I just happened to be turning around a few days ago in a steakhouse parking lot next to a used car lot when my headlights flashed across a 91 Bertone Coupe. They also flashed across a $4,499 price tag. I thought that maybe this was my opportunity. The right year in the same town I live in. I went home and checked blue book. $2,695 is what they say a dealer should started by asking.

Hmmm, something's fishy. I talked to the guy. He gave me his sad story. Long story short, a guy asked him to sell the car. A buyer in Michigan bought it for a fat price and sent him a check. The dealer paid the guy that he sold it for and the first check bounced. I've heard this before. This is what happens when you want way over blue book for the car and then expect to get it.

So I had a look at the car. It's a classic clean up job. With 153K on the car the turbo felt sloppy. The car drove not as strong as it should, but not awful. You could slop the turbo around just enough for it scrape around on the inside. It's on it's way out. The paint had been touched up in a few places with a lousy brush job. A brush?!?! You could tell that the metal under it had not been prepared properly. In one place the paint was cracking with a little rust under it. It's not a catastrophe, but it's not properly addressed and costs to do so. There was antifreeze under the car and on the water pump before start up. The air filter box had all the clips broken and the top was just sitting on the filter a little off to one side. The turbo piping had a lot of oil on the outside?! It looked like the engine compartment had been detailed and wasn't showing it's age. I took a few parts out and I was less impressed.

I figured the shabby turbo and water pump plus a few other suspicious items made me feel like $1000 might be too much, but I offered it and the guy acted like I had offend his wife.

So my question is, do you think $1000 was a fair price or am I being cheap? I think this guy is just looking for a sucker to buy it for too much. Basically a legal scam to 'correct' the scam done to him. After all, he's a used car sales man.

 

A bad 780 is no prize. By what you say, $1,000 is about right... Blue Book value presuposes that the car is in nice shape, needing no major repairs, all that's not up o par has to be deducted from the Book value. 780 parts are very expensive and a bad one will be a nightmare.

 

I know this is a couple of days later...but I wanted to voice my feelings on this sort of car. My biggest concern when I run across this sort of car is...what did I not see? When I see as many things done to a car as you have with this 780, I typically run, not walk, away. To get into a car like that, I'd only pay what I would think decent for a parts car. Maybe $200-300 tops. I'm no big fan of the 780's but plenty of people are. If I went into it, it would be with the mind set that I would be parting it out. If it turned out the car was a keeper, so much the better. I don't gamble on cars...

 

It's sad, but I see the 780 as a future collector's car. Not in a few years, but 10-15 years.
If any of them survive......we didn't get 780's here otherwise I'd buy one, I'm a big fan of Bertone's work.