In the used car market there are automotive bargains, and then there are cars priced so heavily out of anyone’s comfort zone that you wonder if they’re really trying to sell the car at all, or just look like they are to placate a furious partner who wants their garage back.
Last week I asked you to find the most outrageously overpriced cars on the market, and here they are, ready to be bought by proud members of the more-money-than-brains club.
10. 1979 Volkswagen Beetle - $50,000
This Volkswagen Beetle certainly is a looker. Its shiny black paint, chrome accents, and showroom condition make it one of the best examples of the car. The only problem is a little thing called supply and demand.
The Volkswagen Beetle is a car with a production history longer than nearly any other in history, with literally millions of examples made. There’s no reason why a clean but otherwise unremarkable VW Beetle that sported a rather gutless four cylinder made in the late 1970s should command a price tag befitting a modern sports car or an actual low production model classic. It just doesn’t make any sense.
(Suggested by farscythe)
9. 1988 BMW M3 -$149,990
Enthusiast Auto Group is famous for hawking some of the nicest, rarest and most expensive Bimmers you can find in the U.S. And this 1988 BMW M3 is an example of what people in the pennystocking community call a pump-and-dump. It’s when a company makes an announcement that skyrockets value just enough for the main shareholders to cash the hell out and let the idiots deal with the aftermath of a burst bubble.
Apparently this car was owned by a founder of a racing company tangentially involved with BMW in the 1990s, has low miles and is the right color, which means that idiots with $150,000 in their bank accounts that want a piece of arbitrary history and want to get their doors blown off by a Camry will eat it right up. With nearly 20,000 built, it’s safe to say that you should wait until the bubble bursts, then buy.
(Suggested by elpaco13)
8. 2016 Jeep Wrangler Sahara - $56,553
This Jeep Wrangler Sahara is brand new, but something tells me that it was a dealership demo vehicle that was modified and given snazzy, expensive, and donktastic wheels because Andy From Accounting’s six year old son was given purchasing power for some reason. Now the dealership has no choice but to put in on the lot for $10,000 over the sticker price of a brand new Jeep because Andy apparently also wants to get fired.
(Suggested by Exage03040)
7. 1997 Honda Civic - ‘Reserve Not Met’
This Honda Civic is a good argument for withholding bar mitzvah money until a kid’s 35th birthday. Whether it’s the ill-fitting wheels, the cracked fiberglass widebody kit, and the inconsistent airbrushing, this car is sure to offend anyone, and any price given would be too much.
It didn’t sell at less than $5,000 because it didn’t reach its reserve, but I’d wager that the bidders dodged a major bullet. This car looks like its owner spent a week googling how to sneak into SEMA.
This Civic serves as a reminder that modifications do not add value to a car’s price tag, but they can make you broke.
(Suggested by MooseKnuckles)
6. 1960 Volkswagen Kombi 23-Window - $159,900
This Volkswagen Bus has been so overrated that it now enjoys a market that is filled not with people that would actually use it, but app-building hipster millionaires who only eat the most ethical of kale.
Nice as it may be, it doesn’t excuse the fact that you’d be driving an iconic car that has had its history thoroughly erased from it, at quite a large cost to boot. But then again, perhaps that’s what being a hipster is all about - spending an ungodly amount of money to look like you didn’t spend much at all. In that respect, it’s perfect.
(Suggested by You had fordboy357 at “meat tornado”)
5. 1995 Chevy Impala SS - $44,995
This Chevy Impala SS was quite a cool car in the 1990s. It shared its body with the Caprice, but added a higher-spec’d LT1 V8 engine to make the car quite formidable against the sporty sedans of the day. However, the sellers trying to offload this ultra low mileage example are off their freaking rockers to charge $45,000, as the car has quite a considerable amount of surface rust and cobwebs underneath its relatively clean purple body.
The car may look like it’s a great runner at first glance, but I’d be willing to bet that this car doesn’t like not being driven. With a ton of these cars on the market in good condition, there is no way this is even worth considering for a sane person.
(Suggested by rcasi)
4. 1965 Porsche 911 -$109,950
This Porsche 911 needs bodywork. It’s also missing a few pieces. The brakes need to be rebuilt. Also there’s no engine, you’ll have to find one of those.
So, after adding about $50,000 worth of parts and labor to this already $110,000 car, it might be worth $100,000 when you’re done restoring it, because I’m not sure the homebrew fixes that the seller performed will fly with the hardcore Porsche buyer.
No bids? Color me surprised.
(Suggested by damnthisburnershitsux)
3. 1980 Chevrolet Corvette - $250,000
Whichever bodyshop made this Chevrolet Corvette should be fined to oblivion for bad taste. It’s one of the worst years of C3 Corvettes with a quarter of a million dollar asking price, sports an impossibly gaudy body kit, and a description that’s heavy on selling you the dream of being Undisputed Ruler of Cars and Coffee. This car would make damn sure your mid-life crisis never ends.
(Suggested by crowmolly)
2. 1994 Toyota Supra Turbo - $89,900
There’s not much I can say about the Toyota Supra Turbo that I haven’t said already. It’s a great car in its own right, but when put against modern competition, it falls hilariously flat, especially for nearly a six figure price tag.
I’d never buy a low mileage example, as these cars prove that mileage is only a badge of honor without much in the way of expensive maintenance. At $50,000, this car would be simply overpriced. At this price, you’d need your head examined.
(Suggested by EL_ULY)
1. 2016 Porsche 911 R - $519,991
When the Porsche 911 GT3 RS was released in limited numbers, Porsche purists cried foul because it didn’t utilize a manual transmission like its predecessors. Fortunately, the 911R was released and it scratched that barebones, manual-transmission-with-large-naturally-aspirated-engine itch.
Unfortunately, it was released only to those that owned elite Porsche cars, so the public not in Porsche’s immediate inner circle never actually got their hands on one. Well, that is, until they started going on sale for ridiculous prices, like this more than half million dollar example. it’s safe to assume that the demand is no longer about having a manual transmission in the GT3 RS line, as that’s been announced for the next iteration. No, this is a bit more sinister and petty.
This car exists as a placeholder of status. Rich people that bought one at its original cost are making money off other rich people that missed the boat and can’t stand to be the person on the block with old toys. The premium will always be independent of its actual status as a performance machine, and that cements it at the top of this list.
(Suggested by Dr.Kamiya)