Why aren't these cars worth anything?

91TXSC

Registered User
Is it just me or are these cars not worth anything anymore. The amounts that I see being bid on ebay for these cars is discouraging. I just looked, and a complete 5 spd car was at $266 and a rear spoiler was at $110. It appears to me that some owners are looking to buy parts for their cars but very few are looking to buy these cars. Say it isn't so!
 
I think that the first problem is that they are old. My 90 is 13 years old and my 95 is 8 years old. Secondly, replacement parts are expensive so these car are more expensive to keep operating. Third, they are not rare yet as there were a lot of them made. I don't see them really being worth a whole lot until they are 20 or so years old. By then there won't be as many of them left. Most cars don't become collectable until they are 25 years old so don't be too dissapointed.

To most people they are just 10 year old cars with 100,000 miles on them so they just are not going for a premium. Nobody seems to like them as much as we do. That is o.k. with me because as we maintain them they will become more valuable as time goes on.

Just look at the Buick Grand Nationals. They were produced in small numbers during the same general time period and I have seen them selling for $15,000 plus. They are rare and can be made into 12 second cars for about $1,000. I like the way that they look on the outside but the inside is even dated more than the 89-93 SC.

Just my .02 Bob
 
Wait a few years...

The newest SC is still only 7 years old. Pretty young by collector car standards. Just wait until all of the punks are done buying them for cheap, wrecking them, or otherwise beating the crap out of them and relegating them to junkyard duty.
 
There are some in the industry that believe collectibility is more than probable - Ive seen one such article a friend showed me alluding to such which made me hopeful, but...

...Not yet, we still have a way to go, and the attrition Kevin described will certainly make them even more rare as time goes on, which can't hurt, but the car has been largely forgotten by most besides us.

Then there's the seeming "no respect" demeanor I perceive from a lot of folks towards Ford stuff of the 80's on, public and most press. The GM guys seem to have it made; stick a 'Vette motor in an Impala=instant classic, high resale, collectibility assured. The SC can stand toe to toe with the Impala of those years, but because it's a blown 6 it somehow takes a back seat in respect, even though it's more sophisticated technically and produces almost verbatim performance #'s as well as a 5 speed option.

I guess we're just the Rodney Dangerfiled of the idiom and will have to try and enjoy the car for the way it makes US feel, and what it does for us, and accept it may never be a sought after collectible. At least not for another 10 years or so. Question is; who can hang on that long? 12 years and counting for me... Im still havin' fun with it while I'm waiting.

Bad thing is; mine will have about 300k on it then and it won't be worth anything even if they do become collectible,...*sigh* lol. :)

SC-GScarincarQ.jpg
 
the problem is that our cars are car X for most people ; most people look at it like a thunderbird....something i dont understand is this my cousin got a eclipse and i doesn even has power windows 1993 for $3900 everyone in my family thinks its a good price and it is a nice car thunderbird SC 1990 $2500 most ask why i got such ugly car or a car sooo big.or simply why i got a thunderbird ..wtf?

the thing with our cars is that you gotta own one to love em most thunderbird owners i know love them really love them .
i know this guy with a 86 pos TC but the guy loves it and tries to fix as much as he can....while guy with newer cars like 95 accords or such like their car like them a lot but isnt like the relationship you make with a thundebird......

i think lford explained this better
This is not transportation... this is a love affair. This is the car you never let near the car wash. This is the car you tip the parking attendant so you can park it yourself...a car that turns heads as quickly as corners. This is a car you write a new license plate for. This is a Thunderbird...so sensuous, so intimate, so thrilling...you'll take the long way home
 
91TXSC, these guys are so right about our SC's. You have to own them to love them. These cars are just like the Bosses and Shelbys in the 70's. When I bought my 1970 Boss 302 in 1979, it was of course 9 years old. I bought it from the original owner, 20000 miles on a race built engine, smog still intact, all original heat shields, etc etc for...$5000. I sold it in Oct of 2001 for $30000. In 1977, I almost bought a 67 GT 500 427 automatic for 1500. It's all relative. These cars I have noticed are beginning to show up on the radar of many collectors now. As attrition takes it's toll, there will be less of them around. Ford did a horrible job of advertising the SC's and sales reflected that. Now I hear people wishing they had bought one or had the one they sold a while back. Using the history of the Shelbys as a barometer, now is the time to buy what you like and hold onto it. Relish in the fact that parts can be bought cheap and the cars too. I for one didn't enjoy driving the Boss anymore since it was so collectible and valuable that I had to worry how it looked, not getting it damaged, and having the fun of owning it stripped away by the status of it. I want to drive my cars, not worship their collectibility. The body style of the MN12 birds isn't called the "superbird" model for nothing. Their time is coming and very soon. :)

Have a great week all.
 
In 89 when the S/C first came out they made more power than the Mustange did in the same year. Ford was not going to have any of that , so in the later have of 89 they de-tuned the S/C.
They did not want the S/C going up against the Camero.
In 94, as the mustange was making more hp. they up dated the S/C with better blowers. Then of course in 95 they drop the whole set up on the T- birds.

As said above, there really was not that much attention paid to the t-bird because of its size and its being that it was a V-6.
This is true today, but they are getting more attention. This is do to most of the folks right here and other web sites that have these cars.
This is do to folks like Coy Miller, Dr. fred, Bill E, thats just to name a few, That have been up dating and building mods for these cars where ford left off.

There are 3000-6000 members of the t-bird running around on all the bird sites. We know more about these S/C t-birds than Ford ever will.
If you are week at heart with this car , than you really don't need to have one, your just not going to be happy with it as it will allways will need your attention.
Also keep in mind alot of what you see here as far as cars being broken down, is that there are alot of folks pushing these cars real hard.
I myself, like a car that is a rare with in its own class of body type(as the S/C).

I'm sure as time goes buy the S/C will take its place in the books as a rare breed of bird......

Kurt Sr
 
Lawson4x454 summed it up. I'm not given to brevity though. ;)

Don't feel bad about the value, the '97 Taurus my wife totalled was worth even less than my SC. That's the Ford curse--they don't hold value (IMO). I decided to make that work for me and bought the SC. :D They're mostly at that magic 10 year old mark, +/-, which is just about as cheap as they come until maybe after 15 yrs. The Buick's are kind of the exception to the rule, as they always have been. They aren't cheap for a good one, but they're also pushing 15 years+ now--they've come around the corner and a good one is going up in value. Hope to have one sitting next to the SC one day. I didn't buy the SC to sell it, so value is really just what it's worth to me right now--which is considerable.
 
I had a '73 455 SD Trans Am 4spd...

Bought it in '81 for $4000.00. Traded it in '90 for a low mile Mustang GT ragtop, then worth about $13,000.00

Latest '73 SD 455 I saw for sale: $36,000.00

Keep it long enough, it'll be worth $$$
 
Supercoupres were marketed towarded middle aged men..They were expensive cars...Kids couldnt afford them and performance parts were non existent..Now that the middle aged men are selling or have been selling their SC's..Whos going to buy them?.Kids?....Nahh they want a stang..Or an F body..Maybe even a *gasp* civic...The SC ended up being a car that nobody wanted..DOnt flame me for this because I love these cars..But its reality..Just look at BMW 850's..Talk about losing resale value...A great car..But no market..Thus lower resale values..People that these cars were aimed at..Well they just buy new cars...Look at the Jaguar xJr..You can buy one off lease for 30,000..YAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!..Why?..its a great car..WHy after 3 years such a loss in value?...Lets face it..If you can afford a new Jag...Your going to go buy a new One..Another thing is maintenance...An SC isnt a cheap car to fix..Many things that lead to a car not having a high resale value..


But for those of us who are mechanically inclined...Who know how nice a car an SC is..Well...Arnt we lucky we can get them thsi cheap???...Only complaint is when we go to sell....But thus is life eh:O)
 
Oh yah about fords with no resale value..Ill tell ya..As far as fox bodied stangs go...You can still get way over resale value for em:O)
 
IMO, the primary reason for poor resale is that they have no "reputation".

Someone mentioned the GN. Those things developed a repution for performance back when you could get them new. That has lasted to this day.

Our SC's just never did develop that kind of rep and as such are just another old car.
 
I have a 93 Taurus SHO..... Fully loaded.... and it's not worth anything either, but I love that car, I always wanted one and the low resale worked out well for me... I just bought a S/C motor for another project... and just from reading..... I think I am going to keep an eye out for my own SC as my next project.

One side note.... The super coupe was pretty smart for the time.... DIS, Electronic Varible Assist, Blower, ABS, Firm Ride, Keyless entry, ECT.

I'm pretty sure that the GN didn't have any of the cool option that are car had.
 
The SC wasnt sold to be a perofrmance car..I believe its original intent was to compete with the overseas Kraut cars. Comparing the GN to the SC is like comparing apples and oranges however...To be honest with ya..The SC is in a class all of its own and that was its biggest problem..But then again..Im 31yo...WHen I was younger almost everyone my age that I know liked SC's...But noone could afford one?..as a matyter of fact I remeber taking a ride in my first SC at the age of 19..Was back in 89 or 90...I was like what A nice freakin car. I had a mustang at the time...But if my Mom and Pop would have been willing to shell out teh dough for an SC..Dam straight I woulda had one:O)
 
Re: Supercoupe

Hello, as for me, I haven't had the problem of people talking sh&* about my car. If they do then they haven't seen it yet. I actually get compliments from everyone who sees the car. Then again, mine is lowered 1.5", it's black with tinted windows and is equipped with 17" chrome rims. And the compliments keep coming once I give them a ride in it.. : ). Actually, one (completely unknown to me) person complimented the ride while I was at a red light, really made me feel good about the car.
As for SC becoming collectibles, just like Dan, my car is going to have 300k on it by the time it reaches a collectible status, so I'm really enjoying the car for what it is. The car has got a great personality, style, exclusivity and performance to match its "seductive" looks, lol. If other people just don't get it then let them be, they should know better. Even if no one liked the car, I'd still be driving one, and I'll gladly purchase another SC in the future.
Yeah..sorry for that emotional outburst..just had to make the stuff heard.
Stas.
 
why aren't these cars worth anything?

I think that these will be worth something in another ten years or so. But only to the kind of people that are intrested in them now. So if you have one and you like it better hang on to it. In the area I live in few people fix them. They end up in a bone yard and then to the crusher. Tim
 
My 40 yr old opinion for what its worth...Its all in what you like. These cars looked great when they came out, they appealed to the middle aged guy that liked the european cars mid sized look but wanted an american car. Theystill look good today by new car standards, and with a slight drop and larger rims they look as classy as anything else on the road. They weren't made to take on the stoplight race but when modified hold there own. They were aimed at refined cruising even at high speed if one willed, with an added amount of road holding ability.
And to compare them to the muscle cars of the past is to say they deserve respect. Back in the 60s-70 anything that could manage a 15-16 sec 1/4 mile pass was respected. A 13-14 sec car was very fast & well 12 sec & faster cars for the most part were only seen on the race track.
 
SCgraphics guy said:
My 40 yr old opinion for what its worth...Its all in what you like. These cars looked great when they came out, they appealed to the middle aged guy that liked the european cars mid sized look but wanted an american car. Theystill look good today by new car standards, and with a slight drop and larger rims they look as classy as anything else on the road. They weren't made to take on the stoplight race but when modified hold there own. They were aimed at refined cruising even at high speed if one willed, with an added amount of road holding ability.
And to compare them to the muscle cars of the past is to say they deserve respect. Back in the 60s-70 anything that could manage a 15-16 sec 1/4 mile pass was respected. A 13-14 sec car was very fast & well 12 sec & faster cars for the most part were only seen on the race track.

Well put.:)
 
Ya, when you talk about "fast" cars, everyone talks about "muscle cars" and the truth is they weren't that fast. Only thing about them was that other than looking cool, they never did anything else well.

When I was a kid my older brother had the fastest car in high school, and it ran 15.8 @ 94 mph. It was a 67 Olds 442 with a bunch of bolt ons. And it had no brakes (well, unless you call 4 wheel drum brakes "brakes").

I've been on Hot Rod Power Tour the last few years, and it is really funny to watch all these "muscle" cars that I used to worship get on the chassis dyno and crank out a whopping 250rwhp. Ya, that is pretty interesting. I'd love to see what an SC motor would put out on an engine dyno using the old standards. You know, 60 deg air temp, no accessories, no airbox, no exhaust system or cats, and a good EEC tune. I bet 320HP would be possible.

:)
 
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