T-Bird Prices

[Johnny TBird]

Re: T-Bird Prices

I agree with Ned....

my bird is a daily driver and is maintained by a local FORD DEALER.

My granddaughter (the next owner) expect this car to last forever......

Happy Trails

[redwog]

Re: T-Bird Prices

Ted,
8k is much more than I would go between oil changes synthetic or not. 3 to 4k is what I would do.
Greg

If I remember correctly My sons MINI Cooper's Oil changes were free for the first few years BUT the schedule was set up for 10K miles? I remember calling the dealer and asking about changing earlier the gentleman said that was fine but it would void the warranty?!?!?!
Im like you I thought it was a bit of a streach but evidently not for Mini or BMW!
Ted

[Welker]

Re: T-Bird Prices

Oil change timing sounds like a new thread. What kind of oil and how often. For me and my Bird, synthetic and five thousand miles. I think the recommended timing has something to do with who is paying for the service...I have had Mercedes(3), BMW(4) and Audi(2) and when they were paying the recommended changes were at 15,000 miles. Interestingly enough, when the recommended changes are customer charges, it falls at about 3,000 miles with some kind of warranty threat if one doesn't comply.

[Rotorhead]

Re: T-Bird Prices

Just to putr my 2 cents in. The sticker from the original sale quoted 43,800 for a chasmere 2005, I picked it up three weeks ago for 26,880 and it had 6,012 mile on it with the hardtop, stand, tannaue, mylar stripping and a run of the mill car cover. With the past week end weather it was worth even more to the wife and I.

[Lindy]

Re: T-Bird Prices

Regarding the value (for those who bought theirs pre-owned) of the retro-birds: A good price "barometer" on this car; ask yourself two questions after the deal is done:

1.) Was the seller sad?

2.) Am I (the buyer) glad?

If you can answer yes to both questions, then you know you must have paid the right price!

--Lindy

[EllisonCal]

Re: T-Bird Prices

Just to putr my 2 cents in. The sticker from the original sale quoted 43,800 for a chasmere 2005, I picked it up three weeks ago for 26,880 and it had 6,012 mile on it with the hardtop, stand, tannaue, mylar stripping and a run of the mill car cover. With the past week end weather it was worth even more to the wife and I.

You did well! I bought "Annie" in August of 2006. She was a year old had just under 10,000 miles on the odometer and cost $29495 less $4600 trade-in of my wife's 2000 Taurus SEL. Best buy I ever made! I still feel the same way about this car that I did when I drove her home almost 3 years ago. Love my Bird!

Cal

[lmartun]

Re: T-Bird Prices

On CARS.COM there are only 14 2005s listed that have under 10k miles. The cheapest is 29.9 (no hard top) going up to $44k.

I like the sound of that.

I was at a local dealer the other day, rountine maintenance. The Service Director said he has not seen a TBird in as good condition and clean as mine since they were on the showroom. I said, "It's NOT for sale!"


lm

[redwog]

Re: T-Bird Prices

Welker - You are probably Right Just hadnt thought about it that away but 5k will definatly be my Limit!
Thanks
Ted

[JAB02LHS]

Re: T-Bird Prices

Welker - You are probably Right Just hadnt thought about it that away but 5k will definatly be my Limit!
Thanks Ted

I've been changing oil at 6k since the '60's.
What ever Dino Oil and what ever filter my mechanic puts in.
Never had an oil related engine problem.
Usually traded at 100k.
All this 3k change BS started with the "Quick Oil Change" proliferation,
to generate sales, then the Dealerships jumped on board.
Consumer Reports. Oil Change

To determine whether frequent oil changes really help, we changed the oil in three cabs every 3,000 miles, using Pennzoil 10W-30. After 60,000 miles, we compared those engines with the engines from our base tests of the same oil, changed every 6,000 miles. We saw no meaningful differences.

[millken]

Re: T-Bird Prices

I bought my 2003 Bird in feb. of 2008 with 5600 miles .I now have 7500 on it.People buy cars for a lot of differnt reasons. I bought this car for the way it looks.I have heard people refer to it as a garage Queen.Well thats fine. I look at it as a automotive art work and you can laugh but that is how I see it. So for those of you who like to keep a car in a new car condition more power to you .

[Vintage Merlot]

Re: T-Bird Prices

As my friend Leroy stated in a prior post: " Asking Price means nothing. Selling price is the only thing that matters"

[SR71Blackbird]

Re: T-Bird Prices

I bought mine to drive in summer top down bald head shinning, well maybe a hat on, nothing worse than sunburnt skull. I know this will miff a few of you, but I'm glad they lost some value because if the had not I would could never have afforded one. Besides they would still be locked away in storage somewhere.
Mine set my back 21k with 29k on the clock, looked at them when they where new but wife and two kids buying was out of the question.
As far as oil changes go 5k is standard for injected cars, if you have a carb 3k because the oil gets much more contaminated with unused fuel.

[eboose7]

Re: T-Bird Prices

You know, and I know, that a site like this is built on mutual love for the Retro-Bird--on one member's appreciating the other member's point of view. There appears to be no clear consensus on whether to drive the car daily or save it speculating on future value. Personally, I'm on the middle ground. I drive my car about 3,600 miles a year, and I only drive it when the weather it clear. It has never seen a rainy day. More than that, I appreciate those among us who use their cars as daily drivers. There is room on TBN for everybody cares about T-Birds.

As to value, there does appear to be general agreement--value be damned! Most here do not plan to sell, so value is not a factor. Love of the car is the important thing. I bought my car new and paid a premium over the sticker price. That is the penalty "early-adopters" pay. I had to put up a deposit a year in advance, because my Ford dealer only received six cars the first model year. I'll never get my money out of the car, if I choose to sell it. But who cares?! I bought it as a keeper.

[BirdsAndBugs]

Re: T-Bird Prices

I only use my 2 Thunderbirds on evenings and weekends. The biggest outing they get is going to the Las Vegas Thunderbird club dinner meeting each month. While they're complete garage queens now, I anticipate eventually putting them into daily service in a few years as they get older too since my automotive hobbyist interests are not as great as they were some years ago and I may as well enjoy the cars as I don't foresee them being worth any significant amount of money anytime in the future.

So when my 2004 Volkswagen Passat is no longer able to serve my daily transportation needs, I figure my Thunderbirds will be at least 10 years old and I think I would rather use what I have and enjoy it rather than buying something else.