well as u can tell its 5 am and im rounding the last hour of working OT on 3rd shift *eeww* and im just curious.. will out cars be worth as much as 67-69 camaros?

 

I honestly believe that very few of the thirdgen cars will be worth much in the future.

The main reason for this is the simple fact that there were a lot made. Take anything that is of value. For example, I just bought my girlfriend an engagement ring. The salesperson I worked with explained to me why the 1 carat diamond is so much more than say a .95 carat diamond of equal quality, it is because a one carat is very rare when compared to the smaller stones.

If you apply that same general thinking to our 3rd gen cars, then most of them probably wont be worth anything major. Of course, an item's value is only what you can sell it for, not what some "little blue book" says.

There are a few exceptions, but most of the 3rd gen cars were produced in such mass that they will never be truly rare, which means their values will never truly be high. I am not sure, but I dont think there were many '69 Camaros made. I know that there weren't that many '69 Trans Ams made. I think under 100, which is why they are worth a lot. You also have to remember that the late sixties were the heyday of the muscle car, so of course any Camaro/Firebird from this era, in good shape, is likely to be valuable.

Perhaps some of the 1LE cars, along with the Anniversary cars and some of the low production GTA's will be worth something.

 

True there were alot made but alot of them are trashed and in bad condition, out of the tons of 3rd gens how many are still in mint condition and runnin good. it also depends on what year, model and options, there werent to many of the GTA's made in 92 so im sure they will be worth some money in the future as well as the notchbacks, not to mention the TTA's

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87 GTA 350 TPI
Mods: K&N Air Filter, New rocker arms, Stage III chip.
Next Mods in line: Exhaust, headers
http://www.geocities.com/rudys120/transam.html
Kills:
Nissa 300zx (dont think it was turbo)
87 Mustang 5.0,
89 Mustang 5.0 (modded)
?? Iroc
00-01? Jaguar driven buy 85 yr old guy
Too many ricers to count......

 

Granted, 1969 was a long production year, but the only third-gen year to surpass the 1969 production figure was 1984. I am speaking of Camaros only, but I'd guess the Firebird figures wouldn't change the total comparison much. I could be wrong though...that happened once.

Now as far as value in the future is concerned, I'd have to agree that only the more rare-optioned cars will ever attain the status of high-dollar collector cars.



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85 IROC-Z
2,3XX original miles

 

I would have to say that some models will be worth quite a bit and in all likelyhood are probably at their lowest values right now. I tend to favor the vert.'s that were produced in fairly low numbers from 87-92 (I think between 3,000-7,000 each year, if even that many). Rarity will definetly be the leading reason for rapid appreciation. You can still get a nice one and not spend a fortune. A lot of these cars are pretty torn up and the few nice ones will retain their value and start appreciating at some point in the coming years. However, every car I've ever bought, I bought because I liked it, and that was the primary reason. Appreciation is just a bonus. That said, my vert. is a 5 speed, and production numbers for those in 92' is in the hundreds. I feel it has potential.

Alex

 

Well, I believe this discussion comes up about every 2 or 3 months. Here is my $.02:

1. As others have mentioned, there are tons of thirdgens out there and many of them (especially the 82-84) are getting to that 20 year stage, but there are many mint, low mileage ones out there also. Those will be worth a little in the future.

2. As for specific models, I think the 1LE's (especially the 88 (4 made), 89 (111 made) and 90 (62 made)).

3. The 91 and 92 non police service B4C package camaros will also appreciate.

4. One I just heard of the is 85 Califronia Special Iroc. I believe 500 were made and came in red or black. Has no hood louvers and no rear spoiler. Basically an IROC in disguise. This one could possibly appreciate also.

5. The 87 z28 convertibles is another. I think only about 20 or so were made.

6. On the Pontiac side (which I am not too familiar) I know the 89 TTA is already up there. Some people are already asking over $15k for these. I wonder what will happen when they hit the 20 year mark in 2009? Perhaps $25k or more??? Only time will tell.

7. Also, how about the last 92 z28 built along with the last Formula and Trans AM in 92???


Only time will tell. As for my camaro, I believe it will not appreciate, if any maybe a little.

As somebody mentioned, it all comes down to what is somebody willing to pay for a certain camaro/firebird/trans am.

We will see!!!

Manny



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92 Bright Red z28, 350, 47k miles, pw, pl, power mirrors, power drivers seat, rear defroster, limited slip performance axle, 4 wheel discs, red leather interior and the Heritage Package!!

 

Here is an interesting argument to the "there were so many made they won't be worth much" statement. What is a 57 chev belair worth in good shape?Or a 56 or 55 for that matter? I believe that the 55-57 production numbers of these cars were greater than the entire 3rd gen F body run.Good Specimens of these cars can easily fetch 5 times their original price.How many are left?I'm not saying that are cars will be worth a fortune but I believe that good quality examples will be valuable some day.
1955 PRODUCTION:

150 models - 125,446

210 models - 805,309

Bel Airs - 773,382


1956 PRODUCTION:

150 models - 157,294

210 models - 737,371

Bel Airs - 669,281


1957 PRODUCTION:

150 models - 146,080

210 models - 653,358

Bel Airs - 702,651



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1990 Iroc convertible,305 tpi,Black with black leather interior,lowered,Taylor 8mm wires,K&N's

 

They're not worth five times their original price. Even if you just allow for inflation and the change in value of the dollar and forget about the actual cost of ownership over that period, those cars still didn't provide a good return on investment.

Besides, how many of us are still going to be around in 50 years to worry about it?

 

I think the relevant figure is not how many were made, but how many exist at any given point in time. That can be affected by how many were made obviously, but twenty years from now, I'd say a good chunk of thirdgens are not going to be around in any usable form. That, and people like us trying to recapture their past or trying to alleviate some regret for selling their car will be looking for a decent thirdgen and will be willing and able to pay larger amounts of money for them. (After all, how many of you are or know someone who regrets selling a car they owned in the past? Like parents, older friends, etc.?).
Same deal. It's supply and demand, and it's still a bit early to tell how that will apply to our cars.

 

In other words, "Supply and demand" will equate to dollars and classic collectors. I just drive my car now because I like the way it drives. I don't drive it to save it for a collectors price. Now if one of my kids decides to maintain the car beyond my life span which is almost half over then they made get some money for the car if there is a demand for this type of car. Think about howmany people are trying to buy Model T Fords.

[This message has been edited by 86NiteRider (edited August 18, 2001).]

 

Bottom line...Convertibles, TTA's, GTAs and most TPI and L69 Z28s, IROCs and T/As will be worth some money. How much?? No one can know that now. But they WILL be worth something...so tired of people saying "they aren't rare."

THEY GET RARER EVERY TIME SOMEONE DRIVES ONE TO THE BONEYARD.

Thanks to Zedder for realizing that just because a car was made in great quantities does not mean they do not have potential. Popularity is worth way more than rarity.

Is an early '70s Saab rare? Absolutely. Is it worth a damn thing? Nope.

------------------
Jason E

'89 Camaro RS
-Medium Grey Metallic
-2.8, A4, T-tops, 92k miles
-Hypertech chip, Accel wires/coil/K&Ns
-Alpine 60x4 and Bostons

'97 Z28
-30th Anniversary package (white with orange stripes)
-LT1, M6, t-tops, 44k miles
-Eclipse CD and 10" Aluminum sub in JL Audio Stealth box, Boston RM speakers, Xtant 403a amp

Speed Kills...Wanna live forever? Drive a Ford.
Long Live #3...

 

Just my opinion, but I hope that 3rd Gens stay the way they are, inexpensive. In my opinion, performance wise, there is no vehicle out there with more bang to the buck than 3rd gens (considering all facets of performance, not just straight line acceleration). Does the third gen have "trailer park" reputation, yep. But mine is fun to drive, comfortable to drive, and parts are cheap. If your looking for an investment, stay clear of 3rd Gens, but if you looking for a great project base, or a fun driving experience without spending your kids college fund, you can't beat them.

 

Come on guys, look around. This question can be answered in half an hour browsing online classifieds. The nice low mileage cars are already being sold at fairly high prices. The factors that make a car a classic or collectible are simple. Thirdgens already have the 1st question answered. Are they popular? I'd say so, everyone and their brother has owned one.

Things to look for in a collectible thirdgen.
Price - if it was expensive new, it'll demand a higher price resale due to limited numbers, etc. Generally also the more expensive thirdgens were treated nicer and are in better shape.
Special editions, commemoritive editions, etc. - Anniversary cars, pace cars, etc. Iroc's are probably out of luck due to the numbers produced, but they'll probably be the 69 Camaro of the upcoming years.
Special packages - convertibles, 1LE's, B4C's, etc. Anything that makes the cars special interest will make them more valuable or collectible.

Having an oddball combo of options that no one cares about won't make the car worth anymore than a more typical combination.

An extremely rare car in trashed condition isn't worth anything either. Seek out a thirdgen in nice condition and baby it.

 

Chris,

I was watching Dream Car Garage tonight on SpeedVision and they had a 57 BelAir convertible, with dual quad 283 pushing 270hp, that was mint. It was estimated to be worth in the six figure range and was the best example they had ever seen. In fact, the guy did such a nice restoration that they said it looked BETTER than factory!

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1986 Camaro Sports Coupe
T-tops, variable wiper, power hatch, rear defrost, third brake light
LG4 305 V8, Hooker Shorty headers, 3" pipe into Walker Quiet Flow dual exhaust
Edelbrock Performer intake, "Damonized" Q-Jet 4bbl, K&N filter, Crane ignition kit
TH700R4 transmission and Derale cooler
Air conditioning, power windows, power door locks, power brakes, power steering, tilt wheel
Kenwood cassette, Pioneer 6x4 component front speakers
Rockford Fosgate 6x9 Punch rear speakers
Z-28 front and rear sway bars
Aluminum slots and Goodyear 225x60R15 Eagle HP tires
243 horsepower and 326 foot pounds of torque at the flywheel
_ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _
Yea verily, and he smote the smog heathens from his small block Chevy, even from the air pump to the converter ...
Todd 1:1

 

[quote]It was estimated to be worth in the six figure range and was the best example they had ever seen. In fact, the guy did such a nice restoration that they said it looked BETTER than factory![/quoote]

Now that's scary. Wonder how much he spent?????

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86 Camaro Black SS Coupe, T Tops, Flowmaster, Custom Paint, Dunlop Road Kings S/R tires, Wheel Country Directional Chrome Wheels,new charcoal & gray interior including seats and door panels, new carpet and headliner, complete front end suspension rebuild, new Valve seals, and more mods to come
http://www.angelfire.com/sports/niterider/86camaro.html
Morgan_Andre@hotmail.com