Re: 1957 Packard 4 door

Posted by BH On 2009/7/31 8:17:19

I've never owned any of the Packardbakers, but have a passing interest in them due to their use of leftover Packard parts from previous Series that were built in Detroit and their attempt to resemble those Packards. (Check out the Model Info pages on the 57th Series for additional details.)

Now, consider the following "High Retail" prices as published by NADA (as of this writing):

$17,000 - 1957 Clipper Town Sedan

$22,600 - 1956 Clipper Custom sedan

$18,500 - 1956 Executive sedan

$24,400 - 1956 Patrician sedan

I can't say for sure about other price guides, but know that NADA uses reports of actual sales that were completed in the real world to arrive at their figures.

That might explain the lower figure for the Exec sedan, which actually replaced the CC sedan in the last few months of 1956 production. Since the '57 Clipper didn't sell all that well back in the day, it should come as no surprise that they bring 25% less than their 1956 counterpart(s) these days. Keep in mind, however, that such figures are merely guidelines.

IMHO, with ocassional exceptions, I feel a well-preserved or well-restored car in bone-stock condition will be worth more than a customized one. Sounds like this '57 has a relatively solid body, but with a MOPAR powerteam, the field of interested buyers becomes narrower, which may have a significant impact on final value.

The question then becomes one of whether the car worth is $850 to you, now, in its present state and what it will be worth after whatever $$$ you put into it to make it into what you want.