# 2004-2006 GTOs as Collector Cars



## CPO's GTO (Jul 1, 2006)

Just thought I'd ask everyone's perspective or opinion on the "Collector Car"
potential of the 2004-2006 GTO's. I certainly have my own opinion that
we are all lucky and priviledged to own these cars! I still peek at mine in the garage two or three times an evening. And Lord help me if my wife sends me out to the Laundry Room (connected to the garage) to get something for her. It takes me twenty minutes just to bring the towels in out of the dryer! :cool Anyway, while surfing the web here lately for GTO related news, etc (yes, I'm obsessed ). I've begun to see little tidbits about the "three year run" of these vehicles and the direction of Pontiac for 2009, blah, blah, blah. And though I don't remember where I saw it, at least a few times I've read about our cars as "sure to be/soon to be collector's vehicles". If you think about it, all the indicators are there: Limited production run; Not widely accepted (at the time); Not many produced; Superior value for the money, etc. Anyone have any ideas or comments? I'd like to hear your opinions... :cheers


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## salkim (Aug 1, 2006)

*Vintage Goats*

I don't know much about collector car qualifications but i believe you may have somthing there. I thought that about these cars when I purchased mine. All I know is I will never get rid of mine.


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## b_a_betterperson (Feb 16, 2005)

Don't think they're going to go anywhere. Production's too high and the performance specs are too similar from vehicle to vehicle. 

If there was, say, a factory installed LS7 engined GTO with less than 1000 built in one year -- then you're talking about potential value (like the Buick GNX vs. the Buick Grand National).

Your best hope is that they'll catch on in a couple of years -- as the old RWD Impala SSs did. They won't be worth a fortune -- but the resale will be good.


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## TWOBIT (Aug 26, 2006)

dealer told me that there were only 2000 orange prod.


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## NT91 (Aug 30, 2005)

Just drive her.


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## CPO's GTO (Jul 1, 2006)

TWOBIT said:


> dealer told me that there were only 2000 orange prod.


The spice red is probably about the same too.


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## b_a_betterperson (Feb 16, 2005)

TWOBIT said:


> dealer told me that there were only 2000 orange prod.


Given the number of colors made and total production of 12,000 to 15,000 cars annually -- every color made is a "low" figure.


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## GNX231 (Dec 12, 2004)

b_a_betterperson said:


> Don't think they're going to go anywhere. Production's too high and the performance specs are too similar from vehicle to vehicle.
> 
> If there was, say, a factory installed LS7 engined GTO with less than 1000 built in one year -- then you're talking about potential value (like the Buick GNX vs. the Buick Grand National).
> 
> Your best hope is that they'll catch on in a couple of years -- as the old RWD Impala SSs did. They won't be worth a fortune -- but the resale will be good.



IN 87 OVER 20,000 GN'S WERE BUILT AND THEY ARE COLLECTOR CARS THE DIFFERENCE WITH THE GNX IS ONLY 547 BUILT THERE WERE WAY MORE GN'S FROM 82 - 87 THAN 04-06 GTOS YES I DID SAY 82


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## DJ Dannis (May 9, 2006)

I'm planning for a collector's item. Just like the old muscles, they were new once and no one thought much. Now people will pay $$ for one. Mainly the big bucks go to the stockers. That's why I haven't touched mine... yet. Damn temptation!  It's a waiting game now until they really start to become rare... which could be a good 20-30 years. Who knows.


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## txcharlie (Feb 26, 2006)

Look at the camaro and firebirds. They have started to appreciate. I had a 98 SS with 27k on it. Paid $16.5k for it in 02. If I still had it, I could still get that much or more for it. I would give it about 3-5 years and the GTO will start to appriciate. The 1 year only colors will be worth a little more. I think what will make these cars become collectable is the fact that they are Aussie born and not like anything else out there. That's just my 2 cents. :cool 
Charlie


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## Mad_Dan_Eccles (Mar 25, 2006)

DJ Dannis said:


> I'm planning for a collector's item. Just like the old muscles, they were new once and no one thought much. Now people will pay $$ for one. Mainly the big bucks go to the stockers. That's why I haven't touched mine... yet. Damn temptation!  It's a waiting game now until they really start to become rare... which could be a good 20-30 years. Who knows.


Your money will still be better off in stocks and bonds. Even if the value doubles in 20 years you still have the costs of garaging and maintaining it. You can't just put it up on blocks and leave - fluids need to be changed whether you drive it or not and paint will still oxidise and rubber and plastic will perish. Insurance still needs to be paid 

If you invest the same amount and get a conservative 7 percent return you will double your money in about 11 years with much less risk; at typicla market return of 10 percent it doubles in seven

Buying cars as collectors pieces as investments is just bunk unless you find a 1929 Bentley or a 32 Bugatti in a barn


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## DAH GTO (Mar 5, 2005)

Mad_Dan_Eccles said:


> Your money will still be better off in stocks and bonds. Even if the value doubles in 20 years you still have the costs of garaging and maintaining it. You can't just put it up on blocks and leave - fluids need to be changed whether you drive it or not and paint will still oxidise and rubber and plastic will perish. Insurance still needs to be paid
> 
> If you invest the same amount and get a conservative 7 percent return you will double your money in about 11 years with much less risk; at typicla market return of 10 percent it doubles in seven
> 
> Buying cars as collectors pieces as investments is just bunk unless you find a 1929 Bentley or a 32 Bugatti in a barn


I think most people realize this. I believe the thought process is, have a high quality powerful muscle car, have fun with it, take care of it, and in the future, it will start appreciating. I don't think anyone truly believes from an investment stand point that our GTO's are a great return on the dollar. Besides, I have a lot more fun with my GTO than my mutual funds.


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## Mad_Dan_Eccles (Mar 25, 2006)

DAH GTO said:


> I think most people realize this. I believe the thought process is, have a high quality powerful muscle car, have fun with it, take care of it, and in the future, it will start appreciating. I don't think anyone truly believes from an investment stand point that our GTO's are a great return on the dollar. Besides, I have a lot more fun with my GTO than my mutual funds.


There's no pint spending that sort of money on anything and not having fun. Wht I don't get are the people who won't drive it more than a few miles on a sunny summer afternoon because they think they will make a killing when it comes time to sell in 20 years despite the fact the value decreased by 25% the minute they signed the papers.


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## Napoleon_Tanerite (Aug 3, 2006)

i didnt buy the car as an investment. i bought it for me. if the resale value happens to go up- great! but that's not a major concern for me


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## bergenfelter (Nov 11, 2005)

I agree with the other posts, don't buy a car as an investment. Buy it for fun. I still have my 1996 Imapla SS I bought new, and the value of the car has done well, however, discount off the value the fuel, insurance, maintanane and mods, and you are talking a major money loser, albeit, miles of smiles and smokey burnouts and many trips to the dragstrip!!!

Enjoy your vehicles, let your kids fight over the money when you are gone.


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## JMVorbeck (Jun 1, 2005)

I am not one of these diaper polishing collectors. I bought my goat to drive it and I do it every day. Wouldnt have it any other way. When its old and worn out, I will buy another car and have a lot of good memories in this one for sure. My arse is an addict and I have to give it a fix as often as I can.


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## burnz (Jul 26, 2006)

JMVorbeck said:


> I am not one of these diaper polishing collectors. I bought my goat to drive it and I do it every day. Wouldnt have it any other way. When its old and worn out, I will buy another car and have a lot of good memories in this one for sure. My arse is an addict and I have to give it a fix as often as I can.


your lucky you live down south, you get to drive her all year long. I don't know what I'm going to do when I have to put her into the garage for the winter. doing mods to her will just want to ride her more. looking to put a maggie and a new clutch on, hope It's a mild winter.


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## UdnUdnGTO (Jan 30, 2006)

For a car to be a collector, rare is only a small part of it. I have a Saab Sonnet, 1974. There weren't many of those made, but they have a weak following, so the car has not appreciated at all. In 10 years or so, lets see how many really exist in show room condition. Next, if anyone is interested in paying collector price. As one friend said, if you are going for collector cars, they aren't worth anything until you find someone willing to pay the price. Otherwise, always get a collector car that you would not mind driving for the rest of your life.


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## DAH GTO (Mar 5, 2005)

Mad_Dan_Eccles said:


> There's no pint spending that sort of money on anything and not having fun. Wht I don't get are the people who won't drive it more than a few miles on a sunny summer afternoon because they think they will make a killing when it comes time to sell in 20 years despite the fact the value decreased by 25% the minute they signed the papers.


This is hard for me to explain, but I'll try. This is the third car that I have babied like this. I love the fact that it has never seen rain or snow. The under carriage, engine bay, etc. are as clean as the rest of the car. I enjoy keeping it pristine as much as I enjoy driving it. I receive many comments on its cleanliness. Even though I have only 5400 miles on it, I do not feel bad that I am not driving the snot out of it. I bought this car for the long haul, however, the day may come where I trade it in for something like a Z06, who knows. In the mean time, it brings me personal satisfaction that it is so ridiculously clean and well taken care of. I did this same to a 1980 vette and sold it for what I paid for it after four years of owning it. I don’t know if I will ever recoup most of the costs on my GTO, but I don’t care, I love keeping it mint. And that in itself is my enjoyment as opposed to slogging it through the snow and rain, otherwise I feel like it would be just another car on the road. However, when I look at mine and see the wheel wells aren’t full of crud, it makes me smile. As they say; different strokes for different folks.


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## CPO's GTO (Jul 1, 2006)

DAH GTO said:


> This is hard for me to explain, but I'll try. This is the third car that I have babied like this. I love the fact that it has never seen rain or snow. The under carriage, engine bay, etc. are as clean as the rest of the car. I enjoy keeping it pristine as much as I enjoy driving it. I receive many comments on its cleanliness. Even though I have only 5400 miles on it, I do not feel bad that I am not driving the snot out of it. I bought this car for the long haul, however, the day may come where I trade it in for something like a Z06, who knows. In the mean time, it brings me personal satisfaction that it is so ridiculously clean and well taken care of. I did this same to a 1980 vette and sold it for what I paid for it after four years of owning it. I don’t know if I will ever recoup most of the costs on my GTO, but I don’t care, I love keeping it mint. And that in itself is my enjoyment as opposed to slogging it through the snow and rain, otherwise I feel like it would be just another car on the road. However, when I look at mine and see the wheel wells aren’t full of crud, it makes me smile. As they say; different strokes for different folks.


:agree Well put my friend...Don't get me wrong guys, I do drive my car. But the difference is, I don't drive it to Walmart/Kmart, grocery stores, etc. I'll gladly hop in our Town & Country instead. I keep it in the garage 
out of the weather, and as DAH GTO said, I like the fact that all those little places that tend to get dirty and stay dirty on a daily driver, are actually kept clean on my gto. This is only possible due to the down time between 
drives where I get to go over it and keep it clean. I really don't care if it goes UP in value...And I did not purchase this car as an 'Investment', that 
is not a smart thing to do...I just like the fact that it is very different than
the majority of vehicles on the road. So keeping it as 'new looking' as possible just makes me feel good! :cheers


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## kevracer (Sep 27, 2004)

Yes, the GTO was produced in limited numbers, but all are virtually the same mechanically and optioned the same. The really high dollar collector muscle cars were VERY limited in production and HIGH perfromance. But who's to say in 20 years that an all-original 04-06 GTO won't be considered high performance? All things considered however, our GTO's may retain their value (or possibly increase in value), but not to the point that I would consider my low mileage box stock GTO as a retirement investment.


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## 646904GTO (Feb 10, 2008)

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with anybody but I will say this;
I have a 64 gto, '66 gto, '69 gto, '04 gto, '73 Challenger and a 1931 Model A. i spent maybe $70K restoring and or purchasing these cars over the years. I have $200K in insurance value on them collectively. The '64 was bought in 1988 for $400. The others have been collected since 2004. Since the collection value is at $200K now I would say collector cars are a good 'asset investment'. plus like one poster said it is one helluva more fun than a mutual fund. They live in a insulated garage with a heat pump that keeps them at 62 degrees and believe it or not I do not see the electricity cost on my light bill. Best part is when I pull one out to beat the living crap out of (like a step child, jk) they are ready to go because the 'core' temp of all the parts are already warm at 62 degrees. The rubber, vinyl, paint, etc. all stay nice.
My story and sticking to it.


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## HP11 (Apr 11, 2009)

That's about as long of a interval between post in a thread I've ever seen.....approaching 9 years!! You must have been bored.


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## johni53 (Feb 10, 2010)

I think that since they really don't have much history here in the U.S. they probably won't achieve the collectability as some of the muscle cars from the 60s and 70s. Also, some of the motors in those old cars, like the L88 427, 454, Pontiac tri-power engines, etc. were what made some editions highly collectible. Our cars have only 2 variations of the same engine that they made lots of, the LS 1 for 2004 and LS 2 for 2005 & 2006.
The one thing we do have going for us as the years go by is exclusivity. As some of these cars get in the hands of careless drivers and end up in junk yards the numbers of running GTOs is going down so values should go up some. It all depends on if the market turns to our cars as an alternative to the older muscle cars. There were only a little over 40,000 GTOs made and you don't see many at cars shows; went to a big Autorama show that featured hundreds of cars and not one modern GTO was there in Houston last year. 
Would be nice if their value greatly increased but I bought mine as a bargain way to get a nice muscle car without spending $35-40k for a new Camaro or Mustang. I like the sleeper looks (if only the rear fenders were flared more) and love the power and if it's value increases, so much the better!


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## MikeT (Dec 26, 2014)

I think those of you who believe that we own future collectibles are grasping at straws, I love this car, it puts a smile on my face every single time a grab a gear, I bought it to drive not to put it away for the future, i have several collectables, they live in a controlled enviorment and i take them out from time to time and enjoy them, however i would not take them on a 4 or 5 hour ride. With the GTO i can twist the key go where ever i want without the worry. Now for collectibility, are they rare? Yes why is that? low production numbers and the fact that so many have been wrecked. Are they easy to repair body wise? No whay because there is no availablity of replacement parts, there is no aftermarket support, I was lucky to find a one owner car that was not molested and i have no intention of modding one single thing. I say enjoy the car for what it is, it is in fact a corvette under the skin with an Ausse body, I like the fact that i dont see to many on the road, but it does not give it collector status. My grand kids may be able to collect on it, i am not too concerned.


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## dHLOL (Apr 29, 2015)

I recently totaled my 05' GTO. Paid $28k for it brand new off the lot in 08'. Had 27k miles on it and was given $20k from the insurance company. I think that's an amazingly fair value for a 10 year old car.


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## silversport (Mar 23, 2007)

dHLOL said:


> I recently totaled my 05' GTO. Paid $28k for it brand new off the lot in 08'. Had 27k miles on it and was given $20k from the insurance company. I think that's an amazingly fair value for a 10 year old car.


sorry to hear yours was total'd...will you be looking for another or something similar from C, F or D???


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## dHLOL (Apr 29, 2015)

silversport said:


> sorry to hear yours was total'd...will you be looking for another or something similar from C, F or D???


It was a very sad day - that car was my love. To some peoples dismay, I have always been a big fan of Pontiacs and GM cars but haven't built up a so called loyalty. The return on the totaled GTO was the down payment on a 2015 Hellcat.


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## torrid red sap (Sep 27, 2014)

These goats are awesome rides! everybody in my home town either drives a modern Camaro, challenger or mustang, I have the only SAP red goat around, most people don't even know what I drive! which is why I love these cars (can you say sleeper!) every once in a while somebody will stare at my Goat and give me a thumbs up, I have always loved Pontiacs jus like my dad did, as far as 2004 -06 GTO 's ever being a high dollar collectible muscle car is hard to predict, I say live for the moment and drive it today! jus remember the GTO's from the 1960's took decades to become collectables. jus my .02 cents!!!!!


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## Gotagoat (Jan 6, 2006)

I believe new era GTOs may eventually become more valuable - just as has about any car that's 50 years old. Unless, of course, self-driving cars eventually eliminate driven cars from public roads. Once that technology becomes standard, driven cars will be relegated to off-road and tracks.


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