SwampSurvivor
Thread starter
I sold my 1999 GM (LS I guess) with 103-105k miles for $2500 a year ago. It had the intake manifold done, and still had good rubber. No rust, just the parking lot dings from both my 90 year old GMA from whom I got the car and my youngest daughter who used it as her high school car.
It was costing me about $800/year in insurance and tags, so I cut it loose. I still see it at a customer site. One of the security guards there bought it and is still driving it.
I'd expect one in decent shape today to be in the $2500-$4k range. The great thing is you'll likely get most of what you have in it back after a few years.
The downside is for a car of this size, the interior really isn't all that space efficient. It has a big trunk, but the passenger compartment is NOT optimized.
I had my mechanic do the intake manifold and it was on the order of $800. But I had it for 6 years, so it served me well.
Even the air ride still worked. But if it goes out on one, you can replace it with standard springs.
The insurance and Registration wouldn't be too bad. Should be about $70/year for registration and last time I checked about $300 a year for liability only. I can't see carrying comprehensive and colission on a cheap vehicle. Seems that I'd spend more insuring the thing than it was worth.
If I get the LS model Grand Marquis it'll get coil springs once nice weather rolls around, It's an easy swap. And a hitch pretty much immediately along with a trans pan drop / filter chnge. I used to use the Forester (or Focus prior) with a utility trailer to do winter time building supplies / construction debris dump runs instead of the pickup. Right now I don't want to drive either my truck or the Cherokee in the salt. What's left of them will disappear pretty much immediately.