opinons of 89 Avanti

Keep an eye on eBay. The last 3 convertibles from 87-89 didn't make reserve or attract higher bids than about $18,000 tops. Kind of a bummer, me with an

87 convertible with more money into it than I could get out of it. Oh wait, that's the bane of all Stude owners, right?

;-))

Brooksie

I purchased an '87 Avanti new. It had more build problems than all of the other new cars that I have owned - combined. That '89 should have its bugs worked out by now. Keep in mind that only 158 Avantis were built for the 1989 model year. It is also the last year of the Studebaker Avanti style coupe. While you won't see yourself coming the other way, many parts and service won't be that easy to come by. If the car's condition is in line with 50K miles, I would guesstimate values at $16K for a coupe and $19K for a convertible.

I had a '88 for only as long as it took to get rid of it - nothing but trouble.......especially wiriing, accessories (windows, climate control, seat controls, door locks), dash bits falling off, etc. etc.

others will correct me if I have this wrong, but believe that the '87 &

88s were build on Monte Carlo chasis........the 89s were built on Impala frames and the "ground effects skirts" touted in the literature were really there to cover=up the wide Impala frame rails which stuck out beyond the old Avanti body width at the rockers.

my '88 did have good body work, though: panels were flawless and fit was great........and considering how minimal the perimeter frame was compared to the origianl Lark-based frame, it was more tight and rattle-free than I expected. But I, too, thought it would make easy-to-maintain transportation but it was a nightmare to keep together!

Rolf T.