History The market value of cars of our hobby and the future going forward?

There are cars that will always demand a premium, example being the 1932 Fords, fat fendered fords, early corvette's and tri-five Chevy's to name a few, there are many more.

Even with us old farts dying off there are younger guys that still have that dream to own one of these iconic cars and I don't think that demand has been met, so these cars are not going to be purchased for penny's on the dollar anytime soon.

I recently sold my '50 Ford coupe after having it for sale for more than a year, I actually lost money on the car but the guy that bought it got a great car at a heck of a deal.

Patience is the key and when it's the right deal for you don't hesitate to make the deal happen asap. HRP

 

Yeah John I’m finding that out. I didn’t think I would have this hard of a time finding one. And I’m not looking for a once in a lifetime like bargain, I’m just looking for a driver condition or decent project car for a reasonable price. It’s all Aaron’s fault LOL, I’m not worried about matching numbers or any of that. I’ve just missed out on a few in the last 6 months or so. And I’m not dead set on a C1 but at this stage in my life I’m trying to get cars on my “List”. I may end up with another car from my list but I’m hoping to score a C1. I should have bought this Red Fuelie a couple years ago. It was a good price but was so nice I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving and beating on it like I tend to do with my cars. I figured at that time I’d be able to find a better match for what I was looking for and for less money. Pat has scored a couple nice deals on C1’s lately but I want a 61-62 preferably. I’ll probably end up settling for something else but I wanted a hot rod vert, so I figured a Vette could check both those boxes. I guess I’ll try to be patient and look harder. But I’m pretty sure Sandy wants a 62 Vette

 

Lots of interesting comments. I suspect there will be some great deals out there soon if this mess continues for long. Many folks will be in dire straights.Lots of folks have taken a heavy financial hit as well even if they are still employed.
However I see quite a few projects going full speed right now and these are guys from mid 20's and up. These are guys who have not been affected financially and are still employed. The interesting part is they are putting together early to mid 60's pickups with modern features and selling off their high dollar late model pickups. I'm helping my son-in-law now on a nice 65 C10 and Grandson just did the same. These will be their "go to work" vehicles. In this area there are still folks looking for quality cars so the desire and money is not an issue for them.

 

Thanks Lippy! I’m trying to work this out so I can keep my ‘40 AND have a Vette I can drive to and beat on like that at Mokan.

 

HRP, I guess your story of losing money and taking a year to sell a running driving decent car tells us a lot about the state of the current market. Your lucky you could afford to lose money and move on. A lot of unemployed people will not be able to afford to take a hit like that. There's going to be many unemployed folks struggling to just put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.

 

Yeah, it's been a few weeks since a thread like this popped up. Few hobbies pay off. Photography, golf, music, fishing, boating, drinking, what's your poison?
I'm into cars because it's what I like, I enjoy the shit out of looking over my blower at the open road. My car, I built it. Foot on the gas, rowing the 4 speed.
Guys with a boat full of fishing gear never seem to get the $ back out of it.

 

Guys who could afford a '62 Corvette in the first place, aren't the type to be affected that greatly by what's going on in the world right now. Unless you want to buy an off-brand flat screen TV or last year's Iphone, or maybe take over someone's new car lease I doubt there will be many great bargains to be had.

Also, I seem to find extremely few old cars I would consider "daily driver" quality for sale, especially the really popular models like early Corvette. What I do see for sale are huge projects that need a ton of work or finished show cars with big price tags. The affordable drivers, the type of project you could drive as you work on it, seem exceptionally rare.

 

What's so strange about old cars to me is the point at which they become iconic. My mother in law (rip) bought a '55 Bel Air 2dr new, gave it to my wife when we met 1/2 century ago. It ran/looked ok...but it was a $50 car then. We went out to dinner in it, the manager actually came to table saying "I wish you'd park that old Chevy in back lot, not in front". Back then lots of cars were just that, and on car lots there wasn't a lot of price difference between a similar Chevy, AMC, Ford, Chrysler.
Then for some strange reason, they became desirable, in a movie perhaps?
Then ones growing up with them, familiar wrenching on them or who knows...maybe the rich kid in high school had one new. Then it's one day I'll have one of those. So in middle age, kids grown left home, guy has money saved so now he can buy what he couldn't afford at 17.
Later come the "upgrades". That old car now has disk brakes, ac, Bluetooth, etc.
The future seems to headed electric, so probably that will be the next generation "resto-mod".
Yesterday a 70 yo mechanic friend was showing me his latest acquisition, a fairly rare car he had worked on for years. The owner sold, too old to enjoy anymore. This friend knows what it is, how to work on it. Ten years from now? Who knows about it.
As he said, now what's popular are Datsun 240Zs.
Time marches on...

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Thanks Tim, yeah trucks are hot right now there’s a nice 65 or 66 in the classifieds right now. It’s priced reasonably. A 39 or 40 convertible is also on my list. This yellow 40 convertible only brought 27K the first time it went through Mekum. auction a few months back finally sold at a later auction for more but not a lot more. Not very long ago that would have brought nearly double that I’d guess.

 

I have a little different take on “people not being able to take a hit like that”. If they are in a real bind and the vehicle is owned with no debt, they really haven’t much choice but to ‘take a hit’ because they need the money tied up in the car more than they need the car it’s self.

Not an enviable position to be in for sure but over a lifetime it can happen to anyone.

Ray

 

Lots of interesting comments. I am still getting inquiries from guys wanting a nice 40 coupe. I know of many very nice cars around that are not for sale as they don't need the $$. Neighbor has a mint 68 Shelby GT500 convert and a mint 57 Nomad that he has had for many years-no intention of selling. Another guy I did a 39 woody for is on the hunt for a 55-57 Cameo to redo. Many folks are still in the game it seems around here.I haven't seen any bargains for desirable cars in my area. Always looking too. Tri fives have always been desirable and still are here as well. They are very reliable and easy to work on. We drove one as our main car for many years-great car and minimal issues if kept up properly-still have it after 42 years.

 

What is the issue? Is it the fact that the market is NOT flooded with decent cars at reasonable prices? I would think that is a good thing. '60-'62 Corvettes are going to command premium prices for a long time, regardless of the economic situation. Here is a link to '60-'62 Corvettes sold on eBay in the last 90 days.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/Cars-Truck...vrolet+Corvette&rt=nc&LH_Sold=1&LH_Complete=1

 

vettes?? https://www.cars-on-line.com/corvette_1.html

 

In the flip side of this is you have people trying to buy my truck every week.... Notes left on the windshield. Direct message via Instagram.

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I didn't take a loss because I have unlimited funds and could afford to take a hit, during the time I owned the car I repaired all the running and driving problems, it still needed some cosmetic attention.

I needed the money to do some remodeling on the house to convert my old attached garage into a living space for our daughter that had a sever brain injury years ago and can no longer live on her own, I didn't want to borrow money or pull money out of savings so the 50 Ford was the logical option.

I am fortunate I made the deal before all this corvid 19 pandemic.

If indeed it came to the point of feeding my family, including my extended family or loosing my arse and unloading my old deuce sedan the choice would be easy although painful, family comes first.


QUOTE="Hnstray, post: 13554944, member: 90384"]I have a little different take on “people being able to take a hit like that”. If they are in a real bind and the vehicle is owned with no debt, they really haven’t much choice but to ‘take a hit’ because they need the money tied up in the car worse than they need the car it’s self.

Not an enviable position to be in for sure but over a lifetime it can happen to anyone.

Ray[/QUOTE]

Ray, you are dead on. HRP

 

Mike I didn’t know you were looking for one and really love the early vetts . When Aaron got his I went looking again and my wife reminded me I dont fit into one lol. Then Pat got his and its wicked cool and killer history. My buddy was looking at a 58 vette and just called him about it. He said it needs paint because its got one of them 60s paint job with lace panels psychedelic stuff.. They are working on a price from the guy.that has it now, I’ll let you know if I hear anything..


.

 

I’m not looking for a Daily Driver. But rather a driver. Meaning a car I can load up stuff in and drive several hundred miles in without worrying about a rock chip ruining a 12k paint job. I don’t trailer any of my cars, I’ve put probably 35-40k miles on my 40. I consider it a “driver” I have a bike rack and haul our bikes on it too. There are some survivors still out there. There are guys that are getting them are doing some paint work and a little mechanical stuff and flipping them for 60ish. This white one went for 35k, I just missed it. This Fawn Beige one I looked last fall. Probably about as close to what I’m wanting as I’ve found yet, his asking price was 40k . He’s not out of line on the price but and if the chrome and undercarriage was a bit nicer I’d have probably bought it right then. I’m talking to a guy now that has a black/red 61 driving project car for mid 30’s. They’re out there. Just not easy to find and even harder to beat some dealer to them when they do come up.

 

Then there are some of us that just want some room back .

 

Lots out there but it's a big country so getting one home presents problems. All a key stroke away until you have to turn the key and go hundreds of miles for the first trip. And while there was a day it's fifty years ago or so now.

 

An interesting observation. A lot of folks have lost way more than a hot rod costs in their 401K's etc and are a bit hesitant but others are "it's only on paper" and full speed ahead., especially if they have 10-20 years before they need it.

 

When I was a kid I could afford the car but couldn't afford the insurance. Now I can afford the insurance but not the car so it's all moot.

 

Ray, you are dead on. HRP[/QUOTE]
As crazy as you are about your rides, you displayed what happens when the "rubber hits the road". I take my hat off to you, HRP, and wish you and yours the best in light of the situation at home. Please don't ever stop posting while you are upright ! LOL. I was hoping to meet you at the Bayou Roundup in Lafayette last year. It was a good un' !

 

It's way too early to tell. Maybe 6-12 months out will be a realistic gauge. We'll have to see how long the economy takes to ramp up and how many people have a job or a business to go back to. I'd wager a lot of small businesses will go under. Restaurants won't be able to survive at 50% seating capacity. I'd also wager most Co.'s that have "people working from home", will be doing a postmortem study to discover "how much work that position really fills?". Some Co's have taken huge financial hits and may decide to restructure by eliminating "fluffy" positions (I can think of quite a few where I work) or outsource certain jobs or entire departments.
Right now, I'm not seeing much in the way of bargain/fire sale prices on cars or parts locally or on national sites including the HAMB. Most sellers are just bumping ads. That may very well change and I'd guess parts and project cars will be the first on the block at buyer's prices. As usual, high demand parts and cars (32-34 Fords, open cars, Tri Five Chevy's Willys, etc) will command top buck.
There has to be enough buyers in a position to cough up the money too. Even in post recovery, I believe a lot of people will be holding their cards close to their vest trying to recoup their personal financial losses and not be able (or willing) to make 'luxury' purchases. People will tighten up. They'll reduce or hold off on unnecessary purchases of all sorts within the household.
Younger folks that have remained employed and retired folks that are financially secure may have the bandwidth to spend. I've remained employed, but my Wife and 2 of 3 adult children have been furloughed and I'm helping them out as best I can. I'm 4 years from retirement, but I may have to make that 5 years or more depending on my 401k recovery which has lost over $1000 a day over the last 60 days, so buying anything other than life essentials will be off the charts for a long time.

 

I'm retired and looking for another car. I have a line on one, but the owner is laying low and I can understand that.

So I look. Love to have a 55 to 57 Chevy, but everyone wants $35k and up for them. Something that needs an engine would be attractive and I'd get off my ass and have my BBC done over.

 

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I’m gonna give my take on it..I’m in the Automotive Business..I hate to do it..but I’m gonna share info from China... they’re getting back to a normal from a jobs and consumer level..cars are being purchased again..they’re going for F150’s and SUV’s..so their recovery has been pretty quick if we think about this starting in December..also likely to see less emphasis on things like ride sharing, Uber, etc as that situation, as well as public transportation has a major role in spreading this thing..if we can get back to work and people resume with buying things, we will get ahead of this..

I’m trying to be positive...

I will say this, I was looking for a late model ragtop to kill some time during this mess...they sell quick..so somebody’s buying stuff

 

What he said

 

Yeah, but it's still just a Chevrolet

 

Hot Rods Ta Hell, very astute post. I believe you've hit the nail on the head. It's still early in the COVID-19 situation and its going to take some time to see what shakes out concerning the economy.
I'm retired and down to one car and laying low. Toys right now are the last of my concerns.