tires and wheels Are prices on vintage cars taking a big hit?

[norm]

Will we soon see Porsche 356's selling for less than 20 grand in a few months. Is this economy dragging down prices for collector cars too? It's making me wonder. I put our Touring on BaT last week for a real nice price of $7,500 and received a lot of compliments but did not get one offer. You may want to think twice about putting big money into your 2002 for things like fancy wheels or a trick suspension because it may not make your 2002 worth anymore or at least what you have in it. This opinion maybe way off based. Any thoughts?

Norm

[deschodt]

A nice 356B sold for $15500 on BJ last night, I was shocked. But it might have been a piece of junk, I did not inspect it or anything... I think it was a fluke.... The way banks and real estate are doing, classic cars are not a bad place to park your money, so to speak.

There might be deals here and there from people short on cash, but overall, I don't see the classic market taking a dive... But if anyone needs cash bad, I'll take their nice 73 tii for $5K ;-)

[Arshloch]

me thinks not....at any economically depressive times or boom, the privileged get richer and will buy high end classic cars anyway. But for the poor guys, it seems to be the other way around, thus, our cars may indeed depreciate.

I still put money into my car, hence it's my daily driver/hot rod. Just a vague attempt to rationalize that unwise spending.

[Kidasters]

I think that there are those that if they loose 40% of their net worth, they are still filthy frickin' rich, so it doesn't matter. I mean, if you go from a net worth 2 billion to 1.2 billion, you are still a billionaire....

That said - I think that those of us that are poor working moke's don't have the disposable income that we did 1 year ago. So - while nothing would stop Bill Gates from getting his Porsche 959 re-done right now, you and I are re-considering that pair of Recaros from Dave Varco.....

And that is why I think that some classic car values are going down.

Ken

[M3M3]

if not depreciating, the sales seem to be slowing down. ebay not really the perfect measure, but it seems in the last several months the number of 02's for auction has been about the same, but the number that either get zero bids or don't get close to reserve seems to have gone vertical. rarely do you see a car actually sell anymore. tha 2002 market seems to be a year or so behind the housing market. sellers still think they can get top dollar, but buyers are not willing to go that high.

[jmon0261]

Times are TOUGH !

I had this guys avatar SOLD,

But the buyer backed out,

It got re-possessed.

[kbken62]

Newton's Law

"For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"

This does not apply to economics. As demonstrated by the price of Oil. How can the same barrel of oil that cost the same amount to pull from the earth and deliver it to a refinery, refine it, deliver it to a gas station and go from $50 bucks to $147 and back to $47 in about a 18 month period.

This sort of effect is that EMOTIONS added to the Newton Law would result in, " for every perceived negative action there is a compounded and unrealistic reaction"

Thus, our cars that we care about and think are worth X, Y or Z are only worth whatever the compounded and unrealistic emotions of the possible purchaser, if they are perceived to be in a negative state.

I think there is always a market. That is capitalism. What value or exchange you will get for your car will be based on the perceived value at the time. Non emotional buys will see it as an opportunity because the market, news, war, oil prices, etc, etc. Positively emotioned buys will see it as a, "I need that, wow, great cars, etc.,etc, and buy it anyway.

So, the moral of the story, whoever can develop a sales platform to market to mainly positive people will result in our cars maintaining their values. Or more maybe they would increase as they should with all the work we do to them!

Humm... seems like we should do some price fixing here on this site! lol.

[InkaSteve]

Times are TOUGH !

I had this guys avatar SOLD,

But the buyer backed out,

It got re-possessed.

Sorry I had to back out.....They are just not doing "No-Doc" loans on avatars anymore, and they wouldn't give me enough for mine to make a down payment. It would have looked really nice in the corner of my posts.

By the way, does BMW really stand for "Buy My Wife's" car??

Oh my gosh...duck!!! They are comin' after me.

[norm]

Steve....that is too funny. I added some sound effects:

http://www.sound-effect.com/sounds1/airplane/spita.wav

http://avanimation.avsupport.com/sound/Running.wav

How did you do that?

Norm

[cj]

Ron Perrys' old e12 just came accross the Barret Jackson auction blocks at 29k.

Seems to me, the old saying "every seat has an ass" still holds true.

http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=57958

Cris

[Mark92131]

I can't speak for the vintage car market as a whole, but there seems to be a shift in the market for the top-end collectable 2002 models, (i.e. Tii's Turbos and Cabriolets). The prices seem to be creeping up over the last year, although there are exceptions ($7000 GA Turbo). It will be interesting to see what that BMW 2002 Voll Cab on ebay goes for at the auction's end ($35K now with 3 days to go).

It kind of reflects the housing market, the million dollar homes aren't dropping in price because the people who own them can afford to let them sit until the buyers return. The lower end of the market drops the price because they need to get out and can't afford to wait it out.

I'm not sure why your car hasn't sold, but I suspect marketing. I would consider putting it on ebay with lots of pictures just for the exposure. The larger the pool of prospects, the better chance you will find a qualified buyer.

Good Luck,

Mark92131

[02hobiedave]

I have seen the local car lots with half the inventory on the lot gone. I'm not sure if its they have no credit line or just less used cars on the market. Even the big car dealers in town don't have as many cars on the lots. Also a lot of them have gone out of business. I think its the BANKS not lending money!

[TobyB]

Just like the economy-

the poor will keep getting poorer

(the cheaper cars will get cheaper, the drivers won't get maintianed, and

the beaters will get crushed)

and the rich will keep getting richer

(the clean '72 tii with low miles will keep going up)

When I can buy a Dino for $10k, there probably won't

be any fuel for it...

t

[Delia]

I wouldn't consider BaT an adequate barometer to measure the old car market. It's a neat site and the guys are knowledgeable about a wide spectrum of classics. They are subjective regarding their personal preferences, but they aren't the ones laying out the cash for purchase.

Marketing an 02 depends a lot on when/where you're advertising and how much exposure to potential buyers you can muster. Also, how honestly the car is represented in photos/description and how many passionate, enthusiast buyers (or speculators) are out there with enough liquidity to write the check.

I believe, during tough financial times, that cars needing the least amount of repair or restoration are good values. There are also cheap, rare, project cars (like my Mustang and other other muscle-car era rides) that are "diamonds-in-the-rough" just waiting for the market to recover.

Spring/drivng season is coming, so now's the time to prepare for a sale.

Budget-priced vintage cars like your touring are great values, IMO, but the right buyer may not show up immediately. Like a lot of enthusiasts, I'd be interested if I had the money. I even have a nice set of vintage Minilites that would set it off nicely.

Cheers!

Delia

[c.d.iesel]

Will we soon see Porsche 356's selling for less than

20 grand in a few months. Is this economy dragging

prices for collector cars too? It's making me wonder.

I put our Touring on BaT last week for a real nice

price of $7,500 and received a lot of compliments

but did not get one offer. You may want to

think twice about putting big money into

your 2002 for things like fancy wheels

or a trick suspension because it may

not make your 2002 worth

anymore or at least what

you have in it. This

opinion maybe

way off based.

Any thoughts? = WELCOME TO 1930