'69-'71 GTO Judge Buyer's Guide

To round out our informational package in this issue for '69-'71 GTO Judges, we have compiled a Buyer's Guide to help you evaluate the market for these sought-after vehicles. This of course, can quickly lead to a "slippery slope" of information, which can become quite dated and inaccurate in a short period.

Indeed, many times, such things as market forecasts, predictions about specific models, and even current values can become woefully obsolete in the time it takes to get them printed and to the reader. If one looks back to the market boom of the late '80s and the bottom dropping out in early 1990, several media sources of the time ended up with egg on their faces with predictions that didn't come anywhere near their expectations. We expect the market will correct itself sometime in the not-too-distant future, but whether that will happen next week or in two years has yet to play out. It is also beyond responsible reporting to try to provide a date, so we won't go there.

Like everything else involved with the collector car market, one must be as discriminating and fact-driven as possible in the decision-making process, especially in the case of auctions. It's easy to get caught up in the hype and excitement of the moment, and that can lead to expensive mistakes. In the blink of an eye, one can go from being a casual observer to the president of the "More Money than Brains Club." If you've ever been to a collector car auction, you've seen it happen.

True, auction houses get paid whether or not the car sells, but they make significantly more money if a sale does occur than if a reserve is not met. What one sees on TV is the "sizzle"--whether or not someone got a decent steak for their money is usually determined after the cameras are put away.

With those caveats in mind, how can one be sure of getting the best possible deal? Extensive research and proper planning is the key. One reason prices are getting higher is that, in some cases, buyers are entering the market with lots of money and not a lot of expertise. They are willing to pay above the going market rate for a given car, usually agreeing to "condition No. 1" prices for "condition No. 3" examples.

What we will be doing here is providing a piece of the puzzle. The actual puzzle will be different for everyone, based on the type of car, the price range, and the intended use for the Judge in question. Will the car be a cruiser, a show car, or an investment? Is an original car desired, or is a true 100-point restoration what the buyer wants? Is a numbers-matching example required, or is a non-numbers-matching car acceptable? What about Ram Air III versus Ram Air IV? Coupe or convertible? These factors can make a huge difference in price, in some cases even more than overall condition. A mint '69 Ram Air III Judge coupe will likely not pull in anywhere near as much money as a mediocre Judge convertible of any year.

We tracked the sale prices of '69-'71 GTO Judges that have crossed the auction block and actually sold at auctions during the period between 2003 and 2005. Keep in mind these are not the only sales out there, but only the ones that we could verify. Outrageous asking prices, shill bidding, and other means to inflate prices are part of the territory, and quite frankly, we cannot verify if any of these tactics were employed at any of the auctions or not, but in the end, the buyers paid up in the cases listed.

Some of these Judges will show up with new owners time and time again, so if one is being used as a serial investment instrument by several short-term owners, the next buyer will usually be up against a steep reserve. The risk in that case is whether the market is "thick enough." Can the Judge in question be turned again to another buyer willing to stick his or her neck out a little farther, or will this be the owner who will take a bath when the bottom falls out of the market. In addition to the auction results, we have confirmation from a reliable source that 1 of the 17 '71 Judge convertibles recently sold in a private sale and the hard-money transaction actually exceeded $200,000. Yes, we have heard of cars going for more, but there was nothing that could be verified to our satisfaction. We have also heard that some of the higher prices being reported were doctored in a few different ways. Again, if we couldn't confirm, it didn't get mentioned.

Obviously, there is more to the individual stories here than can be found in this chart. The descriptions are much too brief to give an accurate assessment of the cost versus condition of the cars listed. Still, it will give an idea of what range of prices are currently being paid for GTO Judges. Keep in mind, these prices do not count the amount of money paid in commissions and other fees to the auction houses.

With the huge amount of money that mint GTO Judges can command, it only makes sense to invest as much time as possible in researching the cars and the collector car market before committing cash to any one vehicle. The work will pay dividends and make your financial resources work their best for you.