Why aren't hot rods selling?

remind me to never sell a car to da34guy

 

I love capitalism

 

Why not ? My cash is as good as any1 else's Chris

 

This whole debate over why old car are not selling is simple!
Peoples interests are changing and it not only in selling old cars.

Look at drag racing, NASCAR, golf, football, baseball and yes even in retail with malls across the country closing and major store brands are all going out of business for the exact same reasons peoples interests are changing in what they want to spend their money on and how they want to do it.

Today young people spent hours online each day either shopping or talking with others about things they like to do.

Just my opinion that peoples interests are changing and there is really not much we can do about it.

Jimbo

 

Buying & selling is not that big a deal, when we start crushing & melting coupes and roadsters, then we got a real problem!

 

If you knew nothing about how to work on old cars, would you buy one? Who would you take it to for service and repair? Old mechanics are retiring and dying off. I have a friend who has a tire and service business. He can't find mechanics to work on old cars any more and his good old car techs are retiring.

 

Well, bragging about it here might be one reason. I’m sure reading about the resale made the guy’s day that you bought it from.

 

Everything has gotten more expensive in the last 50-years.

Real wages have lagged far behind that growth.

People have less disposable income than they did 50-years ago, and that steady decline continues.

 

Like Kenny Rogers said in the song,,,,,

“You don’t count your money while you’re sitting at the table”,,,,,,
Yeah,,,,he was right,,,,,it is a little unseemly !

Tommy

 

You have to keep in mind that by advertising on the HAMB only you are advertising to guys who like to build their own cars. Hambers are hot rodders. Completed cars would probably be better advertised on a site where people that don't do their own work would look....like facebook marketplace or ebay.

 

I have a few old cars but starting to like these little Subaru STI's. A 2 liter car that makes 400HP for less than 15K. Young folks are driving these cars to work every day and to car shows on weekends. I just bought a 2006 Baja Turbo, These cars have a very high fun factor.

 

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I’m 37, I want absolutely nothing to do with the cars from “my era.” My first car was a 1940 Plymouth, that I bought when I was 16.

I can’t believe this thread has 11 pages.

 

Prices are too high because too often people want to get back what they invested over the years. But they do not count in that they also used the car, had fun with it, .... you name it.
I recently sold my standard 1963 Ford Cortina that I had for 25 years for 6k to a friend. In those 25 years the car has cost me 15k incl. the purchase price - spares, a paintjob, tires, batteries.....
So the 9k were the price for 25 years of fun with the car. Nothing is free in life.

 

I sold my 68 Camaro in October no problem. I listed it for $44 and sold it for $40. Did I have more than that in it? Yes but like others have said I had a blast with it for years and there’s a cost to that. I priced it fair on where the market really is. I’d like to do a 32 or 34 build but where guys price projects is still just too high in my opinion. I do also fear where our hobby is going with all the EV push and government interference so do I want to invest a ton of after tax dollars on another car? Not so sure.


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Some of that and modified lated model PU trucks, off road ATV's, side by sides and Jeeps.Hyper fast bikes..And the new muscle cars....Times change...

 

Don, I'm not completely sold on that line of thought, I use to be but not now.

I have had a lot of guys say they like my '50 coupe but it needs too much body work, I think there is a segment of the hamb that want's instant gratification that needs no work, they are looking for perfection but want it for pennys on the dollar.

I have had discussions with several guys that like what they see and don't have a problem wit the car needing some work and are completely comfortable with the price, they just happen to be short on funds or waiting for their tax returns. HRP

 

I'm 41 and the old guy in my friend group. There are a few guys in their 20's who I know who wrench around here (I'm sure there are tons, just talking about my friends) almost universally they drool over old foxbody mustangs, hondas, subarus. I like some of those cars but prefer 40's- 60's.

I'm the youngest guy I know with an older car (1949) but I do have a bunch of friends with Lotus, Porsche, Lambo, Ferrari... so here is my theory:

In the younger generation the people with $$$$$ buy exotics because of social media. Those cars are a huge hit on social media.

In the younger generation the people on a budget have a huge bunch of 90's cars to wrench on that make a whole lot of power pretty cheap.

Just my opinion could be wrong, enjoying this thread. Bought my car from a wonderful older fella and still keep up with him on all the projects and send him pictures.

 

[QUOTE="James Domingo Severus, post: 13403642, member: 308521"

In the younger generation the people with $$$$$ buy exotics because of social media. Those cars are a huge hit on social media.

These are the ones we watch on You Tube wrecking them....great entertainment..

 

I have a pile of parts that might one day be a Model A pickup, with all the comfort that comes with that.

I have more in it, in parts alone, than a few guys that I know who have imports, with 700-1000hp, nice stereos, AC, heated seats, and plush interiors.

I work in tech, and I know nobody who makes enough to afford an exotic car (that was not a rich kid, from birth).

 

Nice roadster at Barrett Jacksons just sold for 30k
An 83 K10 right behind it sold for 30k
Hmmmm

It did have a hamb badge on it though

 

I watched that 32 sell and figured that with the steel body it was supposed to have it should have gone a lot higher. The only thing I saw in the photos was that the interior needed finishing. It might be a good thing I wasn't there with a pocket full of buying power.

 

Someone stole it even with the interior issue.
That’s cheaper than the red ones without engines that Speedway sells.

 

Then someone pays 26k for this

 

I agree, I don't know where the idea came around that people only like cars that were new when they were young drivers. People like what they like. A 19/20 year old kid fixing up some late 70's square body Chevy truck isn't doing it because he's nostalgic, considering he was born in the year 2000.

I'm not old enough to remember any of my old cars when they were new, even as a kid, yet the idea that buyers only buy what they lusted for as kids/young adults persists.

 

I think we all know that guys build what they can afford or what is the hot lick in their circle of friends as often as they build what they really want if money wasn't an object.
I'm figuring that Rick Dore lost serous money selling that gold roadster for that price. Still the big money doesn't show up on Wednesdays at that auction. A lot of guys got some real decent rides for way less than the build cost even when some of them were built several years ago.
It still comes down to who showed up with the intent to buy certain vehicles and how many were intent on taking said vehicle home and not bidding to their personal pre set stopping point. The "if I get it for under that good, if I don't so be it" thing.

It's not just hot rods that seem to be going cheap though it looked like a lot of stuff went for way less than what you could build it for.

 

This glass 32 went for 19k

And a 73 Datsun Z brought 40k
Interesting to see how the next few days go.

 

I am just not to sure this is a problem at all. Then I see a really nice car like Danny's not selling and that makes me wonder why, I mean it is for sale for a damn nice price, does need some work but is a running driving car NOW. So this car in particular surprises me.

Then I spend a few minutes doing a little research over in the HAMB classified and it is much more understandable why a "LOT"of cars are not selling. Just a quick look there and I see this; There are 30 ads per page ( at least on my page) and I checked just three pages or 90 ads. Of those 90 cars I didn't count anything below $20,000, but started at that figure. There were 18 cars in the 20's some close to 20 and a bunch much more close to 30, but 18 in the 20's--There were 11 cars in the 30's once again all over the 30's some high some low--- There were 4 cars in the 40's---7 cars in the 50's--- 2 cars in the $60,000 range and two priced at over $100,000.

That is not counting the ads that run for years and years one of those being a nice car at $89,995.

So that makes 44 cars or almost exactly half of those 90 cars selling for over $20,000, and 15 of that 44 selling for over $40,000.

Now I am just a poor old country boy from Alabama, I don't know how it is in your neck of the woods but there are not a hell of a lot of buyers for specialty, mostly pleasure driven cars at prices of anywhere approaching $40,000. Hell it is no surprise to me that a lot of cars are not selling. What is surprising to me is that a really nice start of a car that doesn't need one damn thing to be driving around, but does need a little body work and TLC to make it closer to perfect ( damn I hate that word, I mean is that even possible?) has not sold for a very realistic price of $8,000 dollars.

If you take a minute and think about a Hot Rod or custom car buyer. Most of these guys have a vision of what they want. The want that car of there youth to cruise around with Momma in and play SOB ( SOB will be explained at the end for you pilgrims that had a more refined youth) on the corners like they did in there youth. They have usually a color in mind as well as many other of the details. So cash in hand they start looking for this car, after a spell they can't seem to find the exact car but they can get close. Trouble is they dreamed of a Red car and what they find is purple or yellow or maybe green ( guess those folks vision was different from there's) and while they are willing to maybe have it painted they are damn sure not willing to do that for a $30,000 or $40,000 car. They just pass altogether and the search goes on.

Anyone building these Hot Rods and customs and thinking they are going to make a living, make money on all the cars they build is just plane dreaming. Can it be done on occasion? sure but most times you better be spending the money to build one of these cars because you really like doing it.

I think a reasonable priced car will sell, with the one exception that I will never understand...

SOB--- "Slide over baby" You had to have a bench seat for this to work!

 

I sold one of my street rods about 20 years ago at the Nationals. Rolled that money into building more of what I wanted(a coupe instead of a 2-dr. sedan.) I noticed the sellers market was not good as the buyers market. Now 20 years later, prices are all over the chart, and the younger generation don't care to much about our type of cars. If the truck or car is a 20-60's car they more want to rat it out, or leave it in patina, throw a Mexican blanket over the seats and screw an old license plate to the hole in the floor. The younger generation would not have the cash for most of our cars. So they get Mommy & Daddy to buy them a Civic Hatchback, a loud stereo system that vibrates the whole road and car & Crank up that subwoofer. Lets scare the old dude in that old piece of crap, hell it looks like it was made like 80 years ago. He revs up his glasspack muffler, and tries to jump the light to show the old man what that old crap won't do. By second gear the old guys is 2 car lengths ahead of the pimpled riceburner car. Unless the youth of this world grew up in a rodding culture, there is little hope our hobby will be here in another 20-30 years. Prices with keep lowering unless you willing to sell your car on say a Barrett-Jackson site. Just my 2 cents.

 

Judas Priest...and I was gonna sell my O.T. BMW 633 Coupe. (with the 454 Chev I just installed)
Is that gold thing a 'hot rod'?