classicsguy
09/26/2006, 06:51 PM
I have followed the California Special prices for the last 4 years since I was looking for one. Not counting the rare big blocks the small block cars in running condition still see them sell in the mid to high teens and rarely hitting the 20K mark.I know that Jasons car sold over 20K on E bay after several tries and that car was in awesome shape plus a great color combo but I believe that is not the norm.
Are the California Specials with the 289 and 302 engines still having difficulties reaching prices above 20K???
Post here your thoughts and opinions
Perkchiro
09/26/2006, 08:59 PM
I bought mine 3 years ago in running condition for $9500. I've done a complete restoration at an approximate cost of $40,000 including the original price of the car. It's a 302 J code. It's currently insured for 37,000. So, if the car were stolen or completely totaled, that would be the value of the car. If I were to sell it, which I am not, I would take no less than that. As far as I'm concerned, all CS's are currently undervalued. I expect that will change within the next 5 years. That's just my expectation and I have no proof of that, its just speculative. Just my thoughts.
Steve in Missouri
68gt390
09/27/2006, 06:25 AM
I bought my CS back in 2004 and paid $16,500. Add in shipping cost and she came out at $17,800 which I think was a steal for a big block CS. Over the past 2 years a lot of work has been completed and I just raised my insurance coverage to $50,000. To me, the car cannot be replaced since you don't see Big Block CS's on the market everyday. With that said, how do you put a price a car that can't be replaced? Sure you have your price guides like NADA but, I'm sure if I had to try and find a GT/CS Big Block in the same condition as my car I'd have a hard time doing so at an affordable price.
Don
390cs68rcode
09/27/2006, 06:46 AM
Before the BJ last January most small blocks were selling in the teens. After the auction the hype made a few prices go higher but that has seemed to die out. If there is no CS in the BJ auction this year I predict values for small blocks will stay in the teens like they have been for a little while. If there is another CS in the next BJ auction in January and it goes for stupid money then we will see another upswing just like earlier this year.
it amazes me how one auction (BJ) can influence prices the way it does. People (sellers) have to realized the BJ auction is not the norm.
Mustanglvr
09/27/2006, 08:37 AM
Were`nt there less T-code CS`s produced then S-codes? I know there were 148 T-codes. Does that make a difference at all?
390cs68rcode
09/27/2006, 08:41 AM
Were`nt there less T-code CS`s produced then S-codes? I know there were 148 T-codes. Does that make a difference at all?
nope. Not as much demand for 6 cylinders compared to S codes.
LUVMYCS
09/27/2006, 09:33 AM
I agree with the statements about the big blocks bringing more $ but I also think that the rariety of the GT/CS regardless of the size engine it has is what should and I believe will make the value of the car increase in the future. The more people learn about this mustang, the more they will be sought after. Thanks to this site more and more people are being "California Special" educated.
That is just my east coast 2 cents.
Based just on gut feel from watching ebay auctions I'd reckon that the GT/CSs have risen ~15% in the last 4 years. So, they probably are at the $20K mark for a 289/302 in very good condition - something that you would not have to do any work on and already has curbside "wow!".
GTCSMustang
09/27/2006, 10:08 AM
Seems like GT/CS Mustangs are already bringing a premium price over regular Mustang coupes. May not be a big enough premium depending on your perspective, but there appears to be a premium.
Scott
Just for those who might not have seen it before...
This seems to be tangentially related to the thread. Attached is a .pdf file of prices that I posted in ~Feb to get some idea of how prices today (based on NADA) relate to their original prices (1968 dollars) and to their inflation-adjusted prices (what the car would sell for in 2006-adjusted dollars). The last column ratio is todays high NADA price (which I assume is the price of the car in "new condition") to that of the original new price but in 2006-adjusted dollars. This gives a good idea of how much the car has appreciated in real value from 1968 to 2006. This indicates that the GT/CS has appreciated more than Coupes and Fastbacks but less than Convertibles and (clearly) Shelbys.