jaymzallyn

I have often wondered if our third gens will have the same prestigious qualities that owning, say, a 67 Camaro has now. A lot of our third gens are now considered to be classic cars because of their age, but don't get nearly as much attention as anything restored from the 60's back. I wonder if as the years go by these cars will become less easy to find and more sought after. Sure, the number of 3rd gens manufactured outnumbers first and second gens by far, but there's also more people on the earth than back in the day. More kids to wrap their F-body around telephone poles, more people to total them at the track or strip, and more people willing to beat their cars into the ground to the point of no return.
When I was a kid my father was always telling me about cars that he owned in his 20's that he sold, traded, and trashed that people would give who knows what to own now. Do you guys think that if you lost your third gen now, you'd be kicking yourself in the A** 20 years down the line because you can't find another one that you can afford?

thebuffalo

I hope they go up in value like say a '57 bellair. That would be nice because I definately don't plan on selling my third gen.

67tothefuture

Certainly they will go up in value with time, but it is going to take another 10-20 years. I bought a 1967 camaro in 1992. It was a all original 327 drive train with a recent restoration. Bought for $5K. Sold it 7 years ago for $12K, and now it is probably worth double that. That camaro was nearly 30 years old at the time I bought it for a very affordable price. Sure there are more 3rd gen cars, but how many of them do you see on the street every day? I have a Z28 convertible and almost never see them. Just have to be patient...

DeltaElite121

What difference does it make how much its worth, then? I'm keeping mine for sure. Its the only builder I haven't sold yet.. probably because it was my first car, heh.

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

These cars will never attain the level of popularity as a 1st gen, because well, there will always be 1st gens. The point I'm making, is that these cars will always be "3rd fiddle" to the 1st and 2nd gen cars. Sure, they'll go up in value, but they'll never be as desirable as a 1st gen is and will continue to be.

Cars make lousy investments anyway. Drive what you like.

White93z34

iTrader: (1)

I hope the value never goes too high. Thirds are about the oldest Camaro's that are still affordable to buy/play with, cheap to own, fun to drive. Its what the car was meant to be. I love perfect restored cars don't get me wrong but the values of the older stuff is crazy. I could never afford to dabble in that, and that is not what the car was meant to be.

Bring on the lame jokes about third gens in trailer parks, ******s, whatever. I like the cars, and if the rest of the world thinks they belong on blocks in a trailer park its their loss.

thebuffalo

Exact way I feel about mine, my first car and I'm too in love with it to even think of selling it.

jaymzallyn

The first car thing is something else I wanted to touch on. My car isn't trashed by any means, but at this point in time, it would be cheaper to buy one in better shape than to restore mine. HOWEVER, this car has been in my life for nearly 10 years now, I worked all summer long to come up with the 800 dollars to buy it when I was 15. We've got some history together and I don't think I'm so much in love with third gens as I am with MY car. Can a 3,000 dollar car in mint condition really replace things like memories of your first date, drag race, road trip, ect? It's a decision I've been very reluctant to make.

eseibel67

Talk to a 45 year old guy at a car show that still has the same 1967 Camaro that he scraped together $800 to buy when he was 15. Same guy also owns a 2010 Z06, in which his level of pride is zero in comparison to that first Camaro.

Jason E

Ah....I feel the monthly argument over value thread upon us again

The cars will go up. More so than now. They are already going up if you have a nice one, and they've been going up for some time now.

There's really nothing more to discuss than that. I'm with Jim...if you have a low mileage one, drive it a little and enjoy. If you're over 80k or so, drive it as much as you want and enjoy it. Not much else to talk about

IROCZTWENTYGR8

iTrader: (1)

The cars will continue to go up in value over time and become more unreachable. But, they will never attain the value of a 1st Gen on an even scale because while the prices of 3rds go up, the 1sts will continue to rise also, so they will never match the same amount of money. It's all relative. But make no mistake, our cars will be flat out expensive to buy someday, so get what you want while you still can!

NCGuy68

I'll agree that 1st gens will always be popular because they have withstood the test of time just like The Beatles and Rolling Stones.

The 2nd gen cars however are a different story. The 70-73's are desirable, but from 74 to 81 they are junk. How many do you see today in descent shape? Most are recycled coffee cans.

The most popular and valuable 3rd gen cars in the future will be well maintained, factory original, unmolested cars.

StevenB L98/LS1

lol just imagine how much a original 92 firehawk would cost 20 years from now, there already pretty high right now.

Linson

NO WAY! we CANNOT have this discussion now. not while "does every third gen deserve a chance at being saved" and "thoughts on mild mods vs all original" are still happening. OP, youre fired.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

Im worried if we'll even have gasoline to power these things by then. We may all have to end up converting over to ethanol. I wouldn't be surprised if in 15 years that became VERY financially viable.

You can make your own ethanol, though.

Jason E

What the hell is wrong with mild mods vs. original, with respect to this topic? What, first gens don't get mild mods? And when they do, they're worthless?

erik69&85

iTrader: (1)

For me, I bought a 69 SS, then a 85Z then a 92Z.... they are totally different cars in most ways. How they drive, how they look, how they sit.... My 69 is so much simplier to work on, and its from the amazing year of 1969, when so much was happening in the world including the muscle car wars....

How do most people remember 1980s cars? Crappy build quality (people puking drunk on the assembly line), when 200hp was "high performance", reaganomics, the cold war, AIDS,..... Compare that decade to the wild years of the late 60's and how much was going on at that time....

Like most people say, the biggest problem with 3rd gens? Low HP, challenging electronics, low build quality.... My stock 07 Chevy Colorado make more HP with 5 cylinders than either of my third gens with mods! Nuff said.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

In 20 years, these cars will be mostly forgotten, by all but a few weirdos ... speaking strictly for myself of course.

For them to be "valuable", "sought after", "in demand", etc., requires that THE GENERAL PUBLIC ACTUALLY GIVES A CRAP ABOUT THEM. That's what makes a 57 Chevy or a 65 Mustang or a 70½ Z28 what it is.

You don't see people waxing nostalgic over a 76 Chevy, just because 57s are so "cool"; you don't see people lining up to pay $$$$gigabucks$$$$$ for a 78 Mustang, just because the 65 was "the car" that "everybody" had back in the day; and you won't ever see people scouring the Earth to find the last representatives of these cars just because the 70½ Z28 was so awesome, either.

By the time they were built, the whole culture of society concerning "cars" had moved on, from where it was in the late 60s. They simply didn't excite "the public" the same way those older ones did, and therefore won't trigger the whole "nostalgia" thing in the future. Those of us who were there during both times can all tell you how DIFFERENT attitudes were.

The lack of performance is another layer on the cake... go get one of these cars in pristine showroom-new shiny factory-fresh condition, and you'll get your butt handed to you at red lights by every chick or small child in an Asian commuter econobox that pulls up next to you.

They simply don't, never did, and never will have "that kind" of value. Which is fine by me... that means they're cheap to buy, used parts are plentiful, and I don't have to feel bad about driving one until the wheels fall off and throwing it away and getting another. The whole "what's is worth" thing just ... doesn't apply.

thebuffalo

1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am 'Bandit' Sports Coupe sold for like $250,000. I think thats the closest thing to a third gen being sold for a lot of money. I think the original "KITT" got sold for like $80k.

Carlos773

iTrader: (3)

Hopefully by then the real 3rd gen lovers have stuck around and preserved their rides. No matter stock or modified.

Firebat

iTrader: (7)

-There were more thirdgens made than any other generation of f-bodies. So, there should still be a few around. Might not be able to find one in good shape though for a decent price.

-No doubt they were the best looking cars of the 80's. Everything else looked ugly or too boxy. I don't even think the mustang, ferrari, lambo, or vette looked as sleek and muscular as the 80's f-bodies. I might even say thirdgens were the only good looking car of the 80's. Grand National came close though.

NowhereFast

I hope the value doesn't go up that much. I'd like to have more. The value of my car does not correspond to how much I enjoy my car. In fact, the higher the value goes, the less I'll enjoy it, because I'll be too afraid to drive it.

Richboll

20 years is a long time from now...so..I'm going to enjoy driving mine now while I can.

KuroNeko

honestly i dont care if anybody gives a rats *** about our cars in 20 years, i love my two and will always have my two and for me thats all that really matters

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

Isn't that the truth. All of my friends and family think I'm nuts for selling my Corvette so that I could partially fund the LS swap I'm doing with the IROC.

They also thought I was nuts for the last 8 years when my IROC got the garage while the Corvette sat outside. What they don't understand is all I did to the Corvette, was buy it. My IROC was built by me, for me.

I pretty much disagree with everything you said. There's no shortage of people who have a strong attachment to these cars, and I think the popularity of this website is proof of that. Many of the guys who grew up lusting after these cars now have good jobs and have the opportunity to start building that "dream car". Likewise, as we get even older, have more disposable income, and start getting past those "family" years, there will be even more who want to relive their youth. Like I said before, these cars won't ever have the mass appeal that a 69 Camaro has, but I really don't think it's beyond possible for IROCs and GTAs to have a popularity similar to what early 2nd Gen Camaros and 77-78 Trans Ams are seeing now. These cars will always represent a good platform for modification too.

The lack of performance is also a bit of a misnomer too. Sure, a stock IROC can get beat by a stock Accord now, but people seem to forget that the same Accord can knock off big block 1st gens and K-code Mustangs just as easily. Bone stock to Bone stock, an L98 IROC will take down most muscle cars. The "good old days" weren't really as good as everybody remembers. In bone stock trim, there aren't many classic muscle cars that will run 13s.

IROCZTWENTYGR8

iTrader: (1)

Excellent post Jim, I was going to write almost the same exact thing but you saved me the trouble.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

My point PRECISELY... that's what's good about these cars now. NOBODY ELSE CARES so you can basically do whatever you want with them and not have to worry about "ruining a classic" or any such thing.

I think the problem of 70s-up cars simply NOT HAVING the "cool" factor that older cars had, is not limited to these cars at all. There ARE NONE from about 73 up, with extremely rare exceptions, that have it. Those of you who weren't alive in the 60s don't have a clue how widespread the excitement about cars was back then. But all that was WIPED OUT by the oil shocks of the 70s and hasn't come back. Go listen to the "oldies" radio, with the music from the 50s and 60s, and pay attention to all the songs about 409, GTO, Mustang, Deuce Coupe, and on and on; how many 70s and newer songs mention ANY kind of car BY NAME? Times changed. Cars simply lost the focus they had once had. Now, people who like cars want to "recapture" a little bit of that; but it's gone and not coming back.

The same is trueof cars today: I can't envision ANY kind of modern car being so excitingly memorable that the equivalent of Barrett-Jackson will exist 25 years from now. What would they be buying and selling anyway; CIVICS? Hopefully most of those people will be ashamed of what they did to those and won't want to revisit ... THAT; but in terms of "enthusiast", that's the bulk of the hobby right now.

The "car culture" as we now know it is coming to an end.

Even this web site isn't as popular as it once was... go take a look at, say, fullsizechevy.com, and count the posts; then come back here and count the posts. Maybe somebody here has statistics from back when this WAS a super-popular site; I'd bet there's less than a tenth of the traffic now that there was in 2001 or 2002. It used to be one of the top 100 sites on the web!! No more. Even our own crowd has moved on.

Sad but true. All the wishful thinking in the world won't change the reality.

"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it. "

Sean O'Hara

My GTA is going to be eligible for collector plates in 2013, it will then be regarded by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, ICBC as a classic. This means that insurance will go from $2000 a year to $200 a year. lots of F-bodys are now available for this now and i think that will help the value go up quite a bit....Hopefully.

I do still want an IROC to play around with but I dont think I could ever bring myself to modify my GTA

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

My car is already "eligible" for collector plates. Has been for years. It'll be a cold day in Hell before I buy that crap.

When 55 - 57 Chevys got to that age (25 yrs), the people with genuinely OLD cars actually lobbied the govt of the state I was in to raise the antique plate age to 30 yrs to keep the 55-57s out. Made the headlines.

Ya think that's happenin with 82-87 cars TODAY? Hmmmmm.....

Times have changed.

tjl IROC

The value of many old cars is in their low production numbers and large number of people that want them. 20 years from now our cars are going to be just like the second gens worth a little. They made too many thirdgens to get $$$$ big bucks in the future.

That said I will still have my fleet of thirdgens, see you at the cruse-ins at the local holodeck. I'll be in the electric powered thirdgen.

67tothefuture

Again, I bought a restored original 1967 camaro in the early 90's all original for 5k. It is worth 3-4 times that now.

GTA50

Exactly!!! If I had a MGTC, Triumph Spitfire.......Stanley Steamer!!!! I don't complain about hp and torque. I have only driven Thirdgens for the past 20+ years - not because I have to, but because I want to.

Yes, there are limitations, power to weight ratio sucks, interior plastics are cheap...but 20 years ago these cars were it.

Bottom line, if your Thirdgen isn't close to your new 2012 "Whatever" and you are not happy, then pack your trunk, sell the Thirdgen and leave. How else do you define enthusiates?

Dartht33bagger

I've never been able to understand this. The 70-73 are ugly in my opinion. I like the 78-81 cars so much more.

eseibel67

Styling of course is a matter of taste, but you would be in the minority.

jaymzallyn

One thing that I have noticed is that 10 years ago I rarely had anyone comment on my car. These days, my car is much more worse for wear externally and I frequently have people complement me on it and ask me about options it is equip with. The most common thing that I hear when talking to these people is " Yeah I had a Z28 about that year, wish I never got rid of it". I'm not obsessing over value, and I'm not going to S***can my car just because most people don't care about them. I think that if any of us were of that mind set, we wouldn't be a member of thirdgen.org.

Richboll

AMEN...

Linson

this v

nothing wrong with your threads, but they are still at the top of the charts and this thread will lead to the same discussion, IMO.

Linson

that is actually a rare opinion. plus, after 1973, the output of the powertrains is considered to have fallen off. particularly for the Chevrolet F-Bodies. the Pontiacs still at least had big cubes.

as far as looks go, i would say:

70-73: good looking Camaros and Firebirds
74-76: dog-****-ugly Camaros and Firebirds
77-79: good looking Firebirds, okaaay looking Camaros
80-81: meh...reasonably good looking Firebirds, kinda tacky looking Camaros

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

The day I met my wife in 1978, I was working on my business partner's wife's 57 Bel Air.

That car was just coming up on 22 yrs old that day. Keep that firmly in your mind: 22 yrs old. For a frame of reference, compare to your own car's age TODAY.

She had been using it as a "guy magnet" for several years before this; any guy she wanted to date, she'd let him know she had that car, and they COULD NOT WAIT to call her up, just so they could RIDE in it (she wouldn't let them drive it). Everywhere she went - EVERYWHERE - people would try to buy that car off of her.

It was just coming up on 22 yrs old.

It was a steaming bucket of excrement. It had rust. It still had the original 2-tone aqua & white paint job, that you could see running down the driveway every time it rained. The seats had the springs poking through. The windshield was cracked. The wiring was a hack job, that left her stranded at the oddest times and places; somebody found that you could get out and shake the harness going down to the starter, and the car would come back to life, in fact I think that was how my partner met her, was stopping to help her while it was disabled in a bad place on a busy street. It was a joke.

But hey, it was a 57 Chevy .... just shy of 22 yrs old.

How old is your car RIGHT NOW?

That same day, 67 - 73 Camaros and Firebirds were THE MOST SOUGHT-AFTER CARS on the planet. Virtually every 60s muscle car was in the same class.

On that day, the 65 Mustang was just coming up on 13 years old; the 64 GTO was almost 14; the 69 442 was not quite 10. But they were already commanding a PREMIUM price, highly sought after, revered as the epitome of American automotive prowess.

Compare that to our cars. It just ain't happenin.. Here they are now, the youngest is not far from the same age as that 57 Chevy was on that day, and the oldest is now over 30.

Like I always say, these cars simply don't have that kind of value. Which doesn't mean they're no good, or that we shouldn't like them, or any such thing; only, that if you persist in living in some fantasy world where someday soon somebody besides some on of us here is ACTUALLY GOING TO CARE about you having one or is going to be wanting one for themselves, you're deluding yourself.

20 years isn't all that much time, when you think about it... 4th gens are already that old. Do you see them getting the kind of attention that, say, 69 Camaros got in 1989? Do you see, say, 87 Mustangs getting the kind of attention today that, say, 65 Mustangs got in 1990 (when they were the same 25 yrs old)? It's NOT JUST OUR CARS; the culture AROUND them is different. And the culture that made (and whose memory continues to make) the 60s cars desirable, is GONE and it is NOT COMING BACK, no matter how many years you wait.

Will some one of these here or there end up as a museum piece? No doubt. People will go stare at it to satisfy their curiosity about how we lived "way back then" (i.e., now). Will they just have to go out and buy one of their own, like people did (and still do) the muscle cars of the 60s? I HIGHLY doubt it.

Enjoy your car, drive it, mod it, preserve it because you like it that way, or whatever; just, don't do it with the motivation that someday it's going to make you rich like buying a 68 Camaro seems like it would have. IT WON'T. That's fantasy land. Sometimes THE REASON for why you're doing something, is as important as the thing you're doing; in this case, if your "reason" (I use the word loosely) for doing whatever to or about your car is because you think its "value" is going to go up, you're making a HUGE mistake. Do it because YOU WANT TO, for YOURSELF, because YOU LIKE IT THAT WAY; don't hallucinate that whatever you do is an "investment", because if you do, you're wrong.

67tothefuture

Well I bought a all original 1967 camaro with its original 327. The car was restored. In 1993 I bought this car for $5000. The car was 26 years old. They were not commanding huge $ at tha time, neither we're they in 1978, heck I knew a guy with a 1969 ss and a z28 in 1995. The z had its original 302 and he was asking $7,500 for it. It was in great condition, kick myself for not buying it at the time. In fact they were fairly easy to find at that time. May want to take another stroll down memory lane and think a bit harder.

justcallmeclassy

iTrader: (1)

One thing I think MAY affect value of our cars is that third gens are the last Camaros ever built in the USA, and will always be this way. Now most of us don't car really, but I wouldn't be surprised if people realized that 1992 was the final year that they will ever be truly American made and may or may not make a differnece tto american muscle fans

Damon23

There is no way to tell what they are going to do. It will all be relative to who it buying cars. Guys like me that lusted over these cars in high school are now starting to get into a place where they can afford good cars. Of course they will want the desireable ones but you cant put a price on nostalgia. I got mine because of that very reason. The problem with our cars is there is so much plastic and they were not put together all that well when new it will take a bunch to reproduce the plastic parts to put them back. In the end it does not matter. A car is worth what someone is willing to pay. Enjoy the car then move on when you are ready. Someone will let you know then what it is worth.

Remember, the first gens were plentyful back in the last 70's and early 80's and did bring a whole lot of money. Everything evolves in popularity over time. Look at what is happening with the rubber nose late 2nd Gen Camaros right now. Used to be able to buy them all day long for 500-1000, those days are long gone.

articwhiteZ

iTrader: (56)

i have had mine for 20 years now..we will see what the nexed 20 brings.its one of only a hand full.

Richboll

Currently I'm on a temp job in Dallas using my Iroc as a DD. Today I put on some new sheepskin seat covers to keep the seats pristine, replaced a sunvisor bushing, and washed it at the car wash. As it was a pretty day, I put the top down and went for a cruise, putting a smile on my face and on the faces of a lot of other people that saw it. Ask me what my 3rd Gen is worth today and I'd have to to tell you that it is priceless.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

to YOU, but not to most other people. Which is perfectly fine; I'm not saying that's wrong or that it shouldn't be.

Only, that it doesn't translate into the general car buying public.

Unlike, say, a 67 Camaro.

Enjoy your car for what it is TO YOU. Just don't expect that it's going to be even the tiniest fraction of that to anyone else.

In other words, its "value", in terms of resale, isn't going to experience what 60s muscle cars (even of the same name) have experienced. Our cars simply don't have that kind of value, and it's not just our cars, it's cars from that era (which is to say, NOT from the era that those others are from). Don't ever make the mistake of fooling yourself into thinking that they do, because if you do, you will cost yourself A BUNCH of money before the reality catches up with you, by which time, it will be too late. Enjoy it, drive it, mod it, preserve it, race it, customize it, store it for memories of YOUR days gone by, whatever peels your banana; just don't "invest" in it thinking that someday you're going to see that money return to you. It WON'T.

Motown

sofakingdom I 100% agree with you. I dont care what the general public says or thinks about my car, therefore I could care less what its worth. Im not selling it, so price doesnt matter to me. I like it, and thats all that matters.

ROCFATHER

What it all boils down to is what the next guy is willing to pay! In 20 yrs I believe our cars will go up in value. How high-nobody knows? I know we'll never get the credit that the 1st or early 2nd gens get, but people are starting to notice and thats pretty exciting to me. How many clean 3rd gens do you see driving around town, not many! But I have one and that just makes me smile from ear to ear!

What I do find amazing is that I get so many compliments from the younger generation of kids growing up. Especially when I pick my kids up from school. I can see those same kids in the next 20 yrs searching for that clean IROC that they had seen and desired, kind of like us. Assuming they have the cash to spend they might drop 10-20K? Only time will tell...

86WS6

iTrader: (1)

I rarely take my car out and drive it, however when I do drive it somewhere it seems like more and more the general population, not just gearheads are starting to notice the car. On a regular basis, someone tells me that they had an 80's something Firebird or Camaro, and wished they had kept it. The world was flooded with thirdgens in the 80's, however many are dying every day. One day it will be unusual to see one, especially a nice one. Thirdgens will probably never reach the level of collectability that the 60's and 70's models have, however there will be a day when any rear wheel drive car will be an oddity, and there will always be a small group of gear heads who want an old school muscle car. There are not too many cars on the road that one can build a small block V-8 engine for that will do just about anything one wants to do with it.I am glad to see so many younger folks are getting interested in these cars. My generation was the original target buyers of the thirdgens. I was 26 years old when I bought my first brand new 1983 Trans AM in 09/82. I will turn 56 this year. In 20 years when some of you are counting on your cars gaining some value I will be 76 years old. By that time the generation that originally bought Thirdgens will be dead or dying off. I hope that I can still get into the car and drive it with some level of safety in 20 years. Otherwise I hope that some younger person will own the car and appreciate it. As for the (E-10) ethanol fuel, my 305 TPI hates the stuff. Lucky we can still purchase 100% gas in a few places.

Cerridius

I don't care if my camaro goes up in value. I bought it to drive, fix up, learn, and ca'mon. It's a pretty sweet looking car for the price. 69 Camaros are overrated. I would sell it if I had one and put that money in my 88.

rusty vango

2nd gens are a rare sight here in TN. 15 years or so ago you could see any number of DD beaters.now you almost never see one.and anyone lucky enough to have a 1st gen rarely drive it.so im thinking the same thing applys with 3rd gens.one day soon enough our cars will also be a rare sight