Gotta sell my Final 500

[rocketman]

Well folks, it's been a hard few weeks. I have been contemplating selling the 500 and have decided that it is the right thing to do for personal reasons. It has less than 6200 miles on it right now. I will leave the post on here for a week or two before I list it elsewhere so you good folk can have a shot at it.

Send me a PM if you're interested and I can provide more details.

[erw38]

Amanda would probably snatch it up. She has stated before that she wants a final 500.

[Aurora40]

Any reason you aren't getting rid of the '01 instead? If you have room for two again in the future, the '01 will be a lot easier to replace.

[rocketman]

Only one. The '01 was paid for 2 years ago and it only has 35,000 miles on it. That's the one the wife wouldn't let go of in the first place.

[Aurora40]

rocketman said:

Only one. The '01 was paid for 2 years ago and it only has 35,000 miles on it. That's the one the wife wouldn't let go of in the first place.

I only throw it out as a suggestion. You certainly know what makes sense for you. But, the Edmunds private-sale price of the CE is 20,441 and the '01 is 13,446. In either case you will likely apply the money to the loan on the CE. So that doesn't actually make much difference unless the goal is to pay it off completely and the '01 price won't do that.

But if there is a short-term issue, the loan may help as you could apply the money from the sale of the '01 to paying your monthly payment for a while, thus buying you time.

Also, the CE is still under warranty, will possibly have more reliability, has upgrades like a revised 4T80-E, polymer coated pistons, a forged crank, not to mention it is RED. If you ever were back in the situation you were in when you bought both, it will be much harder to find another Final 500 (heck yours is even a Final 50) than to find another 2001 or 2002 4.0.

Think of it this way, what nicer car could you get for $20,441 than the one you have? There's a guy at work (who has a mad pimped 350Z) that keeps telling me I should sell my Aurora to get that Callaway. I may or may not get that car (I still think about it) but I'd never sell the Aurora. I just can't picture a nicer car for the $18,000 or so I could get for it. I mean, if I sold it, I'd just want to buy it back from the guy for the same price thinking "what a lot of car for the money!"...

Just a thought...

[rocketman]

Lotta good thoughts there Robert! I just don't think the wife will take care of the 500 like I do and it would probably punish me to see a scratch or two.

The '01 has a 5 year warranty expiring in April 06 and the '03 has a year and a half still left on it. It's a wash.

From a pure money position, it makes no sense to keep the 500. From the sentimental point of view, it makes no sense to sell it. I have some time, there is no rush or financial urgency.

I just keep getting more off-road toys (3 quads and one dirt bike and still looking at another quad) meaning I can never do without a pick-up. In almost 8 months, I drove the car less than 2,000 miles, trying to keep it mint and as collectable as possible. I love the car. It's painful to think of letting it go after the year and half I wanted one (until I did) plus the 20 hour trailering adventure to get it home. However, it's not sold yet. I still have time to change my mind.

[scottydl]

rocketman, what's the latest on this? Have you sold 'er yet, or decided to keep the Final 500?

[rocketman]

I still have it! I've backed off on the need to sell it. I have made no effort other than on this board to sell it. At this point, it would probably take someone approaching me more than me making an effort to get rid of it.

[urbandaddy]

Shouldnt your Final 500 be a '04, since thats the last year of production. My 4.0 is an '03 and its not one of the Final 500.

[skexius]

urbandaddy said:

Shouldnt your Final 500 be a '04, since thats the last year of production. My 4.0 is an '03 and its not one of the Final 500.

Urbandaddy,

All Final 500 Auroras were made in March 2003. There were no more Auroras made after that date. Your car was built before March 2003.

Oldsmobile published a phaseout schedule in which it would discontinue its cars over several years. The Intrigue was the first one to be phased out at the end of the 2002 model year. The Aurora was to be discontinued in the 2003 model year. All other Oldsmobiles would be discontinued in the 2004 model year.

All the Final 500 Oldsmobiles were literally the last 500 vehicles produced before the line was permenantly shutdown for that vehicle.

Hope this explains it.

skexius

[scottydl]

skexius said:

All other Oldsmobiles would be discontinued in the 2004 model year.

Yep, the last three (2004) Olds models were the Alero, Silhouette, and Bravada. Plain, plainer, and a decent SUV. Why they didn't extend the Aurora (once considered Olds' "flagship sedan") into the final year of production is beyond me.

[urbandaddy]

I swear I saw the Final 500 sold as '04s.

[oldsauroraman1]

No Aurora's were built in 04 - for sure.

[stevensolds]

Oh really?

[rocketman]

It's possible you saw the 500 on the lot the same time the '04 model year cars were out (September 2003) but they were all '03 model year cars.

In case you have not seen recent threads, I still own it and am starting to drive it a bit more. My primary ride is getting long in the tooth plus if I do sell it, I would like to say I at least had a chance to enjoy it. All the way up to 8,000 miles (almost) on a two year old car.