firstoldsmobile

As a 53 year old and a avid AMC buyer for a dozen years I sold out because as rare as these cars were they weren't worth anything on a value standpoint, despite being hard to find.
I bought a 46,000 original paint original interior R code 79 Hurst Olds. It's NADA value is at least realistically and appealingly valuable.
There is an 1980 442 black/gold 1 mile from where I'm sitting. It's set for 20 years and is in tough shape interior wise being it needs to be gutted, but no holes in the body, no holes in the floorboards, all chrome trim in tact, probably will start too.
Other than it not having a Hurst shifter, it's identical to my black/gold Hurst Olds. What is hard to fathom is only 886 1980 442's were made AND THEIR VALUED NOTHING! How can that be? I understand that something is only worth what someones willing to pay, but 886 produced cars and it's NADA value is like $5,600! Makes no sense.
I can buy this car cheap but is it really worth it.

oldcutlass

As you know rare sometimes does not equate to valuable. Most make cars from 73 and up do not bring near the money as their 72 and older brethren. Specifically when you get into the anemic smog years the value drops even more. Prices of the 80 are based on supply and demand, even though the supply is limited, so is the demand.

joe_padavano

Welcome.

I'm afraid I have to say that if you are buying these cars as an investment, you should probably do something else with your money.

I'll also point out that there is no rhyme or reason to what the buying public does or places a value on. Many of these buyers have far more money than brains. My classic example is the fact that the most highly valued Oldsmobiles at auction are typically the 1970 W-30 convertibles, loaded with AT, A/C, and every option in the book (not the car was BUILT that way, but it magically is now). These cars regularly sell for well into six figures, yet they are probably the heaviest and slowest W-30s made in the musclecar years. On the other hand, 1969 H/Os, with far more HP and better performance, struggle to bring $75K at auction. Go figure.

And finally, I put very little stock in the NADA price guides. These are based solely on sales at big name auction houses. So few of these cars sell at those venues that it is impossible to develop a statistically valid sample size. When you consider that NADA lists increases and decreases to value based on certain options, you rapidly understand that they are pulling those numbers from their @$$, especially when they list options that didn't even exist. If anything, I've found searching ebay completed auctions to be a more realistic measure of value, but even that has it's limitations.

Good luck with the car.

firstoldsmobile

I understand the emission and there not the most muscle of muscle cars, but when a 79 Hurst Olds is worth 4 times more in value and there were 1,400 give or take more made, I'm just looking at it logically. If that's not the case then my Hurst Olds should be only worth $5,000

joe_padavano

That is probably a lot closer to the truth.

Of course, few people know that Olds even made a 442 in 1980, or that it was essentially the 79 H/O without the Hurst emblems.

joe_padavano

I'll add that in the last 30 days there have been five 1979 H/Os listed on ebay. Only one of those sold - at $4500. The one that was listed at $19,500 the first time and $17,500 the second time got exactly zero bids. The others were in the $4K-$7K range and typically got one bid each that did not meet reserve.

firstoldsmobile

You got a point. I guess Ebay is then the telling tale on what something is worth, or let me say what people are willing to pay in a pricing range as a 79 Hurst Olds I've seen dozens of times sell from $8k to $12 depending on condition and options. Which is again, if that's the case on selling range, the 80 442 should be almost on the same level because of rarity but it sure isn't.

m371961

x2 on Joe and OC. The is no logic to the car market. It has certainly applied to the AMC market. The AMX should bring equal prices as many of the muscle cars, and it is more rare but the unknowing people with money do not know what they buy. And very few cars are worth looking at as a investment.
For the majority of car guys, it is a love, and the money takes it away from that.

CRUZN 66

If you are doing it for an investment, put your money somewhere else...
You need to do it for the love of the hobby, and in the end hope you can recoup some (maybe all) your investment after you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor... Investment in this hobby is relative to an individuals skills and ability to do some, or as much as possible, of the work necessary... The more work you pay to have done, the more costly your investment, basic economics... Some might say your own labor has a value, but to me that is the hobby/enthusiast part, and where you may be able to actually benefit from your investment... JMO...

oldcutlass

Its the same reason a Malibu/SS brings more money than a Cutlass/442. Buick as well as Pontiac and most Cadi's suffer the same problem. There is a bright spot as it does not cost as much to get in one and they are a blank slate to enjoy do as you wish.

zeeke

Joe, I'd love to own a 69' H/O but I'm about 74K short. Had to settle for the 71 Cutlass instead.

Although the G bodies aren't high in value it's still nice to see them, but I must agree, there is no rhyme or reason to the car market. Chrysler tin cans get plenty of attention directly due to Joe Dirt's Heeemii! I'll also agree the AMX is a forgotten treasure. I may look into them and see what's out there. It will be a huge learning curve due to the lack of experience with them.

midnightleadfoot

Sorry, but This is good, it allows people that have been priced out of much of the cars to still be able to get one , and it be a platform that can be upgrades or not hard to find parts for..
I'd love to have a 1977-78 t/a but they are gold now..
Problem is to many are in this hobby for the money.. or the resale value, not the enjoyment of driving the car/truck..
If they where they not worry that rebuilding as you drive/use it, or a resto on a car will be more than what they could ever sell it for.. They never put any worth/value of enjoying it.. only what it could sell for when finished..
So in the case of the cars like this, that it cost double to redo than you could ever sell it for, they pass, and go buy a rot box 64-72 car and dump huge coin into it.. And most times sell it off as a project as it was way over their head.
I have a 75 cutlass , not my first choice of years but I'd have to pay 4 times what I did for a clean 70 , or 6-8 times as much to get a 77-78 t/a..


The 80's cars have a problem, the later cars have more power..
Some of the g body's are going up, because last of the mid sized 2 door rear drive..
My 86SS has a neck snapping 180 h/p , the good thing is this is an easy thing to fix..
None of the downsized A bodys are going up in value.. 1978-81 mid sized (regal/cutlass/monte/gp) and only some of the g body's.
regal t-type and g/n, the h/o of 83-84 and some 442's and the SS, even the Pontiac 2+2 isn't , many on flee bay listed for high teens and mid 20's but they don't sell..
Even c4 vettes are dirt cheap.. Clean ones can be had for 4-6k or less, and only need a bump in power.. one of these and a 6.2 ls and you have a mighty fast rocket that is on rails for almost nothing..
the mid 70's to 80's cars are the last of the cheap to buy and old enough that you can fix the lack of power.. To make it worth looking into them.. but those that think they need to be able to make money or at least break even are never going to ..


Hobby is odd, the Mopar winged twins dealers could not give them away when new, but now are 6-7 figure cars...

jensenracing77

For sure! If the time I had in my W-30 was spent at work on OT I could have paid my house off twice. I had MUCH more fun building the W-30 than going to work. Building the W-30 was a major stress reliever from my day job so for me the hobby has more value than just money.

X2 on something being rare not always valuable also. I have had some of the most rare cars Oldsmobile ever made but most were not worth much because of demand. How many people really want a 1991 Quad 442 W-41? They only made 204 of them and only sold around 154 of them. I had car number 9 and was in new condition and only got $9K for it and that guy only got $7K for it.