Art & Inspiration What's the Market Doing to Your Car?

I just retired from a company that has an account at the local welding supply store, I was getting a 80cf bottle of 75/25 for $17.00 If I bought it without using the account it was $50.00. I know they are still making a profit selling it at the $17.00 price, so selling it for $50 is just gouging.

 

I’m glad I won’t be around when (as some have said) gas stations won’t be available. I have a hard time keeping my cellphone charged.

 

Mine fluctuates with scrap prices.

 

The Nomad will be for sale next month. My dad built it from a shell 20 years ago. Took 5 years. I like it, but it had much more "value" to him than to me. It is a commodity that I will turn into money (and maybe a 34 coupe). The pickup has been in the family since 1958. I remember wanting it since I was 4. It's not going anywhere for long time. The 57 (poor pic) has been ours since 1970. I really like 57,s, so I will keep it around for awhile. They are a part of my inheritance, and I may pass one on to my kids, if they think they want one. They are also a part of my retirement plan, so there's that. Eventually, I will retire from this life, and won't own any of them, and they will have no value to me. So I guess as long as they have more value to me than the market will bear, I'll keep them, and if the market makes me an offer I can't reufuse, I'll take the offer. To quote Junior Brown-" You got sell those chickens before they die, and the eggs before they hatch."

 

OK, than I'm sorry I went off an a rant. A couple of my posts had recently been removed along with a couple other guys, and it looked like you were referring to us. My bad.

 

You're gonna need a filter for the rear end of that thing to capture all the methane....

 

Given my family's medical history and longevity, in 5 years I won't be around to worry about what the market is going to look like. Maybe I'm only concerned about today's prices for the cars we build because the upward change in parts prices makes it harder for me to budget. 5 years ago, around here a good Model A frame would sell for $125 to $200. Now, a junk one is going for $400 and up.

 

Been toying with selling my old Suburban. Maybe now is the time to maximize what I could get from all the patina?

 

I look at the market just like I look at the housing market. Around here the price of homes has skyrocketed and people keep talking about how much their house has appreciated. I tell people I don't give a rats rearend what my home is worth because its paid for and I am not moving. Same with my old cars.. If I am not going to sell it, I don't really care how much its worth.
But as for other people's cars.....well, if I would like to buy it.....you are asking way too much for it..
I miss the good old days back in the 60s when this was a cheap hobby and old cars had little value. Every time I get interested in something inexpensive, it gets popular and drives the prices up so much I can't play anymore.

 

Houses ain’t piggy banks

 

just to add to all the fun and excitement on this thread....I'm blown away what '66-'78 broncos are fetching along with '69-'72 jimmys/blaers (and up to '74 full roof ). I wanted to buy one for my wife for her to drive down to the beaches in RI as a summer car; something safe, fun, and something I could work on....I WAS FLOORED with the prices....these were 'winter cars/plow trucks' not that long ago....look in this months hemmings, but hold on to your seat......

now I'm trying to convince her a convertible corvair is the right option ----- yeah...shes not buying it...well the thought was nice...maybe a conversion on willys jeepster to a v6/v8? who knows....but, going back to point, those early broncos are outta control....and they were always top heavy and mostly rot boxes here in new england.

 

Sometimes I wish the market for old cars would go belly up. This would thin out the wanna be in the current trend kind of people. And all that is left would be the true lover of cars.

 

AMEN!

 

Nope. We have a lot of good people that feed their family building cars professionally. I was one.
I like both past and current trends.
We have parts available today because of a strong old ride market.

 

Good point, but I still wouldn’t mind if the folks just playing in this hobby as an investment would find something else to invest in.

 

Well, the interest in Corvairs has been sparked around here recently, maybe mine will have to go soon...

 

I make a living off of old cars as well. No more, do it cheap because I am trying to flip it. I want it done quick so I can take it to a show. The true car lover will pay an honest price and will wait for you because you do a good job.

 

Lol! Maybe someone should do a cross country roadtrip in a 56 Fairlane soon so my car can go up too. Actually, I would like to be the one that does that.

 

I didn’t know so many HAMBers were anti free market.
If you cant afford your dream car or hobby work harder or find a cheaper hobby.
I know a couple car “investors”. They fund a lot of shops. The buying and selling is as much a passion for them as one of us building in our own shops.
People complain when the market is down and do the same when it’s up.
I’ve never seen a thread where someone was pissed they sold their car for too much or upset over a higher than expected offer.

 

Not anti free market, just whiners. But, Sir Anthony, you better watch that rhetoric. I see a moderator delete in your future.

 

It's not being Anti free market, if the price, cost, value (call it what you will) of something goes up with no improvements being made it's inflation.

All it takes is two guys getting in a pissing match at an auction to throw things totally out of whack, remember million plus dollar hemi cars?

 

Free market.
That’s a part of it.
Are you suggesting regulations be placed on bidding at auctions? Or setting up an agency to determine what you can sell something for?
If someone wants to pay millions for a HEMI then so be it.
Cars, homes, land ..... go up in price due to demand. Or appreciation. They can also deprecate.
I’d prefer these minor issues with the free market, its much better than the alternative.

 

Damn, my hobby became popular! Now I can't afford it.

 

No rhetoric.
Just an observation.

 

2 people bidding on a car for crazy money.
The bidders are freely offering and fighting each other to own the car.
The car owner is happy
The bidders are enjoying themselves.
Owners of similar cars are happy.
The only sad people are the folks that cant afford them.
Except for me I guess. I think the entire cycle is funny. I along with many others were/are the guy that got paid to fix em.
We win no matter how much the car may loose at auction.

 

The market hasn't effected my car at all. I just went out to the garage and sure enough, it's just sitting there like always.

 

You my friend have hit the nail directly centered on the head.

I am 77 and have my HS date car….moms daily driver. I couldn’t get my wife in a roadster or a cramped coupe on a bet; it not size she’s 5’1” and 103 pounds. The only car I would like to own is a 65 El Camino SS. I have plenty of cash but it’s not going to happen because I won’t let it.

 

Yeah, I guessed I missed the point too.
Well last September I sold my 56 Chevy. I needed it gone because I had too many cars and I sold it for 20% less than I wanted. So the market must have gone up after that. (story of my life) I probably sold it for about what I had in it, I didn't keep track on how much I spent on it, but to me its just a hobby, not a profession so I didn't sell it to make money.

 

No, I am not for regulation and the best regulation is self control! Yes there have always been people with money in the hobby but they knew and understood cars and what they were worth, and kept their cool and didn't just go crazy because someone was bidding against them and didn't want to lose face.

I am not a fan of auctions setting prices because two people can total screw up the market.

I will give you a good example every year at the motorsports trade show there is an auction, most all the vendors give products to pay for there spaces.

A few year ago two guys with more money then brains bid a bare D.I.R.T. modified frame to the over retail price of a complete car with body less engine! In this case you just shake your head and think what a pair of dumb asses, but if this had been a collector car the whole market would have been turned on it's head.

Getting back to the hemi cars it wasn't just the cars themselves that were effected, but also the parts.

So if someone was restoring a 440 Roadrunner and needed a fender the they now had to pay more because it is the same fender as a Hemi car.