Raptor.700

I've always been a fan of ws6 cars. I just came upon a 2001 s.o.m. black bird. And I'm thinking about purchasing the car. My question is, does anyone think that specific car will appreciate being car #9 of 50?

NC01TA

A sweet low mileage non-abused example will always bring good money, especially in SOM. Will it appreciate over time? Perhaps, but buying one for investment is not the way to go. Just buy it for yourself if you want one. Some owners just like them sitting in their garage while others drive them everywhere. I'd enjoy seeing photos if you feel like posting, especially if you buy it. Good luck!

Raptor.700

I'm still pretty torn on the idea of spending 20,000 or more on a fbody. And what's considered low milage. The car I'm referring to has 31,000 on it. To me that's pretty low but I would like to drive it. And maybe put two or three thousand a year on. As a investment no, but I wouldn't want to just completely throw 20,000 away either if that makes sense.

Dren

I believe $20K probably not a bad price for a 31K miles GMMG Blackbird. Especially if car is clean, documented, and taken care of. If you put 2-3K a year miles on it, IMO you're not going to lose much value, if any if you decide to sell in 5 years. But you must take care of it too. Document maintenance, garage, no smoking in it, etc.

NC01TA

I agree with Dren. ^^^ Let's say you put 8k miles on the car in 4 years. With 39k miles instead of 31k miles, it should still be worth about the same $$ IF it's in the same condition as you purchased it. Even if you lost $4000 over 4 years,is that really that bad for 4 years of ownership & enjoyment?? That's up to you of course but I would be fine with it. New cars off the lot depreciate so much more as we all know. Again, good luck if you go for it.

Raptor.700

so, my biggest concern is I may want a little bit more performance. I don't want to get crazy but, I would love to have phase 2 performance or even sound. But, gmmg is no longer around. Would a professionally installed cam completely ruin the car for what it is? Thankyou, btw it's a very old thread and I'm pretty particular and I don't want just another ragged out f body. I want something damn near perfect and it's hard to find.

Dren

What are you moving out of? A phase 1 GMMG car with the 3.73 moves very nicely. The exhaust and sound is pure adrenaline. I had a DEI car. The car ripped.. Yes a different cam would narrow buyers.

Firebrian

Then wait for a phase 2 GMMG car to suit your needs. Don't mod the phase 1 and throw money out the window. Black Birds are cool cars, especially SOM.

When I was looking into buying one of these 5 yrs ago, I got the idea that over 20K miles is "sort of high" for a GMMG car. Most or many are very low mileage (0K-15K). So the 30K miles is up there. At 40K miles that will be "high miles" for a GMMG imo. Most buyers looking for collector grade and future appreciation will be eyeing the cars under 5K-10K miles And most owners don't drive these much at all. In many cases they have many cars so they can spread the miles out.

When I was looking at Black Birds they were basically unavailable at under $25K or so. And that was usually a 20K-30K mile car. So $20K is not a bad deal for a clean one, well kept, 1-2 owner. Just a regular WS6 M6 SOM with 30K miles is probably $15K-$18K. The GMMG is a bargain in comparison.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Great point by Firebrian above. These are special cars that are more often collected than driven. Ultra low miles is generally the rule rather than an exception, so this one is probably already on the mid-to-higher end of miles for such an example. Therefore, I wouldn't be too worried about driving it some. Value at 30k is probably going to be very comparable (if not identical) to value at 40k, all else being equal.

I understand the desire for "perfect" even if you intend to modify; cars at that level have less mechanical headaches to sort out and no need for cosmetic restoration just to get that fresh car feel. Thing is, you're going to pay a premium for anything that's exceptionally nice, and with greater modification/customization the pool of potential buyers (when you decide to sell) will grow smaller (and you might not get back anything on your modification investment). This is just a reality that one must accept if their desire is to start with a "perfect" car but still make significant changes from stock. But, on the other hand, there is value added in not having to deal with all the headaches of a higher mile/neglected/abused/etc. example; even if the initial purchase price is higher you might still end up ahead.

With that in mind, I have to agree with NC01TA - if you're not doing this for the purpose of a growth investment or a place to park money, but you have high standards and a very specific vision, then I'd just chalk up any loss as money spent on entertainment. If such a loss isn't affordable to you, then the only other alternatives are to stick with lower grade vehicles or don't customize them beyond easily reversible bolt-ons.

Jason E

Is this one listed for $25k? I've seen it listed several places on Facebook.

Its been for sale for awhile...did he say he would take 20, or has reduced his price to that? I just saw this car again the other day on one of the FB pages I'm on. Based on the pics and description, 20 to me seems very reasonable. He has had that car for awhile.

Raptor.700

I believe it is the same car. I went and looked at it in person. The car is a "little" ruff around the edges. There are several deep scratches around the car at least 3 or 4 places. From bumper valance needs repainted. The engine bay is very dirty with most of the accessories having rust on them. The car is sitting in a swampy yard. I wish someone would save that car but even at 20.. that's a bit high in my opinion.