Find Reviews by Make:
Monster trucks aren’t the only ones taking it on the market chin; collectible car values are dropping through the floor as well. Today’s Wall Street Journal has a good overview of the situation. “In recent years, the vintage car market has soared, led by the priciest European models. But now, as the economy worsens to the point where even the wealthiest collectors feel pinched, demand for million-dollar sports cars is starting to skid.” Ferrari Daytona Spyder’s are a benchmark vehicle, and the benchmark is sliding to the point that at a recent California auction a fine Spyder failed to sell. Not only million dollar Ferraris and Mercedes Gullwings going begging though, 1965 Plymouth Hemis are down over 20% and pre-war everyday vintage cars like a 1940 Ford Club Coupe have skidded by 40% or more. Plunging investment account values, busted home equity lines of credit and sudden career collapses have turned a lot of buyers into sellers. “Recently, two of Michael Sheehan’s clients came to him looking to sell their Ferraris in a hurry — an unusual request. ‘They needed cash now,’ says Mr. Sheehan, a longtime Ferrari broker in Newport Beach, Calif. The cars, a $110,000 1982 Berlinetta Boxer and a $950,000 1972 Daytona Spyder, wound up selling for about 25% less than they would have sold for just a few months ago. Both sellers themselves were in hammered industries: One was a home builder from Chicago, and the other a former Lehman Bros. executive from New York.” The upcoming January Scottsdale auto auctions should make for some interesting reality television. If you have the desire and the nerve, now might make an interesting time to latch onto a copy of your childhood fantasies. Just don’t mortgage the house to do it.23 Comments on “Another Bubble Bursts: High-end Classics...”
Read all comments
For whatever it’s worth, TTAC wrote on the subject of the muscle car bubble back in early October:
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/old-muscle-car-bubble-about-to-burst/
I feel a tear coming on for the “hammered industry” owners. Here it comes…
Wait for it…
Nope, it was just an itch. It is hard to feel any sympathy for someone who overpaid for a pure luxury item that was BOUND to depreciate someday.
Now, if the price of 3 year old 911 Turbos takes a 50% drop, THAT would be something to consider.
no surprise here
Let me know when an all original 340 Duster drops below 20k.
Serious classics like Porsche 914s and first generation Miatas used to be in the high four-figures and now I’m seeing them all over in the low four-figures. I might have to buy soon.
The market for cars that were purchased with cash-out refinances of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona real-estate is drying up. Who would have guessed.
Time for the government to bail out Barrett-Jackson.
Can’t wait to see how the fanboys at Speed spin the disaster that will be Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale.
When I say 383/automatic ‘Cuda’s (i.e., girl’s cars), going for $100K+ at B-J (an appropriate moniker if there ever was one), I knew we were headed for a big fall.
There will be blood.
double posted comment. Sorry
MG TDs and Austin Healeys hanging in there……….
REAL cars hold their price.
Zarba :
Can’t wait to see how the fanboys at Speed spin the disaster that will be Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale.
I’d settle for the days when Speed was a real racing channel, not a fox/nascar hack job.
Any possibility Fox sells it back to the original owners for pennies on the dollar? :-)
Bruce
Serious classic = Miata????
Actually–according to a bar graph that accompanied the article–the true classics such as Daytonas and Gullwings dropped in value only slightly, like one and two percent. Read on down the list and you’ll see that it’s the musclecars and Mustangs and the like that are taking the real 20-percent-plus hits–and the WSJ even inlcuded in the list “Cobra replicas,” as though they’re collectible by anybody but Barrett-Jackson morons.
The article also talks about collectors who borrowed against their house to buy cars, stuff like that. These are not the ultra-wealthy.
Having just finished writing a piece on who’s buying Bugatti Veyrons, you better believe that the real players have hardly slowed down at all. These are people who actually have tangible money and property–factories, companies, oilfields–and not make-believe money “in the market.”
Anyway, I didn’t think the WSJ piece was much good. Yes, musclecar prices are tanking, but everybody’s been predicting that for two years.
And I have to say, serious classic = 914????
For me exotic cars are like costal property 40-50 years ago, couldn’t afford it then, can’t afford it now. Guess I’ll just have to go to the shows and races where the rich guys show off their (fewer in number) toys just like I always have.
All that stuff whose value is based on boomer nostalgia, is toast. They will be dumping that crap to pay off their over-mortgaged houses and their 401ks full of bank stock.
time to look for the 37 Buick of my dreams
pb35, they already have. cars on line classic cars for sale. Good site, many sellers are gettin PANICKY!
Doesn’t look so bad to me. Most of the cars listed were changed by less than 10%. Considering how everything else has gone that isn’t too bad.
Like someone else mentioned, most people buying these aren’t borrowing the money. And with real wealth aren’t slowing down.
Sure B_J is an abomination of sorts. It has created a bubble or too, most noticeably any Hemi engined vehicle. But for the most part I doubt this market will crash.
What I have notice over the last 40 years is that whenever stocks and the economy go south, collector cars get hot 6 months later. They seem to be a lagging indicator of sorts. I think some wealthy people whose investments are under-performing figure why not have some fun and put some money in a collectible car I always wanted. I expect by spring of 2009 we might see higher prices than ever for the more desirable models of old.
If instead this market crashes big time, we probably are in a Great Depression type of situation.
Anyone want to buy some tulip bulbs?
# Stephan Wilkinson :
And I have to say, serious classic = 914????
Perhaps it was tongue in cheek. In any case, the 914/6 is rare and collectible.
All those collectables’ values are crashing because of Rick Wagoner’s “Plan B”; which is to flood the market with “bailout edition” chevies and “c11 edition” buicks. Now, those will be real collectables.
Ronnie, you’re right about _real_ 914/6s. Lot of conversions out there, though, as I’m sure you know.
If you think the original are going to take a hit, let’s see what happens to the clones, er, tribute cars. They have little more intrinsic value than the 318 or 6 cylinder cars they are based on, yet were regularly going for plus 6 figures (and I am not evening counting hemi clones). Those cars are going to tank!