SVT Contour Values

I am amazed at the low prices that these cars can be purchased for at this time. I remind myself that in 1977 when I finished high school I purchased a brand new 1977 Trans Am with a sticker price of $7,000.00. I now see those cars going for over $25,000.00 with a proper restoration. I believe we will see the same thing happen to the SVT contours. They are hitting the lowest point of value at this time, but will start a massive increase in the next 10 years. What are your thoughts on this?

Im outraged to see what these cars are selling for currently but at the same time more are crap. And kbb isn't helping

I was lucky to find one with only 84K miles that mechanically is perfect. The rest of the car is terrible. The previous owners have shredded every seat. There is not a straight inch on the roof panel. There is a hole in the rear bumper, two dents in the right rear door, missing sunroof motor and cover, and three missing jack point covers. I cannot understand how someone could do this much damage for it to have never been wrecked and have a perfect undercarriage.

I am grateful that nothing custom was ever done to the car. These vehicles will bring the most money in the future if restored back to OEM standards. I know I will collect some grief on that. Originality is what I plan to do to this car. I want to see it back in its glory.

I love these cars as much as anyone, but I would not expect the value to go up very much. Honestly 5-6k is about as high as I see them, for either mint low mileage ones, or meticulous 3L swapped ones. 3-4k gets you a pretty clean stocker or 3L. And if I wanted a project, theyre as low as $800 off and on for ones needing tlc on craigslist.

that being said, in order for prices to increase, demand would have to increase. And the fact is, hardly anyone knew these cars even existed, unlike the trans am you speak of. the trans am was iconic. the svt contour was beloved, but only by those who got to know it.

I think our cars are going to end up like the Dodge Dart, where sometime 30ish years down the road Ford brings the Contour name back into their lineup and THEN everyone goes "oh yeah, my buddy's friends' dog's brother-in-law's cousin had one!" Although I'm plenty happy that I got mine at 59,000 miles for $5500, I'm pretty much doomed to getting next to nothing out of it if I decide to part with her.

As the owner of three (maybe four...) of Ford's red headed step children (see my sig), I can tell you that I stopped waiting for their value to increase many years ago. Perhaps their value will increase someday, but at age 55 (the same age as the OP of this thread I expect), I'm not holding by breath. If these cars do anything interesting price-wise, it will likely be long after I'm able to give a sh*t about it. I own them to drive and enjoy, and in some cases, modify and drive the piss out of on race tracks.

Take it from someone who is retied at age 55 and has the net worth to live comfortably for the rest of his life: If you want to have money, get a good education, find a career you like and that pays well, live below your means, avoid debt, save liberally, and invest wisely. If you want to make money with cars, first, get a lot of money, then dabble in buying and selling the real high value classics, but don't waste your time on commodity vehicles like Contours.