What would your first car be worth in mint condition?

[dasherHampton]

1984 Wagoneer for me. How in the hell is this thing a classic now? I beat the crap out of mine. Can anyone beat this?

https://classics.autotrader.com/classic-cars/1984/jeep/grand_wagoneer/101300938

 

[NutBucket]

www.motortrend.com/news/an-updated-jeep-grand-wagoneer-and-this-mercedes-fill-billy-dee-williams-garage

Even Lando loves it!

 

[dasherHampton]

I'm pretty sure the only reason my dad gave it to me was that it had no trade in value at the time. Now it might as well be a classic Jaguar.

The pros? I could drive it pretty much anywhere. No terrain was impassible. It was basically a street legal tank; very handy for a high school kid.

The cons? The damn thing had zero coolness factor and died all the time.

It's so ugly. Why in the hell would someone pay so much for that car?

 

[ondma]

Not my first car, but the first new car that I bought--- 1970 Camaro. Just a plain jane model with the 350 2 barrel. But it was still a very nice car for its time, in the era of huge, lumbering land yachts. Not sure what it is worth now, but I wish I could have kept it somehow.

Edit: just looked it up, maybe 10 to 15 k depending on condition. Didnt really have the money or space to store a car that I wasnt using though.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Not my first car, but the first new car that I bought--- 1970 Camaro. Just a plain jane model with the 350 2 barrel. But it was still a very nice car for its time, in the era of huge, lumbering land yachts. Not sure what it is worth now, but I wish I could have kept it somehow.

Edit: just looked it up, maybe 10 to 15 k depending on condition. Didnt really have the money or space to store a car that I wasnt using though.

Your sentiment sounds like me as I fret about letting go of my thoroughly-rebuilt 1964 Chevy SS Impala.

On the matter of the Wagoneer, I could see how someone with some extra change in their pocket might want to pay such a price, but those prospects would seem far and few between, even if they exist. It's not a true "Woodie" as coveted by the surfers in the mid-60s. For me, I have to ask the questions like how much oil does it consume, how well does it run, what are the prospects for continued trouble-free operation of the engine. The Tranny is a manual, so that's not likely a major potential problem.

The only point of reference I have for something like this is -- you guessed it! -- my old '95 Trooper. Recently, some have remarked that "it's not a classic; it's just an old SUV." It could become a classic, and I see examples at classiccars.com a year or two older than mine, with owners asking close to $13,000 for vehicles (engines, primarily) with mileage in the range of 95,000 to 130,000. But that's what they're asking.

My own SUV is worth more to me than that, because -- despite the lackluster gas-mileage -- it eliminates any need to purchase a newer pre-owned or brand-new ride. As a matter of opportunity cost, it saves me the purchase outlay plus about half the recurring insurance expense. If I were to sell it now, I would need to be more realistic than wishing for $13,000. Then again, who knows? But only a select number of people would have an interest in a car that old. I could argue that it "should be" a classic, and maybe it will be a classic, but that's all in the eye of the beholder and the consensus of many beholders.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Old SUVs have been gaining in value for a while.

My first car wouldn't be worth squat. 81 dodge mirada /6 base model and beat looking, bought it for $600 back in 93. If you like the 80s square body cars it is a nicer looking one but they never really blew up like some of the other makes.

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/dodge/mirada/2358888.html

That is basically a nice version of mine.

 

[esquared]

This can be one of the security questions that they ask you when you need to reset your PW.
Just saying.

 

[dasherHampton]

I guess that's true. Hadn't thought of that.

It doesn't affect me. Around 15 years ago a guy started trolling me in real life and I haven't left personal info on a forum since. '

But if you do have personal info here you shouldn't answer.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I just reviewed the question posed in the thread title. So I must answer.

I already mentioned my '64 Chevy Super-Sport [SS] Impala.

I believe it was worth $25,000 in 1985 to 1990. What it is worth now, would not be less than that amount.

Something makes me absolutely sick, though, for letting go of it in 1978. It was in mint condition in 1978, and -- given my habits -- it would've been in mint condition a decade later. It had perhaps 20,000 miles on a remanufactured 327 short-block engine. The carburetor -- 4-barrel -- had been rebuilt. The suspension, brakes, tires -- all new. The transmission had been rebuilt more recently than the engine.

I think I'm going to puke, now . . . . . No . . . . I'm going to heave and turn my guts inside out . . .

 

[esquared]

I just reviewed the question posed in the thread title. So I must answer.

I already mentioned my '64 Chevy Super-Sport [SS] Impala.

I believe it was worth $25,000 in 1985 to 1990. What it is worth now, would not be less than that amount.

Something makes me absolutely sick, though, for letting go of it in 1978. It was in mint condition in 1978, and -- given my habits -- it would've been in mint condition a decade later. It had perhaps 20,000 miles on a remanufactured 327 short-block engine. The carburetor -- 4-barrel -- had been rebuilt. The suspension, brakes, tires -- all new. The transmission had been rebuilt more recently than the engine.

I think I'm going to puke, now . . . . . No . . . . I'm going to heave and turn my guts inside out . . .

1964 Chevrolet Impala Base | Hagerty Valuation Tools

Have you seen the latest 1964 Chevrolet Impala values?

www.hagerty.com

Two at the bottom show 29k to 47k

 

[zinfamous]

maybe $5 bucks?

1984 Honda Accord. lol, does that exist in mint? I've never seen such a thing. It's a value box. no reason to really collect those things...not for at least 30 more years, anyway.

People like Morris Minors now, though, so maybe there is hope....

 

[JulesMaximus]

1971 SAAB 99LE. It was a two door coupe with a four speed manual gearbox. In mint condition it might be worth $5-6k to a SAAB enthusiast. It was a great car in the snow. Built like a tank.

 

[eikelbijter]

I don't know if there even is a single 1989 Hyundai Excel alive left in this world! Bought it for $1750 in 1992 with 50k miles on it. Sold it for $100 in 1996, after 5 accidents (curved like a banana the frame was! CD cases for headlights!) , headgasket so messed up I had to clean the spark plugs every day, but still running!

R

 

[JulesMaximus]

I don't know if there even is a single 1989 Hyundai Excel alive left in this world! Bought it for $1750 in 1992 with 50k miles on it. Sold it for $100 in 1996, after 5 accidents (curved like a banana the frame was! CD cases for headlights!) , headgasket so messed up I had to clean the spark plugs every day, but still running!

R

Those cars were garbage when they were new and they didn’t age well.

 

[eikelbijter]

Those cars were garbage when they were new and they didn’t age well.

It was an EPIC POS but it was my first! I've only ever bought two other cars and I still have both of thos! (1973 Mercury Cougar XR7 and a 1968 Ford Fairlane 500 Wagon)

 

[RLGL]

My first car was a '59, value then not much, now nothing. It was a Dodge.

 

[Midwayman]

'83 honda civic 1500 s. A clean DX went for 4300 not long ago. I imagine the S is worth more and mint as well.

 

[pcgeek11]

1949 Ford Custom Coupe
Looks to be about 20K.

 

[Greenman]

1965 Ford Ecnoline. Somewhere between 10 and 20K.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

1964 Chevrolet Impala Base | Hagerty Valuation Tools

Have you seen the latest 1964 Chevrolet Impala values?

www.hagerty.com

Two at the bottom show 29k to 47k

I wish I hadn't read this after eating dinner . . . The only things I might have done to reach "Concours" condition were minor compared to any "big jobs". Replace the air-conditioning compressor. Re-paint with the same off-white cream color. The vinyl white bucket seats and rear seat could've been cleaned up a bit. Maybe hit the dashboard and other select areas with the right red burgundy tint vinyl spray paint -- which I'd identified and used previously.

It had all the chrome. It had the original SS spinner hubcaps. Chrome hood-locks. I could see updating the audio system, although the original worked just fine before I let the car go . . .

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Good condition 94' Mazda Protege, about $1800 good condition.

For first one I actually purchased, If my '10 Camaro was in perfect condition it'd probably be closer to $25k-30k.

 

[manly]

Family's first new car was a 1982 Toyota Tercel sedan, which retailed for under $6k at the time. You rarely (if ever) see any Tercels on the road (last sold in the late 1990s) but a 1st gen model wouldn't be worth much even in great condition unless you found a deranged collector. Maybe a couple hundred bucks for a pristine example??

First car I bought out of college was a 2000 Honda Accord I4. Haven't checked KBB in a while, but maybe $4k if in excellent condition? I sorta hated giving that car up, it was low cost to operate. In 17 years of ownership, I believe the only actual "repair" was fuel sensor replacement. The transmission was under a recall, but I never bothered to check in with a dealership about it.

 

[skyking]

1970 Challenger 340 6 pack
between 29k and 40K

 

[someone16]

2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0T. Sold it two years ago for $8200. Sad thing is after two years the prices seemed to have actually gone up in my area.

 

[BudAshes]

Early 90's Nissan Pathfinder. Maybe worth a few thousand bucks in mint condition? I beat the hell out of it as a teenager and it served me well from burying it in the mud, to bombing around sand dunes, to the deep snows of tahoe, it handled it all and never broke down. I actually saw it again a few years ago parked outside of the local community college. Those things are hard to kill, but man did it have no power and the gas mileage for such a small engine was horrendous. I wouldn't want to drive it again on the road, but off road it was great once you got some big A/T tires on it.