When my brother and I were kids, the house across the street from our childhood home went up for sale. The owner, who was a prominent Chrysler salesman, always had a nice selection of cars – nothing exotic, save for a Plum Crazy ‘Cuda in the garage – but his cars were always in nice shape. His wife had a Beretta GT just like this one, and this listing here on craigslist brought back fond memories of thinking the coupe was one of the coolest cars we had seen. It went up for sale when they were planning for a move, and I can’t recall seeing one as nice as this 1989 model listed for $6,500.

The Beretta was not an exceptional car for any particular reason other than basic competence. It was more or less reliable, but it was also a case of its looks being far better than your average economy car. I’ve always felt the Beretta got better and better looking as GM added various spoilers and upgraded wheels, and it was absolutely stunning when converted into a convertible for pace car duties. It seemingly had lots of untapped potential and could have been far greater than just another footnote in the 90s economy car class, but that’s about all it’s been remembered for. The GT shown here came with upgraded cross-lace wheels, a dual outlet muffler, and red beltline trim.

The interiors were respectable, certainly not high quality, but the bucket seats were nicely bolstered. The materials were not particularly high grade but they were durable, and I’m always surprised to see cars like this one that have seemingly held up. It makes you wonder if part of GM’s reputation for selling cars with cheap cabins was more a result of owners abusing the hell out of them rather than the cars themselves being particularly poorly built. The seller notes there’s just 64,000 miles on the clock and that this Beretta has been garage-kept, and never in an accident.

The L-Body platform was shared with the Chevy Corsica, which for some reason, didn’t capture the attention of enthusiasts quite like the Beretta did. The Beretta eventually spawned models like the GTU and GTZ, which brought some true performance improvements to the masses, but somehow didn’t capture the imagination quite like the hot hatches of the 90s did. The Beretta shown here isn’t exactly sporting – 125 horsepower and an automatic transmission, channeled through the front wheels – but it does stand out for likely being one of the nicest ones left. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Barney for the tip.