I just bought an 02 Ram Air 6-spd convertible myself.
I think the Ram Air cars will hold their value better than a standard T/A. But I see these cars declining in value until probably around the 20 yr mark. After 20 yrs, the ones that have survived will begin going up in value.
In the early-mid 80s, the enthusiasts began collecting the early GTOs. I myself started collecting the early 70s T/As. At the time, people wondered why I was messing with low compression birds rather than GTOs, and most people thought of them as used cars. Then in the late 80s, the first gen Firebirds and early 70s cars began to pick up in value.
Through the early to mid 90s, the mid-late second gen Firebirds were a dime a dozen. People were starting to pick up 4-spds and bandit cars. Today, any second gen car brings pretty decent money (with the exception of the 301 turbo cars, and even they are beginning to see collector activity).
At $5K, there's probably not a lot of depreciation left in the car. My worry would be about the cost of keeping up the car for the next twenty years. I'm concerned the computer controlled cars have become too costly for the average enthusiast to work on. At some point, it may nickel and dime you to death, and you get rid of it.
Just my .02.
Mike
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