Another beautiful 1958 this time a fleetwood

[Bill Balkie 24172]

Hello
    Found this in Hemmings . 29,000 miles  price might be a little high but looks like the real deal . Check out the video . Working vent windows and really nice looking vents on top of each fender . Looks to me like a real 29,000 mile car . You got to love looking at adds like this .

1958 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/cadillac/fleetwood/1974252.html

[Jon S]

Nice car but way over-priced!

[Bill Balkie 24172]

I agree Jon , maybe high 30's  and I think that would be a Stretch . ( no A. C. ) But it is a nice car .

[jdemerson]

This 1958 Fleetwood Sixty Special is really superb.  It is claimed as all original, with mechanical restoration (engine rebuild--does that mean more than a valve job?) and major maintenance (transmission, brakes, etc.). I assume that it would still qualify as an unmolested original.

The comments here on its value raise an interesting question. What would this car be worth if it were identically the same as described in the posting, but was instead a frame-off restoration to exactly this level?  Are two cars - otherwise the same - valued the same if one is an unrestored original (with significant mechanical renewal as in this case), and the second is a quality frame-off restoration? If this car is all that it appears to be (it appears quite fantastic!), would you pay more for it than a top-quality restoration, assuming you could afford either?

John Emerson
1952 Cadillac Sedan 6219X

[Bill Balkie 24172]

Hello John ,
    That is a very good question . You can look at that a few ways . What is your objective ? Do you want to enjoy the car and take it on road trips and local car shows .Take the family out for a nice ride in the country ? If that is the case then i would look for one that needs a little work , maybe pushing 100,000 mile or more and have it restored to it's original glory .  Not so much the case with the car advertised. This car needs to be preserved . I am sure the seats are fragile , the rubber fittings  are a little hard now .  Etc. Etc . In my opinion this car is a victim  of the circumstance.  You do not have the option of restoration . The car should be in a museum . Maybe both cars are worth the same money in the end . However the original will always be original , and the restored car will always need to be restored  again and again  . Maybe the original car is a better investment in the end while the restored one depreciates.  If i could afford them both and had the space , i would have both of them .

   Bill

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Where are all the naysayers on this one?

Can't have only 29,000 miles if the engine needed to be rebuilt! Why, my Aunt Matilda drove hers 165,000 miles without ever changing the spark plugs!

Of course that is ridiculous. The point here is that at 30, 40, 50, 60 years of age almost anything can happen and it is very difficult to say what should or should not be - predicated upon odometer readings alone. No two items man made are exactly alike. How a car is stored/treated/maintained can never be the same. Compare two cars in different environments/owners at the end of year 1, there might not be much disparity; at the end of year 60, the disparity is multiplied.

I wish the car collector world would get these over simplistic and silly preconceptions of mileage readings out of its collective head.  When something is 50 or 60 years of age, condition is NOT predictable based on mileage. Any doubts? Check out the '58 Chevy truck on the Seville thread with 1.3 miles and see how wonderful that looks under the hood. 

Now onto the question of value - restored or hypothetical perfect original - and here again, there are no concrete answers. It all boils down what y is willing to pay for x. Some buyers want visual perfection - that is to say, nothing obviously wrong, but not necessarily concerned about - or even doesn't want - original factory flaws regardless how authentic they may be. Then there are those who only want only the most untouched originals in the best condition available, as closely representing "as built" as possible.

The bottom line is there are no short answers to this question. 

[V63]

I remember a 58 fleetwood in the same condition in the 1980's and the halfwit that inherited it from his elderly mother...TRASHED IT. 8k miles on it!

He asked stupid money for it and parked it outside in the EXTREME desert heat. I saw it 10 years later all tires flat and cracked up Windows so glazed from interior plastics exuding resins. 100% Trashed

The car was all white exterior with white leather and aqua brocade, dash and carpet.

Worse part...he kept his corvair in the GARAGE!

[fishnjim]

@ 29K, it had to have sat mostly, and that invites engines issues if not stored properly.   Once you open it up might as well do it complete.   
I think generally the '50s Cad market is up right now, for this period so ask and you shall receive.   If a '58 Chevy can bring $80k, why not? 
Other brands and some prewar are dropping like meteors as the older collectors pass, collections are offered, and no buyers with that period passion to replace.
There's another '58 on here going to auction so should indicate current price trend.   Just makes mine more $$$.

[wrefakis]

watch more tv

[nolacaddy1960]

I'm in love, but I could get a nice 59 Biarritz for that.  No way that's a $100k car.
 

[James Landi]

  Those plastic seat covers are likely holding the soft goods together.  As was sagely mentioned in another comment, it's not mileage but age that will negatively affect a car this age.   James