no greg not for sale ;;;; too good to sell

So the question now is where are you going to find 1 like it if the insurance company only pays out 15K If it went missing

you will never find one if you had $ 15 k from insurance cash ....add another $ 5 k maybe

This is my argument you cant insure them for the cost of replacement now we are starting to realize that as pr91 said a gt that is a road worthy condition has a $20000 value. This should be the base price for a car you can drive home. The car that was sold on ebay will not see the road for a simular price. As it would be over the 3 k mark in purchase price and freight.
The florian owes me over $5 grand and it was free. engine ,shocks tyres brakes radiator the list went on and still no rego.

What's a good florian worth ? How many out there . Gricey

There is a fine line between rare and desirable here it could be the only car in the world but if no one wants it scrap value. Speaking in general here. Market decides value is the problem this is why our cars stay low as the market they have people don't want to pay. It is slowly lifting at least a few realize the a good gt will cost more than $20k now and a good investment at that. If you bought a Hyundai new today at 20k it will be worth 3 in 7 years time at todays rate.

guess we have been over this a number of times. What it comes down to is the interest in the cars.

BCCV has about 30 members, Isuzu Club a few more I think, then QLD and SA. Plus NT. In total, well under 100 "Belletters'"
Now take out those who already have a GT or two (or three), those who have a sedan (or 117 or Florian) and don't want a GT etc. How many are left then of the remainder, who can self build or fund a project car. And how many can pay the asking for a GT ready to go. [other factors come into play here also; economic climate, kids needs, priorities etc] The numbers are dwindling rapidly, I would suggest, from the <100 we started with.
And, if you make the dwindling list to the end, is there a car available? And how badly do you want it? That then determines the value of it, to you.

So what would one get for 30k. If one was willing to part with that much?

personally i think you would get a very, very good GT. But I don't really know what cars have been sold and how much.

If you got a very good one out of japan, it would cost way more than that. Import costs are substantial. (and slow)

Import costs for a 20 foot container is about 4k and 5% import duty then gst.
The killer is the freight forwarder fees, port fees, etc etc.
then you have the brokers.

That's why it's good to stay in oz!!

But if someone was to share a forty footer I'm all ears. Done it with jetski's.

finding a car is the big problem. remember you are going on pictures and honesty. Even with somebody there, unless they know the cars and what to look for, it's hard. The Japanese are also famous for dodgy body repairs on old cars.

According to these figures you should be able to make $350 with a RWC and 12 months unconditional warranty.

careful or you will have the florian owners revolting!

although i would be keen to hear what others views are on the value of the florians, im not suggesting they are in the same value as the GT belletts, but surely they would have to be around $5000 or more for a good one?

as for the GT values, i would happily hand over $15-$20,000 for a good one if i had the cash. As has been said how much would you have to spend to replace them? seeing the work some of you guys have put into the cars im not sure 15-20,000 would cover the replacement of the car.

Josh I reckon a good estimate would be what a Bellett sedan in similar condition goes for to be honest.
Sure, Florian's aren't as sort after as even a sedan, so while a nice Bellett sedan can ask a good price due to its appeal to a wider audience, a Flo's greater rarity to those who do want one would mean demand outstrips supply, so that means prices increase within the circle too.
Some will disagree, and good on them, but knowing what sedans go for today in poor condition rite up to nice ones, I'd say 5k for a nice sedan or Flo isn't unreasonable....
Maybe even more for something desirable for whatever reason (mileage, colour, originality, etc), or if it's immaculate.

Revolting Florian owners?

...cue Mel Brooks gag.

Hi Gunna,
I thought I might have my say on this discussion ...not meaning to prolong this thread too much.
I bought my PR90 some 23 years ago as I wanted a "pedigree" early model like what was raced in the Japanese GP2.
I faithfully restored it sourcing a lot of original parts, doing only half of the work myself to get it to a good show standard. So back then it owed me $18k+... (4k driving/registered purchase plus 14k resto). I had it repainted in 2011, (not perfect tho) and have tidied up other things on it as well. So I would love to insure it for at least $30k which being a conservative estimate of what one from Japan may cost to replace it I would doubt that Sha....s would go that far or put this whole Bellett value into perspective... No offence intended Dave. My ultimate Bellett would be a GTR but a fully restored one from Isuzu Sports some others found out cost about $45k plus getting it to OZ costs

Anyhow most of us like myself feel that the longer we have these Belletts or other Isuzus for the more fond we become of them and I remember Rod wanting to sell his nice late model GT briefly ( for about a week ) last year or so. Greg you are right we would probably get better resale prices on our prime examples of Bellett GT's AND sedans to Japanese buyers. And if the more numerous 117's can be insured for up to $30k then why are Bellett values being left behind

So cut a long story short, when the the original white PR91 came up on eBay one year ago I pursued it to what I thought was a fair price ($13.5k) as it had mostly original paint and near perfect interior. I knew roadworthy would not be a problem as $8200 had been spent on restoring its mechanicals to get it to a good driveable condition. It will need a new paint job one day especially under the body but I am happy driving it around to club events knowing it is a "close" to original car. Plus, a driveable car suited me as I am not ready for another full project again due to the price of sourcing parts out of Japan have been lately. (Parts freight is very pricey.)

So Gunna, keep your ears open and eyes on this forum, you may just find a good drive able Bellett GT.
Cheers, Lewis

Values! Aaaargh!
So much discussion, but its all good.
My opinion is that many of us love these cars, but are not wealthy.( Possibly we are not because we invest bits over time as we can afford it.)
We would perhaps pay well for a good car [i]if we had it[i], but don't, so we have to do it the other way.
I do believe that we must not talk them down, as there is a risk cars will be discarded, and they are too few to let that happen. Everywhere I go, people remember Belletts fondly, but they are not all in the market.
Gunna, if you are not in a hurry, good value ones do come up, but you have to be quick with the cash.
Other than that, come to a car show and make the owners offers they can't refuse, then be prepared for knock backs. Someone might need money!

On Florian values, well beauty is in the eye etc. Aunty Mary cost me about 4 grand, but I've done 20,000+ ks in her, so at 10c/km depreciation (same as the Sube) only owes me 2. But to replace her would be hard at any price because of the rarity. To drive, she is reliable, comfy enough and light on fuel. Nats trip last year used 1 lt of oil for 2700 ks, and 8lt/100km. Priceless!
Alan bought the blue one from Melbourne, has it on the road and loves it. He's driving it to Tassie for the Nats. Owning is believing!
Good luck Gunna.
Cheers, Matt.

Wow!!!

Great comments guys.

Since 1986 when I owned my first Bellett and got know some the fraternity, I always thought you were a bunch of cheap mongrels who boasted about how cheap you bought a car but whinged about no-one wanting to pay decent money when you wanted to sell it (I say that lovingly with a smirk on my face). Good to see things have changed.

I will be happy to pay upwards of $50k for something special (and I mean SPECIAL!!!), as I would for a excellent secondhand Landcruiser for the family. There I've said it. Cards on the table and all that.

I might buy something tomorrow or in 2 years, lets see what comes out of the woodwork, if anything.

Some will think I'm just some wanker with too much money who is too lazy to put the effort into his own rebuild and your probably right. However my long term goal includes handing down four of these fantastic cars to each of my kids when their old enough to appreciate them. But only after they have been initiated on their own sedan, wasp or florian. Brett comes to mind.

I think I'm going to regret hitting the submit button now but here goes.

Hopping off my soapbox now.

I think this hits the nail on the head.

We might slowly build up a car as finances permit, but buying one outright for what they may be worth is another thing.

I don't care what value or what people buy and sell them for as gunnas $50k my cars are not for sale. I would like to insure them for replacement value though . $30K for a 117 would see $10k to purchase 1 in japan and $20k to holiday to find the right car and import it and some change to personalise it. A gt $10k will buy you a project car and $10k change to import it, repair and paint it and graft parts of your wreck into it. A proper paint and panel job will chew $10k. If a 117 is worth 30k than so is a gt