1975 GM convertible prices?

[Guest]

Where does "old cars price guide" come up with their prices? I'm not saying they are not fair but why would someone pay more for a #2 chevy caprice convertible than they would for a #2 eldorado convertible. $15,400 vs.$14,000. Given the 2 cars in same shape I would rather have an eldorado even though I have the chevy.

[Guest rcirilli]

No one will ever figure out those price guides. The publisher claims it has to do with the frequency of sales more than the particular car. Apparently they use the mean average not the median. I think I got those right. The number that appears the most often not the numerical average by condition. I have Pontiacs and Chevy's and the Pontiacs never get a fair shake. It will always come down to how bad one guy wants to buy and the other wants to sell.

[Guest]

I attribute the premium price brought by Chevys to three factors: 1) Demand(There are many more loyal Chevy collectors than there are Caddy collectors, perhaps due to nostalgia, since many had a Chevy for a 1st car); 2) Electrics/hydraulics (While things like power seats& power windows are nifty, they eventually wear out, and are expensive to replace); 3) Availability of salvage parts. One last thought about Cadillac: GM has used this division for years as the showcase for its cutting edge technology. Some of this technology proves worthwhile, while in other cases it doesn't (such as air suspension). For those of you who like the non-Chevy GM products, I would appreciate the chance to buy at a discount to Chevy, rather than feel insulted.

[ronbarn]

In many cases it has to be a SWAG (Scientific Wild Ass Guess)! On some of the listing they include "values" for cars at each condition level when there are only a very few (in at least one case only three) that still exist and they have not traded hands in many years.

[Steve Moskowitz]

Ron, I do not even think it is scientific but it is worse than a guess. There are some cars in the guide that are off 6 figures on verified auction sales in the past few years. Many others off thousands of dollars and many it is impossible to put a dollar figure on but they do....makes great trash!

[rocketraider]

And Mr. Sloan's hierarchy has made a sudden shift into reverse, with Chevy at the top and Caddy at the bottom . I agree with pmen- I fooled with Chevys for a long time, until they started pricing out of reason. I realised I could get a higher-line car, much better trimmed and appointed, for less money and with <B>WAY</B> less competition for available NOS parts. I could also stand out from the crowd a little more.<P>On the gadget aspect- the 70s Caprice/Impala convertibles were usually as loaded as anything GM built. The plus side is, by that time stuff interchanged between Divisions and it's simpler to find replacements for one's non-functioning gadgets.<P>Strangely, I see fewer loaded Oldsmobiles than I do the other four Divisions' big ragtops. I don't think I've ever seen a 71-75 LeSabre/Centurion or Caprice rag without power windows, though I'm sure they were made.

[Guest]

as a foot note to all of this i mite add that circa 1965 the Caprice MSRP was about $2 (two) MORE than the Calais. The joke at the time was 'why buy a Cadillac when u can have a chevy for a coupl'a bucks more'.

[Restorer32]

For a real laugh check the Old Cars Price Guide for prices on unrestored '32 Packards and tell me where I can pick up a few...unfortunately at any farm auction where any old car appears there will be a person or two with a copy stuffed in their back pocket...extrapolation can be fun...

[rocketraider]

You know, Packard- only Chevy, by virtue of sheer size and Ed Cole, could have got away with pricing one of their cars higher than a Cadillac. Buick used to get its knuckles rapped regularly for doing that. Olds and Pontiac knew better, since Olds had gone thru the "you don't out-Cadillac a Cadillac" thing when they built the original Rocket V8.