1942 DeSoto Convertible "Fifth Ave Edition" in Ontario Canada

[Ed Luddy]

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/ottawa/1942-desoto-convertible/1557671099

Ad seems to be overhype for a car that certainly doesn't need it.

 

 

[auburnseeker]

Actually means his price is probably crazy high as he says contact for price from what I saw in the ad.  The old saying if you have to ask how much it's too expensive comes to mind.  

Does seem like a nice car though,  but rather limited market. 

[alsancle]

115,000

[auburnseeker]

Could be wrong but I would bet half that would be hard to get or atleast realistic.  Lots of cars for sale for 55-60G.  Maybe not a 42 Desoto, but sure the line of potential customers before price is figured in was pretty short for a 42 Desoto in general. 

[alsancle]

24 minutes ago, auburnseeker said:

Could be wrong but I would bet half that would be hard to get or atleast realistic.  Lots of cars for sale for 55-60G.  Maybe not a 42 Desoto, but sure the line of potential customers before price is figured in was pretty short for a 42 Desoto in general. 

 

42 Desoto is highly desirable because of the front end and the fact that they are never seen.   I've been active in the hobby for 50 years - going to shows as a little kid.  I have never seen a 42 Desoto convertible in person.

 

I think the 115k is optimistic.   And,  unless you can prove the color is original I think it is a mistake.   But,  you will never get the chance to have another one.   I could give you the choice of a number of 40-60 convertibles in the 60-75k price range,   Caribbeans,  Skylarks,  etc,  and if you took this you would have the only one.

[m-mman]

I do like the blackwalls and white tire rings.   Very appropriate for a 1942 car. 

[John Bloom]

1 hour ago, alsancle said:

 

42 Desoto is highly desirable because of the front end and the fact that they are never seen.   I've been active in the hobby for 50 years - going to shows as a little kid.  I have never seen a 42 Desoto convertible in person.

 

I think the 115k is optimistic.   And,  unless you can prove the color is original I think it is a mistake.   But,  you will never get the chance to have another one.   I could give you the choice of a number of 40-60 convertibles in the 60-75k price range,   Caribbeans,  Skylarks,  etc,  and if you took this you would have the only one.

 

as AJ said, the front end is spectacular and the fun in having something that you never see is desirable for almost all collectors.   
 

From the pictures and the reality of how rare they are, I would have guessed a price about half of the asking price, but this is not a car I follow so my estimate of price/ value is based on a gut feeling from looking at cars for 40 years. If someone told me they got their asking price, I would have assumed that it was a knowledgeable buyer who knows what they want and is willing to pay for it. 

 

My mind always looks at this stuff along the lines of “what will 115K buy me?”........  and there are probably 500 models of cars I would spend that amount on before spending it on a early 40’s convertible Desoto.   That isn’t a statement about the desirability of this car, it is a statement of my tastes. I see Restomods for 200K and I would pay 20K for it, but others pull the trigger without flinching. Taste in cars Is interesting from one car guy to another.  It is part of why the hobby is so fabulous. 

 

if I am writing a check for 115K, there would probably be a long wheelbase open classic coming to my garage. 
 

 

[neil morse]

Yeah, I think this car is an example of the fact that "rare" (and this car is indeed truly rare!) doesn't always mean "valuable."  But it's worth whatever someone will pay for it.

[alsancle]

Here are a pile of pictures of the car.

 

https://www.fossilcars.com/desoto/custom/958172

[alsancle]

This is a good thread on the 42 Desoto.  I wonder if the car in question is the unrestored one in that thread?

 

 

[John Bloom]

Please don’t beat me up for the following......  I know it is an “apples to oranges “ comparison, but I have a friend who bought a 47 Plymouth coupe this month. A “driver” quality car. It isn’t a convertible and is inferior to this car with totally different production numbers......... but there are many common/similar elements between the two.  He paid less than 5 grand for it. 
 

 

[alsancle]

4 minutes ago, John Bloom said:

Please don’t beat me up for the following......  I know it is an “apples to oranges “ comparison, but I have a friend who bought a 47 Plymouth coupe this month. A “driver” quality car. It isn’t a convertible and is inferior to this car with totally different production numbers......... but there are many common/similar elements between the two.  He paid less than 5 grand for it. 
 

 

He might have over paid 😀.

[John Bloom]

31 minutes ago, alsancle said:

He might have over paid 😀.

That is a possibility!  I would ask, has there EVER been a DeSoto sell for Six Figures ?

[Steve9]

Well... I believe at auction several mid fifties Adventurer convertibles have done it.

Edited March 28, 2021 by Steve9 (see edit history)

[John Bloom]

8 hours ago, Steve9 said:

Well... I believe at auction several mid fifties Adventurer convertibles have done it.

I had kind of forgotten about those,  and you are absolutely correct.  They are gorgeous cars.   

[alsancle]

Back 30-35 years ago a guy in Mass by the name of Dana Sanborn (you still around Dana?)  had 58 Desoto Adventurer Convertible for sale.   I was in my musclecar stage and with a 361 dual quad it was sort of in my interest circle.  I went out to look at it and Dana wanted 1500.00 for it.   It was complete and not a total rust bucket.   But it needed too much work and I was more interested in Hemi cars and Shelbys at that point.

 

I'm sure it got restored and is floating around somewhere.  Too bad we didn't have camera phones back then.

 

This one sold for 264K at  BJ.

Edited March 28, 2021 by alsancle (see edit history)

[alsancle]

Btw,  anything between 50k-75k I wouldn't be surprised on for the subject car.   More than 75k and I'm impressed, and less than 50k I would be a buyer.

[vintchry]

• Agree it is a very rare car, doesn't mean it is very valuable. Personally I would have used some great music from the Big Band era to "set the mood" Nice car, looks well done, best of luck selling.

[Walt G]

I agree with the comments about how unusual it is to even see any 1942 DeSoto, and also about how over priced it is and also that the color will hurt the sales.

You can't really see the styling of the car because you are blinded by the color.  I got into the hobby and my first old car in 1963, and was active in a group/club that was for Chrysler products. Since that time I have seen at the most two 1942 DeSotos and both were sedans. Great looking car of the early 1940s.

As others have stated, for the $ asked or even half of that you could find and own a much larger car of the same era or earlier.  In 2016 I bought a 1930 Packard model 733 seven passenger touring car at auction that had a AACA 1st place badge on the stone guard for less then the listed price for this DeSoto.

[JamesR]

I wonder how insurance would work in a scenario like this. From the discussion, it sounds like most DeSotos of this era go for a fraction of this price, but as convertible from this year it's apparently very rare. Would most insurance companies that specialize in old cars be unwilling to provide coverage in the amount of an atypically high price?

[alsancle]

I doubt insurance would be a problem.  Agreed value policies have been around for a while and assuming you have a long standing relationship with a carrier I would expect them to understand.

[Hudsy Wudsy]

The way I see it, this car has four things going for it -- It's a lower production car because it's an orphan make, a model from a year of abbreviated war time production, a convertible and lastly it has novelty headlights. None of those things would mean that much to me after I owned it for a couple of months. I think that I would be thinking a lot about what else I could have gotten for that kind of money.

Edited March 30, 2021 by Hudsy Wudsy (see edit history)

[42 DeSoto Fifth Avenue]

The second owner of this car painted it red. Ray Reis 'Mr DeSoto' is the 1942 DeSoto Tech advisor for the National DeSoto Club. He liked the red color of convertible on the cover of the big 1942 showroom catalog. He also owned a Custom 3 passenger coupe which he called a 'gentleman's coupe' rather than a business coupe. Those of us who track the 1942 DeSoto  think there are 4, maybe 5, known convertibles and this is the only 5th Avenue. As to the total of 5th Avenue's produced, 500, I've yet to see any written/printed evidence to support that figure and would welcome the source. The only sure way would be to go through the 'build sheets' that still exist on microfilm in what remains of Chrysler Historical. I own six 42s and one is a Fifth Avenue 4dr Sedan. Many years ago I saw at a car show what I'm pretty sure was a cloned 5th Avenue coupe. 42s are still out there and keep emerging from barns and garages!

[Ed Luddy]

1 hour ago, 42 DeSoto Fifth Avenue said:

The second owner of this car painted it red. Ray Reis 'Mr DeSoto' is the 1942 DeSoto Tech advisor for the National DeSoto Club. He liked the red color of convertible on the cover of the big 1942 showroom catalog. He also owned a Custom 3 passenger coupe which he called a 'gentleman's coupe' rather than a business coupe. Those of us who track the 1942 DeSoto  think there are 4, maybe 5, known convertibles and this is the only 5th Avenue. As to the total of 5th Avenue's produced, 500, I've yet to see any written/printed evidence to support that figure and would welcome the source. The only sure way would be to go through the 'build sheets' that still exist on microfilm in what remains of Chrysler Historical. I own six 42s and one is a Fifth Avenue 4dr Sedan. Many years ago I saw at a car show what I'm pretty sure was a cloned 5th Avenue coupe. 42s are still out there and keep emerging from barns and garages!

Thank you for your input! It would be nice to see this go to a DeSoto fan.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, 42 DeSoto Fifth Avenue said:

The second owner of this car painted it red. 

Do you know what the original color of this car was?

[John_S_in_Penna]

On 3/27/2021 at 2:17 PM, alsancle said:

I've been active in the hobby for 50 years - going to shows as a little kid.  I have never seen a 42 Desoto convertible in person.

 

There was a '42 DeSoto convertible for sale in the 

Hershey car corral in 2017.  It was owned by a local

man I know, and he too had it well over-priced, well 

over $100,000.  It sold, but I don't know for how much.

 

I spoke to him about it.  He said he priced it "or best

offer," probably expecting to come down quite a bit.

In my opinion, the styling is okay but rather bulbous.

With so many other Mopars of the 1940's around to

buy and enjoy, is it worth paying an extra $100,000

merely for a cloth top and metal flaps over the headlights?

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[alsancle]

In that era I like the 3 window over the convertible Mopar.  The only exception would be the Wayfarer Roadster later on.

 

A 41 New Yorker business coupe has been on my list for years.

[deaddds]

The front end reminds me of the Y job.

[deaddds]

I watched the video. Maybe it’s the sunlight but the interior seat tops/ door panels look faded out. And I’m looking from my phone but pics of the top going up looks to have daylight coming thru. If accurate, $115? Ouch

[42 DeSoto Fifth Avenue]

On 5/5/2021 at 10:51 PM, GregLaR said:

Do you know what the original color of this car was?

Unfortunately not. If Ray ever told me I've forgotten.

 

[61polara]

The asking price of the yellow convertible at Hershey in 2017 was $175.000.  It sold, but I don't know at what price.  This is the best '42 convertible that exists.  I know of four (red, yellow, black and blue colors) and have heard that there may be two more for a possible total of 6.