which will be more collectable?
an 89 GTA with 5.7, t-top black, auto OR
88 GTA with 5.0, 5-speed t-top black? Looking at 2 for the same price.. both have very low miles

 

I think the 5 speed would be worth more. When you look at muscle cars from 60's and 70's the ones with sticks seem to be valued higher or they have higher asking price. There is the 350 vrs 305 thing, but its only like a 20 hp difference isn't it? I know one thing, the 5 speed will be ALOT more fun to drive. I mean, look at all the guys on this forum that go through all the trouble to put a manual transmission in their cars that originally had auto's. Then compre that to guys that want to get rid of a stick and put in a auto, besides for drag racing, why would you. not many people do that. and when it gets down to it, a 3rd gen is more of a roardcourse car than a drag car by desine from the factory, and in that respect I think the stick would be better. In the end, what will people wanting to buy one in the future want to have, one thing for sure, is that rarity equals value, and the manual trans cars are deffinetly rarer.

 

They only made 809 5-speed GTA's in 88 (I have one of them), so it's more rare.

 

I tend to agree that all else being equal, a 5-speed car is worth more. However, all is not equal with these cars in that the 305 is not the top dog engine (even though the output is not all that different in some years, the L98 always gets bragging rights). So that might make them more equal in the eyes of most collectors.

At least with the older muscle cars, extra displacement and horsepower tends to trump transmission in determining the value of the car. For example, a '70 455 GTO with an automatic will generally be worth more than a '70 400 GTO with a 4-speed. (Unless it's a rare Ram Air IV 400, but you get my point).

Personally, I will always pay more for a stick shift because I like them better in these cars. To me, the extra "fun-to-drive" factor and simpler maintenance outweighs the small horsepower advantage.

My advice is to buy what you enjoy. These cars are still a long way from being investments.

 

I agree w/ Tom. Buy what you like. As far as an investement....cars are a horrible investement either way you slice it (with VERY few exceptions.) Personally I like 5 speed cars just for the fact that they are more fun to drive. Does the 5 speed have a disc brake rear end? However, 350 T-Top isn't a bad choice either! I just don't see how you can loose either way.

 

do you plan on sticking it in a storage shed and never driving it?? only starting it up once a month or so to keep it mechanically sound?? thats about the only way your ever going to make money off of investing in a car. insurance costs, maintenance costs, mileage will make your car worth less with each drive. buy it you love third gens. dont buy it if your looking at reselling later odds are against you ever making a penny off the deal less your flipping it right now. even flipping you gotta make a pretty penny as sales taxes registration fees and transportation costs will eat a big pot of money out of any profit your gonna make flipping.

old cars are like boats you wont make any money off it less you stupid lucky. people that buy these things buy em for reasons other than making money on them.

 

I say get the biggest engine (350) and the T-tops. I think 1989 GTA was the only year you could get the 350 and T-tops. All other years the GTA's with the 350 engine came without T-Tops, you could not order it. And if you wanted the 350 engine they mostly all came with auto, I think there might be some factory 5-speed 350's but not many.

 

Thanks all. I bought the 5 speed due to validated history/miles. it has 20,000 miles.
Here are pics http://www.gtasourcepage.com/forum/album.php?albumid=21

 

Very nice, looks like it's in excellent condition. I don't know if I could buy a car with such low mileage, I'd be too tempted to drive it everywhere

 

I will drive it about 1000 a year I think. I am wondering how much you guys think it would go for? I think it is worth more than I paid (10K) due to low prod numbers for 5-speed and millage/condition

 

Hard to put an exact value on it. I'd say 10k is good, considering the low mileage. However, it could probably be worth a tad more if it had leather, and maybe the digital dash setup. Like my dad says, "It's worth exactly as much as someone is willing to pay for it." :P

 

I think it is worth more due to condition. Paint is original and almost perfect. No spiderwebs at all on wing. etc..

 

all i can say is wow! That's one fine GTA! Can't believe you even got the gm floor mats! I'm so looking for those!! Hard to find!....

I'm jealous for a few reasons...1) you have stick, 2) it's black beauty and of course 3) cloth interior! If i had it my way...
I'd would own two GTAs...i'll keep what i have and then get exactly what you have...
so i have the best of both worlds...one auto/leather/ttops and then one stick/cloth/hardtop


...Then i get me a formula 350, a TTA...

 

Thanks for the kind words

I have had it now for about 8 months. I kept the original wheels/tires and have put on formula wheels and had them powdercoated black to match the car with new rubber from the general (tire) and LOVE them. so quiet and grippy. I plan on tinting the windows and bought dual exhaust tips (think farrari/lambo style). that is what I did to the one in my avatar. my original 86. I will only change things that can come off. and yeah I will drive her to car shows with my son. I love the car and wanted something that will appreciate but thats not my over all goal. I wanted to drive her.. not much but enuf. my son loves the car (he is 11) and cant wait to own it. I dont speed with her but run her hard up to the legal limit sometimes

i LOVE running it thru the gears. I ran a 88 FORMULA 350 that a car dealer had and honestly the 5-speed is more fun and feels very close in power. (0-60 times are the same - I checked) so all in all I am very happy. I didnt want leather. too easy to look crappy on the bolsters. my seats are like new. I have the mats.. yah. they are like new too. I wouldn't sell them due to how rare they are. i also like the t-top bag.

 

can you put some pics on here? i dont want to register for the GTA forum just to see the pics lol

 

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...ohio/side2.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...ohio/pic16.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...ohio/pic15.jpg
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...ohio/pic14.jpg
http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/b...g%26newest%3D1
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...nohio/pic8.jpg

 

 

sigh... cant wait for Spring!

 

I like the gold rims better. Just my opinion, but I've never been a fan of black rims except on certain cars. The black honeycomb on the GNX and the Trans Ams look really good.

 

Yeah, me either! My IROC is snoozing away in one corner of the garage under a cover, the Trans Am is getting coated with dust because frankly, there's zero reason to cover it, and the RS is getting the cluster taken apart so I can fix the tach so it's actually relevant

I hate winter...I just want to drive 'em!

As for the wheels, I kinda like 'em. They definitely are different. I love black wheels on a black car, personally. I give you style points for trying something different

 

The L98 G92 cars will always be worth the most, followed by the LB9 5Spd G92 cars.