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Coupe Ultimate value/collectibility?
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Eh... they'll never be worth anything...:devil:
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500 Posts
I don't own a coupe and quite frankly don't want one. In my opinion the solstice looks better as a convertible. That's just my opinion of course.
Ok, so I actually started thinking, which is always dangerous, how much you would have to make off the solstice coupe to make it worth your money. Let's say you have 30 thousand invested in the car. It's a 2009 so it will lose value for 25 years so by the time it reaches 25 years old, thus classic status, it will be 2034. So, let's say you sell it in 2034. In order to keep up with inflation (which I'm calculating at 1.5%) you would have to sell it for $43,528.36 to break even, excluding all taxes and maintenance to keep it up. I'm assuming you want to make a reasonable profit for tying up your money for 25 years. Lets say you invested the 30k in the stock market with a 6% average return which is more than reasonable over 25 years, you would have to sell it for 128,756.12 plus costs of ownership to make a decent profit. If I were you, and I'm not, I'd start driving that thing and enjoy it to try to get your money's worth because I'm positive it won't be worth 130k in my lifetime.
No offense is intended by this, I'm just obsessed with investing so it grabbed my curiosity.
Cars are not meant to be an investment. They are for transportation and enjoyment. My 68 Montego MX was probably around 3000 new (complete guess). It's 47 years old now and is probably worth 20ish. I'm not sure because I haven't considered selling it. This car, being the 2 door mx coupe was fairly rare. While 20k is greater than 3k on the surface. It's really about equal once inflation is considered. The same will be for the solstice and solstice coupe. The car might be worth what it was new in future money inflated terms. The car will never turn an actual profit. If you purchased the coupe as an investment, sell it now and invest in something that is actually profitable and so that poor car can go to someone that will actually drive and enjoy it. As for actual current value, consult kbb and nada.
Ok, so I actually started thinking, which is always dangerous, how much you would have to make off the solstice coupe to make it worth your money. Let's say you have 30 thousand invested in the car. It's a 2009 so it will lose value for 25 years so by the time it reaches 25 years old, thus classic status, it will be 2034. So, let's say you sell it in 2034. In order to keep up with inflation (which I'm calculating at 1.5%) you would have to sell it for $43,528.36 to break even, excluding all taxes and maintenance to keep it up. I'm assuming you want to make a reasonable profit for tying up your money for 25 years. Lets say you invested the 30k in the stock market with a 6% average return which is more than reasonable over 25 years, you would have to sell it for 128,756.12 plus costs of ownership to make a decent profit. If I were you, and I'm not, I'd start driving that thing and enjoy it to try to get your money's worth because I'm positive it won't be worth 130k in my lifetime.
No offense is intended by this, I'm just obsessed with investing so it grabbed my curiosity.
Cars are not meant to be an investment. They are for transportation and enjoyment. My 68 Montego MX was probably around 3000 new (complete guess). It's 47 years old now and is probably worth 20ish. I'm not sure because I haven't considered selling it. This car, being the 2 door mx coupe was fairly rare. While 20k is greater than 3k on the surface. It's really about equal once inflation is considered. The same will be for the solstice and solstice coupe. The car might be worth what it was new in future money inflated terms. The car will never turn an actual profit. If you purchased the coupe as an investment, sell it now and invest in something that is actually profitable and so that poor car can go to someone that will actually drive and enjoy it. As for actual current value, consult kbb and nada.
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329 Posts
For what it's worth, here's my two cents. And I preface this by saying I owned an NA Coupe.
I currently own a 1974 Lotus Europa Twin Cam Special. It will be 40 years old next year. It is fully frame off restored, show quality, nut/bolt/everything new. Perfect paint. Immaculate.
The Europa was the third street mid engined car. The Matra Djet and Lambo Miura the first two.
Prior to the Europa hitting the market, the Lotus Elan was considered the best handling car in the world at any price. The Europa humbled it.
In 1974, the Europa Special did 0-60 in 6.6 sec. Not really fast today, but in 1974 that was very, very, very fast compared to its peers.
My car, in today's market, is worth about $20K. List in 1974 for this car was about $6K. So that is 333% increase over 40 years, BUT it does not take into account inflation. Factor in inflation, and a 1974 Europa, today, that has been fully restored to as new or even better than as new is worth about what it was when it was new. And this for a car that has a racing pedigree, for sports cars, that Pontiac doesn't have. (Lotus sports and open wheel cars have won 7 F1 World Championships, Indy, class wins at LeMans, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Road America, Road Atlanta, etc. etc.)
There were about 2000 Lotus Europa Specials built, about two thirds of those sold in the U.S.
Now, you can say all you want about the bizarre looks of the car, but as far as performance, pedigree, etc. the Europa has creds. And it gets as much or more attention, as many or more 'picture takers' as any car I've owned, and that includes the Solstice, 10 Lotus, a Crossfire, a Fiero, an MGBGT.
So...the Solstice, especially the GXP, 40 years from now, having been sold in similar numbers, without the sports car racing creds, without the mystique, in immaculate restored condition, MIGHT be 'worth' about what it was worth new, in inflation adjusted dollars.
Summary: Go enjoy your car and drive the freaking daylights out of it. It's not an investment. it's a car.
I currently own a 1974 Lotus Europa Twin Cam Special. It will be 40 years old next year. It is fully frame off restored, show quality, nut/bolt/everything new. Perfect paint. Immaculate.
The Europa was the third street mid engined car. The Matra Djet and Lambo Miura the first two.
Prior to the Europa hitting the market, the Lotus Elan was considered the best handling car in the world at any price. The Europa humbled it.
In 1974, the Europa Special did 0-60 in 6.6 sec. Not really fast today, but in 1974 that was very, very, very fast compared to its peers.
My car, in today's market, is worth about $20K. List in 1974 for this car was about $6K. So that is 333% increase over 40 years, BUT it does not take into account inflation. Factor in inflation, and a 1974 Europa, today, that has been fully restored to as new or even better than as new is worth about what it was when it was new. And this for a car that has a racing pedigree, for sports cars, that Pontiac doesn't have. (Lotus sports and open wheel cars have won 7 F1 World Championships, Indy, class wins at LeMans, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Road America, Road Atlanta, etc. etc.)
There were about 2000 Lotus Europa Specials built, about two thirds of those sold in the U.S.
Now, you can say all you want about the bizarre looks of the car, but as far as performance, pedigree, etc. the Europa has creds. And it gets as much or more attention, as many or more 'picture takers' as any car I've owned, and that includes the Solstice, 10 Lotus, a Crossfire, a Fiero, an MGBGT.
So...the Solstice, especially the GXP, 40 years from now, having been sold in similar numbers, without the sports car racing creds, without the mystique, in immaculate restored condition, MIGHT be 'worth' about what it was worth new, in inflation adjusted dollars.
Summary: Go enjoy your car and drive the freaking daylights out of it. It's not an investment. it's a car.
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I couldn't agree more sandan. Cars are a labor and expense of love. My montego is a show quality frame off restore as well and at least in my case, it will never be worth what I have in it, but that's fine because I didn't buy it as an investment or with the intent to sell it. It's my play toy that all the old men, much older than I, gather around because they remember seeing them when they were young. I love it though, the American muscle and crappy handling of older muscle cars will never be overrated to me. It's extremely fast (modern supercharged 5.0 in it), just don't ask it to turn and you'll be fine.
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I have owned somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 cars & trucks in my lifetime not counting my bikes ,not all were what I would call collectable at the time, most were drivers and cars that I enjoyed owning . I lost some money,broke even ,made some money on them . I look at what muscle cars are going for and if I would have had the foresight to hang on to a few I would be a very wealthy man right now but back then who knew that a 68 SS350 Camaro would be worth 35 to 40 thousand today or a big block 68 Corvette 60 to 70 thousand .There are certain cars that will always be worth a lot of money Bugatti,Ferrari, a real Cobra to name a few but you have to have a lot of money to buy one and most people on this forum are just a bunch of regular guys and gals who enjoy owning a Solstice.I have been following car auctions for years and have a few friends who are car investors and the one thing they will tell you is that other than the "blue chip cars" the market is very fickle this years $130000.00 Hemi Cuda could very well be next years $60000.00 firesale car.With the coupe who knows it was a limited production car and how many are going to be left 15 to 20 years from now especially clean ,low mileage, well maintained ones,or that matter how many Solstices will still be around ?Will these cars be the next Buick GNX ,LS6 Chevelle Or RAIII GTO Judge ?only time will tell. Enjoy it ,drive it ,modify it if you like you only live once !
Oh I don't know. So far, my 2006 Ford GT seems to have been a very reasonable investment. I purchased it in may of 2006 for $164,000 ($2,000 under MSRP). I have put ~6500 miles on it in the last 6.5 years so I have gotten some enjoyment out of it. Last month I turned down an all-cash offer of $240,000. So, there is at least a couple of relatively modern cars out there that seem to defy the odds. Although the Ford GT may be among the best, other appreciating cars include the BMW Z8 and BMW 1M. As for my Sol GXP 5-speed Coupe, I bought it in January of 2013 and am currently contemplating to sell it in the coming months and hoping for a break-even scenario. However, I DO think the Coupe has got legs for appreciation in the future. I get a LOT of remarks on the car whenever I drive it!
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I just think the coup is gorgeous.....and always will be. Profit shmofit! It is fine art.
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Love the Twin Cam Europa! Very nearly bought one back in the 1980s but I think I was up to around 15 cars back then and faced a domestic rebellion if I'd acquired another one, so my dreams of making a Lotus 47 were quashed.
We overlap a lot - MGs, Fiero etc.
Not sure why one more thread was created to argue pointlessly and (based on prior experience, interminably) about what might happen to future car values, and I'm not going to comment as I've made my thoughts clear several times before. I'll just agree that driving the cars and enjoying them is a common goal. By 2035 it may be illegal to burn fossil fuels - then where will the arguments about value be? :devil:
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Just wondering why you even own a Solstice as a lot of your posts have a negative vibe to them.
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Don't get me wrong, I love my solstice, it's fast, fun, and cool but it's not some ultra valuable collector car. It is essentially a cobalt underneath. I don't say what I say to imply hate to our cars, it's just the truth as I see it. You can't honestly think that comparing a ford gt to a solstice is a fair comparison. I purchased my original solstice for gas mileage and I wanted a convertible to commute in, not for a sports car.
Happy Thanksgiving by the way.
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Let's not start that old thing again - if you say anything negative about a car, you must hate it so why would you own it.
It is possible for (at least some) people to view the virtues and shortcomings of cars they own dispassionately and discuss them without it entailing a hate or love response.
I'm critical about all sorts of aspects of my cars - I wouldn't be a realist if I wasn't. If there was more negative than positive for me, I wouldn't own a particular car. But the fact that I can state that I feel the factory buggered up on one aspect or another of a car should not elicit the sort of 'love it or leave it' response you and others often offer.
Anyone that says they love every single thing about any car is a fool, has no critical faculty, or is just willfully blind. Their input into any meaningful discussion about those cars is never going to be anything but trivial because it will always be coloured by that blindness etc.
AFAIK, the only thing the Solstice has in common with the Cobalt is the engine and the door handles... Maybe the steering wheel, but the Vette has that same wheel too.
Not comparing the cars together per se - just the fact that some limited number of modern cars can and do appreciate in value. There's a wee bit of a starting price difference between these two cars. Strangely, there were WAY more Ford GTs produced than Solstice coupes. (Approx 4300 GT's vs ~1200 Coupes?)
Acquired a '08 Cobalt SS and have adapted it for track (road course duty). Like someone else has said, other than engine, not a lot to compare between the Cobalt and the Sol. (However both have ultra-cheap quality interiors - each in their own right.) But, everything is done for a reason and these guys have cheap interiors to keep the price down. With it's RWD and 4-wheel independent suspension, I think the Sol is a distant cousin more to the vette than it is to the Cobalt. But, now I'm straying WAY off track....
Perhaps the only unique perspective I can provide here is that having driven the Ford GT around and know what it's like to have people gawking and snapping pics, etc., it is surprising the number of stares that the Coupe receives.
I've put over 30K miles on my coupe since I bought it new. To this day, I get compliments on it every where I go. Most recently, people suggest that I should hang on to it because they think it will be a collector. I still get people on the freeway zooming up from behind in another lane to get in that 3/4 rear view for a while. I get notes and business cards on my wipers asking if I want to sell it, was even offered over 90% of what I paid new. I'm a proud owner that likes to get out and enjoy it for what it is. I think the coupe is devaluating at a slower rate than KBB & NADA are at. Mark my words if you like, but when these coupes hit 10 years old some people will be surprised at their value. :jm2c:
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With only 1850 miles I should easily be able to get a couple thousand more than I paid for it. They were heavily discounted in the last few days of Pontiac. My 31K msrp coupe went for 21k. Hard to turn down a new coupe with 3 year warranty for only $21k, so I bought it. I don't need it, but fortunately have a place to store it. It looks really good in my garage next to the C6 Vette and Trailblazer SS, on the checkerboard tile floor.
It makes me a collector for very little money.
LJ
It makes me a collector for very little money.
LJ
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