[NoDrama43]

took me awhile to get up on this soapbox but I made it so here is my take........


There are two schools of thought as far as I am concerned. One for the person that just buys a car to flip for profit and one for the person that is buying the car to keep, restore and drive or show.

If you are just buying the car to flip and make a buck then naturally it would be important to you to try and buy the "best selling" cars. An example of this would be buying five speed cars as without a doubt they generally sell quicker. Low ball offers that offend people are commonplace with car flippers because "how much money can I make" is always the most important aspect considered.

My theory of poularity as it pertains to the FHP, CHP, and TXDPS cars is simply because they are everywhere ,easy to find, and pop up for sale monthly. Restoration information is readily available (thanks to Imevil) and there is a huge information base from other owners. Being from rust-free states also makes them popular. Personaly I think a black and tan FHP car with black wheels and tan interior is as good as it gets, therefore I have one.

Speaking of my cars I have always said that I would like to have a collection of marked state agency cars but along the way I have found some very rare cars which to me makes the collection that much more interesting. Naturally my choices are just that, my choices, and others may not be interested in some of my cars. That is ok since none of them are for sale although just last month I recieved an offer on one of my cars that was 8000.00 over what I had in the car. I will not tell you which car, but it wasn't one of the FHP, CHP, or TXDPS cars. I was tempted because it was a lot of money (to me anyway) but the money couldn't outweigh the rarity of the car and what it will be worth in another ten years.

Find another 89 Michigan car, a New York car, or a dark blue 1984 unmarked WSP car, an 83 Colorado car, an 86 Fire Chiefs car, an 84 North Carolina car, 83 GSP, ANYTHING from Montana, Wisconsin, Alabama, and on and on and on. IMO ANY 4-eyed SSP car would have a higher "point value" than an 87-93 car, simply because there are fewer of them that survived. I assure you that in the coming years the "rare" (meaning fewest number of) cars will bring more money (like quality comparisons). If the cars are identical in quality, the 1988 New York car will ALWAYS be valued higher than the 1988 FHP or CHP car, regardless of transmission type or paint specs. The 1986 Utah car will always be valued higher than the 1986 FHP car.....at least to me anyway. The main point everyone needs to realize is that all that really matters is how important it is to the person that is buying it. Hell I have refused to even look at some cars being sold just because I know the seller is a flipper looking to gouge whomever they can. To me there are many different issues that affect the desirability of the car.

The bottom line is all that matters is that when YOU buy the car it is interesting to you. I, like everyone else, have certain "qualities" in cars that appeal to me. I want cars that not everyone else has. I personally do not like showing up at a car show (like the 40th anniversary show) with a car that is identical to 7 other cars. That is why my collection is an assortment of stuff that others do not have. I have not rated my cars with a points system because I already know that all my cars will be a "10" when they are finished.

Frankly how I feel about it is all that matters.