NEW! Award 100: 1957 Nash Rambler Custom – Sold?

by | Jul 2022 | Craigslist ClassiFINDS, Free For All Friday, NEW Award

(To stop the slideshow and expand the pictures, click on the current photograph below)

August 18, 2022, Update – While the seller deleted their latest listing, given the seller’s past history and exorbitant asking price, we suspect may not actually be sold yet.  For now, we’re labeling this ride “Sold?” However, we will keep an eye out for an updated listing. In the interim, please reach out either by email or call Rudy directly if you’d like to be informed when we come across something similar.

July 17, 2022 Update – Finally, a step in the right direction. The private seller just replaced their expiring Craigslist ad with a fresh listing, in it, the seller finally lowered their firm $49,995 asking price. Despite a ten grand drop, the seller remains completely out of touch with what the market will likely be willing to pay for this Rambler.

July 7, 2022 Update – The absurdity continues. In their apparent new quest to trade their overpriced Rambler for a 40-foot diesel pusher RV, the seller just increased his asking price from $49,995 to $69,995.  We cannot make this stuff up!

June 16, 2022 Update – The optimistic seller just replaced their latest expiring listing with a fresh Craigslist ad. In their latest selling attempt, they begrudgingly lowered their asking price to $45,000, which is still way above any price guide estimates for these cars. So much for his original statement, “The $49,995 price is firm and I won’t take a dime less.”

May 27, 2022 Update – After trying to offer their Rambler briefly for a still-too-high $40,000, the optimistic seller returned to their ridiculous ask of $49,995.  In their description, they try to compare this Rambler to a Rolls Royce.  Feel free to compare the interior of this Rambler to that of the Silver Spirit featured today for half the price and decide which one you’d rather own.

May 12, 2022 Update – Mr. Firm at $49,995 likely realized his asking price is unattainable as he just lowered it for the first time by a not-so-insignificant ten large to $40,000. Still too much for a ’57 Nash Rambler sedan, even if it’s still among the best.

May 5, 2022 Update – The private seller of this rare Nash just posted a fresh Craigslist ad designed to replace the about-to-expire month-old listing.  In a shocking development, the seller remains firm on his $49,995 asking price.

Back when we started, if you had asked us what our one hundredth “NEW!” (short for “No Effin Way!) Award recipient would likely be for, our money would have been on either a Corvette or some sort of Marti-Report-documented, one-of-one, Ford muscle car. Oddly enough, we’re awarding it to the seller of this 1957 Nash Rambler Custom Four-Door sedan originally listed in April 2022 on Craigslist in Tampa, Florida. Unfortunately, the seller is about to learn a very painful lesson in car restoration: you better plan to lose money if you want to restore a classic that only a handful of collectors might be interested in. Especially if it features the standard six-cylinder engine and not the more desirable V8. Especially if it’s the less-desirable four-door sedan and not the sexier pillarless four-door hardtop. Especially when you can see orange peel in the paint on the rear fenders of the darker pictures provided.  Just because you decided to invest fifty large and four years of your time restoring an unpopular car does not guarantee someone will be willing to reimburse you for that.

Currently offered for $49,995, comparing that price against the Collector Car Market Review Online Tool reveals the seller’s ask is $36,000 higher than this guide’s #1 “Concours” estimate of $13,975.  As a second data point, the J.D. Powers NADA Online Classic Car Guide also confirms the seller’s ask is way beyond this guide’s high value of only $14,650. Unfortunately, despite our repeated attempts over the past several years to alert them, Hagerty Insurance still does not provide guidance on late 1950s Ramblers. Bring A Trailer has not auctioned any of these.  It’s clear from the limited data the seller’s expectations are completely out of touch with the market, so we have no choice but to award him our latest “NEW!” (short for “No Effin Way!) award for an asking price completely out of touch with market reality.

The merger of independent automobile manufacturers Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company in May of 1954 became American Motors Corporation, better known as simply “AMC.”  Fun fact: at the time, the corporate merger was the largest ever in American history to that point.  Two years later, AMC launched the intermediate-sized Rambler Six and the Rambler V8 for the 1956 model year. Ramblers were sold through both Nash and Hudson dealerships.

Rather than trying to compete with the “Big Three” and their standard-sized models, American Motors focused its resources to introduce a line of smaller intermediate cars in what would become a new market segment.  Although conventional business thinking states that bigger profits were made from sales of bigger cars, American Motors lacked the resources to develop a full range of models targeting different market segments. As the chairman and president of AMC, George W. Romney also avoided a head-to-head battle with the U.S. automakers by focusing the company on the compact car.

In 1957, AMC elected to establish Rambler as a separate marque.  AMC offered Ramblers in a four-door sedan, four-door pillarless hardtop, and station wagon body styles.  The most basic trim level, Deluxe, was essentially for fleet customers and only available with AMC’s inline-six engine.  The Super and Custom trimmed models came with the I6 or AMC’s new V8 engine. The Deluxe had no exterior side trim or series name, the Super came with a single full-length body side molding and a “Super” script emblem. The top-of-the-line Custom featured dual full body side moldings with a “Custom” script emblem and a round “R” medallion on the top of the front fenders.

The Osborn Tramain YouTube Channel features this 1957 Disney commercial when American Motors was the show’s primary sponsor:

It’s one thing to ask for an optimistic price and then be negotiable.  It’s completely arrogant to set what would be a record price for an obscure and unpopular classic car and then say, “the price is very firm, and I won’t take a dime less.” The seller’s claim that people mistake his Rambler for a Rolls Royce is simply comical.

Here’s the seller’s description:

“For sale, a 1957 NASH RAMBLER CUSTOM 6 4 door sedan this car is 100% original except the paint which is very high quality and the real white walls firestone tires brand new including the spare tire is loaded with am radio original which does work power brakes 6 cylinders straight inline 1.96 litters this vehicle is in showroom condition astonishing condition and the only one in the USA has been used mainly for car shows and parades the only vehicle of this model after 65 years to be in this shape was professionally restore comes from the west so has absolutely zero rust mechanically super sound has free and clear title register in my name. took me 4 years to bring this car to this level most people think is a ROLL ROYCE but is not. way more rare find for scammers Don’t even waste your time with me Don’t ask to reply to emails or codes I heard all your tricks by now and it just won’t work if you try I will block you and delete you immediately the pictures showing the black center stripe was before it was restored. se Habla Espanol $49.995.00 price is very firm won’t take a dime less.”

Yea or Nay: Do you agree with our NEW! Award for this 1957 Nash. Rambler?  Please comment below and let us know!

9 Comments
  1. NEW! Award 100: 1957 Nash Rambler Custom – Sold?

    This seems so harsh! Let the seller ask what he wants! No harm no foul, nothing “arrogant” about it.

    Reply
    • NEW! Award 100: 1957 Nash Rambler Custom – Sold?

      Sorry if our comments come across as harsh, but saying a Rambler looks like a Rolls Royce and “won’t take a dime less” come across ad arrogant to us. Unfortunately, we have tough conversations with similar owners every week who refuse to think their car is worth anything less than the total of receipts they have into the car.

      Reply
    • NEW! Award 100: 1957 Nash Rambler Custom – Sold?

      I don’t think it’s harsh at all. Of course he can ask any price he cares to but with prices sky-high in the current market the NEW award is helpful to those of us who are interested but less knowledgeable to get a clearer understanding of what’s realistic. And in any negotiation a take-it-or-leave-it attitude is always a sign of arrogance.

      Reply
    • NEW! Award 100: 1957 Nash Rambler Custom – Sold?

      This was probably written by the seller

      Reply
  2. NEW! Award 100: 1957 Nash Rambler Custom – Sold?

    totally out of touch with reality

    Reply
  3. NEW! Award 100: 1957 Nash Rambler Custom – Sold?

    Clearly the poster is either elderly or very confused; or likely both. The sentence structure, lack of punctuation, and such indicates that. I was a member of the Nash Club some years ago and have been to several of their National meets, and it is NOT the only one in the USA . Or, maybe he just forgot to take his meds.

    Reply
  4. NEW! Award 100: 1957 Nash Rambler Custom – Sold?

    Fun and unusual car – at 1/4 or maybe 1/3 of the price. As it is, maybe it shows what can happen to a mind that’s been baking in the hot Florida sun for too long.

    Reply
  5. NEW! Award 100: 1957 Nash Rambler Custom – Sold?

    Another problem is that the center stripe was changed from black to white. Which was original? Based on the interior, it would seem the black center stripe was. That’s a red flag.

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *