Monday, February 28, 2011

1928 Rolls-Royce Picadilly P1 Roadster

Take a gander at a real classic.

1928 Rolls-Royce Picadilly P1 Roadster

Can you imagine having the same car for 82 years?!!!   I guess it was no longer under warranty...   "How Long Have You Owned a Car?" 

Mr. Allen Swift ( Springfield , MA.) received this 1928 Rolls-Royce Picadilly P1 Roadster from his father, brand new - as a graduation gift in 1928. He drove it up until his death last year.....at the age of 102. He was the oldest living owner of a car from new.  Just thought you'd like to see it.
 
He donated it to a Springfield museum after his death. It has 170,000 miles on it, still runs like a Swiss watch, dead silent at any speed and is in perfect cosmetic condition. (82 years)   That's approximately 2000 miles per year...    


Wonder what this thing is worth on the open market?  
 

That particular car set his folks back $10,900 (141,700 in 2010 dollars). It's hard difficult to speculate what it would sell for today at auction. A P1 was up for auction recently for $77K with no reserve. I don't know what it sold for. If I would venture to guess though, this car would fetch over $200k (just my guess).[source]



Jodi Lou Bama-Rama

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pretty crappy investment if you ask me. An increase in value of $58,300 in 82 years? That's $711 a year, you could almost make that off of a savings account. That doesn't include the cost of ownership, oil changes, fuel, new tires, etc. I'm sure over the course of 82 years that $58k was eaten up in maintenance.

Rodger the Real King of France said...

Try to buy one for $77K. NFW.

Anonymous said...

I love that color-bet they didn't call it seafoam green in 1928
MM

Rodger the Real King of France said...

Matter of fact, i5t was called "color of money green."

Kim said...

In Europe, $350K or more. Here in the U.S., about $450K minimum, and I could be understating it by a factor of 10.

One-of-a-kind always fetches a premium. A driveable Auto Union racer from the 1930s recently sold for $11 million.

Tom Mann said...

Rolls Royce warranty was lifetime.

Kristophr said...

I agree with the first anon poster.

Start with $711, buy a Dow Jones spread, and put the yearly maint. costs into that same spread. After 80 some odd years, you'll be able to buy a large chunk of Rolls Royce.

Cars are disposable objects for us poor folks. Buy one a few years behind the current model year, and dump it when it needs major maint.

Only buy new when you can afford a nice toy.

Anonymous said...

Originality carries a big premium. Betcha at the right auction it would fetch a quarter million or more.
Lt. Col. Gen. Tailgunner dick

TimO said...

You could have bought 20 Fords back then for $10k (or probably 3 or 4 really nice houses.)

Must be nice to have a rich daddy...

David said...

In 1987 I bought a new Dodge Ram 50 pickup. No frills, no radio, cruise control, etc. Only add on was an air conditioner. Drove it for 22 years, put about 130,000 miles on it. Paid a mechanic to replace, water pump, timing belt and clutch. Other than that I have gotten away with doing regular fluid, filters, plugs, and tires myself. Runs great, gets over 23 mpg. After 24 years with the desert sun fading the paint and rotting away all the plastic interior parts, it looks like crap. It squeeks, creaks and rattles when it runs, but when you turn the key - it starts, and it runs.

Daughter took it to college with her last year. Friends all tease her about her junker - she loves it. Insurance is affordable, cost of ownership is low, easy on gas, and it was paid for 21 years ago. When she landed a summer job, all her friends told her to use the money to buy a new car. Her response was "Why, I already have a car?"

My 13 year old son is hoping that she will buy a car of her own before he is old enough to drive. He wants that truck.

My Dad taught me - get a vehicle - maintain it, drive it until if falls apart around you, then get a new one. I still have the '51 Oldsmobile he gave me in 1973. But it's not reliable enough to let the kid drive it out of town, so she had to take the truck.

The family mini-van that my wife drives is 14 years old and has almost 200K miles on it.

The auto industry hates my family.

Helly said...

COMPLETELY missing the point. Never underestimate the value of a sporty convertible. Over 82 years, it's impossible to calculate how many times that car got him laid. Easily into 5 digits.

How do you suppose he lived to 102? And how can you put a price on that?

Rodger the Real King of France said...

Why Helly! We're scandalized to consider such a thing. You've given me the vapors.

rickn8or said...

Anonymous, Kristopher: Helly beat me to it. Sure, it's a crappy investment, but try getting laid because you have a savings account.

Post a Comment

Just type your name and post as anonymous if you don't have a Blogger profile.