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what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 8:51 am
by themadness
.........they are all gone? i was watching barret jackson last night and wondered what a z26 would fetch in about 15 years or so. a 197- something trans am brought in 30,000 when i was flipping through.
with these cars getting more rare by the second seems like, what will we do when they disappear?
Re: what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 4:37 pm
by SummitBalt08
Even if this forum and Bfest disappear.. My Beretta will never disappear. Even if its broke down it will still stay in the garage. Realistically, I would still like to be driving my Z on the weekends 20 years from now lol.
Re: what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 5:23 pm
by BerettaLove32
They'll never be worth much. How many collectors are going to want to own a slow, 30 year old FWD car? I used to think I would keep my first Beretta forever but eventually it just wasn't worth it to keep fixing the problems.
Re: what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 5:06 am
by GTZfan
BerettaLove32 wrote:They'll never be worth much. How many collectors are going to want to own a slow, 30 year old FWD car? I used to think I would keep my first Beretta forever but eventually it just wasn't worth it to keep fixing the problems.
When it was slow it looks like you bought the wrong one

Re: what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 6:53 am
by weba
For people who still want to daily drive these cars, this is a trouble. The ones kept in the garage and taken care off, are still here after 10 of 20 years.
Re: what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 10:33 am
by berettaboi
the hardest part is there is a bit more to 'restoring' a unibody car like a beretta as opposed to the traditional cars that normally see a restoration... think 'body off of frame resto'. a lot more short pieces to make fit! i like inner rockers.
the main thing is there were just so many made in total, and the GTZ, and i guess you can say GTU and INDY were just cars that a few add ons.
it's funny when you think about the original cost of a muscle car. back in the late 1960's -early 70's they cost $2500-4000 out the door, the new rear tires that you purchased next week, well i'm unsure what the price range was for those!
Re: what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 5:24 pm
by 3X00-Modified
A 79 trans am is a half unibody car and they do frame off restorations on those.
Re: what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 8:45 pm
by berettaboi
it must be more in-depth than just yanking the frame off and then doing the job though right? since (well i guess mainly front wheel drive unibodies, and as companies start to redesign and 'cut corners' to save money), they have inner workings and molded-for-rigidity floors etc...
Re: what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 10:54 pm
by Rex 2.0
Last year a mint low mileage yellow indy went for $19,000 at Mecum. I tried to buy it. Went higher then I expected.

Re: what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 8:52 am
by 3X00-Modified
berettaboi wrote:it must be more in-depth than just yanking the frame off and then doing the job though right? since (well i guess mainly front wheel drive unibodies, and as companies start to redesign and 'cut corners' to save money), they have inner workings and molded-for-rigidity floors etc...
It can be done... I've seen pictures of someone who hand restored a rusted to crap 1960's Austin Healey and believe it or not that is a fully unibody setup.
If you know someone who can bend metal then restoring something thats rusted out is very easy, you just need the tools and the skills to fabricate custom individual panels to replicate what they did before they were gone.
It's amazing what you can do with a sheet metal break, a bead roller and a metal stretcher and shrinker.
I would have to say we are going to have a car similar to the Delorian... I just saw it on a "Whats my car worth" show and the guy wanted 30k for it, Mint, only 4k miles and he couldn't get that. He was told it could go for 24-26k at Auction if a collector of those cars happened to be in the audience but thats the gamble, finding someone who wants it and you can probably get them to pay what you think it's worth. Will our cars become rare, yes, but they may never gain that desirability that makes them worth a lot.
Re: what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:32 am
by woody90gtz
I don't think they will ever be worth much money, but cars are to be driven and not parked anyway. Rust repair is definitely much more difficult on a unibody than a full frame car, which makes them tougher to save once they get bad.
Re: what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 10:15 am
by indygurl
i plan to use my indy until i can find a cheap $500 beater for a daily driver and have the indy fixed up and as a weekend strolling car. but she will be a daily driver for a few months.
Re: what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 2:53 pm
by Chazzman
I've had my car for 12+ years. It's not going anywhere! and I don't care to own another one. If something were to happen to it,fire, stolen (again and NOT recovered), totalled, etc.... I'd just grieve a bit, get over it and move on..... I kinda already have in a way. I mean I still have the car but since I started getting into motorcycles, the car has been mostly tucked away in a garage And seldom driven. (less then 2,000 miles in last 4 years.) It needs some attention before Bfest and I haven't even been over to see the car since Nov. so IF I feel motivated in the next month or so I'll tag it and pull it out...... Sometimes I think I'll be the guy with the "barn-find" Beretta that got park in my folks garage for years/decades........ "It's not for sale, gonna fix it someday" THAT guy.
Re: what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 3:35 pm
by Styluss
I think that many of you are misreading Madness' post. He is asking, what will all of us enthusiasts and owners do when the parts car are all gone. He's not implying that any of you will get rid of your cars.
Interesting question Madness... I'll hope to have mine all buttoned up and not need any parts at that point! But once there is no longer a water pump for the car... I guess it will be engine swap time! Something with a little more support... Like a Cadillac CTS-V engine.

Re: what are we gonna do when.......?
Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 4:11 pm
by themadness
you're right styluss. exactly what i meant.
but i may have thrown a loop in there with barret jackson talk. should have made it a 2 part question or something. my bad ya'll
back on track though. i was thinking what would i do if mine went belly up beyond repair value. with the scarcity of decent cars around here i might be screwed up. i absolutely love my car and would want another if something happened to mine.
how intensive are swaps and how much would it cost to put one in, a 3400 in for a 3100 for arguments sake?