At what point does an old car become too old and too expensive to be used as a daily driver? Ten, twenty, thirty years old? How about almost forty? I found this old beauty on ebay the other night with an asking price of $7,500 and with just 14,000 miles on it, you could say that it's a steal for that money. However, it is a 1976 Malibu Classic and in the collector car world, it's an albatross. It's really not worth anything above and beyond what it is; a 38 year old car with low mileage in very good condition. A 1976 Monte Carlo with this kind of mileage on it would probably retail for almost double this asking price. Especially a Monte Carlo with this handsome color scheme.
Makes me wonder, though, what would it be like to use this car as a daily driver? Since it's all but worthless in the collector car world and will not appreciate further (the asking price is pretty ambitious in the first place), the value in this car is in its superb condition. So, why not? What could go wrong? I'm actually more than half serious about this.
The biggest obstacle for me would be getting my wife on board with it. Long putt. I can hear her now, "we already have the 1977 Corvette that's falling apart and you want to use an even older car as a daily driver?" Women and their logic.
Anticipating possibly needing a replacement for my 2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in 2015 and facing down college tuition bills, I did an exhaustive search of cars.com and unearthed what I believe to be the best car available (for me) here in Cleveland, Ohio for $7,500; this plucky, handsome 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP with 43,000 miles on it. Yes, this car is 16 years old. This Grand Prix GTP is an explosive high performer compared to the old Malibu, is better in winter weather because of its front wheel drive and is supremely more comfortable than the Malibu.
It should also be a bit better on gas than the Malibu although the supercharged 3800 was never known for its stinginess. Overall, much like the Malibu, the value in this car is in its very nice condition and, actually more importantly than the low mileage on the Malibu (on really old cars low mileage means next to nothing), its low mileage. A challenge with a 16 year old Pontiac priced this high, though, is that very few banks and/or credit unions will give you a loan for it. You can't charge the full purchase price of it on a credit card either although you can put some of the purchase price on a card. So, in the end you've got to have cash to get it home. And even $5,000 cash is a lot for a lot of people - especially folks looking for a "cash car". What's more, insurance companies will only give you "book" for it if, heaven forbid, something happens to it. Last check on kbb.com had 1999 Grand Prix' valued between $2,300 and $3,700. That's quite a "spread" between book value and what this car's asking price is. A tree falls on this car and you're out that difference. Think about that.
This Malibu, according to the NADA buyers guide, is valued around $5400 so there's some wiggle room with the asking price here. Not $2,000 but perhaps enough to be able to get this car out the door, with tax and registration for the asking price. Chances are you'll get some money off the asking price of the Grand Prix but your money is "safer" in the Malibu. Best we talk to our insurance agent about what we would get for the Malibu if it got totaled or stolen. If it's two grand more than the old Grand Prix then this begins to really interesting.
Another obstacle to over come is what people would think of me if I drove this as a daily driver. As a cool, old Chevy in the garage it's one thing. As a daily driver it's another thing entirely. Perhaps I'm over thinking this but I can't help recalling how dated and weird I believed it was that when I was a kid our neighbor drove around in a 1952 Pontiac Chieftain. That was the mid 1970's so that meant that old Pontiac was a mere pup at twenty two or twenty three years of age. This oldster is going to be thirty nine in 2015. What would the neighbors think? I shouldn't care of course but I do. I drive a car that's thirteen years old as it is and my son uses a car that's nineteen years old and no one says anything about how old they are but my son's car is also a Camaro so it gets a "coolness" hall pass of sorts. So, again, how old does a car have to be too old to drive as a daily driver?
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