What happened to all the Reattas?

[Guest]

I looked though e-bay, Autotrader, Hemmings, and Collector Car Trader Online and not too many Reattas available.<P>Is this the beginning of a price increase? <P>Low supply and high demand makes me a happy Reatta owner.<BR>

[Guest]

Auto Trader has 208 cars listed, which is fairly high. Two years ago Auto Trader had about 130 cars listed. Winter is always a slow time for auto sales, but I believe there are more Reattas for sale now than in the past.<P>The price for used Reattas can be high, over $15K, but there are many higher mileage ones in the $3K range. Two years ago this was unheard of.<P>Also, as the used daily Reattas with 175K miles retire, there seems to be more parts available than two years ago. Good 'ol Speedway used to ask for and get $1500 for a used vent window assembly. Today several on Ebay for $450 went unsold.<P>Eventually, the user Reattas will be long gone and all that survive will be the lower mileage garage kept weekenders. When will this occur? I would think it will start in five years. By the time the remaining Reattas are worth more, most will be long gone. <P>The reason the Novas are so popular now is the limited supply. If most of the origionals were still around, the Nova would not be worth so much. Same will happen with the Reatta is five to ten years.

[s.zaban]

I believe the 100th anniversary in flint in 2003 will have a major effect on pricing of all buicks. After and even the year before the oldsmobile 100th, prices started to climb. I need spell check on this forum, is it effect or affect???

[padgett]

a) You can affect an effect.<P> Good cars are pretty cheap right now, in the $5k range. This is pushing the not-so-good cars down fast. Suspect the $100 lexan vent windows are also pushing down the value of the originals.<P>Keep in mind that the cost to improve a car is generally double the price to buy one that is already in good shape. Further consider that the cost of repairs is skyrocketing particularly if someone else does it.<P>It is *easy* to drop $600 into brakes, a/c, or suspention just to bring back to usable/safe. Double that for engine or transmission problems. <span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic"> And such repairs do not add one cent to the value, they just make the car salable.</span></span><P>So if very nice under 100k mile cars are selling (not asking) in the $4500-$5500 range, just two problems as above (or something obscure in the electrics) is enough to drop to the $1500-$2500 range which we are starting to see.<P>This is not uncommon and probably the only thing that will keep prices above $1k is inflation.<P>The basic problem is that most people who have a k$ or two in cash and who would want a car that needs considerable effort is far less than those who have $5k for one that needs nothing (and matches their abilities).<P>If you look at another thread you will see that the people on this list often have multiple cars and facilities to work on them. I suspect an interesting correlation would be how many here have an air compressor.<P>Part of the reason Novas (and how many here know what NOVA means ? - don't say "Doesn't go") are increasing in value is that the real muscle cars are mostly in garages already - the day of the $600 Judge is long past).<P>Doesn't hurt that there is little difference under the skin between a Nova and a Camaro though I wonder how many are left who could drive a 396/375hp Nova (and why you really didn't want to). <P>So I expect the prices to continue dropping for a while as more cars age and they get increasingly hard to work on. Today everything is still available. Wait another five years and see what it is like.

[Guest]

Yes, the Nova is a crummy, cheap car. I have five of them now and have owned dozens more. The Nova is a copy of the Falcon, and the popular Mustang is just a reskinned crummy Falcon.<P>But the Reatta is not a copy of any other car. It is very distinguished. And this will keep the value up in the future.<P>The worst aspect about the Reatta is the B U I C K across the back. Really cheapens the car both cosmetically and market value wise. Buicks are known as old mans' cars and are not supposed to be sporty. The Reatta just doesen't fit Buicks image. But it fits mine!

[padgett]

Not Buick related (unless someone has an Apollo) but never thought the Nova was a "cheap crummy car". They were designed to price but had many quite interesting varients such as the SS-396, '74 GTO (with camper option), original Phoenix (first American car with rectangular headlamps), and '76 Seville (with std FI) are just some of them.<P>True, there were a lot of utility tan four-doors with 6 cyl and powerslide but that is true of everything. Personally, always thought it was a nice package but then have met very few cars I didn't like.

[Guest]

Yes, Padgett, I do indeed own a 1974 Buick Apollo, a Nova clone. Surprises never end.

[Guest]

And I also own a tan 1965 Chevy II four door sedan with a 230 six cylinder and powerglide! Gets 20 MPG and scoots! Padgett, how do you know these things?