02 Values too High

[AustrianVespaGuy]

2 hours ago, 1936spyder said:

It was inevitable that it would happened to 02's eventually

Both sides of the argument have a lot of merit.  It's certainly true that it was inevitable.  2002s are simply great cars, and without more being made that makes them bound to appreciate.  And no that's not something to be bitter about, but there are some unfortunate aspects of the trend too that are valid.  One of the great and appealing aspects of the 2002 for a long time was how approachable the car was.  There were a lot produced, not terribly expensive, good parts availability, and easy to work on, so they made great project cars.  The loss of these qualities with the appreciation trend stings many of us 2002 owners more than say Dino owners.

I really don't think it's fair though to complain about things like the 5-speed and LSD prices though, as in general we should consider ourselves lucky that such true OEM production parts even exist as bolt-on upgrades.  What if BMW had changed the bell housing bolt pattern for the E21?  Then the only 5 speeds would be the hens-teeth close ration boxes, and how grey of a world would THAT be?

I do detest flippers (as I do all 'conveyor-belt' jobs) but there we can help ourselves out with very little effort, as it's pretty easy to spot a non-enthusiast buyer and NOT sell a car to him.  Hell, if I ever were to sell my car, I'd probably only sell it to someone here on the FAQ; even non-owners can and should come here first anyway!

What I'm saying is that it IS unfortunate and it's OK for that to be disappointing to many of us, but it's equally true that it's inevitable and there are things we as a community can do to focus on the positive and minimize the negative.  And lastly, there's at least a few other decent options out there, for now.  E30s are creeping up but still readily attainable and while they don't look near as good as a 2002 they're still great cars.  E36s too aren't bad.  But with the 3-pedal take-rate in the US down to 2%, the days of enjoying ANY decent RWD manual transmission car are numbered, so we really need to make the most of things while we still can!

 

[adawil2002]

Coming back from Mid America '02 Fest someone asked me what I'd sell Vern for, not missing a beat I said "250,000" 

[theNomad]

I' tired of banged up parts being sold for high prices, but the perfect upgrade parts still seem about what I'd expect them to be. There are certain boring old parts that are getting expensive that is getting annoying. I need to get this on the road soon if I expect to field all these "is it for sale" conversations. At least then I can give a price that I'd be happy to sell at and become one of those curmudgeons myself. If someone has the cash I'll be happy to sell at the right price. I can swap to cheaper junk/ratrod builds or just pickup a cheap and easy to work on Miata mentioned.

[COOP]

1962 Ferrari 250 GTOs could be bought for $50K in 1980...now they’re worth $50-$70 MILLION. Call the WHAAAAMBULANCE lol.

????.  What a joke this tired old topic has become...If you don’t subscribe to the basic tenets of capitalism, including supply & demand, move to North Korea...and bring Bernie & AOC along in your luggage.

Edited May 7, 2019 by COOP
Thought of a subtle phraseology adjustment that would be even more pompous & abrasive

[conkitchen]

And to think Ryan; AKA Danco, calls me bitter! 

 

More to the OP point. This is why I have discovered 80's front engine porsches. Cheap and great performance. Looking at an 81 924 turbo on Friday. $2,800.00 

 

But what do I know. 

[rstclark]

Remember going completely off the rails with spending on my first restomod  thinking who cares ? I'll keep this forever

Can't believe how above water it is now  and what it would cost to replicate it   Still love the car and will likely never sell it   

BUT  I wish I could go back and find a cheap shell for an M20  conversion  It an't happening

Our cars our just getting there due respect  I'm telling friends that roundie Tii s are the new 356 s because it seems ridiculous, but what do I know  ?

[theNomad]

24 minutes ago, conkitchen said:

And to think Ryan; AKA Danco, calls me bitter! 

 

More to the OP point. This is why I have discovered 80's front engine porsches. Cheap and great performance. Looking at an 81 924 turbo on Friday. $2,800.00 

 

But what do I know. 

I'd be all over those too but CA is far too annoying. Smog 

[rstclark]

Oh PS  My new inexpensive diversion is Alfa Spiders Talk about an unappreciated car

2 Liter

All Aluminum motor

Double overhead Cam

Mechanical fuel injection

5 speed overdrive 

4 wheel disc brakes

 Limited slip differential

 All standard   

 

[1936spyder]

1962 Ferrari 250 GTOs could be bought for $50K in 1980...now they’re worth $50-$70 MILLION. Call the WHAAAAMBULANCE lol.
[emoji603][emoji599][emoji24][emoji24].  What a joke this tired old topic has become...If you don’t subscribe to the basic tenets of capitalism, including supply & demand, move to North Korea...and bring Bernie & AOC along in your luggage.

Yes, I remember when clean '66 GT350's were selling for 10-15K in the mid-80s, and 289 Cobras for 70-odd K. I desperately tried to convince my stepfather to purchase either as I knew even at the age of 13 that wouldn't last.

Regarding GTO's, they had already crested the 100K mark by 1980, and within 10 years would be trading hands for over 10x that amount.

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

[conkitchen]

Circa 1980, My oldest brother went to look at a 1969 trans am and thought $3,800 was too much money.  The other older brother in that same year bought a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T for $450.00  Faster forward to 2019, I bought a 1987 924S for $1,800. 

 

To be continued.  

 

But I digress 

[Simeon]

All this could change with two words:

 

Oil Crisis. 

 

I have heard stories of the amazing cars that were being given away during the oil crisis in the 1970’s. The modern equivalent might be a ban on gasoline / diesel engines. I actually like to think that this will not be as dramatic as it sounds with a slow transition with every day modern vehicles, that do the most mileage, being first up through a market transition. This would then leave us with hobby cars / classics alone since we would be a drop in the ocean compared to all other automotive uses. 

 

Badly managed and the market for classic cars will collapse. 

 

Conversion to electric would be the next step for me (hopefully I can get my air conditioning working first!).  Not every car would be worth converting (or even feasible) that would sort some wheat from the chaff so to speak. 

[conkitchen]

2 minutes ago, Simeon said:

Conversion to electric would be the next step....

I saw on "The Social Network" a guy is converting a 2002 with a Tesla drivetrain.  Electric vehicles and the systems will liter the junk yards for decades. That will most certainly be the future of the hobby for all platforms as gas becomes verboten as the snowflakes melt from global warming. 
 

but what do I know 

[Vicleonardo1]

Well, very valid points on both sides of the issue. For me, if the prices get too crazy for me to afford to upgrade or repair it. I would have to really consider selling it. 

 

One of several things that keep me going and deal with climbing prices is that I cannot tell you the number of times people have walked up to the car and said to me "Man!  I had one of these in (College, grad school, first job....(fill in the blank).. I wish I never sold it"....

[dlacey]

1 hour ago, Simeon said:

All this could change with two words:

 

Oil Crisis. 

 

I have heard stories of the amazing cars that were being given away during the oil crisis in the 1970’s. The modern equivalent might be a ban on gasoline / diesel engines.

I think the availability of fuel will become the issue...the cars will be museum pieces, simply because fuel (like photographic film) will become a specialist market.

 

Best we ensure they are entirely worn-out before they go to the museum

[AlfaBMWGuy]

2 hours ago, rstclark said:

Oh PS  My new inexpensive diversion is Alfa Spiders Talk about an unappreciated car

2 Liter

All Aluminum motor

Double overhead Cam

Mechanical fuel injection

5 speed overdrive 

4 wheel disc brakes

 Limited slip differential

 All standard   

 

 

Zip it dude. Just to clarify, Alpha Romeros are poorly engineered, unreliable, and devoid of any character.

 

Sincerely,

BMWNotAlfaGuy