#1  
Old 05-17-2020, 07:08 PM
aogmitch aogmitch is offline
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Default 66 GTO Prices, Are My Expectations Too High?

Not sure if this the the right place for this, but looking for some feed back. My name is Mitch and have owned a few ‘66 pontiacs in my younger years. I ended up unloading everything I had back in ‘97, and still regret it to this day. Anyhow, I started the shopping game about a year ago for another ‘66. Either GTO or Lemans.
Have decided to spend some good money on nice car that I can enjoy now. My budget max right now is 45k, without having to finance anything. I just spent my weekend traveling through a couple states to look at a really nice GTO, that had a price of 47k obo from a private party.
Pics looked great and the seller did tell me of a coup,e minor issues. I hauled a wad of cash and a trailer to bring it home.
Here are some details. It is a 242 post car, that appears to have had a “makeover” 4-6 years ago. Currently red with a black vinyl top. Top appears original. Current owner has only had it about a year. Car was factory Candlelight Cream. Car lived its life in Southern Cal, and still has all its original sheet metal. I went over it extensively, and could not see any rust or rework done to it. Car is really straight and solid. The current paint appeares to be a laqure, and looks great for the most part, less a few paint chips that were touched up, but really didn’t match, and a couple scratches that stuck out. The header panel to hood gap needed attention. The chrome on the bumpers looked great, and all the bright work was in fairly good condition.
The vinyl top looked worn, with 1.5” sclice on the drivers side sail panel, about the middle and at the bottom. The passenger side had some small bubbling spots that I assume was rust, and a coup,e of them when pushed on, felt like small holes underneath.
Drive train was a 66 389 WW block with a 66 tripower sitting on it. Mated to the factory 4 speed and 3:55 rear end. Engine compartment was clean, and could see no visible leaks. Kind of had a crappy black paint job on everything, alonl with the frame and everything else under the car. Still running the factory drum brakes on all 4.
Interior looked like very nice original, with only a couple minor flaws. Dash was ralley and in real nice condition also. Has a real nice console with the four speed. Head liner had a hole above driver side, and the sail panel areas were a little messed up.
The car ran real smooth, and stopped straight as an arrow. Shifted very nice.
Engine didn’t seem to have much power output. It pulled ok, but not much wow factor.
So, with all this stated, and the issues, is this what I should expect for a mid 40k car these days? I was kind of thinking maybe mid 30

  #2  
Old 05-17-2020, 07:49 PM
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I would mid to low 30's is where that should have been purchased. Sounds like $4-6 K to bring it to your standards. JMPO

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Old 05-17-2020, 09:14 PM
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Agreed, for the mid forties you should expect a very, very nice car that has no issues. 4 speed at that price. Should be a matching # engine., etc. Interior should be a 9 out of 10 as should the exterior. Engine compartment and undercarriage should be detailed nicely, not concours but very nice. The only 66's that would bring money more is would be a concours restored and correct tri power, 4 speed car or a convertible.

To start at a true value, I would go to www:mecum.com and search for SOLD 66 GTO's and subtract 10% (that's what it cost the seller to sell). Look over the pictures and descriptions and I think you'll be surprised. Don't check barrett jackson as those are not real world prices.

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Old 05-17-2020, 09:18 PM
aogmitch aogmitch is offline
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I guess that was kind of my thoughts also, so made the return trip home towing an empty trailer. Looked just like another Members car here. ZeGermanHam. Red post with black steel wheels and hubcaps.
If I would have bought it, it deffinitly would have been repainted in the original Candlelight Cream. But the only flaws I could find with the sheet metal were under the vinyl. Very clean, solid body.
He did let me know that someone came last week to check it out and made him a top offer of 36k, which he declined.
And one mor observation I had, was I kept smelling antifreeze, and was really strong with the hood opened, but I could not find any evidence of a leak anywhere.


Last edited by aogmitch; 05-17-2020 at 09:25 PM.
  #5  
Old 05-17-2020, 10:08 PM
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Remember that when you buy a car through a broker there's about 30% premium that the owner will never see.

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Old 05-17-2020, 10:24 PM
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I'm usually a little leery of sellers who've only owned a collector car for a year. There's a guy who stores cars at the shop where I keep my GTO who is a classic car flipper. He cleans them up by doing "rattle-can restos" and fixes whatever else needs immediate attention using the lowest cost parts and materials, and then lists them on Craigslist for way more money than they're worth. I'm wondering if you've encountered this same kind of individual.

At $45k, I'd keep shopping. Especially if you wouldn't be happy with the car as-is and would then need to spend more money to get it where you want it.

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  #7  
Old 05-17-2020, 11:23 PM
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The thing I hate about the dealers is they swap out any very nice or mint pieces and sell them on ebay, replace with repop or "just ok" replacements.

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Old 05-17-2020, 11:29 PM
aogmitch aogmitch is offline
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  #9  
Old 05-17-2020, 11:30 PM
aogmitch aogmitch is offline
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  #10  
Old 05-17-2020, 11:52 PM
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With a color change and some issues, that one sounded more like a $35K car. You should be able to find a pretty nice car for $45K and with less issues than that one. You would likely need to spend at least another $20K for a well restored numbers matching or low mileage survivor car. Be patient and keep searching. Good luck!

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Old 05-18-2020, 10:20 AM
aogmitch aogmitch is offline
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See if this one works. Side shot of the car.


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Old 05-18-2020, 05:23 PM
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I agree with these gents. The car was 10-15k overpriced for what it was. Be patient and keep looking. It's a buyers market right now, and you should be able to get a really sharp, no-excuses 4 speed '66 for 40-45k.

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  #13  
Old 05-18-2020, 08:45 PM
aogmitch aogmitch is offline
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Thanks to all for your inputs. Makes me feel a little better about walking away. The search continues.

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Old 05-18-2020, 08:48 PM
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I agree- I am building a 66 right now. Car is a post- New motor (77 TA 400, #16 heads, new TH350, 65 Tri-Power. Tiger gold with new base/clear paint. Originally a CA car, we did have to replace a quarter due to an older accident. Black interior, new carpet, new seats, rallye gauges. New vintage air set up, Rallye 1 wheels with redlines. Frame / suspension is very detailed, I would say it’s a very nice cruise level car.

It has pretty much new everything sad I would be very, happy if it was valued in the mid to high 40’s.

  #15  
Old 05-19-2020, 10:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerry H. View Post
To start at a true value, I would go to www:mecum.com and search for SOLD 66 GTO's and subtract 10% (that's what it cost the seller to sell). Look over the pictures and descriptions and I think you'll be surprised. Don't check barrett jackson as those are not real world prices.
I'm guessing you have to login with an account to see the sold prices, as I'm not seeing any?

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Last edited by vertigto; 05-19-2020 at 11:14 AM.
  #16  
Old 05-19-2020, 12:51 PM
aogmitch aogmitch is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vertigto View Post
I'm guessing you have to login with an account to see the sold prices, as I'm not seeing any?
Yes. Register and log in to get all the info. Easy.

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