This 1962 2CV Sahara listed on eBay is causing quite a stir. It has also been listed on Bring-A-Trailer. At $99,500 US, some are asking if the price is ridiculous while others that have seen Saharas sell recently at double that are wondering if its a bargain?
We note that the ad says “sympathetically restored” and that tells a lot if you look carefully at the listing. The eBay ad states:
“After years of looking, Dr. Mac Jones located this car in the Netherlands. It had been owned by a former Citroën employee and had its original engines, transmissions, body, and chassis parts. The exhaust system had been replaced. Mac refurbished suspension pieces, cleaned out both gas tanks, replaced the fuel lines and top canvas and enjoyed the car on his farm, maintaining and enjoying it for 14 years. After we acquired it, the car has undergone a sympathetic restoration with parts sourced from Citroën Concours of America, a former Citroën dealer who had purchased an extensive supply of OEM parts. Engine (two) out service was done–carburetors, brakes, and hydraulics were rebuilt. Paint and body panels were preserved. Wipers, brake lines, floor mats, door panels and seat covers were replaced as was a missing driver’s side mirror. Where possible, the originals were saved and will accompany the car.”
Toward the bottom in the eBay ad there is a link where “You can see more pics by clicking here”. Though the ad is no longer available to view the engine pics, we did manage to find photos of the underside and the ignition keys/speedometer.
You can see that the front floors appear have been patched at some point and there is some corrosion that has been glossed over in the lower sill of the body. With 88K on the odometer, no wonder! Shock absorbers have been added as well. The car now has both shocks and the original wheel dampers. It should have only the latter indicating that the chassis was swapped out with a modern one. And why a late model outside rear view mirror was fitted and not a proper period round one is a bit puzzling.
So this car presents well but is neither a perfectly preserved or restored to a concours standard. These things make the price at just under $100K probably a bit on the high side for this Sahara. Though with just 694 built they are a rare 2CV variant, and are commanding big dollars despite the fact they they are slow, noisy and frankly a pain to drive getting the engines to synchronize.
Ah, the price people pay to acquire Citroën quirkiness!