I have followed these cars since before I could drive, this is the ONLY car I have lusted after. I have a pretty decent knowledge of them, but I don't get that awesome feeling that I normally get when I find a car I am looking for. Some people know what I mean and some do not. I just "know" when its the right car... I have not felt that way yet. I am just not sure if its due to the car not being the right one or the fact that I am thinking of coughing over the cold hard cash to buy one!
I bought my 87 GN in 1992 , soon after had the desire to want/own an X , pretty much like your statement , lusted after one . In 2003 I found a 9k orig mile X in the high $20k's locally , but passed as I was doing house improvement/work , and figured I'd wait a couple years and pick one up then. Then the explosion in 2005 with certain musclecars hit , including this one , made them pretty much double . DAM !!!!! Now I didn't have enough scratch for it .
Fast forward to recently (about a year ago) , as I have always followed them to see what the market is on them , I noticed they were a little softer then the years past , so now is the time to get one .
With that , I will say my criteria is/was a 5-15k orig mile X , and wanted the most paperwork/documents as I could find one with .
Every time I found one for sale , I did back research on it , google the number , do a search here for archives about it , the registry,etc.
With that , I looked at 3 others before I bought the one I did buy , you are correct , at least for me , in about 2 minutes after first seeing the car , I know/knew if I was going to be buying it . Trust your gut instinct like you said , if you don't get that feeling , move on , take your time , don't impulse buy one , don't settle for one just to have one , cause right after you buy it , that "one" comes up for sale !!!!!!
On another note , GO SEE IT FOR YOURSELF !!!!! Take the initial responses/opinions about a specific X , but go do the deal/inspect it in person . Case in point , there is a certain GNX that was for sale , did the research on it HERE , hand full of members that knew/saw the car in person commented how nice it was , so clean , best thing since sliced bread . Let me note I do paint/body/restoration , so my eye is better than the average person to see things , so , basically I was going to buy it , drove 577 miles with the $$$$$$$ , get there , and like the 2 others , in about , and I'm not exaggerating , in about 20 seconds I knew I wasn't buying it !!!!!! WOW , peoples description of this one is/was way off , as well as how the seller was showcasing it to me !!!!! Talk about disappointment .
This is my contribution to you to maybe have you get something closer to what you will/would be happy with . But , certainly price weighs a factor , if one comes up that is an absolute deal/bargain , go for it , but if paying good $$$$$$$ , again , if you don't get that feeling , pass .
Also remember , these cars have numbers , history/facts/conditions/opinions that get posted on the web , stay there !!!!! There are some X's out there now that got dragged thru the mud as not a good one to buy/own . But then again , everybody wants something different in an X as far as what they are going to do with it .
Good luck with your search , hope you find the right one !!!
