How Much Is To Much?

[Josh]

Hey everyone. Josh here, haven't made a post for awhile. Anyway as winter approaches here in Canada my GTA will soon be parked. Over the last while I keep going back and forth debating whether or not the car is worth putting anymore money into. I know there by no means an investement but let me tell you my situation with it.

Since i've owned it for about 2 years now i've had all sorts of problems and well spent over $5000 on repairs etc. Now it runs pretty good but you never know. The next thing I suspect in the future will be the transmission to go. Anyway the car could use a new paint job as there are dents, scratches everywhere, a few small rust bubbles on fenders (nothing much), rear wing is totally cracked and garbage. Anyway it would cost alot for new paint, bodywork and spoiler, etc etc. I would not have a problem restoring it but here's the other thing that kinda prevents me from wanting to put more money into it.

The car when I bought it had roughly 160,000 km's and now it has about 178,000 km's (about 110,000 miles). One thing that gets me is, from looking at some previous receipts a long time ago from the guy I bought it from the odometer may have been rolled back about 50,000 km's. Now this could be an error but I don't want to explain how I figure that it was rolled back. Anyway I never bothered calling the place that did work on this car from the small town that I bought it at to see if this was true. Anyway it seems though that now that the km's are getting up there I find the car less enjoyable. There seems to be something about having a low mileage car in mint condition that seems more enjoyable than one with high miles. I mean if I had the car when it had low miles and then drove it till the miles got high that would be a different story but that's not the case. So this car if the odometer was rolled back could potentially have close to 230,000 km's...yikes. I've done alot of repairs to the car so it runs good but not sure how much more is worth it.

For what its worth I want to buy a C5 corvette in the next year or two as some of you might already know from previous posts. A few possibilities are I could restore the car and hold off longer on a C5 or sell it and put that money towards a C5 Corvette even though I won't get much for the GTA. I could also just store the car for awhile and not put money into it and buy a C5 corvette meanwhile. I could also sell it or keep it and buy a low mileage GTA but it's hard to find a black low mileage one in Canada especially close to me. But its the km thing that still bugs me about whether or not it's worth it to restore it with so many km's. I know that shouldn't matter but it does a bit. Keep in mind GTA's are more expensive in Canada for some reason. Any advice lol, sorry for the rant I know it's confusing. Thanks, Josh

Here's a good picture of my 90 GTA. It looks mint but it's really not ;)

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn224/90BlackGTA/1990%20Pontiac%20Trans%20Am%20GTA/SDC10064.jpg

[GTA50]

Well Josh, not quite sure what to say. I'm a GTA afficianado, so on the one hand somewhat biased, and part of me says keep the GTA. On the other hand, you've been talking about the C5 for quite some time. I've driven the C5 and it is quite a machine.

However, your feelings for the GTA have definitely diminished from when you first posted. Now with the possible km issue and the possible need to spend more money, I would say that if this particular GTA is no longer your true passion, then go for the C5.

I recall you already had it listed and there were a few tire-kickers out there and also that you had a student loan involved. If you can still sell it outright (albeit with winter coming on), then go for it. Even better (from my point of view), if you can store it, buy the C5 and have both - then you have truly arrived.;)

My advice though - is you are building a collection, learn to work on the cars yourself - saves you a ton of money and increases the enjoyment.

[Josh]

yeah thanks for your post. I am for sure keeping it over the winter. I will most likely just store it and possibly buy a corvette next year but who knows. I do always want to have a GTA I was just not sure if this one was worth fixing even more and with higher km's but i've put alot of money into it I might as well.

[merc3065]

My notchback chassis has a little over 242000kms on it. Im still putting money into it and it needs body work and a paint job.

I find it enjoyable because it hauls ass. Thats about the extent of my enjoyment. I don't get any turns of heads, or whatever, just my own personal satisfaction that I was able to build something on my own that was fast.

Each to their own really. If you want a vette, I say go for it. If you want both? I say go for it, just make sure you have the $$$ in hand before you go for the vette. Life lesson learned, however if you're anything like me, that advice goes in one ear and out the other and your mind is goin OOOO SHINY TOY.
They also seem to cost more because of the word Corvette in front of it

[FearThisGTA]

Josh, imho, if it were me, I would do what ever makes me happy. So, if selling the GTA, and getting the C5 is what you want to do, then do it...if not then dont.

[87bucketgta]

I agree with Merc, corvette parts = more money because they say corvette

[ThunderChicken]

I'm going to chime in here, and it's going to be long. I bought Emma, my '88 Flame Red, with 145,000 miles. She looked like crap. That owner had not taken care of her and she had a crappy paint job.

We went from this:
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w152/blg0720/GTApics001.jpg
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w152/blg0720/Trans%20Am%20Restoration/GTAishome004.jpg




To THIS:
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w152/blg0720/EmmaatAutoFair.jpg
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w152/blg0720/0926091523.jpg

...in about $5600 and three months.

Am I broke now? ABSOLUTELY.
Do I regret it? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Three weeks later, her transmission went. Two weeks later, it went AGAIN. She's not nearly done. But she DEFINITELY turns heads now and I always get compliments on her. It makes me smile knowing that, despite her age, she's still a gorgeous car. ANY GTA you get, unless it's a super-low mileage car, is going to need work and upkeep. Let's face reality. These cars are going on 20+ years old. If you don't want to deal with that, then you shouldn't have a GTA at all. I'm not going to sugar-coat it because that's just the facts. A new Corvette will not require the upkeep of a GTA, no...but it *will* be expensive to maintain. With a new coat of paint, your GTA will turn heads. I am no longer impressed by Corvettes. I don't give them a second look. So if that's what you're looking for, think about that.

I drive a piddly little 305with a suckomatic. But she still makes me smile because I know that *I* have done all the work to her under the hood. If you really want to keep your GTA and make it worthwhile, take the money you wanted to sink into a Corvette, and sink that into Auto Tech school. I did (am), and I'm glad I did (am). I got the biggest, stupidest grin on my face just from fixing my horn. Every time I drive that car to school, it comes out better. I replaced the universal joint and differential oil last week. She drives better than ever. Next up, brakes.

To sum up...YOU have to decide. Sink money into restoring a gorgeous collector car that will only go up in value, or sink money into a car that any Tom, Dick, and Harry can buy with enough money and may or may not be worth something in the future. Your choice.

Personally, I think your GTA is worth restoring as long as there isn't rust-through.

[cdngtaguy]

Hey everyone. Josh here, haven't made a post for awhile. Anyway as winter approaches here in Canada my GTA will soon be parked. Over the last while I keep going back and forth debating whether or not the car is worth putting anymore money into. I know there by no means an investement but let me tell you my situation with it.

Since i've owned it for about 2 years now i've had all sorts of problems and well spent over $5000 on repairs etc. Now it runs pretty good but you never know. The next thing I suspect in the future will be the transmission to go. Anyway the car could use a new paint job as there are dents, scratches everywhere, a few small rust bubbles on fenders (nothing much), rear wing is totally cracked and garbage. Anyway it would cost alot for new paint, bodywork and spoiler, etc etc. I would not have a problem restoring it but here's the other thing that kinda prevents me from wanting to put more money into it.

The car when I bought it had roughly 160,000 km's and now it has about 178,000 km's (about 110,000 miles). One thing that gets me is, from looking at some previous receipts a long time ago from the guy I bought it from the odometer may have been rolled back about 50,000 km's. Now this could be an error but I don't want to explain how I figure that it was rolled back. Anyway I never bothered calling the place that did work on this car from the small town that I bought it at to see if this was true. Anyway it seems though that now that the km's are getting up there I find the car less enjoyable. There seems to be something about having a low mileage car in mint condition that seems more enjoyable than one with high miles. I mean if I had the car when it had low miles and then drove it till the miles got high that would be a different story but that's not the case. So this car if the odometer was rolled back could potentially have close to 230,000 km's...yikes. I've done alot of repairs to the car so it runs good but not sure how much more is worth it.

For what its worth I want to buy a C5 corvette in the next year or two as some of you might already know from previous posts. A few possibilities are I could restore the car and hold off longer on a C5 or sell it and put that money towards a C5 Corvette even though I won't get much for the GTA. I could also just store the car for awhile and not put money into it and buy a C5 corvette meanwhile. I could also sell it or keep it and buy a low mileage GTA but it's hard to find a black low mileage one in Canada especially close to me. But its the km thing that still bugs me about whether or not it's worth it to restore it with so many km's. I know that shouldn't matter but it does a bit. Keep in mind GTA's are more expensive in Canada for some reason. Any advice lol, sorry for the rant I know it's confusing. Thanks, Josh

Here's a good picture of my 90 GTA. It looks mint but it's really not ;)

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn224/90BlackGTA/1990%20Pontiac%20Trans%20Am%20GTA/SDC10064.jpg

I'm in the exact same boat as you Josh, bought mine about 2 years ago, have dumped a ton of money into it just to keep it on the road nevermind making it more fun, my Km's aren't as high as yours but mine is also a 1990, and black too :P but i think i might have to end up selling her due to the problems i constantly have just trying to keep her on the road, its just not fun when you drive your car and wonder if you can even make it to your destination without having something happen (even after all the parts i have put in new). i think i might opt for one of the new camarobirds that i have seen some where posted on this site

[FearThisGTA]

I agree, and by this I mean, Josh, your GTA, imho, is smokin hot!! however, *IF* you are not happy with it and you really prefer the c5 over the GTA, then get the C5. It is that simple. The bottom line is to do what will make *YOU* happy, not everyone else, do it because *YOU* want to, not because we or anyone else wants you to do it. If you do,then you may later regret your decision...its something to think about....

[Redrabbit57]

I didn't notice anyone mention insurance costs...........I would think a vette would be a lot more expensive to insure, and make payments too.

[FearThisGTA]

Actually, it will be in many cases, less. The reason being because most owners are older, and therefore, less accidents, tickets, and so on, or at least that is what an ins agent told me. If it is not true, it sounded good.

[cody1989GTA]

KEEP UR CAR@ buy a c5, if ur able to do this than thats what i would do, i bet u would regret gettin rid of the GTA, i dont drive myn, i just go out and look at it and take it down the road once in awile, it makes me glad insied knowin i own a classic

[Josh]

yeah i'll probably keep it cause I do always want a GTA just would prefer a low mileage one. But if I can somehow not let the km thing bother me i'll be ok.

[FearThisGTA]

When it comes to mileage, as you can see I dont worry about it, just drive it, enjoy it, and have fun with it, the rest will take care of itself... That is what Pontiac made these cars for....EXCITEMENT.... :rockon:

[GTA50]

The mileage thing can also be a bit of a red herring. The reason I say that is that it all depends on how the car has been maintained and driven. I have seen some low mileage cars that have been just hammered and some high mileage ones that are still very straight and clean.

[cody1989GTA]

I'm in the exact same boat as you Josh, bought mine about 2 years ago, have dumped a ton of money into it just to keep it on the road nevermind making it more fun, my Km's aren't as high as yours but mine is also a 1990, and black too :P but i think i might have to end up selling her due to the problems i constantly have just trying to keep her on the road, its just not fun when you drive your car and wonder if you can even make it to your destination without having something happen (even after all the parts i have put in new). i think i might opt for one of the new camarobirds that i have seen some where posted on this site
one of the sexiest cars ive seen cdngtaguy, love the black

[merc3065]

My red T/A had 47000 miles on it when I bought it. Put 4000 miles on it and blew the bottom of the motor out. After 10000 miles, the transmission popped.

Low mileage is not the be all and end all. It just means that it hasn't been driven a lot and also means its been sitting for a long while too.

If you want a show car/low mileage collector, expect to pay a premium and then never drive it because of the worry that OMG I just spent 25000 on a nice car that I don't want to scratch up because then my $25000 will be only worth $23000...

Besides, if you dont want your GTA, I know I would love it for parts (yes im evil) lol

[cdngtaguy]

one of the sexiest cars ive seen cdngtaguy, love the black

haha that was josh's, but mine is very similar :)

[cody1989GTA]

haha joshs is on of the sexiest ive seen then....lol

[Josh]

one of the sexiest cars ive seen cdngtaguy, love the black

that would be my car your referring to.... ;)

[Josh]

Here's some more to tease you.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn224/90BlackGTA/1990%20Pontiac%20Trans%20Am%20GTA/SDC10075.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn224/90BlackGTA/1990%20Pontiac%20Trans%20Am%20GTA/SDC10089.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn224/90BlackGTA/1990%20Pontiac%20Trans%20Am%20GTA/SDC10052.jpg

[WickdEye]

Well my 88 GTA has 206700 miles on it!!!! To have a GTA is to have what most people dont have I always turn heads with my GTA but of course you have to put money into every car!!! If miles/km bother you i just dont understand!!! A GTA or any car is meant to drive not look at and say I only have 20000 miles on it!!! Repairs and upgrades are 50% of the fun for me and my GTA cuz I made it fast and run better!!! It makes me proud to say my car runs perfect and it has over 200000 miles on it!!! Of course a C5 Corvette is awesome and fun to drive too but that also causes miles/km to go up too doesnt mean its suxz to drive with alot of miles and sure the value of the car goes down with lots of miles but someones special bond wit their GTA,Corvette is worth more than a "Fix It Up Then Make More Money Off By Selling it"

[cody1989GTA]

Beautiful, that car looks garage kept josh, love the pics(good scenery too) im from indiana so it reminds me of here

[strc09]

I've had my car for five years. It's been in the shop for two of those years. I have every receipt for everything I've done to my car. $5K is a drop in the bucket compared to what I have reciepts for. My car isn't perfect, but I think it's in better condition than it was when I bought it mechanically. Body wise, I do what I can since I'm forced to park my car in the elements which I really don't want to do, but with no garage...what can you do. Cliff, said it best. It all comes down to you Josh. If the GTA isn't something you want then sell it and get what you want. Firebirds I think have always been one of those cars that you really have to really love when you own it or it doesn't mean anything. Then again, that could probably be said for just about any car. Good luck with your decision and do what makes you happy.

[irritated_cube]

A Corvette is a nice automobile no question. The C5's are relatively affordable and offer exceptional performance. A lower mileage good condition 1997-2000 Corvette Coupe will run you about $20,000 Canadian. You can buy one hell of a nice GTA for that price. (I paid less then half that for mine.)

If you are buying a Vette to race with or enjoy the high performance on the street I hope you have enough maturity to do it semi responsibly. I know in Ontario you can be fined a maximum of $10,000 for speeding 50km/h over the limit. (not to mention the demerit points and rising insurance rates)

If you are buying one for the image, it will provide you, I urge you to reconsider since a GTA will generate far more attention then a C5 Vette will. I know when I went crusing in an 06 Coupe last year It didn't get 1/10th the attention my GTA did.