Is it me or are ls1 fbodies are finally gaining value?
08-01-2012 | 11:31 PM
#21
I need to take the next step in my life, gonna pretty much sell everything and start a new path, hopefully this path can lead me to a financal standpoint where I can build simething bigger and better later on
The camaro will be the last thing sold and if I play my cards right I may not need to.
The camaro will be the last thing sold and if I play my cards right I may not need to.
08-05-2012 | 05:55 AM
#22
On The Tree
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 159
Likes: 0
Well here is my two cents worth...
Save for the cars that are still like new these cars have depreciated greatly from their original price and from what I see are now stable, assuming mileage and condition are consistent too. For example I bought my stock nice condition 98 WS6 with 30K miles on it and fairly new GSD3's for $10,000. It took me a long time to find this particular car. I was either finding cars with much higher mileage on them for much less money or very low miles for much more. I searched for about 8 months before running a reverse "wanted ad" so mine was not advertised and I thought a good deal at the time so bought it right away. It has probably maintained that price, not gained in value but not appreciated either. Still not bad IMO for a used car. I have also found the KBB and Edmunds used car pricing is not the same as what the cars are actually selling for, certainly this is the case in the market around where I live.
Perhaps in the future, perhaps 20 years (arbitrary figure) it might be worth more than it is now assuming it was in the same condition with the same mileage, meaning I would not be driving and enjoying it. My reasoning is based upon the traditional muscle car market and because of the low production numbers of the WS6 cars and the fact that no more birds were or will be made now that Pontiac is gone. However if one looks back on the various years of Trans Ams some years have skyrocketed in value while others have not. I think this last gen WS6 or rarer models have a decent chance among birds. The performance is decent, and the styling nice looking. I think a WS6 still looks good today vs newer cars.
How much they might increase though is very difficult to predict. Also if one were to take that same 10 grand (or whatever was paid for your car) and use that money in a conventional investment you might very well end up with more money at the end of that period of time than the car ends up being worth. The advantage to having the car is you get to enjoy your investment by driving it, though as you drive it and add miles and wear so the value will decrease.
With technology increasing and other even higher performance cars depreciating in value they too will become great bangs for the buck. What the prices are for those vehicles and how they depreciate is an unknown but I think important factor. There may be some even better good "bangs for the buck" cars during that period of time. That is what I think our F bodies are now, a great bang for the buck.
So increasing in value now I don't see happening in my area and I do see values differing according to location. So do the book values from State to State.
IMO an ideal situation would be to have a stock low mile limited production model to keep as your "investment car" and have a second F body to modify it as you like, one that can likely be purchased for far less money especially if a lot of replacement parts are planned. Cars that are modified rarely get the amount invested in performance upgrades back when the owner goes to sell the vehicle. It certainly makes it far less attractive to the collectors market. Those modifications we like to do make our cars a lot more fun to drive though.
I finally decided that since I did not plan to sell my car anytime soon I would rather go ahead and make some modifications to enjoy as long as I own the car. That is something this is within our power, to make modifications to improve the cars performance in the areas we are interested in. Then we can for sure enjoy our Fbodies to their fullest regardless of what happens to the value. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I am counting on enjoying the improved performance of the car more than the increase in value. That is the ultimate decision I made.
Again, just my personal opinion and much based upon 60's and 70's muscle cars and what has happened with them. Even older muscle cars are not a given as to having huge increases in value. A 1969 Z-28 or Corvette L-88 for example have really got to be some very high dollar rides. On the other hand cars that I think are cool, say the 1971-1973 Mustang Mach 1 is still available for FAR less than those two other cars. Check out the special version used in the James Bond Movie Diamonds Are Forever. That car was not just in the movie but had the very trick 429 Cobra Jet Ram Air engine etc.. The auction peaked at $23,000 and the car did not sell. http://commanderbond.net/2438/diamon...a-auction.html
I don't have a clue as to what our cars will be worth down the road sometime in the future but those are some things I would consider. I also don't think we have turned any corners and are going to see cars jumping up greatly in value anytime soon. Again...just my two cents worth...
Save for the cars that are still like new these cars have depreciated greatly from their original price and from what I see are now stable, assuming mileage and condition are consistent too. For example I bought my stock nice condition 98 WS6 with 30K miles on it and fairly new GSD3's for $10,000. It took me a long time to find this particular car. I was either finding cars with much higher mileage on them for much less money or very low miles for much more. I searched for about 8 months before running a reverse "wanted ad" so mine was not advertised and I thought a good deal at the time so bought it right away. It has probably maintained that price, not gained in value but not appreciated either. Still not bad IMO for a used car. I have also found the KBB and Edmunds used car pricing is not the same as what the cars are actually selling for, certainly this is the case in the market around where I live.
Perhaps in the future, perhaps 20 years (arbitrary figure) it might be worth more than it is now assuming it was in the same condition with the same mileage, meaning I would not be driving and enjoying it. My reasoning is based upon the traditional muscle car market and because of the low production numbers of the WS6 cars and the fact that no more birds were or will be made now that Pontiac is gone. However if one looks back on the various years of Trans Ams some years have skyrocketed in value while others have not. I think this last gen WS6 or rarer models have a decent chance among birds. The performance is decent, and the styling nice looking. I think a WS6 still looks good today vs newer cars.
How much they might increase though is very difficult to predict. Also if one were to take that same 10 grand (or whatever was paid for your car) and use that money in a conventional investment you might very well end up with more money at the end of that period of time than the car ends up being worth. The advantage to having the car is you get to enjoy your investment by driving it, though as you drive it and add miles and wear so the value will decrease.
With technology increasing and other even higher performance cars depreciating in value they too will become great bangs for the buck. What the prices are for those vehicles and how they depreciate is an unknown but I think important factor. There may be some even better good "bangs for the buck" cars during that period of time. That is what I think our F bodies are now, a great bang for the buck.
So increasing in value now I don't see happening in my area and I do see values differing according to location. So do the book values from State to State.
IMO an ideal situation would be to have a stock low mile limited production model to keep as your "investment car" and have a second F body to modify it as you like, one that can likely be purchased for far less money especially if a lot of replacement parts are planned. Cars that are modified rarely get the amount invested in performance upgrades back when the owner goes to sell the vehicle. It certainly makes it far less attractive to the collectors market. Those modifications we like to do make our cars a lot more fun to drive though.
I finally decided that since I did not plan to sell my car anytime soon I would rather go ahead and make some modifications to enjoy as long as I own the car. That is something this is within our power, to make modifications to improve the cars performance in the areas we are interested in. Then we can for sure enjoy our Fbodies to their fullest regardless of what happens to the value. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I am counting on enjoying the improved performance of the car more than the increase in value. That is the ultimate decision I made.
Again, just my personal opinion and much based upon 60's and 70's muscle cars and what has happened with them. Even older muscle cars are not a given as to having huge increases in value. A 1969 Z-28 or Corvette L-88 for example have really got to be some very high dollar rides. On the other hand cars that I think are cool, say the 1971-1973 Mustang Mach 1 is still available for FAR less than those two other cars. Check out the special version used in the James Bond Movie Diamonds Are Forever. That car was not just in the movie but had the very trick 429 Cobra Jet Ram Air engine etc.. The auction peaked at $23,000 and the car did not sell. http://commanderbond.net/2438/diamon...a-auction.html
I don't have a clue as to what our cars will be worth down the road sometime in the future but those are some things I would consider. I also don't think we have turned any corners and are going to see cars jumping up greatly in value anytime soon. Again...just my two cents worth...
