Fulvias in the US

[WJones]

I am a potential Fulvia buyer...

Can anyone provide any pricing inputs for Fulvias for sale in the US? What I really want to know is how much does a good condition car sell for? I don't know what the demand is or a realistic price for a car to sell in a 1 - 3 month timeframe.

Maybe they are just so nice once you get hold of one your not letting go

Thanks in advance

[WJones]

I am talking about the Coupes and not Zagatos BTW

[Sam Danenberger IV]

Mr Jones-

Good choice! I must say!
I believe Fulvias have almost always been undervalued.
Thank God I bought mine when I did.
Once you have one you do have a hard time letting go.
Recently they seem to have risen a dgree or two in asking price, whether thats due to the eBay market or people finally appreciating the merits and engineering of the car I do not know.
Like anything or any make, buy the best you can afford, and it will not disappoint.
I know that may not help you from a $$$ figure or pricing stand point, but from an owner I cannot think of car that I have ever owned that I would recommend so heartily
Good Luck in your search!

Sam

[Ed Levin]

Honestly, there's not very much demand here in the US, but the supply is nearly non-existent. The American Lancia Club lists only about 55 Fulvia coupes among its membership in the US and Canada (although there certainly must be some others in the US owned by non-ALC members).

My utterly unscientific survey over the past year (I was shopping, too), suggests that there are rarely more than 1 or 2 US cars advertised widely (Hemmings, eBay, ALC web site, [even Viva Lancia!]) at any given time--I don't see any at the moment.

Those few standard (non-HF) S1 or S2 coupes that have sold seem to have gone in the $6500 - $8000 range, in good condition. But it's really hard to generalize from such a small sample.

If you're really serious, I wouldn't rule out buying one in Europe and shipping it here.

Good luck.

[Huib]

Plenty for sale here in Europe. Relatively speaking of course. But it is very difficult to find a good one it seems. The ones I have seen so far were in that price range but did have bad sills (very bad sills), rust on the subframe, nearly 40 years of neglect on rubbers, brakes etc. All were advertised as being in "excellent condition" or "completely restored". I can't say if that is accidental or not. It might be that the good ones were sold first and now they are gone the "bad ones" come onto the market. And of course, every year any Fulvia becomes a year older.

If I would want to obtain a really good Fulvia today, I would seriously consider to buy an obviously bad one, but original and complete, at the price of a bad one and do a real restoration. Better spend the money on new steel than on a nice sales pitch.

[Fulvia]

My Fulvia would like to sell. It is in the excellent condition. Immediately drivingready. It is located in Austria. More information or pictures under Mail a--friend@gmx.at.

[Stephan]

After searching for a year and being outbid on two nice Fulvias ( ebay, U.S. ) I imported one from Italy. I saw an add , for a fulvia 1.3 rally S, on this website and began corespondence. The seller emailed multiple pictures and was very honest about the cars weak points. i.e. repaint, not to show standards and worn upholstery. Because the seller seemed very honest and had other cars for sale on viva-lancia I paid him in full. I was hesitant, but did not have time to go to Italy to check the car. The car was delivered to the port in Houston Tx. When I picked up the fulvia it was exactlly as advertised, a good honest used car . I have since had the upholstery fixed , replaced all the hoses and rebuilt the carbs. Total cost for me, car and shipping was less than $6500. I think I got a very good deal, the few comparable cars I've seen in the U.S. were at least $2000 more. I think to get a good driver here you need to plan $8-10,000 and prices seem to be going up. It's true Lancias are engineering jewels, fun to work on and more fun to drive! I use mine as a semi daily driver, it gets attention where ever I go.. The only draw back to fulvia ownership in the U.S. is Zero parts availability. The suppliers on on this web site are great but with the pound and the euro so strong parts are quite expensive. Good luck in your quest for fulvia ownership.

[Huib]

You were very lucky, Stephan.

If you know the sill structure, you realize that they cannot really do anything else than go bad. There are no ventilation holes and the factory did not do any rustproofing.

The most simple test is to jack up the car at the jacking points. If the jack goes up and the car does not, you have a problem. It is not a full proof test, but it gives a very good indication. If you don't own the car yet, it is best to let the seller do the jacking.

Some never jack the car up at the jacking points because they are afraid the truth will be revealed and decide they don't need the jacking points as there are other places to jack up the car.

Well, the panel inside the sill to which the jacking point is attached is not there to just provide support for the jacking point. It is the other way around. The panels are there to transfer forces from sills to A and B/C pillars. Since the panels were there, the jacking point were put there. I have seen too many cars which started to crack in other places because the structural parts inside the sills had disappeared. Usually holes in the outer skin of the sills are repaired by putting a piece of steel over them with far too few welds. The hole may be closed but the strength is certainly not put back.

Thanks for the donation!

[Stephan]

Huib

Yes I know I was very lucky! Fortunatly there are still some honest people in the world. My fulvia is quite solid and has very little rust. I have tried the jacking points, all is well. The sub frame and its mounting points are rust free and solid as well. The floors are original with just surface rust.The car must have been from a dry climate, like we enjoy here. Thanks to viva-lancia I was able to ask the right questions and am now able to enjoy my fulvia.

Stephan

[Shaun Pond]

You're absolutely right about not wanting to let a Fulvia go after you've got one. And they certainly are thin on the ground over here.

My strategy was to look for quite a while and then give up in frustration. As soon as I starting looking for an Alfa Stepnose or first series 124 Coupe instead, my Fulvia appeared. So you may want to feign interest in, say, Borgward Isabellas Coupes, to see if you can flush a Fulvia out that way.

If you're game for the strategy Huib suggests (take an obviously bad car and do it up right), there's a Series 1 candidate here in the Bay Area that Jaan Hjorth is selling on behalf of the owner:

http://www.eddinsmoto.com/id117.htm

I've seen this one briefly. Seems to have substantial rust, and needs upholstery work. Don't know how many takers it'll get for the asking price in that shape.

And if you're willing to bend your no Zagato rule, there's also a nice usable looking 71 Fulvia Sport Coupe with a 1.6 liter motor available at Fantasy Junction:

http://www.fantasyjunction.com/used-car ... 6c0770a36c

Haven't seen this one, but have daydreamed about having it in the garage next to my 67 Coupe Rallye.

Good luck with your search!