COPO VALUES IN GENERAL

[MultiMopars]

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MM, you're being way too analytical here. You can't look to the price guides like the NADA on late models at auction. These cars are emotional buys, not commodities, and often times the STORY is as compelling as anything about the car. Dealers like Mr. Norm's, Berger, Dana, and Tasca had such a high profile, that many buyers want a piece of that. If history meant nothing, then factory Ferraris and Shelbys that won major races wouldn't bring any more than unsuccessful privateer cars. Going through one of the "BIG" dealers just adds cachet to some buyers (me included). Yenko SYC cars, even though mechanically identical to the iron COPO cars, are their own deal because they have their own IDENTITY, much like Shelbys. And most discerning collectors know that the COPO option was Yenko's brainchild, and that the non-Yenko cars were made after the fact. The Yenko brand has only gotten stronger through the efforts of this board and other media, and that is bound to create more demand. And whatever you think about the aesthetics of the stripes, they make the cars more visually interesting and give them a stronger identity. And if you don't think that makes any difference, then you need only look at the value differences of Judge and non-Judge GTO's to see the error of that view. Or even a Road Runner versus a 330hp Sport Satellite.

The heart wants what it wants and will often pay accordingly.

As for these WIW/value threads, they are a little distasteful, but are easily avoided for those who are not inclined to participate, IMO.

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My opinion, your opinion, tomato toma'to.


I respectfully DISAGREE with about 90% of what you have said here.
Here is why.
First I don't understand you first comment? Are you referring to LATE models from the standpoint of using an NADA guide for OLD car auctions or LATE model cars? Either way, an NADA OLD car guide is the last one I would use.

You must have missed my comments about the differences in buyers and certainly the emotional purchase falls under that as well.

I am all about HISTORY. In fact I am old enough to have lived in my heyday through this very history. Maybe that is why I feel the way I do about much of this. As far as I am concerned when you are speaking of an old car that COULD have been ordered from ANY authorized dealer why should WHO got the original owners money have any bearing on the price today? Maybe some of you younger guys are buying into this because you first learned of these cars through some of the books that have been published that taut these car and some of the DEALER packages etc.

There are exceptions and the Yenko cars are one but that is because of the stripes and lettering as you pointed out. Mr. Norm also had a special order of 1968 440/375 Darts that HE branded as a GSS. They were only available through him, which is another example of this. I would even throw in the Baldwin/Motion cars here simply because they had a HISTORY of being very competative race cars due to their "guarantee." This however could be likened to these cars that have a proven track record with a well known racer of the day that will command more money than a like car without.

Yenko did NOT invent the COPO porcess as it was used for many years prior for many special circumstance cars. I don't feel that the COPO order process is what gives value to these cars but rather how they were equipped through this process. It is just what has become the easy way of DESCRIBING what the car really is as it was not something you could find a Chevrolet brochure as an RPO.

I completely understand the differences between your example GTOs and Mopars, but in these instances mean nothing to the context of this discussion as they are either different models or sales packages, which we all know make a difference in values.

Your right "The heart wants what it wants and will often pay accordingly" but I don't think that people should be told that there is a substancial difference in the price of like cars simply because of where it was sold originally, above examples excluded. The bottom line is there really needs to be something "special" about the car ITSELF not just where it was sold. If this is something that eventually comes to be a FACT by virtue of proven sales prices where it can be determined THAT is why it sold for more, then so be it. In the meantime as a SALEMAN I can tell you it is simply the old car dealers that HAVE one in inventory or the SELLER/OWNER that is hyping this. I can honestly say that I have never heard anyone say that they are specifically looking for a car that was sold at a particular dealer to BUY other than the above examples.

As far as THIS WIW thread let me bring some clarity to this. I don't own one that I am selling, and I have no intentions or buying one. As I said, i am simply interested in old car values and what drives people's way of thinking on them and why. As you can tell, I have strong opinions on these things as obviously you and others do too. I consider this to be very HEALTHY discussion although I KNOW that often people have a tendence to get over heated. It reminds me of a time I was listening to two friends argue about baseball. One of them was an attorney and when some other outsider chimed in with "please stop arguing" he said "it is what I went to school to learn and do for a living."