Yes, it's true it's a "one of a kind". But those are done in people's garages all of the time. When it comes to cars, however, I don't think that is the sum of its value.
From what I've seen in my limited experience:
1) If the car has an "automotive history", I.E. people remember seeing them on the road, and they have an auto maker lineage; that makes the car more sought after by automotive people. They know what they are getting and are familiar with the make and model, even the factory and workers involved sometimes. It's like knowing a family line.
2) For me personally, the value is completely in it's movie history. It was a hero prop, made for/by a large movie studio for a well known famous film. In fact, it was the star of that movie in a way. Co-star at least!
3) It is in perfect/restored condition and runs perfectly, and can be driven on the road.
It's when you can fit the item in all three categories that makes it more valuable to the purchasing public, as in the James Bond car they are mentioning in the ad. It had some minor unique changes made for the movie that also made it interesting. But Chitty only fits completely in the last two categories (some parts fit in category 1). And auto collector shopping in category 1 would not find it as appealing unless they were also a movie fan. Of course a movie fan would drool all over it!
The "worth" I mentioned is based on these attributes, but one never really know what someone will be willing to pay. This, of course, is a best guess. It's well known that worth or value boils down to what someone is willing to pay, particularly in collectibles. My best guess is that the most anyone will pay for Chitty is about one million. I'd love to see her go for more, to me she is priceless! She has been cared for all these years by the man who took care of her on the set, but now he's willing to part with her and share her with someone else. I hope she goes to a good home and is continued to be well cared for.
And, as a seller of collectibles on eBay, the listing fees alone are pricey at a starting point of 1 million! Yikes! And, I really, really hate the reserved bid setting. I would rather see what a seller wants to get by using the "by it now" feature. I don't want to waste my time bidding on something that has a reserve set so high that it doesn't sell.
