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

I find it interesting that the general consensus here is that this thing will eventually end. there is no reason to think it will not return every year. no reason to think a safe vaccine will be made. it won't be stopped in much of the 3rd world until everyone dies from it.

the odds of returning to normal again are about equal to the odds of the entire world ending up like a Mad Max movie.... reality will be somewhere in between. I hope.

 

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like with any "deal" just have to have a seller and a buyer at the right place at the right time

 

To me, it's just like the musclecar-era cars were recently....many buyers want to buy into projects/drivers to build, so the further away we get from the end of production, the higher the price gets for ever-lower quality raw material.

The real deals are on finished stuff...IF you can live with the choices made during the build and are comfortable with the work done.

 

Oh Yeah! I’m very familiar with your cars Mark. I absolutely love that ‘40 of yours too. I think we share the same love for 60’s styled Hotrods, I’m hoping to find a similar kind of deal on one in the Midwest. I’m lucky enough that I was able to retire relatively young and when all this craziness started happening, I just took some of the money I had saved for my car stuff and paid our mortgage off. So I’m in a bit of a jam on how much I can spend now but it’s still doable.

 

You got that right! I am kicking myself for not buying the red fuelie I posted the pic of. It was a quality car. Old timer had it. Had receipts for everything, pics of the entire process. I thought it would be a shame to buy that nice of a car to drive. But You couldn’t take any of those project cars and make as nice of a finished car for that money.

 

Buy what you want,sell if you can for what you want, but the days of two million dollar hemi cuda's an such are long gone . Hell, a couple weeks ago I replaced the 125 lb 75/25 tank on one of my mig welders . that was a $ 100.00 plus bill shot in the ass! There is no money to be made in this hobby anymore, so enjoy it or take up needle point!! Larry

 

Reasonable all depends on which side of the transaction you are on. I never expect to get my money back on cars. They are built for my enjoyment, not what i expect anyone else will desperately want. The marketplace will determine a car’s value. Years ago I sold my 57 BelAir post sedan, 327 and 4 speed for $400, only 20% of what I had in it. I needed a bit of money more than I needed the car. That is life.

I expect in a year or so, many of us old car guys will need money more than our treasured cars. Get used to the thought, and if you think it might be you, face the reality and take the dreaded jump now rather than later. You might be financially better off taking the loss now.

I may be a pessimist, rather than a realist, but I expect it might be years before we return to life as it was in March 2020, if ever. I am not going to worry about it, and will face that reality when I need to, or a bit sooner.

 

It is amazing how little these pandemics and other crises affect life if the debt level is down or non-existent. These are hobby cars in my opinion and should not be considered an IRA or other nest egg.

Markets go up and then go down. Nothing goes up forever. I have had enough enjoyment with my cars that I really feel that taking a short deal when the time comes is fine. My kids don't want them and don't want a houseful of antiques and don't want my wife's sterling silverware either. I'm pretty sure that they would take the money, however.

 

I hope I never have to consider what my car is worth.

 

Value is irrelevant to me personally.
I drive my old junk. I would rather have 2-3 beaters than a new one.
So as long as we are allowed to drive old rides on public roads I plan on driving every bit of value I can out of em.
If we are stopped from driving them then at least I enjoyed them. The value will be irrelevant then as well.
I came into this world broke and that’s how I plan to leave it. My kids will inherit a bunch of worn out tools, some old wore out rides and great memories.

 

My observations: the vast majority of cars of interest down here in Tucson seem to be owned by retired guys, like me. There are exceptions, but most of the younger crowd I see participating in the local shows and cruises play with ot cars, imports or late model Mustangs, Camaro, Challengers, or sporty imports.

The old guys aren’t, to a large extent, affected by the current health crisis and economic development. Sure, their 401k May be taking a short term hit, but people in their late sixties and up, and are retired, often have secure defined benefit pensions, unlike the younger people, and their 401k plans are often invested in conservative options, rather than volatile, more risky funds.

Bottom line is, I don’t see a large sell off of cars of interest because of current events, at least by “true hobbiests”.

Investors and speculators, with highly leveraged collections will be hard hit and pressured to sell. Those cars were out of my reach before, but, frankly, I have no interest in immaculately restored cars. I like drivers and home built cars.

 

Seems like this question comes up every couple weeks, but the responses are always the same...

 

Call me an optimist. Seems to me that the hobby is as good as it ever has been. I just skimmed through a bunch of car based shows on netflix....like Bitchin Bootcamp. Lots of younger guys and gals getting into the building scene. I don't see it going away. The complaint from the OP kind of proves the point. Few to no killer deals coming on the market. Dealers grabbing them up because the market is still good. Almost sounds like some are bummed because people aren't dying off with the families giving away their treasures.

 

One of my students just sent me a pic of a 59 f100 he just bought. Super stoked.
I guess his model A will have to wait a while.

 

I don't care what happens, I'll still never be able to afford a 32-34 Ford. Oh well.

 

The value of collectible cars, guns, antiques, and anything else collectible has been off long before this latest crap. It started when the stock market went nuts, and people wanted to keep all their investment or play money in the market. This has happened many times before, and whenever the stock market was very strong collectibles went down in value.
Now add the virus into this, and even though the stock market fell, people were afraid to spend money on anything until they have some reassurance their lives and their investments will get back to normal.

 

The good investment is in toilet paper, these days.

 

It always gets to me to see folks profit over other people's misery...I would crush mine before I gave it away...

 

When I buy a car , it's a addition to my estate sale ! Who ever gets my estate, can sell it for what ever they want ! I'm in the hobby for the love of car's, nothing more, nothing less !

Sent from my moto e5 plus using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Oh No! I have all those hobbies, except for golf.

 

I listed an off topic running and driving truck on a different site. I have received offers from 2 different guys at less then 1/2 of my asking price. The same truck as mine is listed on that site as a non running project with several missing pieces my truck has. The project truck has an asking price higher then the offered price on my truck. You can't even buy the the project truck and the missing parts for my asking price. Those guys are trying to tell me my asking price is too high. Um, OK! Gene

 

Hello,

If it weren’t for the current crisis, there were/are people who were looking for something to sharpen their lives. What a better way than to roll in something from your past? The crisis has created a two fold problem. One, people are out of work and need an infusion of cash. Two, as they get older and see that the garage is full of stuff that isn’t being used daily, time to move those to the next level.

In looking for the next choice of a hot rod or cruiser, the web is full of good buys. If we remember that what ever gets put in, what comes out may not be the same. So, be creative and follow the paraphrased quote: “ The results in hand is better than none in the bush.” What ever was done to the hot rod or amount of work put in, it won’t add up in dollars, when it is time to sell.

There is always, someone out there that wants your car, if it is in good shape and done well. Besides, does it matter if you did the ground up work by yourself, had help in the various construction sessions, or just bought a nice hot rod? The intentions are still good and a hot rod gets put “on the road again…”

In So Cal, there are plenty of places that buy and sell plenty of cars, hot rods, trucks, and station wagons. It is just a matter of how well you look or know of places that build and sell those hot rods. We recently saw a green 1940 Ford two door sedan that was for sale. The price was pretty good based on what was on the hot rod and how well it was built.

Of course, my wife and I are partial to owning a 1940 Ford sedan or station wagon. The coupe is nice, but too small for our needs. The panel truck is also nice, but too big for our small 2 car garage. There is always another sedan delivery in the future, but who owns three of one make and model? A 40 convertible has always been on the charts, too.

It was priced at $39k but, it has everything most hot rod cruisers/builders would like on their cars. An SBC, 4 SPEED, NEW SUSPENSION, BRAKES, LEATHER SEATING, AND A/C… To top it off, there was no right side blind spot like our old 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery. Another 10 years of driving left? Also, what is a comparable new car? A Toyota Rav4, Chevy Malibu, Buick Regal, or Ford Fusion? Those are some exciting choices...?
But, what a better way to cruise than in a nice 1940 Ford sedan. The sedan would certainly hold a granddaughter and her friends in those leather seats.

Jnaki

This 1940 Ford Deluxe Sedan would be sold in a flash to us old grandparents, but the car exterior color would have to be changed. No big deal for that added expense. On the same website, there is a 2016 BMW 2 series coupe for 19k that would be more suited for a first car or daily driver to work, once everyone starts going back to work again. It would be great first car for our granddaughter, if it is still around in a year.

In these days of crisis and an uncertain future, what would be best for the family? We would like the 1940 sedan with all of the goodies, but we are just a couple of old hot rod people with plenty of time on our hands. Our current modern station wagon would then go to our granddaughter, if and when we all get to go out and start driving, again.

Besides, who wants to go for a drive anyway with the “locked in place” ruling? If all would just relax, follow the rules and get a handle on things, there is hope for the future generation getting their lives back in play? Even being teenagers in this uncertain world…HA!

 

Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly.

I miss the days (which ended only 15 or so years ago) that I could take $300 to $600 and buy some running/driving undesirable cool junk from the 50’s-60’s-70’s, drive it home and have a fun project for awhile. I have been, and always will be broke-ass, but those were the days.

People are now asking $5k or $10k for those exact same cars. People are on crack.

I’m not impressed with valuable cars. Never have been. Feels the same to me as someone talking about their golf country club. Boring.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

The basic idea of supply and demand and something is only worth what someone is willing to pay has driven the car hobby for as long as I have observed which is close to 50 years. We have all known someone who stated, "that's my price. If i can't get that, it's not leaving" and observed that usually it went no where. I, like HRP, wanted to sell a rod to fund my next build. I did as he did. It hurts me some if I don't get the build cost out of a car but because the hot rod world is so personalized, finding a buyer that likes the same as you is difficult. As to the O.P.'s thoughts, I have seen way more reasonable priced cars in the last 6 months than in previous years. What used to be 35 is now 25 or sometimes 23. Some people have the magic of selling. I don't.

 

The heads of GM, Ford, Jeep/Chrysler, Hyundai, etc. must feel the US car market is in for a rough road ahead as they are all offering 84 months of interest free payments and several months of no payments on car purchases. When over 20 million Americans are out of work, something has to give. Not many people are out car shopping when what they really need is a job to put food on the table and keep a roof over their families head.

With this COVID-19 situation lots of previously employed workers are not going to have a job to return to. We're fortunate as I'm retired fom the Federal Government and in good shape financially but if things ever got down to the nitty gritty the first thing I'd sell is that toy sitting in my garage. Its not just cars that are going to take a hit boats, motorcycles and anything else considered a toy or collectable will also suffer the consequences.

 

Market value? 50 cents when Im pissed at it, 10 million when Im not..its just like a wife for crying out loud..


Money tight? never sell a car,you'll always regret it

 

I recall when oil was near $150 a barrel being told that I needed to get used to it because it was never going to be cheap again.

 

Buying something at the current market value isn't taking advantage of anyone.

 

i don't care the value of my car
i just want to enjoy myself
i purchased the 1956 olds 6 years ago 12000 dollars
it was an almost rust free car ; but the engine was tired
two years ago, i bought a new rebuilt 324 engine here on the hamb forum
engine price + shipping cost are almost 8000 dollars
i have to re do the interior of the car : price is 5000 dollars
i putted more than 30000 dollars on this car ,
if i want to sell it : i just can expect 16000 to 18000 dollars...
i don't care : i will never sell this car
i love it so much !!!

 

...why would ya want one of those when you already have the best lookin car ever built?..lol