Is anyone else shocked/not shocked or confused about the current G body market and prices

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Silent viewer

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May 9, 2007
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I have been into g body cars for literally about 25 years now, mostly regals, a few cutlass’s including my 442. I have never went any stretch of time without owning one and constantly buying and selling parts, parts cars, whole cars and whatever else. I literally search the country on a regular basis ebay, craigslist, search tempest, facebook and anywhere I can find for g bodies. Heck, parts cars are selling for good amounts of money. I have not seen a decent parts car for less than 1000 in awhile and that’s going to be a beat to crap no title car. What I am finding, complete car prices are going through the roof which I totally saw coming years ago and have been preparing for it. They really are bringing good cash! Good for sellers, sucks for buyers but it’s the way of the world. Another thing I am seeing, not allot of folks buying parts locally which was booming just a few years ago where I am from. What I do keep seeing is allot of people that do not realize where the market is now, people constantly bashing prices and talking trash on what the cars are not only being listed for but actually selling for. Blaming the car auctions and comparing everything to the market 3-5 years ago. I have seen maybe a handful of g bodies in salvage yards in the last 5 years and they are usually ruined and whatever is still good is gone within a day of getting in there. I searched pick and pulls data base for regals the other day and the only cars showing up were a few in California. I just had a guy telling me it was nuts what a guy listed his rough 85 GN astro roof car for, I just paid within 1500 for the same car but with T tops. As most know, if they are on here much, I searched and searched and searched and then searched a whole bunch more for a rust free T top regal shell and I am nearly convinced that finding a rust free t top shell and heck, even a hard top car is few and very far in between in todays world. The GN I have now needs allot of rust repairs but was a mostly complete car so I am working with what I got, I’m sick of searching, sick of driving half way across the country on wild goose chases. Moral of the story and this is purely my opinion and observations, these cars are now worth allot more than most realize. I think the less than financially well off folks are bashing everyones prices because they simply can not afford the hobby anymore and that is unfortunate for them but it’s no different than it was for my dads generation and the cars of their era. For the rest of us, at least for me, it makes me feel allot better about dumping a large amount of cash to build cars that assuming they are done tastefully and correct will hold value very well. Maybe I am reading the market all wrong? Thoughts?



Again, this is my observation, thoughts, and opinion so please don’t light me up if you think different. I am looking for a discussion, not a argument
 
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fleming442

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Dec 26, 2013
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I think there are still plenty of "grandma" "barn finds" out there squirreled away to be found for an estate sale. Mostly, they are on the base to luxury ends of the spectrum, not so much performance (SS, 442, T-Type, GN, etc.), and they're funky colors. The problem is, as stated, with the market and the sellers that have visions of grandeur in said market. A clean, 2 door, v6 should be in the $2-3k range (or less), not $5-10k.
 
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Silent viewer

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I am not saying I disagree but show me a clean rust free car anywhere in that price range. Maybe I am looking in the wrong spots but I can't find them. And when I do find what I think may be a good car, it sells before I can get to it. Sure, a few folks get lucky with right place, right time but that seems rare too
 

Silent viewer

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Not sure where you got argument out of that. I just really can not find cars for that price anywhere lol
 

69hurstolds

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Jan 2, 2006
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No matter how much money you dump into your G-body, you'll never get out what you put into it. FACT. Unless it's some strange anomaly like the GN twinz or some sh*t like that. And those cars needed some restoring to a degree. Even that 8 mile GN that was for sale, which I have no idea or care what it sold for, probably wasn't worth that whatever it was. I can guarantee this. EVERY G-body that was ever built will need a headliner replacement. No way around it. So you can't keep one 100% factory stock and still have it look good. Never.

IMO, you're looking at it more through Mecum's or Barrett-Jackson eyes. You want it to hold value, and that's understandable. Who wouldn't?

Most G-bodies are dirt cheap in comparison to their original price. It was a 10K car when new. Which means about 28-30K in today's dollars. Which means while some people think that 13-15K for a nice clean G-body is way too much, that's only about 5K in 1980s dollars. So the market is NOT, repeat NOT taking off like it did for the 60s-70s old iron. There are outliers within every bell curve. There's some that you find that are pristine and you can buy for dirt cheap, and then there's the 23K V6 model that still needs some restoration work to be where it should be at the price they're asking. If it sells at that price, someone is an idiot.

Sure, they're rarer everyday because everytime one is wrecked or taken off the road and junked/stripped, there's that many less out there.

My own aspirations for my black 85 442 are visions of grandeur. I have been committed to its eventual restoration since I drove it off the lot new. Started buying GM parts for it almost immediately. And have been doing so ever since. My latest GM part was a factory correct p/n a/c accumulator. I don't have every piece out of the GM parts bins, but I think I got most of them.

If I added up the cost from all the parts I bought for the car, I could probably buy a new Corvette. But that's not the point. I know I'll never ever ever recoup any cost sunk into it. But I want to restore the car as close as to the way it was since I drove it off the lot that day for the first time. Will it happen and turn out the way I want it to? I dunno. But I'm going to give it a try. At least from 20 feet, it will LOOK all original. I even have the original license plate I got for it. In SC, you can put your old "year specific" plate on old, classic cars. So I don't see why they won't let me put the original plate back on it when I get it back on the road. That will just be icing on the cake.

I even have spares of the original trunk dealer trunk emblem, the salesman "sold" sign that was placed on the mirror, and key fobs to complete the look. I made a huge mistake of asking them to remove the window sticker as they tore that to shreds trying to remove it. Gaak! Luckily, I got an extremely accurate reproduction ready to go.
 
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Drkuhar

G-Body Guru
Sep 27, 2018
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it seems we are stuck in a middle zone where stuff is not reproduced on a large scale so it drives parts prices up. not old enough to be heavily reproduced and just old enough that the scrappers trash them without giving it a second thought that it might be more valuable as parts. as i've said on another post my local salvage yards won't even put one on the lot to get parts from and it goes straight to the crusher but if they got some 60's classic it would be parked out front sold for a premium
 
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Bonnewagon

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About 12 years ago a guy I knew snagged a very low mileage '85 Regal. It was showroom clean, an old man's car that was garaged, everything perfect. He paid $8500 THEN, and he knew it was a steal. I remember when he showed me it and when he opened his garage I smelled "new car smell" tires and all. I drooled. Imagine that car today.
 
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CaliWagon83

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Nov 12, 2017
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I think there are a few factors at play: '80s and '90s cars are white-hot right now. Look at any of the auctions, Hagerty magazine, etc. Guys my age that grew up in the '80s and '90s are getting nostalgic for these models. G-Bodies in particular are in high demand, because they're the last midsize body-on-frame passenger car made (to my knowledge) and that makes them a perfect starting point for customization or hot rodding. They also have a cross-niche appeal (hot-rodding, lowriders, big wheels, etc.). I think all of these factors combined have made them hot. I'm just fortunate I have a well-preserved survivor that has stayed in the family. If I had to buy my wagon, I would expect to pay a minimum of $5-7k.
 
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Silent viewer

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May 9, 2007
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I think there are a few factors at play: '80s and '90s cars are white-hot right now. Look at any of the auctions, Hagerty magazine, etc. Guys my age that grew up in the '80s and '90s are getting nostalgic for these models. G-Bodies in particular are in high demand, because they're the last midsize body-on-frame passenger car made (to my knowledge) and that makes them a perfect starting point for customization or hot rodding. They also have a cross-niche appeal (hot-rodding, lowriders, big wheels, etc.). I think all of these factors combined have made them hot. I'm just fortunate I have a well-preserved survivor that has stayed in the family. If I had to buy my wagon, I would expect to pay a minimum of $5-7k.


That is exactly my thoughts as well.
 
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