Heres my situation:

My mom wants me to keep my T/A because its that nice and she likes to drive it now and then.

See it for yourself http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2136151/1

I want a nice daily driver but I just dont have the heart to ruin this 3rd Gen. Ones like mine are getting rare. So Im thinking sell it and buy something else I wont mind taking through the rain and mud.

Im gonna have it appraised once I take it out of storage. I think they will value it at at least $6000. Is it likely that its value will increase over the next 10 years? If so Ill keep it, but if not, I think I might sell it for somethin else....

 

Tough call. If you were able to keep it as a low-mile, original car, then I'd say yes, the value might increase over the years, especially since there were so few produced. I'd be even more sure of a value incease if it were a 350 car, since those are even more rare. If you end up using it as a driver and throwing a lot of miles on it, then I think there will be less of a chance appreciation in value, but I could be wrong. Hopefully, others will chime in here.

Great looking car, though!

 

I dont think I could use it as a daily driver. If it ever got covered in mud I think it would make me sick

 

personally id keep it. I sold a 82 pickup a while back after i had restored it thinking it was the right thing to do, i regret it now.

 

Can you afford to keep it and buy a cheaper driver?

 

I have a beat up 99 Escort for a DD, but I want to get a 94-97 V6 5spd Camaro for my DD. But Id have to sell my T/A to do that. I also have an 88 Camaro which I just got running good, not sure what Im doin with that. What I realy need to do is get a better job! Id like to give my mom the T/A for her Bday, but then Id be out $6000

 

That car is gorgeous. I would definately keep it no matter what. It may not be worth any serious cash for like 10-15 years but it will always hold a decent value if the mileage is down and its all original.

I got my car in april and it had 45k miles on it. Amazing condition and i plan on keeping it forever. Im not driving it in the winter to keep the miles down, keep it from rusting, and because the heater core broke on me in october (NO HEAT!). Dont have any garage space right now but its parked under a $200 car cover on a water resisitant tarp.

I think you would regret it for the rest of your life if you ever sold that car. As i said, its not gonna be worth any serious cash anytime soon, but one day down the road it will, and in the meantime its a beautiful car that you and your family are happy you own.

 

YES YES YES!!!

we are already seeing increases in the values of these cars.

What I will garuntee is the following:

High HP cars will appreciate the fastest: 350 cars, 305 TPI 5/Speed, then the HO/CFI/TPI A4 cars, then the LG4/LO3 cars and the tail end will be the V6 & I4 cars. Its a matter of history...

This does not include TTA's & Firehawks They will be the fastest to appreciate, BUT there already expensive.

Factory T-tops will help
Factory Convertibles will eventually be worth about Double of their hard top counterparts.
Chances are even Aftermarket Converts will gain more value than a hard top intially, however their future is not as certain as a factory Convert.

1LE cars will and are also saught after.


TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION:
In 10 years your car will be worth more than what it is today... HOWEVER, that same money, in a good investment will probably bring you a better return. Thats true for ANY car even if you purchased a 1969 COPO Camaro in 1969, your return would have been better in a mutual fund. If you want to invest in something invest wisely in the stock market, If you like your car, keep it and enjoy it.

Case in point in 1993 if you invested 20K into an decent Mutual fund, and let it simply ride, without doing anything to it other than get reports every month, you would have approximately 45K today.

John

 

okfoz, how would the CFI's appriciate faster than an LO3? What about more sought after options such as the Heritage Package... I mean according to NADA the heritage package makes a 92 camaro worth twice what a regular 92 would be worth. Can't say i complain. Hopefully it will stay this way.

 

If you invested 20k into a 69 BB Pace Car in 1993 and parked it, you would have 80k today!

Low mileage cars will always comand more money but believe me, mileage will not be as huge a factor as overall condition of the car. When someone looks at a mint 1969 COPO Camaro, nobody gives a rats *** what the previous mileage is, especially after it has a nut and bolt resto. I agree with John though, these cars are going to fetch a very, very good dollar.

 

I remember when 2nd gen 'Birds were all wicked cheap, like maybe 10 years ago, and now...different story. Now I can't afford to buy one, and I don't want that to happen with thirdgens, too! That's why I'm stocking up on the 350 '92 'Birds now, while the gettin' is good!

 

I hear you man! I never thought that someone would pay more than 10k for an absolutley mint 78 - 81 2nd gen. Try finding a mint Bandit T/A for less than 25k!

What is more telling is that these 3rd gen cars can run circles around the late 2nd gens. They are:

More reliable;
better performing;
better looking;
more rarer;

These have collectibility writen all over them.

 

The LO3 is the base v8 engine, it replaced the LG4 in 1988. The fact is that ultimately there are determining factors that really help the salability of the car in the future. There not made up opinions, its just looking back at what has happened to other cars...

historically speaking:

1) Factory HP, lets face it, HP is what EVERYONE wants, the more the HP the more it will be worth. IIRC, the CFI was the top engine for 82 & 83, therefore making it the most desiarable for that particular year. The L69 cars likewise will be worth more than an LO3 or LG4, especially for a car in similar condition.

2) Convert - typically speaking a Convert from the same year with the same miles in the same condition brings about twice what a hard top will. Its a matter of history.

3) Style - only time will tell what sub generation will be worth the most. There are some that claim that the 82-84's will be worth the most, others like myself, find the 85-90 the most atttractive and yet others like the 91-92 designs. Thats yet to be determined, But with the added HP in the later years I suspect that alone will push the values up. There have also been several refinements along the way, I think a 92 Z28 is in some respects a more refined car than MOST 82's out there today.

The Heritage edition cars suposedly bring twice that of a non-Heritage counterpart. The biggest factor to this is probably that there are fewer of the Heritage cars out there. It is an attractive stripe design that really has a classic look to it. It honestly probably goes back to the HP issue, but in this case it just looks fast. And that is tied into style.

Actually I have a friend who inherited $2K in 1993, he simply put it in a mutual fund and in 1999 or 2000 he took $2K and invested in a house, and still had $1K left over in the fund. He now has almost $2K again. So in reality, he too would have had $6K. My $45K was conservative if you would have started with $20K. Its funny we were just talking about investments the other day and this came up. The numbers have been changed for privacy, but they are dead nuts on.

Fortunately we all have the oportunity to invest money into funds like this, unfortunately there are only a handful of 69 COPO cars worth owning. The opportunity for most of us is better in the stock market. My point is investing in a car is a crappy deal 99.99999% of the time, Buy what you enjoy, enjoy what you buy.

 

Wow! That is one beautiful T/A! Surely there is some way you can keep it. I did the same thing you did with the floor mats on an '86 Z28 I bought years ago. Best of luck to you (and the T/A).