Hot Rods What is going on with old car prices!!!!!

I have a friend who hauls cars around the country, some of his clients are rich, some are not,
he sees the whole bit, and tells me he goes to Long Beach, California terminal frequently .

He says the amount of old cars and desirable cars going over seas is staggering..

 

I think I've lost money on every car, truck, boat, motorcycle, and girl friend I ever had. I made a little money on a helicopter once but not enough to get excited. That is the way it is.

Vehicles are not IRAs ( or certainly should not thought of as being an IRA) and the market goes up and down. Just like the stock market one does not lose money until one sells. All the complaining about the market is from folks that got scared and sold at the bottom. What happened next? The market recovered without the folks that sold out. Thank you! It happens every time and has for 50+ years that I have invested. The bottom is a great place to be buying and not selling.

The point is that favorites come and go. The want ads here have a bunch of dreamers just like CL, epay, and others. When an overpriced car does not sell then the market must be plunging. Try a more reasonable price and it will sell. A vehicle is only "worth" whatever someone with cash will pay for it.

 

I'll tell you what is with the prices. I have been a body man / painter for a long time and restored lots of nice cars I recently as in last month have had to mid 30 something's stop on and ask price on restoring "old school"cars on a mitsibushi conquest and one a early Civic hatchback this is the way it is really really sad to me anyway my blown nova sitting on garage gets no attention from my friends twenty year old son but drools over my wife's daily 2018 Civic........

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I don't think so. Those cars are quick, but not quite that quick, and not by a first time rookie with the a/c on. Nice story, but it's not true.

http://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/2017/2498135/dodge_challenger_ta_392_automatic.html

Besides, what's a Challenger T/A cost? Kelly Blue Book says $34.5k to $36k. I don't think building a car to run 12's in the 1/4 for $35k is that big a stretch.

 

Prices are coming down for both foreign and domestic classic cars. The trend has changed from over restored or hot rodded to original or original with some sort of provenance or real history attached to the vehicle. On the local Craiglslist I see plenty of mediocre fodder for the hobby, long bed pre 75 trucks, Novas, four doors, etc, that are good entry level vehicles, but quite frankly are not 5 or even 10k rides. these are 2-3k rides at the top, but everyone has the internet, and cable TV, and thinks they have something rare or special.

 

Im not yet 50, but even I have the internal debate of new vs. old. I always wanted a Boss 302, they have dropped considerably to drivers being 50-60 K. I can buy a brand new bad ass GT for 40 that spanks the older model, has AC, and my wife doesn't mind riding in it.

 

Case in point, just saw a clean 73 Cultass s on the local ad here, nothing special but all there. $7500. Hate to judge someone else stuff but that a 4k car tops.

 

the only thing constant in life is change. prices go up but usually don't come down where they were. inflation happens, prices go up. paychecks go up, prices go up. it is a never ending cycle. in the socialist republic of california where i live, they just passed that nonsince bill about doing away with gas engine cars by 2045. you can get an argument about that though, but i wouldn't put any stupid shit being passed from the morons that run this state. the only people worse are the ones that vote them in. i won't be around by then but if i were, i would just find a sedan and take out the back seat and put bateries in it. what difference does it make what powers our old cars? as far as the prices of old cars goes, what else would i spend my money on? i have an odd taste in cars and the ones i buy are in the lower price range, so i put less money in them.

 

The only time I say that a vintage car is an investment is when I have to justify the purchase to my wife.

 

We build 47-53 Chevy trucks and just like anything else markets change. I have yet to sell one for under $30,000.00. stock restored cars and trucks are cheap because most that buy them to rot rod since they aren't really drivable. I won't buy a car with a built engine, because I don't trust others capabilities. If it was a race car it's not really drivable so that would explain it's price. Cars are too expensive to build and take too long to build, trucks is where it's at currently.

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I can help you here when you buy parts

 

I 'only' invested $50K+ in my 58 apache, a mild custom street rod. Is been on the market for 10 months...not much response so the prices has dropped gradually....still for sale at $26k.

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I think prices are dropping because this hobby (I view it a way of life) is returning to the car guys.
The prices started going stupid about 15 or so years ago, with the help of "reality" T.V. and televised auto auctions.
Old cars were looked at a an investment and became a fad with the rich, gold chain, pinky ring crowd. Remember Million and a Half Dollar Hemi Cars? I hold no animosity to the rich, just cars are meant to be driven, worked on, raced and viewed by people. Cars should not locked away in garages and warehouses only to be viewed by a select few during gala events.

I view this as a chance for the working class guys like myself to be able to afford cars and vintage parts once more.
I graduated high school in 2000, complete a model A coupe was about $2,000-2,500. A price a guy in his late teens to mid twenties could afford. Fast forward to 2006 or so the same car is in the $8,000 plus range. You have to be pretty well established to pay that kind of money for a project car.

 

Just went to Hershey Friday. Prices were usual. Depends on what you need. Currently working on an F1 project. Nice that theirs so many parts available. That being said, I’ve bought and sold parts for the past ten years or so. I have 3 sets of front fenders,(original 48), that I planned to repair and use the best pair.

Now that they repop the new ones, I’ve considered that. But what do I do with the old ones. Nobody will pay me what I’ve spent to buy and repair on them. So, now the dilemma , fix old ones and use or buy new and cringe over the price.

Wasn’t planning on using truck for retirement but with the price of buying new parts, just might have to.

 

things may be flagging in the states and old cars may be loosing money but look at other countries around the world - rodding has never been bigger in places like Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Germany etc. etc. - they cant get cars and parts quick enough over there and the price of stuff is going up in these countries. They are building better quality cars over in these countries than are being built in the states because of the standards these countries enforce. The aftermarket parts they produce over there is better quality as well - the aussies are selling hotrod parts back to the yanks now...

 

Are they getting top dollar, or??

 

...this is all very interesting,..most of us should be glad we weren't born 20 years ago,...we saw the best of times in the hot rod world and real life.

 

I stopped to see a friend last week. He has a shop full of old cars and is planning on continuing . He says he looks at this hobby differently than most . When he was 16 he bought a 70 Chevelle ragtop and put it together as a driver. He then managed to buy and finish about 15 cars I would guess. He tells me he does not have a retirement account , All his extra money over the years is in his old cars. He has 10 years to go , and then will sell them off one at a time to live off of. If they bring less then he doesn't care because he used them all these years. If he dies early his wife is very familiar with them and will use them to live off also.

 

We build model A banger engines, and have done 25 this year, that's 3x as many model A engines as SBC's this year. The vast majority of these engines go overseas. And they ain't cheap, we sell our insert main bearing long blocks for $3900.00 and a complete tickles $5500.00. they sell way faster than we can build them.

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..."will use em to live off of"
good luck with that plan, unless he doesn't have much in em...

 

Cars will always have value. Makes more sense to spend your "retirement" on something you can enjoy while your alive. Then wait to expect big things after your too old to appreciate the money. Owning your own business, basically know you'll never retire and most of us prefer it that way. I'd get bored.

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Rusty, I was born in 1951...and my feelings are not the same. I have never had more pure enjoyment (with a hotrod daily driver)than this year. I think as we get to the "Autumn of our lives" we should just grab every day and "shake it like a ladder to the sun". (a verse from a song). I meet dozens of people each day, all are happy, and all of them like to meet and greet.

I threw the evil TV out years ago as the "news" has us thinking the world has gone to shit...it is simply is not true.

See? ^^^^another person who "gets it". Enjoy each day, piss on the past, and the so called future, as neither is real. The "Now" is the only place we will ever live in.

.

 

Start customizing the civics. The cash from an old car is the same from a new car
No rust to fix sounds fun

 

I saw his time slip. I'll have him email a photo of it.

 

With the same level of comfort and features? I'd like to see one.

 

Amen brother. I can stand up and testify!

 

That's not the point point is what is going on with old car prices your correct cash is cash and paint and body work is just that

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I see the biggest limiting factor in the upcoming generation is the skill to repair, build & craft it oneself. It’s easier for them to just buy something new because when it brakes they can drive it to any shop to be repaired.

Whether it’s teaching mechanical skills or teaching one how to hunt big game, if it’s not passed on it will fade away.


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It seems that some cars are holding up and others not so much. I know of several folks looking for nice 40 coupes with modern ammenities right now-willing to step up for the right car. As to retirement value I see them only as a hobby-not something to count on down the road. I have a friend who has at least $1mil in old cars-says they are an investment, that would make me very nervous. Like other collectibles, the younger generations have little or no interest. Case in point-wife's 55 we have had for 41 years. It is still a very nice car with ac etc etc. I think we have maybe $18-20K in it over the years (built mostly in the 80's) and drove it as our main car for many years-most reliable car we have ever owned. Have been offered good money for it multiple times but no worries-it has paid for itself many times over. The fight will be which kid gets it. As for my 40 coupe, no problem-have interested parties quite often.

 

When I'm ready to liquidate hotrods will no doubt be going for scrap metal prices
I see many very good deals for US buyers considering our beat up dollar.