Page 1 of 1

Lowest priced new Model T

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 3:45 pm
by John kuehn
Am I correct that Model T’s got to their lowest prices in the black 17-25 era? I was thinking that the Runabouts got below $300.00 out the door some time during the 20’s and they were a non-stater car. Any historians ought there have an idea out there?
Thanks

Re: Lowest priced new Model T

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 4:17 pm
by DanTreace
Probably the 1925. Runabout base w/o Starter and Demountable, priced down to only $260 from 1924.

191199.jpg
This new 1924 was $265.

Re: Lowest priced new Model T

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 4:42 pm
by Ruxstel24
Touring cars were under $300 also...

Re: Lowest priced new Model T

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 5:40 pm
by John kuehn
Dan,
I can’t see it clear enough on this side but on the bottom left corner of the 24 add does it say demountable rims and starter $95 extra? Thanks Ruxtel for that add. That’s the one that mentions the lowest prices Ford offered. I’ve seen it but just couldn’t seem to find it.

The post about the quote ‘any color as long as it’s black’ prompted me to ask about the black era and Fords lowest prices. 24 was the year that my mother’s family got a new Model T and among the 5 kids she was the one who knew best how to work the pedals as she said and could take the other brothers and sister to school. She was 14 years old and her Father bought her drivers license for 25 cents at the town square a few weeks beforehand!
She always liked to tell that story at family get togethers. Her older sister just couldn’t understand the pedals like she could or so the story went!

Re: Lowest priced new Model T

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 7:37 pm
by Mark Osterman
I think the basic package 1923 runabout was the cheapest. Naturally ... my car. 😀

Re: Lowest priced new Model T

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 7:44 pm
by HPetrino
Well, according to the price sheet posted by Dave H., you could buy a running chassis for $225.00. I'm thinking that was the lowest priced new Model T.

Re: Lowest priced new Model T

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 7:56 pm
by Humblej
1925 Runabout $260 acording to the encyclopedia for yhe cheapest car, but as others have already posted, the chassis is the cheapest model t.

Re: Lowest priced new Model T

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 8:37 pm
by Dennis_Brown
Dad told me that my grandfather traded 300 bushel of corn for a new 1923 touring. Early in the winter he went around a corner to fast and upset it on it's side. Damaged the bows and top and they drove it the rest over the winter without a top in Nebraska.

Re: Lowest priced new Model T

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 9:10 pm
by HPetrino
Things were different in the day Dennis. My uncle was born in Aug. 1927. My grandfather (his dad) didn't have the money to pay the hospital bill. He went to the hospital business office and cut a deal. He paid the bill with the equivalent value in dried prunes. The most interesting part of the story is that the next year the hospital called him and wanted to buy his prunes again.

Try that on amazon or ebay and see what happens.

Re: Lowest priced new Model T

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 10:50 pm
by Ruxstel24
With the bare chassis at $225, the $35 for the roadster sheet metal, upholstery and such seems like a bargain !

Re: Lowest priced new Model T

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 10:56 pm
by Mark Osterman
Looks like $269 is the base price plus a little more for a floor mat.

Re: Lowest priced new Model T

Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2019 2:30 am
by Susanne
You could buy a running chassis for $220. Build a buckboard body out of $10 worth of wood, and there you go... Add some sheet metal, and some accessories, and go play on the 1/4 mile dirt track...

Re: Lowest priced new Model T

Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2019 1:55 pm
by Rich Bingham
Henry and Dennis are on to the "meat" of the price issue. Many were working for a dollar a day back then, making a new runabout cost nine months' wages ! I wonder what the equivalent purchasing power of $260 00 is in today's emaciated dollars ??

Another thing to consider - excepting those within walking distance of the factory, no one would have been able to buy one for that F.O.B. price. Transportation, dealer "prep" (some assembly required ?) local taxes (possibly) and registration fees would bring the buyer's out-of-pocket to around $300. and more in most cases.

As for buying a bare chassis to "go play on a dirt track", my guess is that barring the occasional spoiled rich brat, most bare chassis purchasers had a need for a "work horse" and their home-built bodies were economical of needs and strictly utilitarian in nature. Nonetheless, I'm sure they were a lot of fun in leisure hours. Heck, farm kids have been known to race tractors ! :lol:

Re: Lowest priced new Model T

Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2019 9:57 pm
by Steve Jelf
The inflation calculator says that $260 in 1924 would be $3900.88 in 2019. That's still a pretty cheap new car. In 1924 a $20 gold piece would buy you a new suit, a good meal in a nice restaurant, and a night's stay in a good hotel. Today that same coin would buy all that stuff. :D