the input on the insurance. I will check both.
 
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