Auctioned: Ford Model A at 103
2012-10-16 11:10
LOOING GOOD FOR ITS AGE: This 1903 Ford Model A rear-entry model is one of the oldest still in existence at 103 years.got only R2.31m...
DETROIT, Michigan - One of the oldest cars sold by Ford has been auctioned for $264 000 (about R2.31-million) in Pennsylvania, US.
It's an original 1903 Ford Model A rear-entry tonneau, a model sold from July 1903 to March 1904, but the auction price was less than half of its 2007 price of $630 000, according to RM Auctions.
Carlton Pate, a collector of antique cars and author of "Pate's Early Ford Automobile Encyclopedia", said the winning bid was a more reasonable price than that paid in 2007.
"With its provenance, and it's an early one, it's a great little car," he said. "It's also got a little history behind it."
$850 IN 1903
RM Auctions did not name the winning bidder. The car was previously auctioned in 2010 but the highest bid - $325 000 - failed to meet the reserve. RM had estimated the 2012 value of the car at $350 000 to as much as $500 000.
It's price in 1903 was $850, according to EarlyFordRegistry.com.
Pate said Ford records showed this Model A was not the oldest car Ford sold - at least one other was shipped the same day.
The Model A has had five owners, according to the Detroit News, the most recent being John O'Quinn, a Houston trial lawyer killed in a car crash in 2009. The Model A was one of about 1200 automobiles in O'Quinn's collection and still runs beautifully. It competed in the English London-Brighton run in 2003 for its 100th birthday.
The engine underwent a complete professional rebuild before O'Quinn's bought it in 2007.
