You don’t have to be Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein to come to the logical conclusion that, if at least two examples of a car exist, there has to be a nicest version and a worst version. For extremely rare and valuable cars like the Ferrari 250 GTO, collectors and appraisers often have a good idea of exactly who owns those superlative vehicles. For more common cars, like a 1993 Oldsmobile Silhouette, it’s a lot harder to know.
This is the fun of online auction sites and virtual marketplaces. Eventually, some niece or nephew gets bequeathed a perfectly clean 1996 Subaru SVX, and we all get to gawk at how pristine the steering wheel is, and how the wood inserts have somehow resisted cracking for all these years. I’m definitely of the belief that cars should be driven, but there’s something appealing about having the cleanest version of a car, which is usually achieved by a car not being driven all that much relative to its age.
I thought of this as I watched the auction for a 1999 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 over at Cars & Bids. This is a rare-ish car, with fewer than 300 sold in the last year. It also has some features that make it specifically valuable, including the “Combat Wing” rear spoiler and revised headlights. I’m generally not a fan of white cars, but I think Glacier White-over-tan is the ideal spec for this car. Other than the 18-inch chrome-finished alloy wheels, it’s pretty much perfect.
If you’re not aware, the 3000GT VR-4 was, as Doug DeMuro put it when talking about a different car, peak Japanese sports car from the end of the Bubble Era.
The hard-top convertible is wild, too, and if you can’t get white-over-tan, then red-over-black is the second-best combination. These are desirable cars, both as historic objects and for drivers. This was as far into the future as Mitsubishi could look, and the combination of a turbocharged engine with all-wheel drive, active aero, and four-wheel steering feels very much like what life is like a quarter of a century later.
Also this this was capable of a sub-5-second 0-60 mph trip, thanks to the 300+ horsepower turbo V6 and excellent traction. Here’s MotorWeek‘s take:
I revise my earlier ranking of colors. I still think white-over-tan is the best, but maybe tennis ball yellow-over-black is the second best? Either way, it looks great at Roebling Road Raceway. While it doesn’t carry the same cultural appeal as an MKIV Toyota Supra or R32 GT-R, it’s a performance car you’ll enjoy driving.
What is a pristine version of one of these worth? What’s the best one worth? A red 1999 with 3,800 miles on the ODO was sold on BaT for $75,000 in 2022. Was this the nicest one? Perhaps. It also sold near the peak of bonkers pandemic pricing, so as a comparable, it’s a little hard to judge. Just to provide a huge range, there’s also a 9,000-mile Spyder SL for sale with bidding below $10,000 and a 1994 with 91,000 miles that sold earlier this month for $24,500.
Back to the 1999 I mentioned earlier, I’m not sure this is the nicest one of these in private hands. It’s maybe not the lowest mileage 3000GT in existence at 27,300 miles, but it’s possibly the best of the last model year of this vehicle. I mean, look at this thing:
There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with this specific vehicle other than some touched-up paint and tires that are seven years old, which is to say it’s nicer than almost anything any of us on the site own.
Especially with the wing, which is taller than all but one Torchinsky, I am enamored with this car. I think that this is probably the exact one to get, and the fact that it isn’t so low in miles that it’s not drivable makes it even more appealing.
Let’s also please enjoy the interior together:
The seller, P1 Exotics, took photos that make me just want to climb into the car and never leave.
So what is this car worth? Surprisingly, it hit $58,000 and didn’t meet the reserve.
This gets into the interesting psychology of both buyers and sellers in these situations. If this is your childhood dream car, and you are of means, the upper limit is likely very high. The same is true if you had one of these and had to get rid of it for some reason.
But how do you handicap that as a seller? There are maybe a few people who fit that description for a car like this Mitsubishi. That Silhouette I referenced earlier? That’s a real car, with only 69,000 California miles on it when it was sold in March.
A super clean Dustbuster is still a Dustbuster, so the $10,000 the family got for that particular Olds seems like a high-but-fair price. That’s double the price someone got for this 23,000-mile automatic Ford Tempo GL coupe. That’s not to say that ’90s Fords can’t fetch big money; this 150-mile F-150 SVT Lightning just crossed the line at $75,000 even.
In the case of the Lightning, it’s probably both an emotional purchase and a reasonable investment. These are well-appreciated trucks, and that is almost certainly the nicest one anywhere outside of Ford’s collection. And even then, maybe it’s nicer!
Where does this leave the 3000GT VR4? Looking at the market comps, only two cars on BaT have transacted for more than $50,000 since 2016, and both were lower miles. Maybe the reserve was set at $60,000, which would put it in between the two highest sold cars on BaT. Or maybe it was set at $67,000, which is what this exact car sold for on Cars & Bids in June of last year.
Logically, we know there was one person willing to spend over $65,000 for one of these cars, but maybe not two people. Either way, there’s good news at the end of this story. The seller and the highest bidder were united after the auction and were able to come to an agreement.
I am a person who would spend silly money for the nicest Cayman Green Ford Escort GT, though thankfully I don’t have the discretionary budget to wield at the moment. What car would you want the nicest version of, and what would you be willing to pay for it?
Top photo: C&B
I don’t want the nicest version of any car. “The nicest” comes with too much pressure. You spent the extra money to get the best and if you use the car as intended, you will eventually no longer have the best one. That status keeps you from using the car!
I prefer well maintained, clean cars with moderate mileage. Because of good maintenance, they still look nice and drive well. And since I keep up with the maintenance, they will continue to be well maintained and clean over the duration of my ownership. When it comes time to sell, I’ve enjoyed the car and while it might not be wildly more valuable vs when I bought it, it’s usually still worth about the same!
Testify, Secret Chimp! “Nicest” is extrememly subjective. KBB does not have metrics for ‘nicest’ of any particular vehicle. “The nicest” version of any car is destined to disappoint. The emotional investment involved in “the nicest” of anything invites unrealistic expectations, which results in a disastrous let-down when reality sets in.
“Nicest” brings to mind the “showroom new”, double digit mileage example of a vehicle, still wearing the plastic dust covers on the seats and the original tires. It is like a snowflake: beautiful yet fragile, destined to fly apart at the slightest physical contact.
It’s bizarre to me that someone was willing to spend hard-earned money to purchase a brand new vehicle, then store it away and not use it at all, in the hopes of…what? Dried up gaskets? Then, it is even more surreal to me that another person is willing to spend their hard-earned money to purchase a vehicle that is highly unlikely to be operational without spending thousands of dollars and months of waiting.
There is a lot more to be said for finding the car of your dreams, or even a close second, in great shape, even if you aren’t the first owner. The first owner who loved the car did all the heavy lifting, diligently attending to maintenance, including any recalls or TSBs, and they have unwittingly curated the best example of your dream car for you.
I have been fortunate to acquire a few cars that have had relatively low mileage and were well tended and loved by their previous owners. Those cars were not my dream cars, but they provided a rewarding ownership experience without the drama of high expectations. One last thought: if your dream car is very rare and not an exotic or a unicorn (ASC Buick Riviera Convertible), there is a reason for that.
I’ve been watching Collector Car Feed like mad for the past two weeks and even as someone who wastes time at work on BaT I’ve had my eyes opened for a lot of things along these lines.
And the moral of this story is: just drive the thing, keeping it ‘low mileage’ isn’t worth missing out of the fun of actually using a car!
I did some digging on a very special car that belonged to a childhood friend’s dad. Without getting specific, the car was one of the very, very early production number of a Lamborghini and he owned it for 26 years and put all of 800 miles on it. I cannot fathom seeking an item like that out, only to let it sit, and sit, and sit…
ABSOLUTE. MADNESS. Why would anyone spend that amount of disposable income (I’m assuming, of course, but I don’t see my credit union financing a supercar) and NOT DRIVE THE WHEELS OFF OF IT? Any ‘adult toy’ in the insane asylum that I call my humble adobe (not a misspelling; I live in the desert SW) gets used. A lot. I have owned several cars, trucks and SUVs that have clocked over 300k (current #1 on the leaderboard: 1999 Tahoe 2 door 4wd, 318k miles, still all original. #2: 1981 Honda Prelude, 299k miles.) 1989 XJ with 230k, looks like me (not bad from 100 feet) going strong.
He bought the car in 1988, and I recall the day he took delivery of it. I recall overhearing him say, talking to another neighborhood dad, that he was hoping to do a little better on this than his 1962 250GTB Lusso. H3 opined that he missed the window to sell that one, as it had fallen over 30% from its $400k or so peak value a few years earlier*.
Being 1988, and knowing that the previous owner used it as a parade and charity car-indicating that nobody at the time seemed to care that it had such a low production number (or that it had been owned, originally, my a VERY prominent Italian family). That it was sold at a South Lake Union (in Seattle, a tad ironic as the neighborhood that symbolizes the the cities tech wealth), only just after MSFT’s IPO and while Boeing was in the toilet, I am guessing that relative to today he probably paid very little for it. As far as I know it is still the highest ever auction price paid for one.
The new owner of the Lambo shipped it back to Italy, it received a nut and bolt factory restoration, and now resides in Switzerland. If anyone want to book my action, I’d bet the chassis still hasn’t crested 15,000 miles.
*He has never sold the Lusso, and that one he does drive (or did) occasionally. I also think he was shining on that dad when talking about missing the chance to sell for profit. The guy is a billionaire, and made that money timing not one, not two, but three different regional commercial real estate booms, without missing.
There was also a Black/Tan 512TR that showed up in late 91/early 92, which I am now realizing is also likely an early example as well. That one NEVER moved.
Amen, Phuzz. Cars are made to be driven, not set upon a pedestal, draped in Sun-God like robes, and have little pickles thrown at them…
How much to spend on an old car? that’s a question for the ages!
After having 9 vo-vo P2 cars (1 s60r, 2 v70r’s, 1 xc90 and 5 v70’s), which i loved, put hundreds of thousands of collective miles on them and whom also shared thousands of incredible family memories, i may finally be ready for a new platform. While the R’s are the only ones that i restored to this point (that was probably enough), i am about to swing for the fences one last time by robbing upgraded stock goodies from my clapped out s60r and combining them with my 295k ’01 v70 T5M, maybe see if this thing can do 500k.
What is that going to cost me? about two years of after-the-kiddos-go-to-bed backaches/skinned knuckles and likely somewhere b/w $6-10k in quality replacement parts. That’s still a bargain for ANY car that is safe even by today’s std’s, fun to drive for a fwd, insanely comfortable on the longest 12-30 hour XC drives, manual trans high pressure turbo wagon, decent mileage, high utility, can tow a bit, low cost to operate and sentimental value (it’s a trap!), especially as i know the entire history of the car which has no rust in the northeast and my wife REALLY wants the 300k badge on the grill.
And i’d still be able to take my dog for a drive w/out worrying about doghair-based depreciation. Low stress per $ spent. Am i crazy in my assessment of costs vs benny’s? Maybe don’t answer that, ha. Cuz it’s happening anyways.
If I had a nickel for every car I could have bought for cheap at one point that now goes for crazy money, I’d be able to afford one of those cars going for crazy money.
The 3000GT is an unknown car outside the world of car enthusiasts. It should be a collectable but unfortunately was never included in any of the Fast and Furious movies, did not have any racing history, or any other cultural connection to boost awareness. I think the seller was wise not to sell it at that price. This particular car should sell for closer to $70K once its existence reaches the ears of the right collector.
My boy Adam had one in college, does that count?
Technically (and I know I’m being “that guy” here), Brian briefly had a 3000GT in the Turbo Charged Prelude, a short film set in between the first and second F&F movies. He quickly trades it for the R34 GTR though. But only F&F nerds know about this
Came here to say this. Thanks for beating me to the punch
I feel like it was known mainly for the folding roof, which was a $20k option if I remember correctly.
That roof cost as much as a contemporary IROC Z or Mustang GT.
Tavarish had one!!
I want a nice version if a car I love and is interesting, but haven’t owned yet. I have had some really neat cars in my time, none of them perfect, and I get nostalgic, but ultimately I want to learn new things from a car. Particularly a “toy” car that I want to fix up, or drive on weekends.
Does that mean I’ll never buy a Z31 300ZX or Thinderbird SC or Contour SVT again? Maybe, maybe not. But I would rather try a Mustang, or a WRX or a DOHC VTEC del Sol and start a deep dive on one of those. New knowledge is the best kind.
Trust me, you want to own one of the 90s DOHC VTEC models of any stripe at some point. I still miss my 2000 Civic Si, but won’t pay more than for an S2000, which means I’ll never own one again.
Can confirm. I owned a few DC2 Integra’s, including an ITR back when they were new. Lots of fun to be had with those!
My uncle had the SOHC del Sol, and loved it. The engineer in him loved the top design, and I agree.
He used to ride around with the top out and windows down, listening to bagpipe music.
Butbthe DOHC put up performance numbers that were pretty good for the time. It would be a great car for a build, though a mild restoration would probably be enough.
Sup fellow CSVT enjoyer. I still miss my 98 2L ATX base sport that had SVT suspension and front brakes.
As far as mustangs go, I got a 97 V6 5spd to replace the above contour when it rusted out. If you’re going to get a mustang, you’ll be shocked at how bad they handle stock if you’re in the same vintage compared to a contour.
Stock being the key word.
I’d be scared to get another SVT. What if it wasn’t as good as I remembered? It would be like getting back together with a first love and finding out that she wasn’t all that great to begin with.
Of course, a 3.0 litre swap could make things interesting…
That’s the problem, they are as good as you remember, but parts are insanely hard to find now if anything breaks making the totality worse.
And yes stock, but that was my point. You have to replace the majority of an equivalent mustang’s suspension to get close to a stock contour, especially SVT to SVT.
My real fear is the sheathing on the wiring. It starts to flake off, making the only solution rebuilding the harness.
I’ve had two MR2’s, an 87 and a supercharged 88. I don’t need four cars, but if the perfect MK1 model popped up within 2hr drive I’d be realllllly tempted.
I don’t want the nicest version of anything, I like my nicely worn in classics. My 1975 Mercedes 280E is nice enough that people comment on it, but not so nice that I didn’t bodge an idle control out of a heater tap and a choke cable. A pristine example would be too nice to actually drive about in with my dog, and that’s just boring.
All DSM are 60K timing belt interval interference engine cars. that was 25 years ago. I would not even start these after purchase
The overwhelmingly large majority of engines with timing belts are also interference engines, due to the ever higher compression needed for emissions compliance I believe.
While i want a svx again, realise parts was hard to find 10 years ago. Some of these are better like I assume 99% of the lightning was stolen from “lesser” models Ford made a few million of. The rarer models didn’t use common parts and thus you should stick to lesser models. Like a 97 forester is less cool than the 96 svx, but far easier to keep running. (Avoid 96 2.5l subaru)
Unless you like failing sun visers and propping up a hood with a long snow brush.
I’d love a mint Plymouth Laser Turbo. White on black, like the one some douchenosel agreed to sell highschool me before backing out two days later and ripping up my check. I’ll never get over him denying me entry to the world of DSM.
This is a left field answer, but I’d for sure have a V6 Mazda MX3
Same here!
I want nowhere near the best example of any car. After hearing the interview with the Wolf of Wall Street Countach owner and how he went from driving it to the grocery store to super paranoid about keeping it pristine to the point where he sold it to get rid of the stress, I’ll keep my 20 footer cars.
The example he gave was he pulled it out into his driveway before a drive, a kid fell off of a skateboard and almost hit the car, and he was so unnerved he put it back in the garage. I couldn’t deal with that kind of stress.
My S1 Elise was almost certainly the worst road legal example of that car. In desperate need of paint, crash damage at the rear, a full service history that included a log of its hours on track as a driver training car (and subsequent engine rebuild). I commuted in that thing for 9 years, including in the snow, and used it for sprints.
I now have what was definitely the nicest Europa S available when I bought it. I’ve had to clear out my garage to keep it in, it doesn’t go on the road during salting season, and I felt bad for driving it in the wet last weekend. It’s a much better car, but I miss the carefree days of having a terrible Lotus.
Also I’m selling my pristine RVF400 because it’s too nice to leave anywhere, which has made it useless as transport. I’ve replaced it with a faster, better motorcycle with less charm, that I won’t mind commuting on. It’s more fun to ride, but less fun to look at.
Agree. I don’t personally need a 20 footer, but if I’m afraid to drive a car I own because something might happen, I’ve lost the plot.
I always loved these cars. My only issue with them is that being 6′ 4″ (or 6′ 5″ according to my last doctor visit) meant that I just could not fit well inside. And it’s kind of a big car! My mother had a 1990 Z32 300ZX and I fit that pretty well. A colleague had an FD RX-7 that was tight, but not horrible. The interior packaging of the Mitsubishi/Dodge 3S chassis was mystifying.
On a side note, my go-to evil scheme if I were ever to become stupid wealthy is to buy ridiculously low mileage cars and then proceed to DRIVE them. I get irrationally upset when I see a car, especially one made for fun behind the wheel, for sale with insanely low miles. BaT has had numerous recent Ford GTs with what seemed to be little more than delivery miles. It drives me t distraction.
Headroom is a common issue.
Dropping seats or shortening them may help.
In hot rodding, perfect show cars are appreciated, but never like a daily driver.
I’ll second the respect the drivers get over the trailer queens.
I grew up around the street rodder scene and the people in the know ALWAYS had more love for the more modest builds that drove several states to get there than for the immaculate cars that were trailered and only drove from the hotel parking lot to the venue…
I finally made it to Bonneville on speed week.
There was a guy with his personal 30s street rod, a bright yellow sedan parked halfway down the course, watching.
Commitment to the concept, driving anything personal on the salt lake.
Incredible experience!
I used to go to the Monterey historics every year, and the cars parked up on the hill were always fun. There was a really ragged 1960 300SL roadster with the interior held together with duct tape that always made me happy.
At 6’5″ at the time, I fit into a Z31 300ZX (with t-tops) just fine.
*Wittgenstein*!
Not many other car sites are going to be invoking a name that usually pops up in CS logic classes!
Nonsense!
I love 3000GT Spyders. I had a friend out of college who had a Pearl Yellow Spyder SL. It was so beautiful. He ended up putting a supercharger on it to get to about 350HP. I moved to the west coast and didn’t know when he sold it, or I’d have bought it off him.
I tried to buy a red Spyder SL just before the pandemic, but the seller wised up and kept it.
I’d get that SL on BaT in a sec if I wasn’t in the middle of selling/buying a house.
I don’t want the nicest version of any car. My ideal condition is a 20 footer. I like cars that are presentable but have enough flaws I am not worried about driving them. I wouldn’t pay a premium to get anything nicer than maybe a 10 footer. I would actually prefer a shitbox version of a car I like to a perfect example of a car I like (assuming the shitbox version comes at an appropriate discount, of course).
If I had to pick a car to have the nicest version of, I would go with something cheap since the price premium won’t be much. For whatever reason I really like the first-generation Nissan Leaf. I miss mine, even if it was a primitive vehicle. If I saw a councours-quality Leaf for $9,000 I would have a hard time passing it up.
Which sells for more- the best 3000GT or the best Dodge Stealth?
I always thought the Talon was better looking than the Eclipse but the 3KGT was better looking than the Stealth.
Agreed. I grew up in a Sears tire shop. There was a talon that came in regularly and it was always the highlight of my day. One time I put 4 on an electric yellow 3KGT. It was a total monster to me. The only thing that ever beat the turbo boost in a talon. I remember the glove box wouldn’t open to get the wheel lock key ????.
I really want a GMT400 454SS, but unfortunately I am unwilling to pay what the best versions of those go for. Same for a Buick Grand National (especially a GNX), GMC Syclone, GMC Typhoon, and…well, I could go on, but obviously I am too cheap to buy nice things.
Honestly, the 454SS isn’t that great, and the cab is tiny. Friend of mine had one. Liked riding in his V10 Dodge more.
The 454SS, just like the first-gen Lightning, is a creature of its time. Compared to vehicles today it is a turd, but I remember riding in one in the early 90s and it was amazing, at least compared to all the other GMT400 trucks and SUVs I’ve owned. For me, the GMT400 styling and size is peak truck, with the 454SS representing the pinnacle of said styling – and I’m an offroad person, not a sport truck person.
Sure, it was a fast factory truck, but plenty of rednecks in my area could build one faster.
Sure, but that’s true of everything. By that logic, nothing is special until you get to top fuel dragsters. I can still enjoy the 454SS despite how fast your local redneck makes his truck.
Feels like shots fired at DT and his best of the best i3….
It’s not the best, it’s the most decontented. He’s complained a lot about his earlier, much cheaper, i3 having a better interior and a diff fill plug.
Whether it’s the-best-of-the-best, or one-of-one, the value of any item is exactly what one single individual is willing to pay for it. Placing a price on selling such an item isn’t possible.
The price one person paid when they saw it for sale at the right time does not make the benchmark indeed
I have a soft spot for these VR4s, but I would pay more for one of the earlier models with the pop up headlights. I think they kinda ruined the styling with the bubbly eyes. Same with the refreshed first-gen NSX.
My mans is so bitter about those nine gees he’s down.
The nicest version of a car is one that is mechanically perfect but isn’t so pretty you’re unwilling to put miles on it.
The greatest purpose you can give a machine is a well used life, and the greatest purpose a machine can give you is lots of positive memories.
Never tell anyone the top dollar you are willing to spend.
Love this. Realistic, succinct, and positive