Times are changin according to cost of G's locally

[HAFROD]

I have been saying this for at least 15 years = I feel that G Bodys will be like 55-57 Chevy cars. At one point they were real cheap and easy to find, then they become expensive and rarely seen on the road. I remember in the late 90s, I had several G bodys in my yard. Some were parts cars and others were future builders. I remember buying an 86 Regal for $100 that did not run. It had a stopped up filter at the carb and the sock was deteriorated in the tank. Drove it for awhile after that. I bought an 87 turbo T in 1999 with a primered door and fender for $2500. My banker called me one day in about 1995 and asked me if I'd be interested in an 85 Regal Limited that his mom just wrecked for $500. It had 33,000 miles on it and had always been garaged. It still smelled new. The frame was bent so it got parted out. I put the 3.8V6 and trans in my 46 Plymouth business coupe. I turned down an 84 Hurst Olds because I wanted a black 83. I think it was $2000. When we moved from the country in 2001, I called the local salvage and they took 7 G bodys. Fast forward to now. I check craigslist daily and rarely see cheap G bodys. Hurst Olds are bringing as much as Buick Grand Nationals. Never thought I'd see that! Anyways, if you've found a dead G body sittin somewhere and you got the room to store it, I think the investment is there. Around here there are LOTS of dirt tracks. Most of the local G bodys have been ruined and rarely do I see any on the road.

 

[CWPottenger]

The other reason is that there are very few "modern" GM RWD platforms that can accept almost any power plant you want. That has always been a strong point for G-body and full frame allows for many suspension and rigidity upgrades

 

[TheHomie]

I believe that you are right. When I had my first G-Body about 9 years ago the junk yard had rows of G-body cars with parts. I went about a couple months ago and they only had 2 and Monte Carlo SS was in the premium section. They are becoming more rare which will help in price going up but we also need a demand. The people that want them can get them easy. I think they will really start to get exponential value in between 15 to 20 Years. That gives time for them to turn from rare to scarce. BUT this is all just my opinion.

 

[V8 Rumble]

I agree. I got my malibu in 2010 for 1500 with 58k original miles. They are going for at minimum double that and mostly seem them hovering closer to 4 to 5k.

You can't barely touch an ss or any turbo regal,442 or 2+2 gp in the 5k range unless it's pretty crappy.

 

[ssn696]

Plus, the G-bodies were still in the mechanical controls mode - electronics were just starting to be grafted in. Today's cars have the benefit and constraints of mostly-electronic controls - cut something and you have a lot of hacking to get the instruments or window motors to work right again...

 

[pencero]

When I bought my 1st g-body (88 cutlass) and the 79 monte, I originally didn't even like them that much and they just kind of grew on me, a lot, over time. I was hoping they would go up in value a lot. It's getting to be that time. Once they pass the 30 years old threshold the value will start going back up, I think. Two other cars I no longer own that I had wanted to save and cherish but deteriorated condition-wise on me were my 89 Buick Riviera, and 93 Fleetwood. I think those will be future cars that suddenly are hard to find parts for too. The 89 Riviera was a one year odd - size

 

[S4Rs]

My first post. Your thread is what has me in a dilemma. I have an 87 aerocoupe. Needs plenty of work. Rear quarters.. Cooling system, brakes, suspension, transmission work etc. They built 6k in 87.. But I have been told that only 10% were hard tops. Not sure if that's true or it matters. I want to restomod the car over the next several years. I am curious to know if some one would really want it as a stock car. My personal opinion is that the real vision the designers of these cars had was destroyed by how horrible gm was managing things during that time. So putting a better power train and nicer bits can only help saleability.

 

[RustRocket]

Everyone I talk to says that I got some huge steal on my Cutlass. I payed $200 for it a year ago. of course, it sat for 12 years combined, has no rust, it ran like crap, the brakes didn't work at all, and it hadn't had an oil change since 1999. I had a guy a couple months ago offer me $3500 for it. I know of only 5 other G-Body cars in this town, and only a couple of them run and drive for sure. It's true, you really don't see them anymore, and it's a shame because I think they're really nice cars but most of them have wound up in junkyards over the years

 

[lilbowtie]

Times are changing but I feel G-bodies are not pulling the money they should. Cash for clunkers took most of the cars from that era, insurance companies got in the salvage game, and junkyards are rapidly disappearing. Despite becoming rare the G-bodies were never considered muscle cars (exc GN) and I don't think they will ever pull the big bucks. I see G-bodies w/ extremely low mi.'s that are bargains not selling. I personally had a beautiful 81 Regal w/ 21,000 original mi that wouldn't sell till I gave it away. I currently have an 81 GP for sale for 6 months w/o even an inquiry. Also have an 86 turbo regal body and frame for $350 w/title no hits. I believe the collector car market has peeked and is declining but it will always be there.

 

[GP403]

Around here they seem to be few and far between, and the bargains don't stay for long. People either think they're sitting on a gold mine for a decent grandma V6 car or they want way way too much for a butchered up hillbilly hot rod rusty Monte Carlo with a treefitty, that dumbass triangle air cleaner, ripped out electronics and AC, some tacky add on gauges and a rebel flag decal in the back window (YEEHAW). OR its gone the other direction and been "hooptied" beyond repair (or belief). The dirt track guys took a huge bite out of them, too, they might be still. BECAUSE RACE CAR. I see very very few on the road any more in any condition. Surprisingly even at car shows they're just not there.

Cash for clunkers? I doubt it made a huge dent in the pre 1990 market. More likely took a lot of the 90's trash out of play, which is probably a bonus. I don't mean zero impact, but you know what I mean. I don't have numbers, I'm sure they're out there. I could be wrong.

The "market?" I don't know if it will get back to pre '08 insanity or not, ever. They're not "muscle cars" just because they were made after 1972. To most people the 1970's and 1980's are the medieval dark times of car culture. OPEC, emissions, 55mph speed limit, insurance companies cracking down on HP.... Only we weirdo's see something worth saving. But that's slowly changing I think.

"It's just a car they made a bazillion of them." Yeah, maybe, but consider we're only a couple years away from the first G-Body turning 40. Think about it. In car years that's like, a lot. The "tri 5 chevy" comparison is a good one. They were the original "do anything" car, hot rods, race cars, etc.... Full frame two door that you could drop pretty much anything into without too much trouble. People chewed them up and spit them out, and now finding anything original or properly restored from that era is rare. BUT the aftermarket is thriving. For a car that was only produced for 3 years by one maker. We can only hope ours get to this point, and even better.

Maybe your area is swimming in them to the point you can't given them away, but some places they're drying up quick.