What you’re looking at here is a supposed 15 original mile 1990 Ford Thuderbird Super Coupe 35th Anniversary Edition. The seller is asking for $25K or best offer, which seems slightly out of reach. Still, it’s neat to see a rare car in practically brand-new condition, but our sense is that this is another instance of someone who never enjoyed a car in hopes of cashing in at a later date. Find the Thunderbird S/C here on eBay and located in Missouri.
From an equipment standpoint, these Thunderbirds were loaded up. The supercharged and intercooled V6 churned out 315 lb.-ft. of torque routed through an automatic transmission. To support the additional power, upsized wheels and tires were added along with a limited-slip differential. Four-wheel disc brakes, adjustable suspension and firmer shocks rounded out the package, which also included details like the SC badge in the horn button seen here.
As you can see, the plastic remains on the seats – but truth be told, for a car that was quite literally never driven, the care in storage doesn’t seem to be all that impressive. Most of the time, cars that were driven from the dealership and then parked are usually in an airtight cocoon until they go up for sale. That said, the seller claims it was brought home from the dealer and “…set up for long-term storage.”
The engine bay looks much better than the exterior, and certainly resembles a low-mileage unit. Here’s the problem for the seller: they made a lot of these – over 20,000 cars. Right off the bat, your chances of netting a hefty return on your investment are gone. Second, cars with low-ish mileage that you can actually use trade hands regularly for under $10K. Maybe the market will shift, but we suspect this seller isn’t going to see a big payday with this preserved S/C.
Certainly not like this is a De Tomaso Pantera…
Whats the point?
These also came w 5 speed manual.
asking price is the same as the MSRP price in 1990 (in 1990 dollars about $45K). File this one under the people who bought the last year Beetles, Fiero’s etc. hoping that market would find them.
And it has the ultra-rare baking soda option!!
I would love this car but imho i think its about 13k-15k to high.i think he should have drove the hell out of it and enjoy it..
In my early 20’s it was my 1st new car.. to this day I still don’t know why I chose a Tbird SC instead of a Mustang V8. My SC was a lot fun & I had the tickets to prove it. At the same time it was practically lemoned out. I had some much trouble with it especially the auto trans. It was fun & a lot of trouble at the same time. It had big back seat & I remember the steering wheel cover where SC horn is could be pulled off & I could hide “herbs” there if I was stopped at some ridiculous time in the a.m. The tbird filled with all my friends was a cop magnet on the weekends.
Trying to state the obvious and not come across negative – a new car that is simply parked inside and never driven will likely have problems. Gas tank, oil, brake fluid all need to be changed – hopefully coolant hasn’t eaten away at the cylinder heads and water jackets. To me cars need to be driven at least periodically to be maintained.
Why? Just why? If you’re going to buy something and not drive it, invest in a mutual fund instead. You will make a lot more money and it’ll be a lot less hassle.
Again, as with the Fiero, an auction would be the best place to sell a car like this, but it looks here like the owner doesn’t want to put any effort in getting the car ready for sale.
He wants the world, and you will have to make it run and clean it.
No thanks.
You can have just as much fun with a used one for $1500.00, and you might find a stick shift version.
I’ll sell my original owner 83 for 2,000 under 80,000 mi, any takers,and it’s a ,6 speed
@Brian – Please consider listing it here on the site: https://barnfinds.com/sell/ Thanks!
there were around 3,371 35th Annys built. Not 20k.
Nice car. Truly. But no moon roof which is a must on something like this.
I absolutely don’t understand this and the price is absurd; the car will need everything before being driven, at least $2000.00 or more if something has to be
rebuilt, so what’s the point? Don’t buy very low mileage cars; always buy something with miles on it.
25 thousand? This has to qualify as fake news for a fake T-Bird. I intentionally bid $25 just to make my point. In fact I turned down two of these some years ago that were being given away, literally given away for the cost of towing.
Like I said, fake news for a fake T-Bird.
If you’re going to sell something, wash it!
When I was a child my father owned a 1957 Thunderbird which he sold as our family grew. He loved that car in its red with the white top, and it was an extremely rare car to own at the time here in Australia. I just showed him the pictures of this car because I thought that he might like it. His exact words were, “That’s not a Thunderbird.” Says it all I think.
If I bought a vehicle to preserve in hopes of a future payday, I’d also spring for a car cover. Too many of these are available at far lower prices, to make them a high price collectable…the Cougar XR7 with the same drivetrain is a much rarer find and a nicer looking car, IMHO.
All the things that this car will need to make it road worthy far xceeds it’s asking price.
The manual transmission models were quite fun to drive. Peppy like the mustang of that era with more style and options for those so inclined.
Loved my, hated the Bendix Hydro boost and the DIS. When the brake booster went out, that pedal was hard. The booster went out many times, I bought several of them.
the same as the DIS module. When that went out, usually when getting on the freeway, I MIGHT be able to get 35mph till I got off the freeway.
When it was runing and stopping right, it was gravity defying.
Kind of like the Honda motorcycle in the box. Worth less once you start driving it but not worth now what they’re asking. Maybe a piece in someone’s collection but they’ll only get close to what they are asking at one of the major auctions and only if the car is running. Pass.
Sold for:US $25,000.00
It has been relisted. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1990-Ford-Thunderbird/172988085602?hash=item2846e4b562:g:LucAAOSwbwJZ9m8x&vxp=mtr
25k no 2500.00 yes
To all the naysayers it sold
Not sold just relisted
It’s a beautiful car and lots of fun. They only thing I didn’t like was that it used premium gas. I sold mine 10 years ago for $8k with 48k miles.
You guys crack me up. If a car is left outside in the back yard to rot, you whine and complain. If a car is put in a garage for safe storage, you whine and complain. Anyway….
Is $25k for this high? Yeah, seems like it. Not a lot of 15 mile cars out there though, from any era. Is it your daddy’s Thunderbird? No. But what did you want Ford to do in 1990, make a 1957 T-bird? They tried that in the early 2000’s, remember how well that went?
The Super Coupe was a fairly rare car, and 35th Anniversary even rarer. So the owner bought it, boxed it up (more or less) hoping that he’d get a good ROI. It might not be your cup of tea, but I’m happy that at least it EXISTS. These were very popular when I was in high school in the early 90’s, and if you wanted a Thunderbird, the SC was the one you really wanted.
Look at it like this:
MSRP was about $25k. Storage at $200/mo (which here in NJ would be on the cheap side) for 27 years is $64,800. So that’s about $90k. Doesn’t make financial sense, but that’s what it is. Car is probably worth about $15k, $18k if you find someone who always wanted one.
Downside, as many of you note, is that it looses all value once you start driving it. So……whaddaya do with it? Trailer it to car shows and get bashed by the Tri-5 Chevy and Mustang snobs? Why bother? Store it another 25 years and hope the value goes up? Well, it most likely won’t appreciate to outpace the cost of storing it, meanwhile not driving it causes things to continue to deteriorate.
Honestly I don’t have an answer on what one would do with this car, but I for one think it’s cool that someone took one and stored it with only 15 miles on it for such a long time (though I sure hope he came out and started it once a month every month for 27 years).
Best comment I’ve ever read.
I had a 5 speed that i used as a patrol car here in Hawaii. We got a subsidy to use private vehicles. I absolutely loved ot. Tourist would trip seeing it. Mine cost me 27k out the door in 90. Man the memories. The thing about the price is that someone might want to relive their past. 25k seems high to me, but you never know. Did this car ever sell?