I've never had the funds to just go out and buy someone's Hot Rod, there may be a few others building their own from parts. Bob
Decent hot rods are selling. Some you couldn't give away. I recently sold a nut & bolt frame off restored 63 Impala with no problems. The Streetrod markets is in the toilet. Nice 50's and 60's cars are selling.
Great input Jim! It's very hard to deal with guys nowadays, they want to beat you out of $5,000 before they even come and look at it.... Everyone wants to try to play you! how how can you get a good price when you're dealing with these kind of people...
I frequent the NHRA Twilight Cruise and just a few years ago if you didn’t get there before 2 pm you were parking in the back behind the museum! Now they’re lucky to fill the front parking lot. I do think it is the younger generation not interested or no how to get started in the hobby.
Were upping it to 6 times a week soon... Just kidding... You are right though... a very drug in the dirt topic...
Well I for one think we should just keep saying hot rods are dead,the hobby is for old guys,young people are not interested,cars cost too much and what ever negative thing we can throw at it and one of two things will happen.you will be right or you will be wrong.
First fulltime job I had after I graduated high school in '62 paid me $56 a week. Adjust that to todays money and it comes out to $468.97. Todays $25,000 car would figure out to $2985.98 in 1962 which was way out of my price range then. In 1962, something equivalent to the 15 year old OT daily driver my 22 year old grandson just bought for $2500 would have been worth $298.53. That would have been just about the limit that I could allow myself to spend back then.
Lol...it's not like tv where as soon as your get it together somebody is at your door with a fist full of money
These reality shows, wheeler dealers, iron ressuraction, etc. Where do they Get these guys showing up with bags Of $$$$$? This can't be reality.....
I can relate to what you said about people not knowing how to negotiate. I here what's your lowest all the time. Pretty annoying. I have a hard time just getting them to just come and look at what I have. What ever happened to tire kickers. Now all I ever get "is this still available". You say yes and you never here from them again. WTF!
I believe a major reason is the cost of living in general today...In Calif. $4.50 gal gas, taxes that are off the hook high, vehicle registration that averages $600 a year, per vehicle, housing costs, medical insurances, food costs, everything needed to just get by day to day is ridiculously high, cant hardly go out to dinner anymore for less than $40/$50 a couple and a 10% tip anymore will get you sneered at by the hostess... tires for a car anymore can easily reach $1000, plus taxes, plus road use fees and fees to get rid of your old tires and, the list goes on and on...Most familys are two wage earners, not because you want too, but because you have too...tax this, tax that, tax, tax, tax...Jesus Christ, it never gets cheaper, only gets higher. Gov says people aren't saving enough for retirement, probably true, but at the cost of living its tough to put much away, then even your retirement gets taxed, so most people cant afford to put much away and when you do, they take about half of it away from you come retirement time....any way you look at it, a hobby car is just that, a hobby car and not a "needed" item in todays household.
I listened to my pops back in the day. Started workin when I was 14. He told me to put away 10 to 15% in savings. Which I did. Then when I opened my body shop when I came back from Nam, used the GI bill to get a small business loan. After the loan was payed off started investing 10/15% every year in Real Estate. After 35 years had a real nice nest egg to retire on @ 57 years old. Liquidated all my real estate with in 1 year when the market was crazy. Set for life now. and have been for the last 14 years. All you youngn's out there think about it. SAVE and Invest. Another he told me was "If ya can't go first class, don't go"
Quit worrying about selling stuff and go build something! This shit is not an investment. It is supposed to be fun. If you got in for the money you are here for the wrong reasons.
I think a lot of folks want to buy a car that is completely done but, don't want to pay what it's worth. They want to "steal it" not step up and buy it for a fair price.
As a young guy(26) I’ll give my opinion on the subject. A lot of the younger people can’t afford these cars.. too many people asking crazy prices for a rotted shell.. it’s not easy for a 20something year old to move out on their own, pay bills, spend crazy money on a project to start and spend money on a dependable car to get back and forth to worth. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
what does hot rod mean? pre 49 only or stuff you see here only or modifying cars in general? Im curious
I think if you're building a car the HAMB and everybody here can be very helpful but I don't think it's only about building them yourself. If you have the skills and space great. I got my car already built mostly because I would rather work with something already together. Building a car from scratch is a huge endeavor. I have a lot of respect for people who do but I don't have the time needed to take on a full build. I do enjoy working on my car but building is a whole other skill set. As far as selling a car it's 9 times out of 10 to get another one or finish a project you are working on. So what ever gets you to your goal. Plus I always have my eye on something else. But that's just me.
Seem's the higher the prices, the cheaper we get. lot's of factors contribute to this....... This ain't the 80's anymore guys.........WE (US) (YOU) are jacking up the prices........ Should you? Yes, Why might you ask? Because the market shows it....... At least in a sense.......... NOW the younger guy see's this as WAY outta place=NO WAY. They can have a vast majority of vehicles/HP on the cheap...... OUR=YOURS/MINE are always going to be around, and for sale at one point, but here is the jist......... Two camps= call BS if you don't get it= Youngin's just starting out, old guard trying to get a swinging deal.(this is buying) Selling is trying to hold on, especially if you paid someone to do your work for you. Now a days, unless your fortunate in some way or another, =NOT gonna happen. Even though your ride is worth in your eye's XXXXXXX, doesn't mean it's gonna fetch that #, and you'll have to wait it out to sell. I'm not condoning fire sales, but ALL this bitching about things, just grab a lil reality for a moment..... it's an evolving world, and some better get used to it-like it or not...........
Looking at this thread with envious eyes. I'm in Europe so any hot rod (I'm talking about a trad, prewar one) is stupidly expensive if street legal as - unless you retain the original type engine - we have such a thing as type approval which is a PAIN. And that applies to anyone regardless of your age. Re. young vs old, from what I see on our equivalents of Cars & Coffee there is strong interest in cars in general from the younger generation but obviously if you're in your 20s the chances you'd be able to stretch to the obvious suspects (muscle car era vehicles) are slim, so if they're into American cars they're likely to go for the 70s-80s smog era cars. But those give them a first taste and once funds are available the next vehicle will be older including "our" kind of car. I think our problem is more possible emission rules and taxes which may be set by our idiotic administration (EU and Member State. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would be a mainstream member of any of our Green parties) which will legalize us out, not something you have to worry about unless you live in a crazy place like California (?). Then we'll have lots of cheap cars no one can afford to drive...
A lot of cars here in England seem to be for sale and are not selling.. not genuine old cars but streetrods and abortions, since the DVLA started looking into hooky registrations... fibreglass cars using any old reg documents. Genuine old cars and parts are very expensive. Since the £ tanked against the $, the exchange went from @ 1.55 to @1.19, so sourcing cars and bits Stateside has become hard ( for most).. you could expect to pay the equivalent price in £’s as the sticker price in $’s after shipping and duty but now it’s more.Model A’s were as cheap as chips but now are advertised in the teens or higher, a 36/40 rear axle is @ £750 ($900)..40’s steel wheels are over £100 each($120)...Brookville deuce roadster body @£12,000 ($14,400). There are still cars being built but not as many... every other week we hear of another guy dying or business closing down and the scene over here in minute compared to the US to start with.I looked at starting another build but made the mistake(?) of pricing out the full build... total non starter at today’s prices. I can never say never but I doubt I’ll build another HotRod , I’ve had over 40 years of great times and preferred it when Joe Public hadn’t a clue what a HotRod was, now with all the exposure ,they are all “experts” and think any old Jalopy with a blue oval is worth a fortune..... that f***ing term “ barn find”does my nut in.
I sell old racing decals from the 50's and 60's and I have people call me to ask which state was Lions Drag Strip located in? People under the age of 40 don't remember these old racing decals and it is the exact same thing that is going on with old cars. Old guy's remember this kind of stuff but for the most part young people born after 1980 remember the cars they saw growing up unless your dad was into old cars. Think of this way when you were growing up drag racing was big in the 60's and over the years is now going through the exact same thing has old cars are going through which is a lack of interest. For the longest time everyone want a car from the 50's and then it was the 60' and early 70's and now I believe the cars from the late 70's and on up are more popular for your people because it is what they remember! Trying to sell a car from the 30's and 40's to me means you are looking at an age group that remembers those cars or maybe your dad has one. When selling a car ask your self who you think would be interested in that year car. I see cars listed for sale on the HAMB every month for years and in my opinion they must just like looking at their car for sale because no one in their right mind is going to pay what they are asking or maybe even make an offer when the price is like pie in the sky high. Just my opinion. Jimbo
The Jalopy Journal
