Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

There is a 1957 Buick Rivera for sale on the Hemmings auction site. One of the documents included is the original bill of sale. Note the trade was a 1951 Packard engine J234066, a 200 or 200 Deluxe based on the engine#. Here's a good example of valuing trade-ins to get the sale price needed to win an order. Enjoy.

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It would be interesting to know how much cushion was in the Buick sale price to see if there was any loss the dealership took on the Packard. I doubt a 6 year old low end car that news articles were reporting as being all but orphaned -- even in the best of condition -- could have sold for anywhere close to the offered trade in value. Maybe breaking even was the best option in an era where Ford and Chevy were still fighting it out and another recession was starting to look like a possibility.

I was thinking the dealers were given a 25% margin plus volume incentives. You are right, in this transaction the cash part of the deal probably got the dealer out of the new car and into cash at zero margin and what ever profit there was in the deal was in the resale price of the Packard. $400? In 1958, this probably looked like a great deal with a recession and too much inventory.