[V8] The value of a '91V8 with 4.2....

[Roger Woodbury]

What did that '91 3.6 go for on eBay last week.  $3750 wasn't it?  It had
had a lot of work done on it, and needed cosmetics at least.  

So, what's a 4.2 five speed go for?  

I think there are a lot of different ways to look at it.  If it is a car
that is going to be a driver and maintained, then perhaps if it is decent to
begin with, then it is worth three to four grand.  Probably not a lot more.


Most of the converted cars will have quite a few miles.  So, the right car
for the right buyer and at the right time will bring more, and for all of
those "right" things that are missing, the car will bring less.

But that in itself presents a terrific value and a terrific opportunity.
Depending on patience, cash and willingness to work with it, any V8 is a
terrific automobile for cheap.  I disagree with the "gas guzzler" image, as
my 4.2 Automatic always delivered a real 21 miles per gallon of premium
grade gas.  Well, yeah:  I fed it premium and got a "check engine" light
when I didn't.  Does that mean it was a gas guzzler?

The same question can be asked of a lot of other cars, too.  For instance,
what is a 1994 Audi 100 Avant with 126,000 miles worth?  In the last 12
months we have done the timing belt service for 120,000 miles and done most
of what is underneath the car, including all the rubber gizzies the isolate
suspension pieces, as well as control arms, struts and mounts (this time
with OEM), tires, valve cover gaskets, intake manifold rodding out, crank
sensor and a dozen leventy other things.  Thirty Two Hundred Dollars and
change.  Is the car worth that much money at all?

Well, we have had the car since 39000 miles and my wife purely loves the
car.  It literally does everything that we need it to do, and although a tad
underpowered in heavy freeway traffic we don’t see that more than once of
twice a year.  

So a better question is what could be have gotten for $3200 and the '94
Avant?  Something for around $5000?  Not much car for that lying around, is
there?  

The Old Gray Mare is interesting.  Front wheel drive.  Known service history
since new, and now with 135,000 miles, it simply runs like a top.  This is
singularly the best $2000 vehicle I have ever purchased.  Is it sexy?  NO.
Plain, with gray cloth over stone gray metallic paint.  Some dings and
dents, but from fifteen feet, it looks new.  Basically everything in the car
works, and I see no reason why it won't go another 50,000 miles without need
for anything except oil changes.

At some point a car is simply not worth putting anything more into.  That
was the case with the 20 Valve Avant:  another two grand would have gotten
me through inspection, but not solved any major issues, let alone addressed
the cosmetic issues that had been there since the beginning.  Time for it to
go, and I let it go for $1600...pretty cheap for what could have been, I
suppose.

So, if offered, in the "right" color, and the "right" mileage, what is a 4.2
5-speed worth?  To me, very little because I am "enjoying" retiring my
clutch foot, but is there was one lying around with, say, 75000 miles, I
might be tempted in the $4500 range.  

Sadly, I think that is "all the money".

Roger

P.S.  BUT, the car will run forever if it is kept after on a determined and
regular basis.  And what is there that is better for less than a princess'
ransom?  

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