1981 Pontiac Trans Am

**BLUELINE 1** · 09-14-2007, 09:32 AM

I wish I had $30,000. My co-worker has decided to sell his 1981 Pontiac Trans Am. He bought it new for his wife in 1981, and she felt that she wasn`t tall enough to drive it, so they parked it in the garage along with some of is other older vehicles that he likes to buy. Well that`s where it has stayed since then. I got a chance to clean the car up last year (although it didn`t need it) and was so worried about putting swirls in the paint. Here`s the cool thing about the car everything is orginal and there is only 2800 miles on it thats right 2800 thats all. It was only driven around the block every now and then. It has been kept in a garage for the last 26 years. At one time he was going to give it to his grand daughter, but she decided she did not want it(what a dum move, but she was only 16 at the time). So now he has decided he wants to buy a 1955 Ford Sunliner and sell all of his other vehicles. If I could come up with the money do you think this would be a bad investment?

**Eliot Ness** · 09-14-2007, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by BLUELINE 1

.........If I could come up with the money do you think this would be a bad investment?

Sounds like it`d be pretty hard to find another one that original with such low mileage. As for an investment...... hard to say. A lot would be determined by the condition it was in when you sold it as well as the market. Cars are made to be driven (IMO) so unless you kept it in a garage like he did the car will get some wear. Also keep in mind that a car that old is going to need some attention to the mechanicals, if only because it hasn`t been driven much.

You`d also have to see what other nice 81`s are selling for. There is one on eBay right now for just under 14K. Not as nice, but less than 1/2 the price and I wouldn`t feel as bad racking up miles on that one.

30K isn`t cheap, and if it were me I`d only spend that on a car that really floated my boat, so that`s a decision you`ll have to make. Is that a car you`ve always wanted, or just a neat car with low original miles you`d like to have?

My personal opinion is I don`t buy something like that for a financial investment. I`d buy it if I could afford it, really wanted to enjoy (drive) it, and then hopefully recoup some of my money back if I decided to sell. .....BUT...... if I was really looking for an `81 Bird, that one would certainly get my attention..... just not sure if it`s worth 30K or not!

**JaredPointer** · 09-14-2007, 10:29 AM

eBay Motors: Pontiac : Trans Am (item 260159142438 end time Sep-18-07 05:51:35 PDT)

There`s a similar one on Ebay, and currently the bid is around 6K although the reserve isn`t met. That one listed only has 36K original miles by the original owner.

Personally, I don`t see spending 30K on an `81 TA, most likely because I could buy a much more "collectible" car for that much or a little more. I did do some research on the NADA collectible car pricing guide, and those TA`s in mint condition such as the one you mentioned did have "values" up to 30K.

As stated before, it`s up to you.

As far as "bad" investments.... I think there are other things you could put 30K into that would be better investments monetary-wise. Maybe that`s just the accountant/financial guy in me talking though.

**dr_detail** · 09-14-2007, 10:44 AM

IMO, 30K might be a li`l steep, unless of course it`s one of those NASCAR editions. If your looking at it as an investment, this link might help... 1981 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

**Beemerboy** · 09-14-2007, 11:01 AM

I`m going to agree with Eliot buy the car to enjoy it but not as an investment...you should be able to recoup your costs down the road (no pun) but its not like buying land or a house.

The car sounds great but at top dollar and from the sounds of it..it should be

**nikro000** · 09-14-2007, 03:14 PM

Here is the thing - I can literally FEEL reading your post how much you want to buy the Pontiac. And if you can afford it - what the hell - fertilize the economy and go for it.
But if you could afford lighting your cigars with 100$ bills you wouldn`t hesitate to buy, right?
So here is the good news:
Hesitation is good! It means that the little frugal financial clerk in your head is kicking you in the brain yelling: "NO WAY you gonna spend this kind of money on MY watch!"
So let`s investigate the investment argument:
What are YOU palnning to do with this car? Are you keeping it in the garage, in mint condition? Or are you planning on driving it? Because if you drive it, on the next corner an idiot can run a stop sign and total your investment.
I don`t know about american laws on this, but will the insurance fully replace your 30.000 or do they have their own calculators that run in their favor? And, anyway, will you have to pay extra high insurance premiums for such an expensive car?
If spending 30.000 doesn`t kill you financially then buy it - for fun. keeping in mind that you could get nothing out of it cashwise. If you have a car in ten years that you can sell fro 40.000 or 50.000 - hey, nice bonus. But don`t rely on it.
If you need to INVEST 30.000 - no, IMO there are better ways.