Unsold 1987 Buick GNX becomes dealer time capsule.

[Intrepidation]

Unsold 1987 Buick GNX becomes dealer time capsule.

In the mid-1980′s the performance car market in the United States was still in a pretty dismal state of tune. There were a few rays of light like the Ford Mustang GT and Pontiac Trans Am, but the only real shining star was Buick’s one year only 1987 GNX. Sure it was expensive, but it had the numbers to back up the price. Back then anything with horsepower numbers over 200 was a big deal, so when the GNX came out with its underrated 276 bhp and 360 lb-ft. of torque, enthusiasts couldn’t help but take notice. There was however one inherent problem… the car cost $30,000, around $10,000 more than a standard Buick Grand National. Collectors knew the car was something special and because of this most were sold immediately.

There was however one GNX that was delivered to Boulevard Buick in Long Beach, California that was never snapped up. In fact it still sits on the showroom floor with a total of just 164 miles on the clock. Back then the dealer thought they’d make some big money by tacking on an additional 5k to the price, but nobody wanted to bite, so instead of giving the car away for sticker, they just kept it. Right now Brad Willingham, son of Jim Willingham, the dealers original owner, said “We had visions of making big money,” he said. “Now it’s part of our heritage.” My opinion… this is a car dealer, and like any car dealer anything is for sale for the right price. So, how much would you pay for this brand new 1987 Buick GNX?

http://www.ridelust.com/unsold-1987-buick-gnx-becomes-dealer-time-capsule/

[Camino LS6]

When I bought my '87 El Camino SS, the dealer had a GNX in the showroom behind velvet ropes.

They wanted 50k for it.

[hyperv6]

Toth Buick here in Akron still has their GNX as they never sold it.

They have kept it and raced it some. The family has a large collecton of cars.

They did not modify the car much. The body and inteior I believe are still all original. Not sure what the enigne has done they did put weld wheels and race tires on it. I heard it only has 1/4 mile runs on the speedo and has never been on the road.

I don't see these as worth crazy money. It is the best GN to have but lets face it the cars performance is really not that special compared to todays cars so this is a car that would have to appeal to a GN fan.

Edited December 18, 2010 by hyperv6

[Camino LS6]

Clean examples are hovering near the 100k mark these days.

[hyperv6]

Clean examples are hovering near the 100k mark these days.

Maybe for the die hard collector. I would just be happy with a low milege GN for a lot less.

To me the GNX is like the Lotus Engined ZR1. Neat and nice but overshadowed by later performance cars.

The GNX was best of it's breed but I guess I just see it for $100K there are many other cars I would choose first.

A co worker cloned one a few years back. It looked just like the real thing outside and with the engine he built it was even faster than the real thing. Not a bad summer daily driver. He had less than $25k in it.

Edited December 18, 2010 by hyperv6

[Paolino]

My local Buick dealer has a 91 Reatta with 2,787 miles on it. They wanted $32,999... after a year of not selling, they're asking $29,999. I still think they're about $20,000 too high

[balthazar]

>>"Maybe for the die hard collector."<<

Who else pays over used car values for ANY older car?? Collectors. What a bizarre statement.

And to compare it to "later performance cars" is MORE bizarre- moderate performance cars can out-perform a stock vintage GTO- are they worth $500 because of it?

You cannot make legitimate judgements of decades-old cars versus much newer cars and try to couple it to value. Car collecting just does NOT work that way.

You may not care for the GNX, but you cannot explain away it's appeal to others NOR it's place in performance history.

[hyperv6]

>>"Maybe for the die hard collector."<<

Who else pays over used car values for ANY older car?? Collectors. What a bizarre statement.

And to compare it to "later performance cars" is MORE bizarre- moderate performance cars can out-perform a stock vintage GTO- are they worth $500 because of it?

You cannot make legitimate judgements of decades-old cars versus much newer cars and try to couple it to value. Car collecting just does NOT work that way.

You may not care for the GNX, but you cannot explain away it's appeal to others NOR it's place in performance history.

Relax!

It is all supply and demand. I never said it was a bad car and I do like it. But my own choice for $100K would be a lot of other cars first.

The fact they only built 547 units is what has this cars price up so high. It really is a rare car in a world of many so called rare cars. If they had built 5,000 units the price would drop fast. Besides this is really not even a really old car yet It is just reaching the age most states will give it historical status. At the Same age many of the big money GTO's and such were still trading for just over $1,000-$5,000 for some pretty clean cars. As demand rose as baby boomers wanted to relive the 60's witht he cars they could not own the prices went up. It took longer for demand to out strip the supply on most of these cars.

Sorry but it is just my own feeling that if I were to spend my own money I would not spend 6 figures on a Regal of any kind. Just too many other cars older, newer, faster and slower cars I would rather have.

If I had a large collection and unlimited funds I would find a space for one. But if I only had one or two cars this one would be farther down on the list.

A price driven up by demand for only 547 units only needs 1500 people to raise the price quickly. That is just the blessing of a good looking low volume car.

I just reserve the right to my original statment "I guess I just see it for $100K there are many other cars I would choose first".

I have owned many collector cars and made a lot of money dealing them over the years. I understand very well what makes money. But often money little to do with many cars I am interested in.

There are cars I like and then there are cars I make money with. Sometimes they match up and other time they don't.

Edited December 18, 2010 by hyperv6

[hyperv6]

My local Buick dealer has a 91 Reatta with 2,787 miles on it. They wanted $32,999... after a year of not selling, they're asking $29,999. I still think they're about $20,000 too high

That is kind of like the guys that pop up once in a while with a $25,000 Fiero. GM unloaded some of the factory prototypes for only around $17,000. I think they just price these just to try to drive up the market. The problem is there are just way too many still on the roads. The Rust is finally catching up with many but even then the marker will remain like the Corvairs.

My buddy bought a PPG Indy Car Indy pace car. He as far as I know has paid the highest price of around $50K. But it is more than just a PPG car. It was also the missing 3rd Track used Indy Pace car. It was rebodied with the IMSA panels and used by PPG later on. It still had the SD4 engine and was one of only three made. The Indy Speedway has one and GM has the other.

Looking at the 80's there will only be a few cars worth much and many will be very expensive and difficult to restore. I figure the replacment market will cater to the Mustang, F body and Vette but many others will try to find NOS plast interior parts to replace items broken or worn out. Many of these cars the inteiors just went to hell.

Things like the Reatta dash Imagine trying to repair that one.

[Paolino]

Things like the Reatta dash Imagine trying to repair that one.

That is one of the first things I thought when I looked at the pictures of the car. Granted it's in mint condition, but one problem and where are you going to get an instrument cluster from? It's all digital! Where are you going to find one of those lying around!

[hyperv6]

That is one of the first things I thought when I looked at the pictures of the car. Granted it's in mint condition, but one problem and where are you going to get an instrument cluster from? It's all digital! Where are you going to find one of those lying around!

I fear we will see a lot of that in the future as so many of the parts we used to just pull out of the junk yard just won't cut it anymore. Then the value of the car often will prevent someone from spending much on it.

We already see that now with many of the Ferrari's that are not as popular. There is a place in England that salvages them. The car look pretty good but often the rust is to the point it would cost more to repair them than they are worth.

In the future we see many cars that will get used up and have few to no running examples around.

[daves87rs]

That is one of the first things I thought when I looked at the pictures of the car. Granted it's in mint condition, but one problem and where are you going to get an instrument cluster from? It's all digital! Where are you going to find one of those lying around!

True...

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

Buick a king of the road without having traveled it

Jerry Hirsch / Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles— The sinister-looking black coupe sits in a corner of the showroom floor, oozing macho and muscle. Square headlights. Evil sneer for a grille. Six cylinders of turbocharged fury.

This new car is 23 years old. It's a Buick Regal GNX, and in 1987 car enthusiasts including celebrity collectors Reggie Jackson, Burt Reynolds and Sylvester Stallone snapped them up.

probably qualify for Obama's Refi…

More info...

This menacing Buick — one of only about 500 — still sports its original $29,389 sticker on the window. Experts say it could sell at auction for north of $120,000, especially since most of its surviving siblings have many more miles of rough roads under their fenders.

Why this GNX still sits there in Signal Hill, Calif., amounts to a miscalculation by the dealership, Boulevard Buick, which tried unsuccessfully to boost its profit by auctioning it to the highest bidder.

"This was a car that was meant to go fast and driven hard," said Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson, the Arizona rare and classic auto auction house. "So when you find one in virgin condition sitting unsold at a dealer, that is bulletproof provenance."

The GNX was the last and greatest in the Grand National series Buick launched in 1982 and named after the NASCAR racing series.

Essentially a souped-up version of the Buick Regal, Grand Nationals had a unique appeal: They could blow the doors off many cars, yet pass for family sedans.

With the passage of time, the GNX has become the most sought after of the Grand Nationals, and the car in Signal Hill may be the most coveted of all. "People talk about that car. It is a legend," said Lee Westrope, a GNX owner and car collector from Nuevo, Calif.

When the dealership was given a GNX to sell, it put the car up for an auction in hopes of juicing the sales price. Not a single buyer stepped up.

The Willinghams, who own Boulevard Buick and paid GM $26,856 for car, decided not to take a loss on what they thought would be their most profitable car ever.

Now and then an enthusiast who recognizes the GNX for the rarity it is comes by to ogle it, and once in a while someone asks about buying the car.

"We had visions of making big money," said Brad Willingham, of Boulevard Buick. "Now it's part of our heritage."

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20101223/AUTO01/12230351/Buick-a-king-of-the-road-without-having-traveled-it#ixzz18wdTlbUD

[A Horse With No Name]

We ahve a near mint GNX for sale here in Columbus at cArs2NV....

[G. David Felt]

Wish I could find a solid 86-87 Monte Carlo Areo. Those were lovely cars, but usually trashed beyond salvage.

[oldshurst442]

I watched this Jay Leno Garage video about a couple of weeks ago when it was released.

This thread was created nearly 20 years ago.  19 years to the day almost to be exact...

Id say this is cool that @dfelt just posted how he wants an Aero Monte-Carlo in this thread...

 

Edited December 5, 2019 by oldshurst442

[oldshurst442]

 

Quote

This thread was created nearly 20 years ago.  19 years to the day almost to be exact...

Should have been written...nearly 10 years ago. 9 years to the day almost to be exact...

Edited December 5, 2019 by oldshurst442