Predict future value of car I may or may not buy.

@jsh139 if you're still in the market, the asking price is considerably lower than $32k. No hard feelings if you take it.

@jsh139 also, very serious. Got financing approved. Just don't want to pay the full asking price.

@JerseyFrank I'm not in the market anymore, but if the car is in decent shape it may be worth it. They stuffed a Corvette engine in a refined (for GM) RWD sedan and gave it a manual trans. Ya gotta love that. Like I said, it will probably never be a collector car, but it should be pretty fun to scoot around in. If you are looking for a fullsize RWD American muscle car, and are willing to forego the manual trans, I would give a serious look at the 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT-8. 470 hp hemi V8, RWD, all the electronic goodies, and a newer platform. They can be had for $35K in excellent condition with a warranty. I was very close to buying one, but decided it was a little too big for me.

@JerseyFrank And if $35K is a little too steep, the Dodge Charger SRT8 is a little less refined than the 300, but has the same engine and is a little more sportier. Plus, it's about $3K less.

@jsh139 Chargers are lovely. But for me, no stick = no sale. I owned an automatic once and hated it. This one's pretty, but I like Chargers better with their snarly face:

@jsh139 Honestly, I shouldn't be buying this, but 13.5 years in an unnecessary bare bones pickup is wearing on me. Income is fine, but I'd have a better emergency fund save first. But it's the GXP!!!

@JerseyFrank That's funny, because the vehicles that most make my heart go pitter patter are well-loved old trucks.

@moondrake I hear ya, man. I thought I wouldn't miss the stick but I definitely do at times. My last 6 cars were manual trans, and my newest one is an auto. I thought it wouldn't be a huge deal, but I find myself wishing it came in manual sometimes.

@JerseyFrank yup, I definitely get it. If you pass on this one it may take you a while to find another. They're that rare!

@jsh139 confession: I have never driven stick, outside of helping a friend get a very forgiving Saturn home after dental surgery.

@JerseyFrank ha!! Nothing like starting out on a 400hp beast!

@jsh139 it worked for my marriage

@JerseyFrank

@JerseyFrankI learned to drive stick on my HS boyfriend's jeep out in the open desert, where there was room to run. I had a co-worker whose first introduction to stick was driving her boyfriend's big 4wd truck in out of the desert after he shot himself in the foot. The boyfriend, my co-worker and the truck all bear the scars of that experience.

@moondrake I had a boyfriend who really wanted to teach me to drive a standard. Then he let it slip that it was so I could drive him home when he got drunk. I still don't know how to drive a stick.

@Kleineleh Yeah, I'd have declined, too. My HS boyfriend was Mormon, so no problems in that arena.

First time I drove stick I'd gone out to karaoke with some friends, but I wasn't feeling well so I was the only one who hadn't been drinking. Took me 5 minutes to get through one stoplight at 1am, but we made it to everyone's homes. My next car I got was a stick and I love it. There are times when I'm driving work vehicles with an automattic that I really miss being able to dictate what gear I'm in.

@moondrake
Wasn’t quite open desert, just half-desert, half-dry-prairie complete with prairie dogs and road runners.

But it was one HS friend’s jeep. And I didn’t destroy the clutch, to my astonishment.

2 friends went along, we all got our “certificates” that day. Which was good, because 6 months later one of my friends drove her bf home from hunting after they went hunting, he was spotlighting (both driving and shooting, the idiot), except that he shot himself in the thigh.

I suppose he looked like a “varmint” to himself in the dark.

@JerseyFrank
There’s nothin’ like a stick shift connected to some horsepower.

@f00l @JerseyFrank
Just buy it silly
I also enjoy old trucks
IH, Diamond T

@f00l @JerseyFrank
TWSS?

@nadroj it expires. I'll get you a fresh one if you win.

@capguncowboy These are really re-badged Holdens. Maybe not much better than American GM products, but those Aussies did some bonkers things with engine and car combinations that their American counterparts had gotten away from for a while.

@Bro one million dollars in 2029 $$

@Bro yes, in 2029 dollars

@JerseyFrank RIP

@JerseyFrank Congrats! And you got it for a STEAL, btw. Make sure you get it looked at by a competent mechanic. It has some mods, so you'll want to make sure that everything is in good working order.

@jsh139 I hope you're right. I justified the purchase based on "Hey, if the Tesla Model 3 comes out and tickles my fancy, I can get out of this without losing more than $5000."

@jsh139 Also, the loan I got is equally incredible. It's completely unsecured, $25k @ 2.79% for 36 months.

@JerseyFrank Friend in CA has a nice Tesla. Rides so amazing -- no sound. Goes pretty far on a charge too. Of course, it depends on where you live if there are charging stations around. None here that I know of. Plus I'm not sure they would work in the winter here. I live in the land of 4wd that actually has a need for 4wd.

@The_Baron WTH? They brought back the El Camino?

@JerseyFrank Not yet. The Pontiac G8 was based from the Holden Commodore (Chevrolet product, made in Australia), they were going to release a sport truck version of the Holden Ute, but Pontiac went under. Holden has been making that ute for decades. Since the Commodore has been brought back now as the Chevrolet SS, they could bring over the HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) Maloo as the El Camino. It would be like the modern equivelent of the 1970 Chevelle SS/El Camino SS pair. (Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad)

@The_Baron I think the car is hot, but I don't think it'd sell well. I imagine the target demographic for a 2-seater El Camino revival is too old to lift anything into the trunk/bed or too young to know what the El Camino was.

@JerseyFrank It's defenitely a niche market. So much that people pay good money to have them imported and coverted to drive in the states. It would be a short run, but the buyers are there. http://www.lefthandutes.com/

@JerseyFrank @The_Baron I live in a small development. Out of about 50 houses, 1 has a restored 1970 El Camino SS and another has a restored 1971 Chevelle SS. What are the odds of that? Oh, and they're both green with white stripes. And they both owned them before they moved in. Freaky.

@The_Baron Ooo, I did not know about this SS...

@JerseyFrank

@jqubed I loved that movie when I saw it. I can't think of El Camino without thinking of the movie.

@JerseyFrank I hadn't heard of it before but aired it once overnight at a TV station I used to work at. It was definitely the best overnight movie I had, far better than the usual crap you'd never heard of.

@jqubed dammit now I have to rewatch that movie.

@The_Baron Don’t hold your Breath…don’t Forget, Holden(as well as Ford) have Ceased/will soon Cease all Australian production.
as much as I hate to admit it, The next Commodore will be a rebadged FWD Opel…(Like several of the Buick models on sale in the US, and most of Vauxhall’s lineup in the UK)

@pistol Damn you Loch Ness Monsta!!!!!

@Kidsandliz but what about the mpg?

@patthetuck 20-21 highway (at 70-75), city about 16 or so.

@Kidsandliz I had good good luck this summer gluing my wife’s Chrysler T&C headliner back up with a couple of glue stick (it’s what I had) after spray adhesives had failed in the heat. Probably temporary, but postponing hoopty status was really my main goal.

@salaosantiago Mine blew an engine bearing the following March (gosh this thread is old LOL). So now I own a not quite as ancient Honda Element (would still prefer to have the space and towing power of a minivan -but this was cheaper…)

@JerseyFrank Still not bad for the price you got it at. Tie rod end + alignment should be around $200. And tires, well, with that car you're probably going to need to replace tires more often than engine oil! ;)

@JerseyFrank Remind us what you paid again? There’s a guy here at the office who has one, but with the automatic. I assume there’s quite a few more of those available

@compunaut $24,000. Be careful comparing. The GT trim is still a big V8, but isn’t holding value. The GXP has a bigger V8, and comes in both automatic and manual. Manual is more sought after.

GT was made for 2 years and there are 10s of thousands. GXP was made for a few months, and there were only 1827 imported. 800 were manual.

@JerseyFrank KBB is never very accurate on low volume enthusiast cars. It use to tell me that my old manual 2009 Sky Redline was worth about $5000 when you could not find them for less than three times that price. It is a little more accurate on higher volume cars; it was pretty spot on on my 2003 Z06 with 15k miles on it that I bought a little over a month ago.

@JerseyFrank Is it your daily driver? Looking at ones for sale they all have increadibly low mileage for their age: 17k, 19k, 39k, 42k, 56k. Even at a conservative use, you would expect more than 70K if used daily. Are these more weekend fun cars?

@JerseyFrank $24,000 two years ago seems like a great deal

@MrMark I bought it with 72k on it. It’s a daily driver, but I only put on 8-10k a year. The cars listed are low miles, and a lot of people keep 'em that way. I figured that it was already past collector miles and I’d rather have fun driving something that might hold value than have no/less fun driving something for 10+ years that would have no value at the end.

@MrMark also, are you in the car business, or did you generate that with something public?

@JerseyFrank I just pulled it from the CarGurus website. Seems to be the best indicator of what you can expect to pay from a car lot/dealer.

Edit. Just to be clear that chart is based on current and recent prices. Not from two years ago is my understanding. But Im not exactly sure how many months their history goes back.

@f00l Singular - still only one cookie?

http://shirt.woot.com/offers/cookie-in-each-hand

@JerseyFrank

Blame the goatapus.

@JerseyFrank I think it’s wicked cool that you’re keeping a 2-year-old thread alive. (I’m a car guy, too!)

@TrophyHusband you thought 2 years was good…

Alright-- The 8ball has spoken. But as a product of the 50s-80s, I think it is biased and doesn’t realize that Pontiacs aren’t relevant anymore

@JerseyFrank I’m anxiously awaiting these next 11+ years.

@JerseyFrank You didnt already buy the cookie did you?

@therealjrn I did, but I have no self control.

@JerseyFrank KBB is so out of touch with reality. they put the high value of my creampuff Blazer at $980, yet the beat down POS ones are selling for $2,000-$3,000 around here.

@ruouttaurmind The Kia that Doug Demuro reviewed was worth -$39.
https://jalopnik.com/here-s-why-this-beat-up-kia-is-the-best-car-i-ve-ever-r-1776230820

@narfcake @ruouttaurmind Sounds right for that car.

@blaineg @narfcake I get his point in the Kia review when he called it “freeing” to drive such a car. The best truck I have owned was an old Chevy pickup. It was 20 years old when I bought it and was a theft recovery with a mangled transmission (wouldn’t go into park or reverse). It was well used when I bought it for $450. $300 for a rebuilt tranny at the local transmission exchange place, about three hours effort to swap it out, and I was on the road. But what made it so great was the fact that it was well seasoned with it’s share of dings, dents and scratches. I didn’t have to worry about where I parked, or what I hauled. I wasn’t concerned about scratching up the bed of the truck, getting “desert pinstriping” when I drove through the thicket surrounding the desert trails, didn’t have to freak out when I opened the tailgate and it dropped down onto the trailer jack handle… it was a very, very freeing truck to drive and own. Plus, it was a full size long bed truck. I could pack so much stuff back there it was incredible.

Yup, I def get the point of how a cheap car with it’s dings and dents can be a refreshing transportation option.

@werehatrack Hey I had a grand caravan last 21 years until it blew an engine bearing. My kid called it the ghetto van (it was from the era of the peeling paint and bad transmissions). It might last much longer than you think.

@Kidsandliz @werehatrack I think the idea is that prices are inflated now, and in a short time, prices will drop again. Especially if automakers modernize things like chipsets, and bring in strategies like tesla is using in the CPUs, costs will drop. Gas cars are going to be made less and less, gas stations will start closing, making driving one harder, etc.

@JerseyFrank i can’t believe those cars are so collectible?

Also, it doesn’t seem fair considering how upside down the used car market is right now. You did the right thing selling the car before the market came back down

@JerseyFrank What was your original purchase price?

i can’t believe those cars are so collectible?

@capguncowboy Not too many options out there if one wants a full size vehicle made in this century with a V8 and manual transmission.

@capguncowboy I definitely could’ve gotten more if I waited for the right buyer. But it was in 4 minor accidents and its age really needed someone who was willing to put sweat equity in. I was just paying my mechanic $2000-5000 a year + $800 for insurance and only driving it 5000 miles.

It was time to find a new owner. I found a guy who was in love with it. He had $20k. I had the car.

@narfcake $24,000

@JerseyFrank That was a very good price for the time. Even with the demise of Pontiac’s name, all the folks who knew kept the car as the deserving halo car that it is.

Alas, parts always have been rarer here in the states and have gotten even slimmer when Holden was shuttered.

@JerseyFrank @narfcake You did well!!!

@narfcake Do you own one? It sounds like you own one. Between the pandemic and the “hybrid work” model, I was putting fewer miles on it every year. It is was at the point that every regular maintenance became a rabbit hunt for replacing broken wires, brittle plastics, and model-specific parts. You couldn’t remove a piece of trim without having a month set aside to have the car put back together.

@JerseyFrank Wanted one, but my budget couldn’t justify it.

TBH, I’ll probably be more apt to end up with a PHEV or EV as my next vehicle – but the numbers have to make sense. With my current driving habits, I’d need a sub-$10k EV to have a reasonable ROI versus my current vehicle. And I don’t expect a used Leaf with a degraded battery to hold up for more than a decade.

@narfcake We added a Chevy Bolt EUV. With state and federal incentives, OTD was $26,500. I have enough spare solar generation to power about 8000 mile a year. Hit me up in 8 years or so.

@JerseyFrank Review on the Bolt? I glanced at one online over the weekend.

Current ride is a 2012 iMiev. Love it but the range was not great to start and is less now. 80ish to 50ish now depending on conditions and how you drive. Still works for 95% of my needs. This weekend it had a hiccup so evaluating fix vs buy.

PS - I can has cookies

@speediedelivery I love it. It’s my wife’s daily driver. She drives the most miles. It’s a golf cart with airbags filled with premium bits from the GM parts bin. It’s not refined. It’s not fancy. It doesn’t draw attention to itself.

I wish I had a choice of cars. I got stuck with a fully loaded one. I like most of the features, even if they’re expensive and unnecessary. I dislike Super Cruise. It’s very limited where it works. That’s… fine, but after 3 years, it’s a $25 subscription fee. Not worth it to me.

I like it enough that I’m waiting for the NJ rebates to kick back in at the end of the month, and I’m going to try and find another.

OTD was …

@JerseyFrank Therein is where the math wouldn’t work out so well, as it’s $25k more than what I paid for my running in 25 minutes and drove it home dead hybrid.