Event Coverage price of cars seems down

They are down, definitely.
I built my roadster to sell to fund an adoption.
It's never sold.
I even posted it 'for a short time only' at a drastically reduced price, just to move it ($8500), but no go.
r

 

I took a pretty good hit on an O/T ride i sold..almost 1/2 of what it should have been worth. yeah its pretty sucky out there.
wish i would have put it up 2 years before i did....my bad, but didnt have any idea it would get like this at that time

 

The economy is like a circle,it will come back and so will the prices accordingly. I concur with Cruzr,the right car still brings the money{at least thats what ive seen in California}.

 

I believe the economy will continue as such as long as the ones getting away with stealing our hard earned money (legally) away from us will be allowed to.

 

The banks were a good old fashioned corn-holing. The funny thing that I see about this is that it appears that they were as clueless as the people they were lending to. The mortgage thing is rediculous. I can understand somebody loosing a house because they loose their job or had crazy healthcare bills or something like that, but if you loose a house because you are living above your means, or you took the maximum amount they would lone you with crazy rates and didn't think about the consequences, then it's kind of poetic justice. Most banks went bust because they were following the same mentality of their customers..... greed. When the house of cards finally fell, they both got screwed.

Why the government bailed out the banks I'll never know. The only reasoning I can think of is that the banks fund other businesses and if the other businesses aren't functioning because of defaulting on a loan, then all you do is loose even more jobs. I personally think they should have bailed out the tax payer. Bailing out teh tax payer would have achieved the same end result I think.... the bank would have just gotten $ from the tax payer instead of directly from the gov't.

I'm not sure if the above comment was in reference to taxes (it seems that way), but hard to say. Taxes really have not increased that much over the last few years, at least not in comparison to everything else.... fuel, food, etc. It's the cost of everyday products and services that is draining everybody. Until there is some equilibrium between price v. value we can count on the roller coaster ride.

 

The auctions seem to be down, but big deal, as I believe they do not reflect the true, "user level" part of things. WE, that use our cars, are in a different section of the hobby than most of the auctions audience. The local, user end prices around here are about the same as always. They just aren't selling. But, although they're not selling, I don't see sellers "folding"

 

Its good to see prices are getting more realistic. I hope the days of $150,000 small block Camaros are long gone.

 

wow, I was expecting a 32 ford... that looked like a 32 ford...

 

Everything is down .Slow economy .Thats the bottom line .

 

Don't worry, when the world starts figuring out how much money we've printed up, the inflation will make the prices go to levels you thought would never happen. Too bad a peso will be worth more than a buck by then, but what can you do.

 

I'm selling a car that I will end up getting $7k less then what I got it for. But I sold a '32 during the "feeding frenzy" and got way more for it than it was worth. It all equals out in the end.

 

Portland Swap Meet soon probably a good year to go and look for parts....Hmmm.

 

Yeah, I really need to force myself off my ass and go to that one again. It's the best I've been to in years. And I went when the economy was strong.

 

Expendable income is the biggest culprit. If you are making more money than you are spending you are sometimes looking for a place to put it where you can enjoy it but get it back in a hurry if needed. Collector cars is usually a good place. Not now though. Another problem is not knowing where the bottom is. It will all work out at the same time though. When people start having a little money to invest that will create the bottom. That is the way it has worked in the past.

 

True ... and I believe that the weather factors in to this also.

When the weather turns warmer across the nation ... and folks start getting out and going to car events ... I BELIEVE
... that the car fever will AMP UP and then the demand will increase. When the demand increases ... so do the prices

All this is not going to affect me anyway ...
I have the two cars I really want ... I will wait for the next project to come along ... at the right time and the RIGHT PRICE

 

The issue is credit, or lack thereof. When the market was booming, it bought in a lot of guys who were buying the cars of their youth on cheap and easy credit from their friendly banker. The same one who gave them the 120% mortgage on the house they couldn't afford.

Now, the credit is gone. Anyone without a spotless record finds it difficult to get a loan for the $50,000 F350. Forget about the hotrod. Instant removal from the market of a bunch of people who can't pay cash. And great deals for those who can.

Of the cars that are now for sale, it'd be real interesting to know how many of them were financed. And how many are really being sold by the bank or finance company, not the individual. It'd also be real interesting to know the mean credit line for registered bidders at Barrett Jackson auctions this year as compared to a couple years ago. I'll bet it's down significantly.

Yes, the car market is down generally because of the overall economy but, more specifically, it's down because of the lack of credit.

 

You know I set up at a vendor type show over the weekend (model trains) and I did great. Better than last year by about double. Most of my sales were in the $20 and under range, but there were a lot of them. In better economies I've done way worse at the same meet (there was one year where I sold about 75 bucks for the day). Whether that will translate to the car show swaps, I'm not sure, but generally be it a train show or a car show when sales are down they're down for both. I hope they're better, the van I got to run to them in gets crappy gas milage, I'll need to pay for that somehow.

I won't know probably until either Rhinebeck the beginning of May or Norwich at the end of it, though. The latter will probably be a good indicator of the season; if Sunday in particular is worth sitting there through all of, that will be a sign people are willing to buy.

And I know I figure I aught to buy this crap while I can, because the day is going to come where for one reason or another I won't be able to.

 

Fortunately, of my four hobby cars (two HAMB-friendly, two not), three are complete original or restored drivers, all running and driving good. My hot-rod wagon has been sitting for about a year while I attempt to acquire a few more parts for it. I never subscribed to the theory of borrowing money for a TOY. Anyone viewing automobiles as "investments" is an idiot. Granted, during the late '70s Mustang boom, the early '80s Ferrari boom, the 1988-89 musclecar boom, and the 2001 - 2008 collector car boom, people made scads of money! I know the guy who sold a magnificently restored Hemicuda COUPE at auction in Houston for $2M! Now, that absolutely perfect car (and it is, believe me!) would bring maybe a third of that amount. Many people were very observant in what they built and/or bought, and timing is everything, of course!

Like you guys have said, if you have the $$$ to take advantage of the HUGE downturn in the car/parts hobby, you are sitting in tall cotton!

 

Very true. This "downturn" is a bit different in what is happening. Take Citibank for example: In April you will have to give a weeks notice before withdrawing your money from your checking account. If the other banks follow, this can change a major car purchase as well. A lot of things are changing with this "downturn" that we haven't seen before.

 

The only up-side of this shitty economy is that the cost of garage space is finally getting more affordable.

 

Time to revisit this topic from 8 years ago. Old car prices are way down and seem to continue to plunge for the pre-48 group cars. The reality is that many of the old guys that would appreciate a mid thirties coupe are passing on, and the younger generation that took their place just doesn't have the interest level that we do. Muscle cars are strong, but I bought a SOLID '40 Ford standard coupe for $8500 and a year later had to trade it for a Monte Carlo as no one would step up to buy it for even a $1000 less than I paid for it. As quoted back in 2010:

What are you guys thinking in today's market??

 

Not STATION WAGONS!!!!After I sold the 56 Chrysler and paid off some bills I could not afford an old station wagon. I had to get a newer one {still a Buick}I got it running and brakes back on it.{it seems like I find all the ones that have been sitting a while. LOL.}It has the faded wood grain which I am going to take off and replace. Its a dark blue {but needs to be repainted} I am going to repaint it that new Toyota wild blue and then sell it. Then I hope I can get a old station wagon and start posting on here again. Bruce.

 

Nothing's ever as good as the Good Old Days. For most of us, we're not in this for the Return on Investment. I don't ever expect to get out of my car what I put into it, certainly not the blood,sweat and tears. But, we can, and almost surely will, revive this post in eight years.

 

You all keep mentioning “downturns “ however I feel this is a much more serious long term problem this time around.....for the most part the millennials and the new Peter pansies could care less about any of our cars! And that goes for antique tractors too!

My Blog: https://ontheroadtonowhereville.wordpress.com/

High Noon

 

Our age group (the interested parties) are retired, fixed incomes, may have expensive health costs, or already had/have their "dream car", and may be down sizing their own collections.

Our potential customer base dwindles down daily.

How many graduates this year are dreaming of owning a '32, '34, or '40 Ford, or say a '55-'57 Chev.? I think they can appreciate them, like I can steam cars, but have no desire to own one.

Not trying to be a doomsday sayer, but if you are trying to sell one of these cars, best be willing to negotiate, and stifle your pride when you have an interested party looking at your car.

I'm not sure why I responded to this post, as it's always the same old song and dance that comes up regularly.

 

Yeah, the market is down. The car in my avatar is a fresh nut & bolt frame off show quality restoration that I have for sale for less then half of whats in the car. Asking $42,500 OBO. The chrome plating alone is almost 1/4 of my asking price. I've had lots of trade requests and ridiculously low ball offers.

Gary

 

I recently sold a 55 GMC pk. The buyer was a young guy in his twenties. Rare bird to want a old rusty truck needing lots of work. But he works with his father in a vehicle repair shop. weaned on nuts & bolts kind of person. Most millenials could care less. Scrap prices are getting better so maybe the inventory of projects and parts will again be reduced?

 

As a general rule, people lust after the cars of their youth. It’s the cars they saw their folks or neighbor drive, or a poster they had on the wall - those are the cars they want. Once they get older and get some disposable income, they search out those cars and prices increase. I’d say it typically takes about 30 years from a cars introduction for the price to start going up. Prices then start falling off maybe 50 years or so later as more people have had their fun and look to sell, but less people are looking to buy. Of course there are always exceptions- rare cars and cars with pedigree will always be in demand.

The prices on Prewar cars are already heading down - there’s more supply than demand right now. The 50’s era cars have plateaued and are next to start coming down as people look to sell them but will have a harder time finding buyers. Muscle cars have more or less peaked but the prices will stay high for awhile longer.

Right now, it’s the early Japanese sports cars that are increasing in value - Supras, RX-7, 3000GT, Skyline, etc. Those are the cars that the millennial generation lusted after and can now afford.

 

In the late 60,s and early 70,s I owned and drove vehicles that where 10 years old and older. nobody wanted a older vehicle.unless they where something special and a two door. I simply drove those old 4 doors into the ground parked them and bought another for usually less than a $100. It seemed everyone lusted after a brand new vehicle. and after the mid 70,s gas debacle. the muscle cars became much lower in price. Today gas is above $3 per gallon here. That's a breaking point for me. Im gonna revive my OT 4 cyl ford ranger. And for short hops my OT pep boys Fake (Harley) 49 CC weedeater engined motorcycle will be used. I think the economy will regress and the sales of everything be reduced with the spike in fuel prices.

 

Can't count the 4-door cars I've had in the past. Sometimes 1/2 the price of a 2-door. They made great sleepers. In 1973 a 10 year old car in good shape was $100-300. I have noticed that the hotrod type of car market is down, the fixed up Chevelles and similar seem to be appreciating. But that $50k car we all see probably has $80k in it. I have around $25k into my '59 Ford and would have to struggle to get $15k for it.

I always have my eye open for a fire sale, fortunately I have deeper pockets than most, but I'm also a cheap bastard. I need a home for my 396 and have my eyes peeled. I see lots of older guys wanting out and selling their cars, I'm 63 and still buying and building.