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So a buddy of mine has given me a line on a '89 white turbo GTA pace car, but I'm not too sure what it's worth. I know these can be worth some decent money when they're in good condition, but this thing needs some help though.
Here is what i know... It looks to be rust free and all there, it has been sitting for a while and the mice have got to portions of the car, it doesn't run, and has mildew/mold.
Tried to do an NADA / Hagerty / KBB search for values, but came back with squat, and the values for running cars are from $20k-$45k...
Those values you quoted are not just running cars but cars that generally have considerably lower mileage. The Turbo Trans Ams seem to always have a supply on the market with low mileage examples. This non-running condition could be a significant unknown expense on top of the 151K shown on the odometer.
This car's value is less than the enjoyment it could bring to someone who wants to fix one and drive it rather than have it sit on a garage lift while on the market.
Originally Posted by jharrison5
So a buddy of mine has given me a line on a '89 white turbo GTA pace car, but I'm not too sure what it's worth. I know these can be worth some decent money when they're in good condition, but this thing needs some help though.
Here is what i know... It looks to be rust free and all there, it has been sitting for a while and the mice have got to portions of the car, it doesn't run, and has mildew/mold.
Tried to do an NADA / Hagerty / KBB search for values, but came back with squat, and the values for running cars are from $20k-$45k...
To put things into perspective I paid $750 for my '87 IROC and it was also a complete car too, came from a similar background, and was in a about the same physical condition. This car being one of the 1550 produced that year it's obviously going to be worth more, so at this time with the info I have I'm thinking that is in the $3k-$4k range for me, since I have no idea exactly why it was parked.
I just found out about it today and will do some more research into exactly what's going on and the back story of the car. I will post what I find and if I do decide to pass hopefully some one here can snag it up.
I've done a little more research into the car and it's 1 of 187 with t-tops and a cloth interior, so I'm definitely going to try and buy the car. It is coming out of an estate and might take a while to get my hands on though.
For such a low production car, there always seems to be several available on eBay. Pricing can be all over, from $25K to $50K. Typically pretty low mileage. It seems like most of the people who bought these took care of them. You'd probably be better off seeking out one of the rather than this. By the time you get this one fixed up, you'll have made a massive investment in money and time.
This is the most driven TTA I've heard of. Why would someone allow a great and rare car to just sit and deteriorate and get infested by mice? Sad.
When I picture the TTA cars in my head I think of every one of them being pampered and wiped down gently with a cloth diaper occasionally and just being meticulously cared for. This goes to show you, that is not always the case lol.
When I picture the TTA cars in my head I think of every one of them being pampered and wiped down gently with a cloth diaper occasionally and just being meticulously cared for. This goes to show you, that is not always the case lol.
Sad that it looks like this. Even with over 150K miles on it, it could be in better shape.
But at least someone must have enjoyed this car and racked up a lot of miles. That's what they're for.
With that high of mileage and condition I wouldn't be into it for collectability's sake. If anything buy it cheap and build the heck out of it.
This is probably true however I believe it still has collectible status. I mean it’s one the few iconic cars of this generation. You don’t want to drop 50k restoring this car but I bet a lot could be salvaged/cleaned/restored/brought back to life if you have the time and resources. Even if some things aren’t 100% period correct and original you’re still saving a TTA from imminent doom lol.
When I picture the TTA cars in my head I think of every one of them being pampered and wiped down gently with a cloth diaper occasionally and just being meticulously cared for. This goes to show you, that is not always the case lol.
I used to think of TTA's the same way....until a mint 7k mile TTA burned in a garage fire near me a couple years ago. Now I immediately picture this......
This is probably true however I believe it still has collectible status. I mean it’s one the few iconic cars of this generation. You don’t want to drop 50k restoring this car but I bet a lot could be salvaged/cleaned/restored/brought back to life if you have the time and resources. Even if some things aren’t 100% period correct and original you’re still saving a TTA from imminent doom lol.
Exactly, and you could make a few updates/upgrades along the way (i.e. bigger brakes, wheels, suspension,/chassis and drivetrain) without fear of diminishing the value of a low mileage original.
This is probably true however I believe it still has collectible status. I mean it’s one the few iconic cars of this generation. You don’t want to drop 50k restoring this car but I bet a lot could be salvaged/cleaned/restored/brought back to life if you have the time and resources. Even if some things aren’t 100% period correct and original you’re still saving a TTA from imminent doom lol.
So a little info about me that not a lot of members don't know is that myself and three friends buy, fix, and flip wrecked GM vehicles. One of our more recent fixes is a '13 ZL1 that was in a flood that one of the guys decided to keep as a toy. If Mark from Graveyard Cars can bring back rare mangled Mopars then there is no reason that this car can't be saved. With 150k on the clock this thing will never be worth top dollar, but I think with some love and attention it can be a runner again.
If I'm able to pull this one off then so be it, but if not I hope the new owner knows how rare this car is and doesn't ruin it.
Here is the '12 2500HD I built as my daily a few years ago. It took a hard hit in the front and when we were done with it she drove straight as an arrow.
Day we picked her up Pile of parts to fix her up New support installed
Damn! If you have the friends, resources, and skill (which it looks like you do) 150k miles or not I’d say it would be foolish to let this one slip through the cracks. Buy it as cheap as you can before someone else snags it and butchers it or crushes it. LOL! Nice work on the other rides btw!
Dagwood that car is one that came to mind while I was typing that. Such a shame.
Also fwiw the pictures seem to show a car that while somewhat rough, it appears to be completely intact and straight. The body really doesn’t look too awful, guess it depends what the underside looks like. My two cents would be go for it!
its an estate sale so the owner is probably DEAD,this could be part of the reason it is in this state.
having a terminal disease for who knows how long (years maybe)kind of makes your fair weather car
seem unimportant in my opinion,lol.seriously......
its an estate sale so the owner is probably DEAD,this could be part of the reason it is in this state.
having a terminal disease for who knows how long (years maybe)kind of makes your fair weather car
seem unimportant in my opinion,lol.seriously......
That's pretty much what I was thinking too. I haven't ran the VIN or anything, because I really don't care how many previous owners its had, but hopefully I can talk these people out of putting it in an auction.
Update on this situation. So I found out the car was always going to be put up for auction and was never going to be sold to me outright. The guy that passed the info off to me was given bad info and we were both sent on a wild goose chase.
However the car is up for sale on Big Iron https://www.bigiron.com/Lots/1989Pon...birdTransAMTTA so I put in a $5k bid and was out bid. I'm pissed that I was given bad info and am not going to pursue it any further.
If you're out bid at $5k, dont go any higher. I've seen damn nice ones with 50-70k miles sell in the $15,000 range. That car needs a ton of work. You can save yourself a ton of trouble, heartache and cash by just buying one that you can just get in and drive
If you're out bid at $5k, dont go any higher. I've seen damn nice ones with 50-70k miles sell in the $15,000 range. That car needs a ton of work. You can save yourself a ton of trouble, heartache and cash by just buying one that you can just get in and drive
I set my limit at $5k just due to how rare of a car it is, but there is no way I'm going any higher. I should have known something was up when the guy couldn't provide certain details about the car, and didn't ever seem to be available for me to see it. Hopefully the high bidder knows what it is and doesn't ruin the car...
That's unfortunate, nothing like getting excited and then being let down due to bad info.
I think that TTA is in decent shape from what I see with the exterior anyways, that saves a ton of time and money. I'd say I would even be willing to go up to about 7k myself , I often don't look at the mileage on cars like this because I will be restoring everything on it to a new condition and I don't purchase and restore with any intention of ever selling, that will be the decision of my daughters when I'm gone and pass my cars on to them but I also have no intent of spending 20k+ on a garage queen that I would never drive in fear of getting a scratch or anything on....
dagwood is spot on with mid mileage cars going for around 15k- that would be the ideal driver.
Last edited by T/A Addict; 08-15-2019 at 05:13 AM.
My thoughts exactly T/A. I was going to purchase simply because it is a rare and cool car to add to the stable and would be a blast to drive. However I could buy a decent GTA driver for $5k.
The fact that it is a cloth car doesn't add much value. If it were a hard-top car I think that would be a different story. The car itself is probably worth less than $5k either as a whole or in parts, but it looks like it could use some help.
I base this on the fact that I just bought TTA about 2 months ago and did a good two weeks of research into TTAs that have sold in the last several years.
The fact that it is a cloth car doesn't add much value. If it were a hard-top car I think that would be a different story. The car itself is probably worth less than $5k either as a whole or in parts, but it looks like it could use some help.
I base this on the fact that I just bought TTA about 2 months ago and did a good two weeks of research into TTAs that have sold in the last several years.
Where do you place value though, because if it was a cloth/Hardtop it would be 1 of 15 produced.
The value to me is in the numbers, total there were 1555 of these made in 1989 including the test cars. There were only two options T-tops and cloth, so out of the 1555; 1324 were T-top & Leather Interior because that's the best combo to most people. However there were only 187 T-top & Cloth Interior cars produced, which it what this one is. Only 24 Hardtop & Leather Interior cars were produced, and only 15 Hardtop & Cloth Interior. the last 5 were; 4 Pilot Cars with T-top & Cloth Interior, 1 Pilot Car with Hardtop & Leather Interior, for a final total of 1555 Total Cars built. Not to mention that out of that total produced, how many are actually still around? Comedian Sam Kinison died in one, another posted above burnt up, so there is two down lol!
So if this was a hardtop with cloth I would up my bid to a lot more then $5k, because that is super rare, and rare is what I'm into. Hell I might still go after this one... but probably not since I really don't need another project and I already have my Black hardtop/tan cloth/Bose/manual '87 IROC that is my dream car.
Last edited by jharrison5; 08-15-2019 at 10:27 PM.
I think too much emphasis is being placed on the numbers. These TTAs were obviously collected and parked as there are so many nice ones on the market. For a limited run, you still find several of them on the market at one time. The other problem is they are basically the same as you say. All white. Same powertrain. T-tops or cloth being basically the two options. If it were any other collector car, does leather or cloth really make a big difference? T-Tops? Even then, the 150K odometer brings things back in check along with what can and can't remain original.
Don't get me wrong. I think it would be a fun car. And if one has the ability to restore it, that's great and helps. I'm just saying there are so many other TTAs that are collected and will keep this one from much more than a fun car unless a lot of them suddenly burn up!
Where do you place value though, because if it was a cloth/Hardtop it would be 1 of 15 produced.
The value to me is in the numbers, total there were 1555 of these made in 1989 including the test cars. There were only two options T-tops and cloth, so out of the 1555; 1324 were T-top & Leather Interior because that's the best combo to most people. However there were only 187 T-top & Cloth Interior cars produced, which it what this one is. Only 24 Hardtop & Leather Interior cars were produced, and only 15 Hardtop & Cloth Interior. the last 5 were; 4 Pilot Cars with T-top & Cloth Interior, 1 Pilot Car with Hardtop & Leather Interior, for a final total of 1555 Total Cars built. Not to mention that out of that total produced, how many are actually still around? Comedian Sam Kinison died in one, another posted above burnt up, so there is two down lol!
So if this was a hardtop with cloth I would up my bid to a lot more then $5k, because that is super rare, and rare is what I'm into. Hell I might still go after this one... but probably not since I really don't need another project and I already have my Black hardtop/tan cloth/Bose/manual '87 IROC that is my dream car.
Personally, I placed the value in the chassis. The seats can be swapped in about 20 minutes. You want leather? Done. Just reupholstered? Done. The same cannot be said for the roof.
I would have brought it back to running condition and kept it for a nice driver and mate to my IROC. I'm a purist, so my view on our cars is that if it is an all original numbers matching then it should stay that way because it's only original once. If it has a different engine or has been modified then have at it and do the crazy fun stuff that makes them go fast as hell and stick to the road like glue.
To each their own though and do what makes you happy to your car. Ultimately I know what the car is and I placed a maximum value of $5k on it and that was being generous. I was hoping people would see it and the condition and not bid on it and I could have picked it up for stupid cheap, but that didn't happen. If you found an '89 pace car and could get it cheap would you pass it up? I don't have to have the car, but I have the money available and it would have been fun to get it and do the work to bring it back. As for the miles, someone bought this car and did what it was meant to do which was drive it and enjoy it.
I'll wait until the auction gets closer to ending and if it's still at $5k I might throw another $500 bid in and see if I get it, but for now I'm going to focus my time on getting new lights installed on my car trailer.
07-31-2019, 06:23 PM
