1978 Lancia Beta Sedan - A Remarkably Well Preserved Example

These cars were perfect examples of everything that was good about Fiat / Lancia in the 1970s and 1980s, and everything that was bad.

The good: The Beta sedan is a roomy, comfortable, quick, economical, nimble sedan. If it didn't have to have sealed beam headlights and gigantic bumpers in the US, you could add "good looking" to that list. Even with the US spec stuff, it's not half bad.

The Bad: Rust, rust, rust, rust. Iffy electronics. Rust. Some cheap trim pieces (especially for a car that was supposed to be upscale). Rust.

This Beta Berlina is an incredibly well taken care of survivor. Mechanically, it sounds like it's almost perfect. The seller has spent quite a bit of time and money maintaining it properly.

The interior is in good, but not perfect shape. The driver's seat is torn, but the rest of it looks to be in nice shape.

Did I mention that these cars rust? Oh yeah, they do. This one is amazingly rust free, however. It has some surface rust, but if you take care of it right away and then shoot some Waxoyl into the spots that usually rust (pretty much all of the car), you should be able to keep this car rust free for a long time to come. (Assuming you wash it regularly and don't use it in the snow.)

The Beta sedan is a cool alternative to an Alfetta or a Fiat sedan. This one is very realistically priced at just under $2000.00

Located in Bernal Heights, CA, click here to see the Craigslist ad.

The seller also includes a link to a Flickr page, which you can find here.

** Update - While I did not know it when I was writing this, this car belongs to Chris over at Rusty But Trusty. Anyone who has read his blog knows that Chris has taken very good care of this car. I'm sure that if you e-mail him via his site, he'll answer any questions you might have.