Seem's like you have had expensive toys but are shopping for a cheap Buick? Buy a nice Buick in the 15k - 20k range and im sure you'll be happy. Plenty of nice cars out in the market.
In NO way am I shopping for a "cheap buick" 15-20(yea I feel the sarcasm and its not needed) is what I am going to spend, as a matter of fact there was a VERY CLEAN gn is florida I was buying, but the owner had a last minute change of heart and couldn't part with it, I was paying 19k, but the car was worth it.
Im not a fanboy nor am I partial to any "brand" or make, but I am realistic to what a car is worth , be it vette , viper Lambo etc...
amd FYI I have 40k in my turbo busa.....(just the turbo Kit was 14K) was it worh it to me?..... Yes, would it be worth 40k to someone else? .... no way in hell, it is what it is, maybe I have expensive toys because I don't overpay.
2 mint GN went for 17 and 19k at mechum today, both great examples of GN's(I couldn't make it and both cars were stock bottom end cars), in auctions such as these the cars always go for more.
there is another GN on here whom Ive already spoke to the owner, seemed like a good guy and is only a 4 hour drive from me, the car looks very nice, but it will need its door replaced as its rusting from the inside, that isn't a deal killer a brand new reproduction GN door is $300, if I go to a junk yard and find a regal door, maybe 50 bucks, I still have his number and we came up with a price(If I drove out to buy the car) im either going to do that or just go back to a 03 cobra, maybe this time do a kenne Bell Blozzilla with the proper fuel system, have my tuner Mike post(one of the nations best mustang tuners) tune it like he has my other mustangs, set the suspension up like he has in my others, get the pinion perfect
low 9's all day, drive it home with the air, and traction control if needed(1st thing I did in any of my vettes was turn that crap off.
GN's are badass looking cars, when modded the right way can be very fast(as with any car) althought the engine looks like art work to me when all done up, but they are flying bricks, cant stop, cant handle etc ... but im still attracted to a car that has a V6 and like you said can be very fast, its the only car that I haven't had that I should of had, I like the fact that a person would never know if they are lining up to a 14 second GN or a 9 second GN, I like sleepers.
But some people need to get a grip, when you dump a ton of money in a car, or do a frame off resto, don't think you are going to get even half that money back.
I see rollers on here with people asking 8-9 grand, that is comical, Gbodys aren't exactly a good platform for performance, it is what it is.