Future Collectibility of Marauder?

[b4z]

What do you guys think?
Obviously it doesn't have the followin that the '94-96 Impala SS has.
But at what point does it stop depreciating, level off, and start appreciating?

The reason I bring this up is that
I vacation in Hendersonville, NC at least 4-6 times a year.
In July I was up there cruising around looking at real estate, and
noticed a large 6 car carport(3 wide 2 deep), with a dusty black Marauder with no license plate sitting at the back of the carport.
Was up there 10/17 and road by the house again, and there was the dusty black Marauder still sitting in the same spot.(no license plate)

Future collectible?

[MARAUDER S/C #5]

Yes, mine will be a collectible someday. Not all will, depends on how you care for it. And Marauders will be more rare than the SS. :cool:

[423REED]

What do you guys think?
Obviously it doesn't have the followin that the '94-96 Impala SS has.
But at what point does it stop depreciating, level off, and start appreciating?

The reason I bring this up is that
I vacation in Hendersonville, NC at least 4-6 times a year.
In July I was up there cruising around looking at real estate, and
noticed a large 6 car carport(3 wide 2 deep), with a dusty black Marauder with no license plate sitting at the back of the carport.
Was up there 10/17 and road by the house again, and there was the dusty black Marauder still sitting in the same spot.(no license plate)

Future collectible?I think the Marauder will most definitely be collectible. The only questions are: How long must you wait? How collectible will it be? How much will it be worth when they become collectible? Will you still own your Marauder then? History has proven that limited production, higher performance specialty cars do become collectible. Usually the ones with the best performance, lowest mileage, and in the most factory stock condition, will achieve the highest collectible resale value at car auctions of the future. Forget about what the Impala SS is doing right now. Our Marauders will be there when the time comes. The only "fly in the ointment", as it were, is that most of us will probably not be the owners of our Marauders in the future.

So, take good care of your Marauder. I plan to keep the miles lower, but I do believe in driving and enjoying my cars.
______________________________ _
2004 MARAUDER 300A - DTR
1994 TAURUS SHO - DK GREEN

[jakdad]

I think the Marauder will most definitely be collectible. The only questions are: How long you must wait? How collectible will it be? How much will be be worth when they become collectible? Will you still own your Marauder then? History has proven that limited production, higher performance specialty cars do become collectible. Usually the ones with the lbest performance, owest mileage, and in the most factory stock condition, will achieve the highest collectible resale value at car auctions of the future. Forget about what the Impala SS is doing right now. Our Marauders will be there when the time comes. The only "fly in the ointment", as it were, is that most of us will probably not be the owners of our Marauders in the future.

So, take good care of your Marauder. I plan to keep the miles lower, but I do believe in driving and enjoying my cars.
______________________________ _
2004 MARAUDER 300A - DTR
1994 TAURUS SHO - DK GREEN
Look at your Marauders today from the 60s. Been around 40 years, see what they are selling for. probably wont be much different. Like any other car, milage, condition, etc. all come into play. I have a 2000 Lightning with 4500 miles on it. I seriously doubt that in 20 years it will be worth a lot of money. Some cars just mature faster than others in value. The early Mustangs are a good example. They matured quickly but the Galaxies, Impalas, Road Runners, etc. did not mature in value as rapidly. Really a guessing game.

[Vortex]

Ill tell you what, they might not appreciate very fast but Im sure they will appreciate. This is the last body on frame american performance car that will ever be built. There will be other v8 rwd american cars but none as traditional as this one. I would bet they bottom out in a few years and slowly come back up. They will never be worth Superbird/Boss 429 ect dollars but I dont think you will lose your ass on one either in the long run. I would not recommend buying any car for an investment anyway. That said, I would love to have another 26k and a storage room because I would certainly buy a black/black 04 and save it for about 20 years. Can you imagine when everyone is riding around in hybrids and diesels 20 years from now and you have a shiny new MM? Worth the wait!

[2005Marauder]

No! No! No!.

I think it will be as rare and collectable as a '67 Pontiac Executive.
Try to find one--they are very rare. Last time I checked, one in good condition was bringing almost $2,700.00 and folks were pulling the engines out of them to put in their '67 GTO rebuilds. My prediction is that in 2033 they'll be pulling our engines out for their '03 Mustang Mach 1 rebuild projects.

[duhtroll]

A "collectible" is not what it was 20 years ago. Collectibles have taken a hit lately. Why? So much more (as far as variety of things) to collect.

Society is also becoming more practical. Sure, rich folks will collect stuff, but I seriously doubt anything made by Mercury will fit that category when they will be able to choose things like GTs and any of the other limited release cars out there.

How many collectible cars can you name from the 50s and 60s?

Now how many can you name from the 70s and 80s?

IMO the list is getting smaller, with more vehicles to choose from.

Good luck on the collectible thing, but I ain't holdin' my breath.

Drive it and enjoy. There will always be another car.

-A

[89VERT]

Up here in Canada , I see '94-96 Impala SS 's going for 17-19K Canadian .

That's alot of scratch for a 10 year old car !

[stevengerard]

Up here in Canada , I see '94-96 Impala SS 's going for 17-19K Canadian .
I see the same here in Chicago ofgten. And I see a lot more SS's than MM's. I always like the SS but now I really like it, though I still prefer the MM. Collectable, this comes up every few months, It may be, you can't compare it to the 60s and the 70s. The MM is like the Wildcat, Catalina 2+2, etc of those era's but now adays, trucks are worth more, station wagon's etc. Its now actaully cool to drive a four door thanks to the SS.

[Bigdogjim]

Mercury's have never really gone for any "big" money over the years.

sad but true:mad:

Just enjoy the car for what it is:up:

[Patrick]

I am just enjoying the ride. :drive: :cuke:

[jakdad]

I think some of us are having delusions of grandeur about these cars. Love the car. Better than that, my wife loves it (her car). I don't know that any of us will be around long enough to get what we paid out of it. Cars like the Shelby Cobra only come around on rare occasions. If I remember right the Cobras sold for around $7000.00 in 1965. Today they fetch $350,000.00 and up. The Daytona coupe? Forget it!!!

[Bluerauder]

Ill tell you what, they might not appreciate very fast but Im sure they will appreciate.
I appreciate my Marauder every day and every chance I get to jump in it and take off for ..... somewhere .... anywhere. If it becomes a collectible sometime in the future, so be it. But until then, I am driving and having fun.

[jakdad]

I appreciate my Marauder every day and every chance I get to jump in it and take off for ..... somewhere .... anywhere. If it becomes a collectible sometime in the future, so be it. But until then, I am driving and having fun.
What he said!!!!!!

:D :D :D :D

[Marauderjack]

Tooooo much PLASTIC!!

Car won't last 30 years and if some of it survived there would'nt be replacement bumpers, grills, dash boards etc.!!!

IMHO!!!! ;)

Marauderjack :(

[jakdad]

Tooooo much PLASTIC!!

Car won't last 30 years and if some of it survived there would'nt be replacement bumpers, grills, dash boards etc.!!!

IMHO!!!! ;)

Marauderjack :( Probably right!

[SergntMac]

Rare? Just about everyone here owns one...

[duhtroll]

On a related note, this will be the first car I do not rid myself of after buying its eventual replacement (7 or so years from now). I will most likely keep it around and perhaps replace its engine sometime rather than ever trade it.

Who knows, by then I may even know something about mechanics. Or at least the robots can show me.

-A

[Lou]

I am not counting on using mine as a collectible but rather a my daily driver. I love driving something with a bit of guts that looks great. Because I put about 7500 miles a year on it I figger it'll have too many miles to be collectible in 20 years.:cool:

[wesman]

I my humble opinion, any car they made 11,000 of will not be very collectible. That is based on years of watching rare porsches & supercars decline in value. A Ferrari F40 these days can be seen listed as low as £50,000 in London. They made 1200. Of course the supercar market is different, in that there is always a new one coming along to drop $$$$$$ on. But generally, if they made more than 100 examples, the price is going to get cheaper.

The Marauder market I am sure will be stronger than regular cars because of us, the enthusiast. An interesting twist is the effect these boards will have on the value of the cars. Enthusiasts of the future will be able to look back and see how much we loved these cars and maybe they will learn to as well. This instant exchange of information and experience is something that adds to the enjoyment of owning many fold. I went from knowing very little about these cars to rabid in a few days, due to reading old threads. The one that started it all for me was BillyGman's burnout videos. I stumbled on to them somewhere else on the net. Then I saw Logan's exhaust install thread and thought this is the car for me. V8, rear drive, aftermarket support & Badass looks.

[Dr Caleb]

Rare? Just about everyone here owns one...


:loco: :rolleyes: :shake: :rofl:

Look at the Crown Vic Touring Edition (1992). Only ~400 made, and according to Edmunds, a clean low milage car is only worth ~$3000.00. (I actually saw a brown on cream one the other day!!)

Something is only 'collectable' is someone else wants to buy it, and can't find it. I'd pay $5000 for a CV Touring Ed. I'm not counting on anyone wanting my MM in 30 years, except me.

[Patrick]

Yes make it collectible. Buy it and take straight to the Garage and cover it up!!!! And wait 20yrs and see how much money you MIGHT gain.......... :argh: :drive: :drive: :drive:

[jgc61sr2002]

I my humble opinion, any car they made 11,000 of will not be very collectible. That is based on years of watching rare porsches & supercars decline in value. A Ferrari F40 these days can be seen listed as low as £50,000 in London. They made 1200. Of course the supercar market is different, in that there is always a new one coming along to drop $$$$$$ on. But generally, if they made more than 100 examples, the price is going to get cheaper.

The Marauder market I am sure will be stronger than regular cars because of us, the enthusiast. An interesting twist is the effect these boards will have on the value of the cars. Enthusiasts of the future will be able to look back and see how much we loved these cars and maybe they will learn to as well. This instant exchange of information and experience is something that adds to the enjoyment of owning many fold. I went from knowing very little about these cars to rabid in a few days, due to reading old threads. The one that started it all for me was BillyGman's burnout videos. I stumbled on to them somewhere else on the net. Then I saw Logan's exhaust install thread and thought this is the car for me. V8, rear drive, aftermarket support & Badass looks.


I tend to agree.

[QWK SVT]

Up here in Canada , I see '94-96 Impala SS 's going for 17-19K Canadian .

That's alot of scratch for a 10 year old car !
Yes, especially since they tend to have 150k km on them... I'm sure that they were all "maturely driven" too - at least that's what all the ads say :rolleyes: :burn:

[jerrym3]

Basically, cars become collectible (ie-worth a lot of bucks) when:

1) the youngster who drooled over the car as a kid grows up and now has the money to buy one

or

2) a "mature" owner wants a particular car because he owned one in his youth

No offense, but kids aren't drooling over the MM. They love the rice rockets too much (of course, there's always a few exceptions), and, here's the offensive part, it sounds like most of the MM owners here are already in, or rapidly approaching, the "mature" buyer age.

I figure when Ford pulls the plug on my TBird, the next owner, one of my daughters, might have a chance at having a collectible. The again, maybe not.

Either way, at my age, it will not be an issue that I have to worry about.

[b4z]

The Impala SS was produced in prety high numbers, especially the last year which took it's production up to December 1996.

The Impala SS has depreciated less than ANY Chevrolet built since the 60s.
Including Corvettes.

[rayjay]

Basically, cars become collectible (ie-worth a lot of bucks) when:

1) the youngster who drooled over the car as a kid grows up and now has the money to buy one

or

2) a "mature" owner wants a particular car because he owned one in his youth

No offense, but kids aren't drooling over the MM. They love the rice rockets too much (of course, there's always a few exceptions), and, here's the offensive part, it sounds like most of the MM owners here are already in, or rapidly approaching, the "mature" buyer age.

I figure when Ford pulls the plug on my TBird, the next owner, one of my daughters, might have a chance at having a collectible. The again, maybe not.

Either way, at my age, it will not be an issue that I have to worry about.
I have to agree. My 22 yr old daughter asked why I bought an "old man's" car. Even a spirited ride didn't change her attitude towards it.

[danbike]

Tooooo much PLASTIC!!

Car won't last 30 years and if some of it survived there would'nt be replacement bumpers, grills, dash boards etc.!!!

IMHO!!!! ;)

Marauderjack :(

There is a lot of truth in this posting. One item that will be almost impossible to find in 25 years will be the little cap the covers the electrical outlet in the armrest. I collect vintage Brit motorcycles. One of the strong points is how simple the vehicle is. As complexity goes up, the ability to restore goes down. I can't wait to see the cottage industry making new black boxes for vintage cars, 25 years down the road.

[Vortex]

Just a sidebar, GM has already made more than 14k new GTOs (how many have you seen on the road?) and I think they made about 50k Impala SS's. Now lets see, 11k MM's total. Interesting, eh?

[merc406]

Maybe the 1st one and the last one built made will be, and one's that are rare in color, but only if they have very low low miles and still smell like new, sort ta speak. Org. tire's (ya right), org. everything and all the option's would be pluses. Modifed cars won't fare as well. But watching the BJ Auction's this last year, modifed org's. did very well.

[QWK SVT]

I have to agree. My 22 yr old daughter asked why I bought an "old man's" car. Even a spirited ride didn't change her attitude towards it.At 26, one ride had me hooked! My co-workers that are young (30 and below), often use the word "pimp" to describe the Marauder... :pimp:

[427435]

Basically, cars become collectible (ie-worth a lot of bucks) when:

1) the youngster who drooled over the car as a kid grows up and now has the money to buy one

or

2) a "mature" owner wants a particular car because he owned one in his youth

No offense, but kids aren't drooling over the MM. They love the rice rockets too much (of course, there's always a few exceptions), and, here's the offensive part, it sounds like most of the MM owners here are already in, or rapidly approaching, the "mature" buyer age.

I figure when Ford pulls the plug on my TBird, the next owner, one of my daughters, might have a chance at having a collectible. The again, maybe not.

Either way, at my age, it will not be an issue that I have to worry about.


Very well put, although for #2, I like to say "mature" men want a car like the one they first put the back seat to good use in :censor: :censor: !!!!

An old car is not necessarily a collectable car. A collectable car is usually a car that was much sought after or dreamed about when it was new, like my 427/435 hp '67 Vette. Chevy has had a lot of "collector" edition Corvettes since then (the '78 pace car comes to mind), but most aren't worth much more than a "regular" Corvette of the same vintage. To put it another way, 20 or 30 years from now, an MM may be worth a little more than a Grand Marquis of the same vintage and condition but it won't be worth 10-20 times what we paid for them, like my old Vette is.

So drive it now, enjoy it now, take good care of it, and you'll be able to enjoy it 20 years from now------------but it's not an investment.

[SergntMac]

If anyone has a collectible MM, I do. First ever MM to be supercharged and customized by Kenny Brown, it garnered a lot of attention and publicity, and has been driven by some very famous people. The experimental MM, "#1x of 50," one would think I would be hiding this MM somewhere in bubblewrap. I do not. It's a car I enjoy everyday, and it's taught me more about automobiles than I ever expected to know. It's also taught me a lot about people, with lessons you could not buy at any university.

The "collectible" that is important to me, is collecting new friends, and from all corners of the country. I've met maybe 200 of y'all, and made about 100 solid new friends here over these past two years. Some have become very close friends that will stay friends long after my paint peels away, others let the car get in between. Nonetheless, where else in your lives, ladies and gentlemen, have you enjoyed this kind of high performance? Never before for me, and due to my "maturity," perhaps never again.

I got my return on my investment, and as long as me and my MM can burn gas, we'll be out here driving, eating, racing and hanging with friends. Explore the only factory option you didn't have to pay for, get out and meet other owners. You cannot put these experiences in storage for another day, there is no better time for the MM than now.

[Patrick]

If anyone has a collectible MM, I do. First ever MM to be supercharged and customized by Kenny Brown, it garnered a lot of attention and publicity, and has been driven by some very famous people. The experimental MM, "#1x of 50," one would think I would be hiding this MM somewhere in bubblewrap. I do not. It's a car I enjoy everyday, and it's taught me more about automobiles than I ever expected to know. It's also taught me a lot about people, with lessons you could not buy at any university.

The "collectible" that is important to me, is collecting new friends, and from all corners of the country. I've met maybe 200 of y'all, and made about 100 solid new friends here over these past two years. Some have become very close friends that will stay friends long after my paint peels away, others let the car get in between. Nonetheless, where else in your lives, ladies and gentlemen, have you enjoyed this kind of high performance? Never before for me, and due to my "maturity," perhaps never again.

I got my return on my investment, and as long as me and my MM can burn gas, we'll be out here driving, eating, racing and hanging with friends. Explore the only factory option you didn't have to pay for, get out and meet other owners. You cannot put these experiences in storage for another day, there is no better time for the MM than now.


Well said!!! :high5:

[MM03MOK]

and has been driven by some very famous people.
:bunny: :bunny2: :bunny: :bunny2: :bunny: :bunny2: :bunny:


The "collectible" that is important to me, is collecting new friends, and from all corners of the country. I've met maybe 200 of y'all, and made about 100 solid new friends here over these past two years. Some have become very close friends that will stay friends long after my paint peels away, others let the car get in between.http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_11_46.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_VSXXXXXX46US ) :hug2: The people and the car = :lovies:

[Bradley G]

My sentiments exactly Mac :coolman: I've never driven your car:(

[SilverStreak]

Envision this scene in your mind...40 years into the future...As you drive down an old country road you notice
something out of the corner of your eye that brings back fond memories of earlier days... A dirty black car..Hey, is that at GM or CV sitting out in a field next to an outbuilding with hay and weeds comming up through the hood and grill...Could be, they built millions of 'em back in the day....No wait look at those big gray five spoke wheels...As you pass by you notice a spoiler on the rear deck....Yes...A Marauder!!!!
As you turn around you see an elderly gentleman walking
from the outbuilding, You pull over and yell out to him. "Hey, Nice car,
How much do you want for it?" He yells back "Not for sale, it's gonna be a classic someday...Someday...And that's when I'll sell it...But first it'll have to be painted SILVER! ;)

[NAVCHAP]

Value for the Marauders in the future will be in the eye of the beholder. For the most part, we who bought and built them did it for the present uniqueness and special link to the past rather than the investment value. I don't think they'll ever be worth as much as the 94-96 Impala SS, which was much more of a "Halo" (pun intended) car than the Marauder turned out to be. I will never get what I think my MM is worth, but that was not my motivation for buying and building it in the first place. -kjs-