You don't have to be a c*ck. You act like turn key Grand Nationals are found on every corner. Where are they?
Is anyone else shocked/not shocked or confused about the current G body market and prices
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You don't have to be a c*ck. You act like turn key Grand Nationals are found on every corner. Where are they?
There around closer than you think.
https://nh.craigslist.org/cto/d/johnston-1987-buick-grand-national/6839178684.html
More of the BJS, aka barret Jackson syndrome. Rolls across an auction block, someone's checkbook overrides their senses (common, because that's the point) and now all of a sudden everyone thinks their sh*t is the bomb. Sadly, this is not a new phenomenon. What, 8 or so out of how many zillions of G-bodies sold? That doesn't make the genre collectible. And why isn't your friend wanting to spring $40k on one? Bottom line: because it's not worth $40k to him, or he'd have already bought one. If they're going up as fast as you say, he can buy 2 now, and sell one for 80K next year, and end up with a "free" GN. 🙂
Besides, not a one of those listed above is 200K. Some are even in "sticker price" range. And as much as you WANT G-bodies to be in collectible status, hell, we all would love that, so far you've only listed a handful of GN's and GNX's that sold for good money. The G-body genre as a whole is not collectible. Not yet. Hope it is someday. That would be nice. But it isn't right now. At least they're in classic status. And it's weird to me still to find people that are younger than their G-body.
I almost bought a GN once in Florida. 1987 T-top, non-smoker. Guy was asking $7900 for it. This was back in 1997. I went to the bank and withdrew the money and had cash in hand when I went to see it. A little over 16K on the clock. A few little rock chips on the nose and front fenders and a scratch on the driver mirror, but otherwise stock and clean. Guy was retiring and moving to NY. Found that odd. Usually it's the other way around. If it wasn't for the fact I had a new job in limbo waiting for me in another state to make a decision on, which I did take, I probably wouldn't have blinked. Never messed with. Which today is rare. That's the other point about GN's. Almost every one of them for sale has been dicked with in some form or another. The reason you have to pay more for a low mile original is because people can't keep their fingers out from under the hood so there's only like 10 left. Some mods are ok, but others are downright crazy. I am not anti-GN. I love the cars. I just know where they stand at the moment. The writing of history on the G-body isn't done yet.
I'm not here to argue about it. Just to present data to show that G-bodies are NOT collectible status as a whole. But nobody here will complain about prices going up (except those wanting to buy one). BJS works to lift all boats, for better or worse. Supply and demand rules the day.
Well, to be fair, Gbody is a pretty big category so maybe the argument is flawed. There have been a few late 70s Trans Ams that brought ridiculous money at BJ too but that doesn't automatically make a base 305 Camaro a $100k car. All Gbodys aren't equal just like all Fbodys aren't equal.
What kind of paint work does it need?
You do know that GM had problems with there paint back in the 80s. If this car is rust free and lets say 95% stock tun key car your friend is missing an opportunity that he's going to regret . My advice is to go and look at the car. I have a close friend that has GNX next town over purchased the car new , no rust all ways garaged kept it has some paint flaws.
Yes, I remember the cars when new and have owned my 87 GN for 20 years now. We also had a very low mileage 88 Monte Carlo SS that had the same paint issues.
The aforementioned car needs a repaint. A high quality repaint in this area is upwards of $10Gs. So add about another $10k to the price.
Thats exactly it. Not all G bodies are intercooled Grand Nationals.
There was a time in the 80's when you could pick up 69 Hurst Oldsmobiles for well under $5k. The climb started gradually on the 60's and 70's muscle cars with many not achieving their highest values until they were 30+ years old. Many of the G bodies are going that route. The turbo Buicks and other performance models (Hurst, 442, Monte SS, El Camino SS and Choo Choo) will be the first of that generation. But the Buicks have always been the most popular and sought after.
Being around other cars I have already seen the Fox body Mustangs going crazy; I knew they eventually would. Other guys used to argue that they would never be worth anything.
That's simply it. It's a big category, yet only one or two particular cars generate all the interest? If Smokey and the Bandit had used a Mustang instead, would those late 70s T/A's be worth much today? I concede that it just depends on your approach to how you visualize collectability. I know I see it differently than some. But I approach it strictly on the going price points, not the love for the vehicles in question. I respect a clean 4-door Cutlass with a V6 if it's original and been maintained. Unfortunately, many of them became that A to B vehicle. Sad. We all love our G-bodies or we wouldn't be here. We all have that in common.
Thus for G-bodies, IMO, the prices equates to not a collectible genre as a whole. Same as the late 70s iron. There's always a few outliers that break the mold. The typical "muscle car" era that we typically think of was not only just one brand, but multiple brands because everyone was stuffing in big engines into mid-size cars. You could even get 455s in the Vistas for Christ's sake. Which was great while it lasted before the EPA screwed it all up. 🙂 We'll probably never see that again because in the 80s, if you had over 200 HP, you were doing something. 😛 I still think the LX 5.0 Mustangs were the unsung heroes of the 80s if you wanted to go quick for cheap. Ugly bugs for sure, but they were quick as sh*t. And not real expensive either. As much as I despise Fords, you can't argue with their performance back then of that 5.0 right out of the box in comparison. Nimble little bastages.
I never got into G-bodies for any sort of status. In fact, back when the cars were new, you didn't have much status anyway. My friend's 70 Camaro back then was built for speed, and he wasn't afraid of not a single one of those "new" G-bodies, GN or not. That thing was a beast. He looked down his nose at those "new" cars as pure junk. He ended up wrecking and killing his Camaro. I still have my 442. Now I can beat him by default. 🙂
I think I could realistically get about $5-8k for my wagon today as-is. At that price, I’m not at all interested in selling. To do the full-fledged LS3 restomod, I’m looking at about $60k. I’m not expecting to ever get that much for it. Not that I’m ever expecting to sell it, at least not willingly.
I’m putting that money into it purely for personal enjoyment. No different than taking an exotic vacation or a $1,000 Kobe beef dinner. I’m under no illusions that I’m going to make a “fat profit” on it.
I’m putting that money into it purely for personal enjoyment. No different than taking an exotic vacation or a $1,000 Kobe beef dinner. I’m under no illusions that I’m going to make a “fat profit” on it.
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