Too many other things to spend money on. Many guys have to sell what they have before they can buy what they want. When does financing a multi thousand dollar toy begin to make good financial sense? Wouldn't want to drive it home in the snow and road salt. Maybe a few answers? Gene
I'd say that Gene hit it pretty close to reality on several bases. The have to sell something to buy something hit me Saturday when I found the OT truck I have been hunting for at a more than right price and haven't sold my OT truck that I have yet so I could have cash in hand. That have to sell one to buy one is pretty universal for most of us. I'm not sure about how the nasty winter roads affect sales of hot rods except that it does hinder the fly there, drive home thing a lot. I'm going to say that the biggest hindrance a lot of the time is the simple fact that 90% of us start figuring what we are going to have to change to get a car the way we want it when we see one and the added cost of that in many cases. Wheel and tire combo that is just wrong is a big one on a lot of hot rods or wheels that are so dated in the 80's or 90's and were the cheapest "mags" on the market then. There is a cute little coupe for sale locally that is a bit overpriced but the wheel tire combo is so dated that too many guys can't see past it. That's an hour and some bucks at the tire store and maybe working a deal with the seller that will more than cover it. Sometimes the car is just a hard sell no matter how nice it is. A friend had a 32 Ford RP for sale that he had built with a custom frame and Brookville sheet metal. The little truck was (and is) real nice and fully finished. The price barely covered the parts but he missed sales from at least one couple when the man looking at couldn't fit in the car. He finally traded it for a pretty nice 40 Ford Sedan that probably isn't worth what the RP was but is a lot easier to sell. The sedan is a wheel and tire swap from being seriously Hamb friendly too and the rolling stock on it aren't offensive. He finished his 32 coupe that has already had over 10 K put on the odometer since July and doesn't need a stable of cars.
I think the advent of the cashless economy has a part to play. The current 30's and younger guys have in general been brought up on this current system, so available spare CASH is not being squirreled away for that project or car, then there is the question whether or not they want a HAMB friendly car in the first place or a car at all.. So the older guys who already have stuff may very well flood the market with no buyers.
There are fewer buyers in the market for hamb friendly cars, this generation either already have what they basically want or they're not buying. The next generation is on to other cars and spending their money there. Just like muscle car prices have come down, 10 years from now the next gen will be buying 80's camaro and mustang because that's what they grew up with and prices will reflect it. Just like antiques meant more to the older generation than the new ones.
Supply and demand drive sales and prices. I used to horse trade. Actually Trade Real live horses. A sure enuf gentle kid pony would always sell. Other times a horse could eat more dollars in feed in a week than what it would sell for as auction. So I bought truckloads of them and shipped them to Palestine Texas to be slaughtered for dog food. And eventually the price became much better. You could have a few brood mares breed them to a paint stud and raise a high dollar colt. Then the BLM started the Wild horse adoption program. $125 got you a wild mustang. and they closed all the horse slaughter barns and the price went south. I sold good sound well broke horses for $200 and gave my paint stud horse and guard donkey away. Gave them away for free and had to deliver them. I thought I was gonna have to shoot them. Took them to a auction and paid $25 yardage and coggins fee and no bids. No matter what the item its supply & demand.
Either there are too many cars on the market or people have no $$. I see lots of older (than me...) guys who are moving south or giving up their house for something smaller.
I would rather buy a worn out original paint car even if it is very worn out. For many people the HOA restricts what you can do yourself in your driveway. With fewer shops around, harder to find help and the ones remaining cost $$$/hr. The younger people will come around eventually. But it is true many of them have no garage space and limited funds, and are not looking for a show car. Posted using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I feel hot rods are dying! The young guys aren't interested in them. Us old guys that have the time and maybe the money don't have the energy anymore. Let's face it, it's a lot of hard work building a hot rod! if you don't have the iknowledge and the ability to build something that you have to pay somebody and that gets quite costly! it seems to me, that someone has to fall totally in love with what you're selling, or they're not going to buy it... My opinion most guys want to have muscle cars, it brings back memories when they were in their youth. Myself I don't want to be like everyone else .. my hotrod is an expression of my personality ...
The whole RR craze a few years back really boosted prices of parts/bodies etc... Its slowly backed down and the "pro touring" crowd still dominating the market, same with that c10 bullshit... Never thought a 500 dollar 85 chevy truck would be worth 8 to 10k in same shape today... Throw in the TV fluf, dumb prices of auctions on tv... and the market is trash... The thing is the market for Hamb vehicles is hit or miss alot more these days... Boomers have kids grown, grandkids, probably have a car or 2 they have wanted... People go to the muscle car or later model stuff, cheaper to get parts for is their thinking.... Look at how many LS swaps are going on still to this day... its the pumpkin spice of the modern hotrod world. Trading things is easier sometimes to get what you want... But market for high customized vehicles is limited bigtime. A simple stock running driving vehicle is easier sell than chopped, big motor etc anything. I can turn a stocker or project in a few days, I can turn a hotrod or custom in 6 months to a year sometimes... But it depends on what you are trying to achieve on buying or selling.. I buy a few a year to flip just to bring extra money into the hotrod fund... I learned not to buy rare, or exotic anything... I know the value in rare stuff, but it is 20 times the effort and maybe 5% more profit. 90% of the time...
I don’t like to borrow either but ya might want to buy the truck you want while it’s available, sell your truck when you can and then pay it back on the new one. We have had a thread on missing out on deals because of this too
And don't forget- car sales of all kinds normally drop off in the fall/winter and pick back up in the spring.
Priced right quality will always sell quick. If it isn't selling it's either a 'pie in the sky' price, or the quality isn't there. Emotions also dictate both sides of the equation. The seller wants to be paid a premium price for his memories, while the buyer doesn't give a damn about sellers memories and the offer in his head reflects that. The other big problem is the sellers friends. They keep telling him he's not asking enough, and he starts believing them. Of course, these are the same friends that haven't stepped up and bought the car when it was priced to low. Had a guy once tell me my price was too low, so I told him to buy it and keep the profit I was obviously giving up for himself.
I’d say cars, boats, hot rods etc. priced up to about 20k are still selling. A lot of folks out there have the disposable income to buy cash or possibly take a loan or personal loan to buy. When prices start climbing higher then 20k people have to really start thinking if they want to spend that much cash or be responsible for a loan for what is probably a toy that will not be used everyday. I suspect spouse approval also becomes an issue as the price goes up. What was not so much a problem at say under 20k becomes “you want to spend $xx,xxx on what? Are you crazy?” A lot of the older folks who may have some money after a lifetime of work and saving start thinking “do I really need this” or how does this affect retirement or future retirement.
Do we really need a thread on this 4 times a week? Every thing in this post and the tangents has been beaten to death over and over for at least the last year. can we at least keep to to the existing threads talking about it?
I personally don't buy into that train of thought, we have heard the hobby is dying for the past 40 years and as everything else there has been a surges & lack of enthusiasm for many years. Granted there is so much for the younger generation to immerse themselves that cars in general do not excite them, threaten to take their car away from them I doesn't phase them om the least but take their social media devices away and then they melt down. I think you right as far as the age of us old farts, many have the knowledge & the desire but not the energy to do a ground up build anymore, sometimes it'd health issues and other time it could be the cost. Never the less there are hundreds of nice cars that are drivers or need a minimum of work to be exactly what a individual wants. Many of us still have that dream car in the back of out head, I am fortunate that I have had the good fortune to accomplish several builds but I also have enough sense not to start another long term project, I prefer to enjoy the cars I already have. HRP
I bought one recently. That will be the last for a while ‘cause I’m out of room! As the projects get finished I can’t let them sit outside so the working room in my shop is getting scarce. I don’t want to spend hot rod money on another building, it’s getting too hard to add to the hot rod account and I need it to finish current projects. So unless I run across that dirt cheap finished ‘32 or ?.... I’m out of the buying game for a while. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
i agree with 49 bomb this is an old man hobby...plus here in so cal guys dont seem to now how to bargain when you post a price they say what is your lowest price..or how low will you go.or what is your bottom price...in the old days you state a price and he would offer a price and you would meet some were in the middle...it is hard to deal with some one that will not make an offer....my avatar is for sale...
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