[squirtthedirt]

Question? I live in Kansas City...good car town. If I was to go and get my '09 GXP Coupe appraised, will the appraiser be able to gather enough info for a fair/proper appraisal? Have enough of the GXP Coupes changed hands to establish a history? I am really curious about what they're worth, now. For a lot of reasons...gives me a base value to start with, did I pay a fair price for it when I bought it last August, gauge what they do in the future, how I insure it??? Your thoughts, please?

 

[phil1734]

Yes, it is not difficult to value these. This forum could even give you a very accurate number without any appraisal fees if you tell us the mileage and any options or mods (radio, trans, top, cover, tunes, etc.) Typically for a GXP coupe in the 25-40,000 mile range you're looking at an actual sale price of about $25,000 right now, maybe a few grand more if it's a manual.

If you aren't driving it regularly, I'd highly recommend a collector car insurance policy. Very affordable and they'll actually know what they're doing should you ever need to use it.

 

[wspohn]

If you aren't driving it regularly, I'd highly recommend a collector car insurance policy. Very affordable and they'll actually know what they're doing should you ever need to use it.

The requirements for that sort of policy vary with region.

I keep three of my collectible cars on them and they are much less expensive than regular insurance, but to qualify they need to be:

To qualify, your vehicle must be one of the following:

25 years or older

or A limited production vehicle

​​​ 15 years or older, and
​​​​1 of no more than 1,500 of that make and model (not edition)
produced worldwide by the manufacturer for that model year.

or A discontinued vehicle
​ 15 years or older, and
A manufacturer that owns the "trademark" or "make" of that vehicle
has ceased manufacturing vehicles of any kind for at least the last five
years.​

By these criteria, under either of the second or third category, my coupe will be eligible in 2024.

 

[Sting Ya]

Don't have a coupe but my car is registered in Ohio as a Collector Car this was the only way I could qualify it for that coverage with my insurance State Farm I have a thread on the forum of all I had to go through to get this it was not easy There are restrictions as far as use goes with this type of coverage as Bill stated above . As far as an appraisal goes the forum can give you some idea of worth but from a legal standpoint ( I hope that's the proper term ) you would need a certified automobile appraiser and I'm sure you can find one in your area .

 

[ChopTop]

Read this: What is Stated Value vs Guaranteed Value®?
https://www.hagerty.com/insurance/insurance-tips-and-resources/stated-value-vs-guaranteed-value

 

[TVRBill]

My personal non-educated guess is that the prices for coupes will start have a wider gap between the "bottom rung" of desirability- N/A automatic.. to the "Top end" of the GXP manuals... or maybe wishful thinking on my behalf.. . :grin: I also think the "slightly driven" ones versus "never driven" will start to gain an appeal as people realize owning a car you can't or shouldn't drive is not fun. I bought my based on fantastic looks. All else is just bonus.
:lurk:

Ducking behind my other car while stones get thrown..

 

[wspohn]

I also think the "slightly driven" ones versus "never driven" will start to gain an appeal as people realize owning a car you can't or shouldn't drive is not fun. I bought my based on fantastic looks. All else is just bonus.

There are at least a couple of types of collectors. One values low mileage even though light use is the best way to maintain the cars in good condition. They are willing to pay a premium for a low miles car and will likely stick it away and rarely or never drive it. Their pleasure in ownership seems to be of the Beanie Baby sort - simply owning something rare gives them their jollies even if the objects is not used for anything.

The other sort of buyer for a low miles car would include me - if I had a choice between a low miles (low, not ultra low so I am talking about a car run 1,000 miles or less a year) I would probably pay a bit of a premium for that as I'd be pretty sure the car hadn't been buggered about and I could then own it and put as many miles on it as I wanted to. That's why I wrote a cheque for my coupe new, from the dealer, something I have never done before as I always buy used.

The third group are the budget minded, accepting a 150,000 mile car instead of a 50,000 mile car because they can save a few thousand on it. In my view that is false economy. In all likelihood they will pay back that difference in maintenance cost much sooner than they expect. But sometimes if you don't have the extra loot and want the car, that's what you end up doing.

 

[JohnWR]

My personal non-educated guess is that the prices for coupes will start have a wider gap between the "bottom rung" of desirability- N/A automatic.. to the "Top end" of the GXP manuals... or maybe wishful thinking on my behalf.. . :grin: I also think the "slightly driven" ones versus "never driven" will start to gain an appeal as people realize owning a car you can't or shouldn't drive is not fun. I bought my based on fantastic looks. All else is just bonus.

Ducking behind my other car while stones get thrown..

I agree that there will be "rungs of desirability" but it might surprise you which vehicles are on which rung. If you look at some of the high-dollar collectibles today, many of them were not the ones you would have expected to be valuable while they were still in production, and the rungs aren't as far apart as you would have expected.

..........The third group are the budget minded, accepting a 150,000 mile car instead of a 50,000 mile car because they can save a few thousand on it. In my view that is false economy. In all likelihood they will pay back that difference in maintenance cost much sooner than they expect. But sometimes if you don't have the extra loot and want the car, that's what you end up doing.

I have always been obsessive about tracking vehicle costs, and have found that properly maintained used vehicles are a good value in most cases. I have owned two SUVs that I bought used at 100k +/- miles, drove for about 10 years, and sold with around 250k miles. Compared to the cost of the same vehicles new and assuming a trade-in at 10 years and 150k miles I saved several thousand dollars on each of them, even when I had to replace the transmission and transfer case in one of them. The major down-side is not getting all of the cool gadgets that new cars have, but I'm not real into that anyway.

 

[phil1734]

Don't have a coupe but my car is registered in Ohio as a Collector Car this was the only way I could qualify it for that coverage with my insurance State Farm I have a thread on the forum of all I had to go through to get this it was not easy

As if I needed another reason not to ever live in ohio.

I have my solstice insured through the Corvette Museum and even in the cesspool that is Michigan automotive insurance my only stipulation is no more than 6,000 miles a year and I must have a second car registered and insured for daily driving.

I know requirements vary from state to state, but in short there should almost always be some way to licence home-brew cars such as dune buggies, which is typically an agreed upon value without an age requirement. Canada is rapidly becoming a different story...

 

[phil1734]

I have always been obsessive about tracking vehicle costs, and have found that properly maintained used vehicles are a good value in most cases. I have owned two SUVs that I bought used at 100k +/- miles, drove for about 10 years, and sold with around 250k miles. Compared to the cost of the same vehicles new and assuming a trade-in at 10 years and 150k miles I saved several thousand dollars on each of them, even when I had to replace the transmission and transfer case in one of them. The major down-side is not getting all of the cool gadgets that new cars have, but I'm not real into that anyway.

It pains me to think about how many summer-only fun cars are driving around without even a tire rotation because "it only has 25,000 miles on it."

5,000 or 150,000 miles - your tires, belts, fluids, and filters are still over a decade old now.

 

[JohnWR]

As if I needed another reason not to ever live in ohio.

I have my solstice insured through the Corvette Museum and even in the cesspool that is Michigan automotive insurance my only stipulation is no more than 6,000 miles a year and I must have a second car registered and insured for daily driving.

I know requirements vary from state to state, but in short there should almost always be some way to licence home-brew cars such as dune buggies, which is typically an agreed upon value without an age requirement. Canada is rapidly becoming a different story...

I think that his issue is with the insurance company, and not his state of residence.

It pains me to think about how many summer-only fun cars are driving around without even a tire rotation because "it only has 25,000 miles on it."

5,000 or 150,000 miles - your tires, belts, fluids, and filters are still over a decade old now.

Good point, but the original comment was about the cost of repairs exceeding the savings of buying new. Routine maintenance isn't really a factor in that comparison.

 

[phil1734]

Good point, but the original comment was about the cost of repairs exceeding the savings of buying new. Routine maintenance isn't really a factor in that comparison.

Agree. You have to do a lot of repairs to exceed the savings of buying used. If you do your own wrenching, buying used makes even more sense.

My point was that people wrongly associate low mileage with low maintenance.

As someone who does do their own wrenching my general school of thought is that I can drive home on a failing 150,000 transmission or clutch. But if a 12 year old 22,000 mile serpentine belt fails and I'm dead of the side of the road (unless I can jury-rig a shoelace or something. :grin

 

[easyryderca]

This maybe a little off topic but what i'm seen is the killer is in getting any thing back on all the mods one adds to the car. I know its a personal taste but when the time comes to sell it one can take a major hit as like lots on this site thousands of dollars have gone into the mods. I'm wondering doing this makes it less in the long run as far as holding its value.

 

[wspohn]

1 - you will never get the cost of mods back when you sell

2 - with the exception of factory sponsored mods (GMPP tune, air intake etc.) most aftermarket mods will result in a lower sale price unless you find another knowledgeable enthusiast to sell to. Most people shy away from a car that has been 'hot rodded', and justifiably so.

3 - best options re mods are to remove any that are easily removable and sell the parts separately - as long as you kept the original parts to put back on.

Just look on mods as money spent to increase our enjoyment of the cars while we own them, with little chance of getting much back for them when we sell.

 

[skersfan]

Personally I think all the coupe value will fall as the car gets older. Coupes have never been as popular in the classic group as convertibles. Most people have no idea there is a coupe. If it is not extremely popular it will never be any value to a collector. If you cut it up, make mods to it, different radios, holes cut into it, the value to a true collector falls to non existant.

I don't think the coupe falls into that category, but the less mods, the closer to show room stock the more value it will have. If it is maintained and driven some, and appears to be stock the more people will look at it. But I think it is most likely at its peak as far as value goes. We, meaning all of us geezers think it is cool, most people have no opinion on the car either coupe or convertible. I think the standard word for all Kappas is CUTE!!! Gawd that pisses me off!!!

Drive the car, have fun with it and enjoy it. Your grand kids will not be caught dead in it when they get. They will be trying to unload it as fast as possible. And 90% of them could not drive it if their lives depended on it if it was a stick. You guys are living in the past. All of us are. Neat little cars but that is about it.

 

[squirtthedirt]

To phil1734. My 2009 GXP Coupe #140 had 30,400 mi on it when I purchased it last August. I'm the 2nd owner. It now has 31,400 mi on it. I do intend to drive it and enjoy it. A weekend pleasure driver and take it to local & out of town car events to show it off. It's an automatic (so wife can drive it), AM/FM/SAT radio, no soft top came with it, garaged & covered & it's stock; no mods. I'm in the mileage range & if what you say is gospel on the number you threw out on what it's worth, I feel good about what I purchased it for.
I do have agreed value classic/collector insurance on my 2 cars. The GXP Coupe & my '60 MGA Twin Cam Roadster. I have been with the same insurance company for decades. I've owned MG's for decades and never shopped around for other insurance...just renewed the policy annually. When I got the GXP, I thought I would test the waters & get some other quotes, just to see what was out there. I got a quote from current insurance co to add the GXP and checked with 2 other high profile, well know names for quotes on the GXP. One of those was way too high; the other didn't recognize the GXP as a collector car and would only insure it for what the book said, so we were a few thousand apart & couldn't close the gap. So not all of them know what they're doing. Maybe I just caught them on a bad day or something. Ended up staying with my current insurance company.

 

[wspohn]

To phil1734.
I do have agreed value classic/collector insurance on my 2 cars. The GXP Coupe & my '60 MGA Twin Cam Roadster.

Pretty good bet that we are the only owners of a Solstice coupe and an MGA Twin Cam!

 

[TVRBill]

Pretty good bet that we are the only owners of a Solstice coupe and an MGA Twin Cam!

Woah there!! :nerd: There are THREE of us in that club!!! Unless you have to CURRENTLY own a Twin Cam.....:wink: (My Project Car I never finished... with pic of project TVR Griffith never finished above Twinkie.)

 

[wspohn]

Woah there!! :nerd: There are THREE of us in that club!!! Unless you have to CURRENTLY own a Twin Cam.....:wink:

Well that was what I had in mind, but we'll give you half points for formerly owning one, if I get half points for formerly owning and racing a TVR!

But you probably never had this combo - I used the TVR as development mule on my development of a 5 main bearing conversion of a Twin Cam engine to a 1950 cc full race engine because the engine was much easier to access (I raced without front inner fenders - but I did add sock air filters, not shown in the picture).

Normal engine for the car was a pushrod with HRG Derrington crossflow head and Webers (looks dirty as pic was after it sat in a barn for a few years)

 

[TVRBill]

Well that was what I had in mind, but we'll give you half points for formerly owning one, if I get half points for formerly owning and racing a TVR!

But you probably never had this combo - I used the TVR as development mule on my development of a 5 main bearing conversion of a Twin Cam engine to a 1950 cc full race engine because the engine was much easier to access (I raced without front inner fenders - but I did add sock air filters, not shown in the picture).

Normal engine for the car was a pushrod with HRG Derrington crossflow head and Webers (looks dirty as pic was after it sat in a barn for a few years)

That completely works for me!! Wait.. do I get another half point for still owning a project MGA with a Pinto 2.0 OHC motor in it? (This points game is kinda confusing...lol ) 0 :lurk: