Interesting comparison

[Jeff/Illinois]

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[Steve Wastler]

I think the roadster had about 38k miles, it looks nice, but would have preferred it not restored. I think the Tudor would be the one for me.

[C26Pinelake]

There is a big difference between a Tudor and a Roadster. You can buy a very nice Tudor for less than 12K but you have a hard time finding a very nice Roadster for 15K. Make " cents " to me !
Wayne

[Mark W.]

This Standard Roadster came from e-bay for under 10k - I'd been looking and lurking here for a while, but I think it was a pretty solid car for the money, even after adding in the expense of enclosed shipping 1/2 way across the country. Every stitch of wire needs replaced, but the only rust is a 1/2 dollar sized hole under the front seat (which I put there scraping out the crap built up there) and it needs a few little things like headlamps. Going to run it as-is for a while... After the wiring is done that is.

[Tom Wesenberg]

That Coupe does look decent, and the wiring isn't too bad to replace, nor too expensive.

[ford3]

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i wonder how much in fees he paid to run it thru the auctions?

[Mark W.]

Tom - Was the "Coupe" comment in reference to the seller mis-listing the car as such? I was shocked when he was corrected by someone and did not update the listing to read Roadster, but he also made a mistake as the auction ended mid-day Saturday afternoon the weekend between Carlisle and Hershey. I'd liked to get the other Roadster for 12.5 but not selling at 15+ pushed me out of that game...

[Tom Wesenberg]

Mark, no, that was my mistake, as I meant ROADSTER.
I never saw the ebay listing and don't know why I said COUPE?

[Marco Tahtaras]

Originally Posted by Jeff/Illinois

Which of these two Model A's would have been the better buy recently on E-Bay? The '29 Roadster didn't meet reserve. Who knows what it was I believe this car recently bid around $20K at auction last fall, still no sale.

I like the original Tudor best!!! Tudor sold at $12K.... Roadster bid $15K no sale.

I'm not sure how you can possibly compare the two. Yes, decent unrestored cars aren't all that common, but the only model more common than a '30-31 Tudor is a '28-29 Tudor. I looked at the pics of that Roadster and although it clearly fits into the "Driver" category with chrome plating and such it certainly appears to be much better than most.

Whether someone prefers an unrestored car or a Tudor in general is moot. The overall market and therefore "market value" is significantly stronger for the Roadster.

[frank mcdaniels]

Jeff, I know everyone gets sick of the (when I was a kid stories) but when I was young the ultimate find was a roadster. There were two door sedans everywhere. We used to roll them up on their sides just to get the rearend out.Now when you look at sites like ebay and hemmings there seems to be as many roadsters as anything. Apparently most got saved. I have a roadster now and would'nt trade it for anything. Well almost. I still would feel real lucky to have one over a two door sedan anyday. Now you know the rest of the story, Frank

[CarlG]

I would think that a roadster in Minnesota would be just about as popular as they are in Alaska (NOT!)

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by CarlG

I would think that a roadster in Minnesota would be just about as popular as they are in Alaska (NOT!)

That's right. I like my Phaeton on the few really warm days here in Minnesota, but a closed car is much more practical, plus you can lock up your belongings.

[Patrick L.]

I think that little roadster is a pretty car,, but,, I'm a rag top guy.. All my old stuff has rag tops or no tops.. The top is never up on the old Ford anymore,, its stays down until the puddles freeze then it just sits in the barn till spring.. Like the old saying goes,, when the top goes down the price goes up..

[Mark W.]

A lot of the T guys have two cars - one open and one closed to extend the season - especially needed in Maine. I'd had a 1915 Runabout (Roadster) and a 1926 Fordor for some time but the 15 was getting driven less & less as I found it uncomfortable. The last 2 years it might have seen 100 miles put on, but the sedan was getting the wheels run off her. A few months back I was contacted out of the blue to sell the 15, and so I went looking for another car when this Roadster jumped out. I never thought I'd buy an A but here I am and I already think this car is a lot more drivable than the T. The only reason I tripped across it was I'd been asked by a friend in the T club to look out for a good A closed car because their 13 roadster was getting uncomfortable and they wanted an A as their second antique.

Another thing I've noticed is that (other than Ford cars) there seems to be a general decline in values for the 20's-30's cars ESPECIALLY SEDANS. For example, a 1930 LaSalle sedan in HPOF condition 100% complete sold on e-bay shortly before the A came up for $11,500. I'm younger than most of the T club (46) and yet I remember similar cars asking in the higher teens for that kind of car. There have been at least two restored late 20's Pierce Arrow sedans sold on e-bay in the low 20k range recently, and there have been a lot of other examples.

I've always been told that when it came to antique cars the price goes up if the top comes down - but to each their own. I'm sure this debate could go on forever... Me, I'll vote for one of each.