How Much Is My 2002-2005 Thunderbird Worth? That’s a question a lot of Thunderbird owners would like the answer to. And for some owners of the 2002-2005 Ford Thunderbird the answer is ‘priceless.’ For an American car barely 13 years old, the question of value is an elusive one. Many owners won’t put a dollar value on the enjoyment their Thunderbirds have brought them, or the fun they’ve had driving them, showing them and just owning them. Some people bought one or more of the new 2002-2005 Thunderbirds with the specific intent of holding them for future resale, putting few if any actual ‘road miles’ on them, and storing them in climate-controlled garages. So far, those who bought a new Thunderbird as an investment haven’t done very well. A few recent sales at collector car auctions have seen selling prices for extremely low-mileage 2002 Thunderbirds of $40,000-42,000, which is very close to the original MSRP. After factoring in the cost of insurance, maintenance, storage and other incidental costs however, it’s been a money losing proposition.
Current market values for 2002-2005 Thunderbirds vary widely depending on condition and mileage. The limited edition Thunderbird ‘feature cars,’ including the 2002 Neiman-Marcus (only 200 built), the 2003 James Bond ‘007’ (700 built), the 2004 ‘Pacific Coast Roadster’ (1,000 built), and the 2005 ’50th Anniversary’ Special Edition ‘Cashmere’ (1,500 built) tend to bring higher prices due to their relative low production numbers and collectibility, but for the most part, none of the ‘Feature Cars’ have outpaced comparable low-mileage standard production ‘Retros.’ In fact, collector car price guides such as the ‘Black Book,’ list only the 2002 ‘Neiman-Marcus’ Thunderbird separately or assign it a higher book value (some price guides also list the 2003 James Bond 007 and the 2004 ‘Pacific Coast Roadster’ separately, though typical book values don’t vary greatly from other 2002-2005 Thunderbird models).
Opinions as to the potential future values of the ‘Retrobird’ also vary widely. Some predict that the 2002-2005 Thunderbird is destined for status as a ‘classic’ along with the original 1955-1957 Thunderbird. Others think it is relatively undistinguished, and was produced in too large a volume to ever become a high-priced collectible. In all fairness, the 2002-2005 Thunderbird does have some characteristics that set it apart from more common, mass-produced American cars, and certainly from T-Birds produced between 1958-1997. It is the first two-seat convertible Thunderbird produced since the iconic 1957 Thunderbird. Its production numbers are also comparable to the ‘Baby Bird,’ with just 68,095 produced in four model years (not including the 1999 Concept show cars, the 2003 Supercharged Concept or the few additional 2002-2005 T-Birds destined for the Henry Ford Museum and never offered for sale to the general public). While a production run of 68,000+ vehicles is not extremely low as compared to say the 1956-57 Lincoln Continental Mark ll, with just under 3,000 built, it is low compared to say the Ford Mustang, which saw production of nearly 200,000 units for the 2005 model year alone.
As of mid-2015, values for used 2002-2005 Thunderbirds range from a low of around $ 6,500 for high-mileage, poor condition or salvage-title cars, to well over $ 30,000 for some very low-mileage examples in pristine overall condition (cars at the low end of this price range are typically dealer auction sales or other wholesale dealer-to-dealer transactions). The majority of private-party sales, and sales by dealers to retail buyers are in the $ 10,000-25,000 range, and again are determined by mileage, condition and maintenance or accident history. Some independent dealers buy salvage titled Thunderbirds at very low prices and then restore or recondition them for resale.
There are a number of sources for Thunderbird values including the NADA ‘Black Book,’ and various specialty collector car value guides such as those published by Hagerty and others. As with nearly every special interest or ‘collector’ car, condition has a tremendous impact on market value. And condition can be very subjective, and is based on a number of factors including the quality of paint, chrome, interior and mechanical systems and originality. Concours level show cars are scrutinized for originality and penalized for even minor flaws or deviations from their appearance, condition, or modification from when they were new.
The factor that is perhaps the most difficult to predict or forecast into the future is just how long it will take for the 2002-2005 Thunderbird to reach the ‘peak’ of collectible value. As with many other collectibles such as fine art, coins, furniture or jewelry, market values rise and fall depending on popularity, scarcity, supply, demand and economic factors. While the finest and rarest collector cars do tend to increase in value steadily over time, prices can fall or remain stagnant for extended periods.
Based on the price history of say the 1955-1957 Thunderbird, it may be another 20-30 years or more before the 2002-2005 Thunderbird brings many multiples of its original sales price. Some of the finest examples of fully-restored, ground-up restorations of ’55-’57 T-Birds have sold for well over $ 100,000, with at least one example bringing over $ 200,000. Thunderbirds in that price range however, are rather exceptional, and many decent unrestored but original examples can be bought for far less, $ 25,000-50,000 depending on condition.
Attempting to predict or extrapolate the future values of 2002-2005 Thunderbirds based on current prices for 1955-1957 Thunderbirds however, is mere speculation. There are simply too many factors and too many variables to estimate with any accuracy, the potential future market value of this or any other car.
For now it’s probably safe to say that low-mileage, well-maintained 2002-2005 Thunderbirds are near their low point in terms of market value, but that’s not to say they may not drop in value further before stabilizing and eventually increasing in value. It’s almost certain that original ‘Retros’ in good condition will be worth more in say 20 years than they are today, but trying to predict how much more is nearly impossible.
Perhaps the most reliable references for current market values of 2002-2005 Thunderbirds are the various automobile price guides which compile average selling prices from a variety of sources.
For those interested in collector car auction prices for the 2002-2005 Thunderbird, there is an addition article here on the ‘Thunderbird Specialties’ website which tracks selected sales at auction.
