Buckle up!

 

For sure! Pour yourself a Dr. Pepper and start reading. So many phrases were added to our lexicon and the memes were hilarious!

 

OMG, so true

 

Indeed. I've seen some serious meltdowns on various interwebz forums, but that one is near the top of my list. Had to LMAO at the guy's 'threat' of 'legal action.'

Here's my take on the lesson to be learned from that thread: If you post something, and one poster out of several posters who replies to your post and sounds like a douche bag, that guy is a douche bag. If, however, you post something, and everyone who replies sound like douche bags, you're the douche bag.

 

Congrats to this car topping $50k. These ultra low mile cars are not my scene but I’m glad they exist. I’ve been at shows with 3k-10k mile cars and to me, they showed identically to my 30k mile car. I think the best value in this space is the 20-50k cars that show very little wear. It’s a car you can show, drive, and enjoy with little depreciation. I can drive my car 1000 miles and sell it for a profit next year. Drive this car 1000 miles and you might take a $10k hit...

I can’t wrap my head around not wanting to take the car out and turn heads everywhere you go, stopping at a gas station and having people come up saying, “wow! I haven’t seen one of these in 20 years!” I just don’t see the actual value in the money spent. I guess now and again when you see someone with a really mint IROC they’re proud of you get to say, “I have one in my showroom with 400 miles” and you get to be the ultimate one-upper

I do think all prices are rising though. I know an 86 Auto LG4 car with 70k that sold for $8k more than I paid for mine 6 years ago. Mostly because it had T-Tops and red interior the guy just really wanted. Could care less it was 155hp Auto... just always wanted an IROC like that.

I do think the market for people that want mint ones to drive on occasion will rise substantially... There’s a lot of actual value to be had there.

I appreciate a car like this for historical significance, but I also think there are nicer ones to me with some miles on them. It bums me out when people turn up their nose at amazing Thirdgens that made it to 2020 in basically mint condition with no wear on buttons or switches and every option still working properly.

I just find the collector scene to be foolish in some ways... It’s not a new car... It’s probably not even safe to drive...

Basically, I appreciate the details and what it is, but I think the money is a little silly and to me, it’s not better than a “real car”

 

And considering... The claybar car buyer got a hell of a deal with 330 miles...

I’d love to see the car up close to see how much a difference under 1000 miles makes...

 

I think it's just a matter of degrees; probably everyone has their own threshold of what constitutes a care so 'rare' that they wouldn't drive it. For myself, it would have to be something like an all-original '67 L88 Corvette; it would be tough to rationalize driving a half-million-dollar car in traffic, what with the inattention of most other drivers on the road these days. Shoot; there have been times when I cut short a drive in my IROC due to unusually heavy traffic, and my concern of a possible collision occurring.

 

Yup, crazy, crazy thread.

Two people, including the OP laid the groundwork for their eventual bannings. You've gotta be pretty bad to get banned from a friendly site like TGO. LOL!

Honestly, I liked the claybar IROC, more than this red one, (which I also like), even if we finally deduced, thanks to Darin, that it's roof was re-skinned and that was the reason for the paint work.

 

I agree. At this point I'm out of the 3rd gen market, unless I find a really good deal. I have my cars and don't plan on buying or selling any. I'm just not the guy to spend $30-$50K on a 3rd gen, regardless of how much I love them. That's why I've started looking at other cars. I've got a 38K mile, '81, X-11, 4 speed coming soon from the original owner. It's been in storage for a loooooong time, but I'm hoping it will be a cheap way to have some fun.

 

I understand that... I always think about where I’m going and won’t go some places in my IROC. It’s not a million dollar car but to me I have it looking very close to showroom and want to keep it that way. I avoid heavy traffic areas and think I’ve averaged 700 miles/year.

I’m even particular about my Tahoe LTZ with 180k miles. Still looks new inside and out and not a ding or scratch on it... Took it to Boston every day for work and drove 30k miles/year for work... Wheels, seats, paint, etc look just like when I got it. I’m very good at avoiding danger and I have learned tricks to foresee and avoid damage from other people’s carelessness... I love the shock from the dealer when they take the odometer reading... reinforces my confidence in my detailing chops... That’s part of the fun for me though... To be able to use the car, and then erase those miles through detailing technique

I know people that have very expensive exotic and classic cars and they do drive them, but to them and their wealth level it’s about the same as me and my IROC.

I know a guy that has a Ferrari F40 and drives it. That’s why I think it’s a little silly how people get about these cars sometimes. It’s like even if you keep the car flawless, driving it at all ruins it.

If your goal is to have a car museum I can understand it. If you have hundreds of cars and your goal is to preserve automotive history I can understand.

I just don’t see the actual value people are getting from these cars. If you aren’t enjoying the car you’re just storing the value for someone else and the money you get will go quick. You miss out on years of valuable experiences.

 

QFT.

Compared to the site on which I previously moderated (a non-car-related site), which was like the Wild West when I left it, this one is very laid-back. I attribute that to the very narrow scope of this site, and it's resultant limited amount of traffic. Those who frequent 3rdgen are here to either learn, teach, or both, with no interest in nonsense. And when any such claptrap does appear, it gets quickly shot down by the forum regulars, as the 'clay bar' thread attests.

 

Some people get enjoyment just by ownership (not driving)
Different strokes for different folks

 

The claybar thread took a lot of shots to bring down... It was entertaining though!

It was like Mickey telling Rocky to stay down and the look on Apollo’s face when he wouldn’t...

 

That’s cool. I guess I just don’t get it. First time I saw an IROC I wanted to drive it.

I guess it’s kind of like those comic book collectors that don’t want to get a crease from reading it. That’s where I get lost because it’s not about the car anymore... It’s about features of the car hardly anyone notices or you’d have to explain.

I see people with rare, high value cars that get near perfect scores at concourse shows that still take them to cruise nights and do burnouts in them... Seems like for some classic cars you can treat them like that and they don’t lose value if they’re already worth over $200k

Its hard to know where you fit in sometimes...

I like when people come up and say, “Geez do you even drive this thing?” And get to say, “Yeah, actually I do”

I’m happy those reference cars exist for sure.

 

It's kinda like driving slowly past a really bad head-on collision on the highway; it's horrendous, but you just can't seem to look away. I also think there's some schadenfreude involved as well; there's a certain amount of satisfaction from seeing a knucklehead get his come-uppance.

And some people just don't understand that in order to get out of a hole you just dug yourself into, the first step is to stop digging.






While I defend someone's right to do as they see fit with their vehicle, I think it's sad that so many really rare/historic cars get shuffled from one millionaire buyer to the next at the latest BJ auction, then shoved into some climate-controlled private warehouse, never to be seen by anyone else. The performance car/hot rod segment of the motoring public is dying right before our eyes; every year, less and less people get involved. And while I lay a large part of the reason for that phenomenon these days on young peoples' involvement with video games and cell phones, I also attribute at least a part of it to the fact that it's rarely possible to see those rare/historic cars, which would no doubt increase peoples' interest.

 

Agreed ironwill and well articulated on all points!