It’s a nice looking and a clean jeep, too. I suspect the price is based on the “professional appraiser” valuation.
https://desmoines.craigslist.org/cto/d/grinnell-1946-willys-jeep-cj-2a/6798286614.html
“This is a unique year for the Jeep being the first year the Willys became available to the general public after the war. This is truly a fantastic full body off restoration using most original parts. Very rare find with a Port Reed Bed Extension. Features original #6 volt electrical system with 56,000 original miles. Original Flathead 4 cylinder Engine completely overhauled with all numbers matching. Has new brake lines, fuel lines, wire harness. Carb kit. new seats. Original color as it came from the factory. Too many great details to mention with gauges, wipers seating, etc. Professionally appraised at $39,000.00 plus”
I guess the ” Professional Appraiser ” missed the incorrectly installed cheep repro steps .
It seems pot must be involved in the pricing…lol
Perhaps in the air, blowing from the Western US and Colorado? 🙂
Luzon Red was 1947.
I ran across this last night and then had a hard time falling asleep..
Looks good and the attention to detail seems to be noteworthy at the very least.
Same color scheme as my ’52 3A (named Ruby), albeit with light grey canvas for *ALL* the seats *AND* a full 5-piece top + doors. My bed extender remains unpainted sadly. + 2 extra blocks, + PTO, +Hickey Head.. ++parts..
(search for Kaiser Willys Ruby Jeep and you’ll find my rig. The red 3A in a vineyard setting)
Is it perfect? Hell no..
Here’s the rub, people spend countless hours restoring vehicles, be it with NOS, after market or restored parts and accessories. You’re never going to get paid for your time. Maybe if this appraiser would look at MINE, it could appraise for the same, or more, or even less, who knows.. Not having seen this Jeep in person, the pictures can only tell part of the story but form what I’ve gathered over the years is this is a niche market vehicle. Niche market vehicles cater to niche market clientele. “Average Joe Jeep Buyer” is not going to buy a rig like this for a price like this. (Visions of Barrett-Jackson’s M-38 and trailer for $100k+ just ran through my head..)
Point is, things can appraise for whatever price. Is somebody going to get that price, depends on the market for said “thing.” The market for a Willys, especially a CJ, is not there at this price, regardless of appraisal.
Good luck to seller and let’s hope they remember to put the bolt in the right-front leg of the drivers seat. (zoom in on last pic in CL ad.)
Thanks Matt,
Some random thoughts ….
Professional appraisers shouldn’t be pulling numbers out of nowhere. Instead, they ought to be following USPAP (uniform standards of professional appraisal practice) guidelines, meaning they should be considering 1) recent sales aka comps, 2) price guidelines aka usually NADA, and 3) general market knowledge. Given a 1947 CJ-2A high retail value is $34,400, it’s pretty clear to me that the Pro appraiser in this case relied almost exclusively on the NADA value (https://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/1947/willys-overland/cj2a/4×4-jeep-universal/values)
Most professional appraisers do not understand how unusual the Willys/Jeep market is. It does not conform to NADA at all and unless you know jeeps, general vehicle knowledge will not be helpful, as jeeps are complicated (as anyone who reads eWillys knows). One of eWillys purposes is to tackle #1, though most of the prices are list rather than sale prices. Still, there are comps on almost every kind of vintage jeep, which offers one of the most unique vehicle pricing resources for evaluating jeeps.
Moreover, another unusual aspect of the jeep market is that nearly every part can still be purchased, albeit most are not NOS. Still, a person can build a flat fender jeep from scratch for about $18,000 (years ago I attempted to calculate this … it could have changed by now). This fact should weight against the appraiser’s high estimation (in my opinion).
That’s a great summary, Dave. Thank you