Oddly enough, the most numerous of the Impala SS, the 1996 with approx 25,000 made, is also the most valuable. Figure on really nice ones priced real world at around $8500 to $13500.
A very rare example of a modern American 4-door car less than 40 years old that's collectible.
There was this lady in my old neighborhood who had a Mercedes 190 sedan with one of those Testarossa-style cheese grater kits. It looked ridiculous and tacky.
Yeah, the SS's popularity seemed to catch on really quickly. Unfortunately, GM got a little too money-hungry and shuttered the whole assembly line, so that they could build more profitable Tahoe/Yukon 4-doors.
I think GM tended to keep production of those RWD B/D bodies low on purpose, because of CAFE regulations. For what they were, the cars were pretty fuel efficient, rated at 17/26. The base Caprice, which used a 4.3 V-8 and only 200 hp, was rated 18/26. But, that was enough to drag down the CAFE numbers if they made too many. So, what do they do? Scrap them and start building SUV's that were rated 15/19 in 2wd form, 13/17 in 4wd. :sick:
I came close to buying a 1996 Caprice with the LT1 350, a week or two before I bought my Intrepid. It had 35,000 miles on it and the dealer, through autobytel, wanted something like $13,860. Basically, an SS in civilian clothes. Probably not a bad price overall, as it was nicely equipped. But I just didn't want to pay that much money for something with less than 1,000 miles left on the factory warranty. They would've sold me a crap aftermarket warranty that didn't cover much for around $1500. And the sales manager didn't exactly give me the warm fuzzies.
Sometimes I kinda wish I'd gone for that '96. Except if I had, it would have around 185,000 miles on it (its 35K, plus the 150K I put on the Intrepid), and it might be kinda tired and beat up by now. The Intrepid has hopped a couple curbs, and taken a mild hit to the front, rear, and both sides (four separate occasions...not all at once!) and had the passenger-side door damaged when someone tried to break into it.
Since they are basically on the same frame I would think the biggest hitch would be all the electrical. Probably not lucky enough to just swap the computers.
I wonder just how many 1967 GTX'es WERE made? I just tried looking it up in my old car book, and they lump the GTX production in with the Satellite. So, the Satellite/GTX combined only sold 30,328 hardtop coupes and 2,050 convertibles. I'd imagine the lion's share of those were the more mundane Satellite, which came with a 180 hp 273-2bbl standard, in contrast to the GTX's hot 375 hp 440-4bbl.
For '68, the GTX sold 17,914 hardtop coupes and 1,026 convertibles. Pretty rare in its own right, but I'm sure the '67 model sold far less. Performance-wise, I'm sure they were every bit as capable, as they used the same engines and drivetrains, and were a similar weight. the '67's were also better built and trimmed better inside. Mopar started getting a little sloppy when they redesigned the '68 intermediates. To be fair, everybody else got sloppier as the decade wore on too, though, although of course it would get worse in the 70's.
yeah but if you read the description carefully this "low mileage" car is starting to sound like a rat in sheep's clothing. Better the devil you know than etc etc. I can't believe people are bidding $2700 for this thing, with bad AC, ripped seats, bad vinyl top, rust bubbles, non-working interior lights, non working clock, dinged up wheel moldings. Geez, look at the rust under the rear window!
True...mine isn't perfect, but at least I know, for the most part, what's wrong with it. Oddly though, mine has some of the same issues, like the broken a/c and clock. Tear in the driver's seat. And I have the rust bubbles in the same spot along the edge of the landau roof base...although mine isn't as bad as this car. Plus, I like having power windows and a power seat, which this car doesn't have.
This car was also a victim of GM's engine-swapping fiasco, but I think in this case, it might've worked out to the Pontiac's advantage, because that's an Olds 350 under the hood!
It's much better on cars of this type (not much market value) to pay a premium price for a really good one---even double "blue book".
Definitely true. Sometimes I kick myself for not buying this 1980 New Yorker that Grbeck, Lemko, and I saw at the Mopar Nats in Carlisle back in 2006. It only had 34,000 miles on it, and looked absolutely flawless. It was "nightwatch", a non-metallic midnight blue, with a beige leather interior. I think the seller wanted $4200. The only thing I really didn't like about it was that it just had a 318, which was choked down to 120 hp that year, and something lame like 230 ft-lb of torque. But, it's not like you buy a car like that to drag race. And even though the 150 hp 360-2bbl that came standard in the '79's is a better performer, it's hardly a race car.
I only paid $500 for that second NYer I picked up a few years ago. But if I threw another $3700 into it, it still wouldn't be anywhere near as nice as that $4200 NYer. But, then, I didn't buy the thing with the intent of blowing huge amounts of money on over-restoring it, or ever hoping to make a profit on it. I just happen to like the danged things!
I think if I had it to do over again though, I would've bought that $4200 '80. Although something tells me I still would've ended up "rescuing" that $500 '79!
It also has one of those nasty Used-Car-Dealer-advertising-chrome-logos stuck on the trunk lid. As an older vehicle, I would be willing to bet that it's the old-school type that involved drilling the deck and popping it in. Might as well post a sign, "Free lunch for Tin-Worms." :mad:
I hadn't noticed that logo on the trunk lid. It could also be possible that it's just the cheap plastic chrome type that's glued on and falls off after so many years. My '85 Silverado had one of those that finally dropped off a couple years ago.
I'm probably better off with the car I have, although I do like that silvery green! Maybe I should just download the pics and use them for my computer's desktop. Much cheaper than having the real thing sitting and breaking down in my driveway!
"Mr. Sadwrench Sez: "no bargain car is a bargain". "
"Wheeler Dealers" proves this point time and again, with two Brit car experts buying cheap cars, fixing them up, and rarely making anything over the cost they have in the cars, ignoring the dozens of hours of work they put into them. Much better to find the fixed up version, pay a decent price.
I looked at that car and it does look pretty nice in that color. With a little work I think it would be a decent driver. I wouldn't go nuts on it though. I really like white interior too. It seems to me that white was a popular color for Pontiac interiors at that time. I have seen a lot of Grand Prix's with white as well.
I just don't see how a car with rust around the vinyl top is going to be a decent driver...it'll always look like a beater, and digging that rust out is a major job.
Obviously it not a show queen, however, with a little work in the shape its in I think it would be ok to knock around in. Say it went for $3K, and you put 1K into it to make sure it ran perfect and was safe. What would the cleanest in the world go for? 8K? If so you are way ahead if you would rather drive the car than look at it.
If I had a little extra disposable cash lying around, I'd definitely be tempted by that LeMans, even in its condition. IMO at least, it doesn't look much worse than my '76. Maybe with that light color though, it makes the rust show up more? On my burgundy car, I think the rust blends in a bit better. My vinyl top is in better shape, although it was replaced at some point. And the trim around the quarter windows is better, too. My interior is in a bit better shape as well, although I do have a tear in the driver's seat.
I don't think I'd WANT the nicest one of these in the world, as I'd like to drive it around and have some fun with it. If it was too nice, I'd become afraid of it. Even if I only paid $8K for some nice, pristine, ultra-low mileage example, I'd feel compelled to do my best to keep it that way.
I don't think I'd WANT the nicest one of these in the world, as I'd like to drive it around and have some fun with it
That was exactly my point. When I get the urge to get another one of my 70s/80s Lincoln land yachts I want one I can drive around and not have a mini heart attack if it gets a stone chip!
Seems to me if you want to drive one of these old cars around, just do it. Buying a car like this, which will never become collectible, begs one to use it and enjoy it. So what if it gets some ding in a parking lot? Just get it fixed. This isn't a Duesenberg!
I for one am getting too old to drive around a rat of a car that leaves little orange flecks of seat padding on my clothes when I get out.
When you put money into a ratty car, it's going down a sinkhole. You don't get any more for a $3,000 car if you put on all new brakes and tires. Still worth $3,000. So you might as well put new brakes and tires on a nice clean one---in that case it *might* become worth more.
well, that green LeMans I posted the other day topped out at $2900. Didn't make the seller's reserve. Considering the economy and such, I guess that's actually pretty good! For comparison, when I bought my '76 back in April 2005, the auction topped out around $2500, with me being the high bidder. We ended up agreeing on $3K.
I figure a car like this is probably worth less now than it was 4-5 years ago. So maybe that guy should jump on that $2900 offer!
It's been my experience that sellers of collectible cars are usually about 6 months behind the RWOT (Real World Out There), both on the plus and the minus side. Exceptions of course would be the very very rare cars, where 3 or 4 points of sale can change a market pretty quickly and where the info is passed on privately.
1985 300CD with 172,000 on it. Those weren't turbo either so can they even hit 60 mph in less then 30 seconds?
They have been trying to sell it privately for a couple of months asking $3,000 :surprise: and are surprised it hasn't sold yet. They already gave me the whole million mile speech its just broken in blah, blah. I must say it looks good in pictures though. Will put some up later.
I am trying to let them down by degrees that it won't even be worth the $1,500 bucks they want as a trade. :sick:
How much hp does the regular Diesel have? My 1985 Consumer Report tested a turbo diesel model, and got 0-60 in around 11.9 seconds. Decent for the time. There weren't too many cars in that issue that were able to get below 10 seconds.
The non-turbos are total dogs, it's true, but on the other hand they putt along in city driving just fine and they are solid beasts. Just stay off modern freeways if you value your life.
Things to check would be:
1.Sagging rear end (worn out compensator)
2. Greasy engine
3. broken cruise control
4. defective HVAC system
5. Hard starting (if it has to crank a lot, something is terribly wrong)
6. Broken window regulators (very common).
7. Car refuses to shift into higher gear unless you rev the hell out of it (broken vacuum line or defective transmission modulator).
yeah, $1500 is more than fair. They could have gotten $3000 for a clean TD wagon perhaps, but the coupe is kind of a freak.
I am in CT on the opposite corner of the country from IIRC.
Here is the description she sent me...
the craigs listing expired after 30 days, sorry you couldn’t find it. I have attached some pictures. I will drive it out around 3:30 on Wed. Mileage 172K, new tires, battery, starter, water pump and tune up. Needs exhaust tip, or replacement. All power windows, sunroof, radio etc work well. 1985 Mercedes 300CD. Thanks
I can't give her $1,500 bucks real money but I have some room to over allow if I need to. I really don't want to over allow up to $1,500 as that would make a good deal a marginal deal.
Just have to wait and see what happens when she gets here.
If I needed another car I would probably buy it I don't drive on the highway at all to get to work. My average speed is less then 40 miles per hour on my commute. It is very hilly in some parts though so I am sure that car wouldn't be happy with the hills.
Hhmhh make an interesting Lemons racer. Wouldn't be very fast of course but would be well interesting.
Think $3000 is high? We had someone at the gym I belong to post one of these, an '84 as I recall, for $10,000 initially. :surprise: The title read, "It's a Classic!"
Of course, none of the little tear-off strips with his phone number were taken. The asking price was lowered in stages, eventually bottoming at $6,000, if I recall correctly. Still no takers.
Culture shock, definitely! I'd recommend an older rear-wheel drive Volvo first as a transitional vehicle. But I still don't think you'd like it unless it had a transplanted Ford 302 V8.
My mechanic had a Benz that looked like that sitting outside his shop. 4.5 badge on it, same color. He only wanted $1800 for it. It ran, but he said it had issues with the fuel injection and he didn't know enough about it to mess with it. It also had one rust spot on it, but I can't remember where now. I want to say lower front fender.
That's even a little optimistic. Those FI issues can be a bear to fix, usually stemming from long idle periods and neglect. The systems are perfect if used regularly, but let it sit...and beware.
They can bubble up in the lower front fenders, especially on the drivers side.
A V8 W108 will actually bring less than a 220SE fintail in similar condition. That's interesting to me.
I've been thinking about starting a Humane Society for cars, or maybe an Automobile Rights Council. As cars get more and more complex, they may one day exhibit actual consciousness. Or not. :shades:
Well at least the car will be able to drive itself to the doctor. :P
People shouldn't be allowed to torture cars for their own sadistic pleasure. True, some cars need to be taken off the streets and detained in holding pens for the safety of the commonweal, but most deserve to live free without pain.
Well, in your case your car was just badly behaved, but in some cases cars take revenge on owners who mistreat, neglect and abuse them. I pity these poor cars. I think the government should start a "no car left behind" or some such program to give these cars an equal chance. It would only be fair.
Comments
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
A very rare example of a modern American 4-door car less than 40 years old that's collectible.
I think GM tended to keep production of those RWD B/D bodies low on purpose, because of CAFE regulations. For what they were, the cars were pretty fuel efficient, rated at 17/26. The base Caprice, which used a 4.3 V-8 and only 200 hp, was rated 18/26. But, that was enough to drag down the CAFE numbers if they made too many. So, what do they do? Scrap them and start building SUV's that were rated 15/19 in 2wd form, 13/17 in 4wd. :sick:
I came close to buying a 1996 Caprice with the LT1 350, a week or two before I bought my Intrepid. It had 35,000 miles on it and the dealer, through autobytel, wanted something like $13,860. Basically, an SS in civilian clothes. Probably not a bad price overall, as it was nicely equipped. But I just didn't want to pay that much money for something with less than 1,000 miles left on the factory warranty. They would've sold me a crap aftermarket warranty that didn't cover much for around $1500. And the sales manager didn't exactly give me the warm fuzzies.
Sometimes I kinda wish I'd gone for that '96. Except if I had, it would have around 185,000 miles on it (its 35K, plus the 150K I put on the Intrepid), and it might be kinda tired and beat up by now. The Intrepid has hopped a couple curbs, and taken a mild hit to the front, rear, and both sides (four separate occasions...not all at once!) and had the passenger-side door damaged when someone tried to break into it.
Another one???
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
For '68, the GTX sold 17,914 hardtop coupes and 1,026 convertibles. Pretty rare in its own right, but I'm sure the '67 model sold far less. Performance-wise, I'm sure they were every bit as capable, as they used the same engines and drivetrains, and were a similar weight. the '67's were also better built and trimmed better inside. Mopar started getting a little sloppy when they redesigned the '68 intermediates. To be fair, everybody else got sloppier as the decade wore on too, though, although of course it would get worse in the 70's.
**Edit: guess I should google before I leap. According to http://www.plymouthgtx.net/information/1967-gtx-production.shtml, they made 12,010 1967 GTX hardtop coupes and 680 convertibles.
of course, there are many others.
True...mine isn't perfect, but at least I know, for the most part, what's wrong with it. Oddly though, mine has some of the same issues, like the broken a/c and clock. Tear in the driver's seat. And I have the rust bubbles in the same spot along the edge of the landau roof base...although mine isn't as bad as this car. Plus, I like having power windows and a power seat, which this car doesn't have.
This car was also a victim of GM's engine-swapping fiasco, but I think in this case, it might've worked out to the Pontiac's advantage, because that's an Olds 350 under the hood!
Mr. Sadwrench Sez: "no bargain car is a bargain".
Definitely true. Sometimes I kick myself for not buying this 1980 New Yorker that Grbeck, Lemko, and I saw at the Mopar Nats in Carlisle back in 2006. It only had 34,000 miles on it, and looked absolutely flawless. It was "nightwatch", a non-metallic midnight blue, with a beige leather interior. I think the seller wanted $4200. The only thing I really didn't like about it was that it just had a 318, which was choked down to 120 hp that year, and something lame like 230 ft-lb of torque. But, it's not like you buy a car like that to drag race. And even though the 150 hp 360-2bbl that came standard in the '79's is a better performer, it's hardly a race car.
I only paid $500 for that second NYer I picked up a few years ago. But if I threw another $3700 into it, it still wouldn't be anywhere near as nice as that $4200 NYer. But, then, I didn't buy the thing with the intent of blowing huge amounts of money on over-restoring it, or ever hoping to make a profit on it. I just happen to like the danged things!
I think if I had it to do over again though, I would've bought that $4200 '80. Although something tells me I still would've ended up "rescuing" that $500 '79!
Amen, Brother!
It also has one of those nasty Used-Car-Dealer-advertising-chrome-logos stuck on the trunk lid. As an older vehicle, I would be willing to bet that it's the old-school type that involved drilling the deck and popping it in. Might as well post a sign, "Free lunch for Tin-Worms." :mad:
I'm probably better off with the car I have, although I do like that silvery green! Maybe I should just download the pics and use them for my computer's desktop. Much cheaper than having the real thing sitting and breaking down in my driveway!
Playing around on the net, I stumbled across another LeMans, this one a bit of an oddity, being RHD.
"Wheeler Dealers" proves this point time and again, with two Brit car experts buying cheap cars, fixing them up, and rarely making anything over the cost they have in the cars, ignoring the dozens of hours of work they put into them. Much better to find the fixed up version, pay a decent price.
I looked at that car and it does look pretty nice in that color. With a little work I think it would be a decent driver. I wouldn't go nuts on it though. I really like white interior too. It seems to me that white was a popular color for Pontiac interiors at that time. I have seen a lot of Grand Prix's with white as well.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I don't think I'd WANT the nicest one of these in the world, as I'd like to drive it around and have some fun with it. If it was too nice, I'd become afraid of it. Even if I only paid $8K for some nice, pristine, ultra-low mileage example, I'd feel compelled to do my best to keep it that way.
That was exactly my point. When I get the urge to get another one of my 70s/80s Lincoln land yachts I want one I can drive around and not have a mini heart attack if it gets a stone chip!
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I for one am getting too old to drive around a rat of a car that leaves little orange flecks of seat padding on my clothes when I get out.
When you put money into a ratty car, it's going down a sinkhole. You don't get any more for a $3,000 car if you put on all new brakes and tires. Still worth $3,000. So you might as well put new brakes and tires on a nice clean one---in that case it *might* become worth more.
I figure a car like this is probably worth less now than it was 4-5 years ago. So maybe that guy should jump on that $2900 offer!
1985 300CD with 172,000 on it. Those weren't turbo either so can they even hit 60 mph in less then 30 seconds?
They have been trying to sell it privately for a couple of months asking $3,000 :surprise: and are surprised it hasn't sold yet.
I am trying to let them down by degrees that it won't even be worth the $1,500 bucks they want as a trade. :sick:
The non-turbos are total dogs, it's true, but on the other hand they putt along in city driving just fine and they are solid beasts. Just stay off modern freeways if you value your life.
Things to check would be:
1.Sagging rear end (worn out compensator)
2. Greasy engine
3. broken cruise control
4. defective HVAC system
5. Hard starting (if it has to crank a lot, something is terribly wrong)
6. Broken window regulators (very common).
7. Car refuses to shift into higher gear unless you rev the hell out of it (broken vacuum line or defective transmission modulator).
yeah, $1500 is more than fair. They could have gotten $3000 for a clean TD wagon perhaps, but the coupe is kind of a freak.
Let me know, I'll send a truck.
Here is the description she sent me...
the craigs listing expired after 30 days, sorry you couldn’t find it. I have attached some pictures. I will drive it out around 3:30 on Wed. Mileage 172K, new tires, battery, starter, water pump and tune up. Needs exhaust tip, or replacement. All power windows, sunroof, radio etc work well. 1985 Mercedes 300CD. Thanks
I can't give her $1,500 bucks real money but I have some room to over allow if I need to. I really don't want to over allow up to $1,500 as that would make a good deal a marginal deal.
Just have to wait and see what happens when she gets here.
If I needed another car I would probably buy it I don't drive on the highway at all to get to work. My average speed is less then 40 miles per hour on my commute. It is very hilly in some parts though so I am sure that car wouldn't be happy with the hills.
Hhmhh make an interesting Lemons racer. Wouldn't be very fast of course but would be well interesting.
Of course, none of the little tear-off strips with his phone number were taken. The asking price was lowered in stages, eventually bottoming at $6,000, if I recall correctly. Still no takers.
I wouldn't mind having the station wagon version as a utility vehicle.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Not sure what to make of this
The price on fuselages seem to be up
Hasn't spread to this full sizer though
If someone is dying for a Ranchero
Familiar Looking
Gotta see this in person My friend had one that was too far gone rust wise
Get real, seller. This is parts.
They can bubble up in the lower front fenders, especially on the drivers side.
A V8 W108 will actually bring less than a 220SE fintail in similar condition. That's interesting to me.
Dang! Unanticipated consequences will be the ruin of us all!
People shouldn't be allowed to torture cars for their own sadistic pleasure. True, some cars need to be taken off the streets and detained in holding pens for the safety of the commonweal, but most deserve to live free without pain.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])