I know there's already a thread about this. Built my first hot rod in 1970 so I've sold a few. It's my personal opinion that if so many guys didn't have a (The Sky Is Falling) at***ude the market might not look so grey. Negatives breeds Negatives. Time to be upbeat about the old car market. Be a good sales person. Cheer up. The hot rod market has been a roller coaster ride since I started.
I have spent a lifetime enjoying old cars and hot rods. There is nothing like driving a vehicle that makes people smile. However, the idea of using them as a source of money in a speculation scheme is something that I have mixed feelings about. On one hand it makes the vehicles I have worth more, and retain their value, but on the other hand it has created a fake value of the vehicles. Hot rods are built to be driven. Speculating and inflating the value of something is best done on the stock market.
Doomers......they've existed from the dawn of time - markets cycle up and down - got a local indoor swap I vend at with a few buddies coming up in January - always a good time, make money, spend money and enjoy catching up with people.....I agree with you - let's be more positive
Amen. I do it for the fun. It’s a way better hobby than golf or stamp collecting. I’ll continue til they pull the TIG from my cold dead hands.
The market changes. A 1975 chevy truck is 50 years old. These trucks are bringing 10x the money that they cost new. Early Ferrari's are bringing millions. In the early 90s I had a chance to buy a 1975 porsche turbo 911 for $4500 and couldnt swing it. The same car is over 100000$ today. This market seems pretty good to me. Hot rods have taken a hit, but the market is as strong as ever.
I'm old enough to remember when people would say if you modified anything from an original car or truck it would diminish its value greatly, they're worth more unmodified! Yes, they are only original once, but we see things much differently today. Had we only known, I'm sure many of us here wish we woulda, shoulda, coulda!
We need a couple big Hollywood hit movies like American Graffiti. Look what Arnold (Terminator) did for Harley sales. Imagine what Paul Walker building/running a hot rod in a movie could have done.
The way I see it is if it tanks then I buy all my stuff for cheap. If it gains a lot well I’ll spend more to get the same stuff. Either way I’m not going to stop having an interest in the old car hobby because of money
Thank You @krylon32 . Whenever one of those posts like the recent one appears I spit, cuss, and scroll on. My interest in this game is a love of personalized cars. I can also appreciate a well preserved and cared for stocker that has survived the ravages of time and traffic. The thought of worth has never been a reason for me to own or dis-own. That is why every time that I have sold a car, the first thing that I take care of, is to let the buyer know of any probs or needs they will have. The B-S. of having the most whatever, when you croak is winning, did't come from the deceased
only worth what you get for it. some times you might get more, and sometimes you get less. some never sell, and some never For Sale. then throw in the trade world to add different dimensions to the hole thing.
I've never bought an old car thinking, "this is what I can get for it." I buy them because they trip my trigger and because I enjoy bringing them up to speed and occasionally driving them. The truth is, I enjoy fixing them up more than driving them. Once I'm done, I'm done. I sell it for what I can get. The old car market has always been cyclical, just like the economy. It always will be. Once in a while, you may be lucky enough to buy low. Other times you lose. Old cars should not be an investment strategy. They should be a hobby. If you think otherwise, you're in for a rude awakening.
I figure if I get to work on cars and drive them as a hobby and can get most of my money back if I ever sell them then I’m way ahead of my friends who spend money playing golf who have nothing of value left but a used set of clubs. Hobbies shouldn’t be driven by profit, that makes it a job.
When I lived in California in 1969 there was a Porche 356 coupe on the local car lot for $4500.00. Right next to it was a red 300 SL Gull Wing Mercedes for $12,500.00.
I buy cars I like then improve them and then keep them and enjoy them. Old cars have always been my thing, not really a hobby, as that is what I chose to drive. I sold a very nice ride in the late ‘70s - almost 50 years ago - because I thought the market for hot rods would diminish. Although price trends go up and down, well built desirable vehicles always sell if priced right. I typically made money when selling. Drive ‘em and enjoy ‘em - that’s worth more than money.
I have my 57 Plymouth since 1964. It is not going anywhere while I am still kicking. How much it is worth only means how much insurance value I need to have in case something happens to it. Before the movie "Christine" came out I could get parts cars and parts for reasonable prices. Since the movie there are lots of people looking to make their "Christine" and have driven prices through the roof. As far as the overall market goes, it has always had its ups and downs.
As far as hot rods or mild custom cars or trucks go. Timeless builds tend to hold their value reasonably well but trick of the moment dated builds often depreciate pretty fast.
every car I owned in the 80's is still worth 3 to 4 times what I sold it for. except for 2 muscle cars I had, they are worth 10 times what I sold them for.
I know of 5 new builds within 15 miles of my house. And all five guys already own cars. I would say there is a renewed interest in old cars at least in our area of south east Pennsylvania. Personally I will never stop building. At some point there will be an unfinished project in the garage.
I have probably done 40+ cars since the 1970's. I didn't do any of them to make money. That is not why I do it. Right now I have 11 cars, 4 of them are projects.I work on them a little at a time. It is a creative outlet for me and keeps my mind focused. There is more to life than $$$.
Everything seems to be this roller coaster up and down . Look at Harley value today vs. what it was in the late 90s . The old ones still bring big big $$ . Same with hot rods , good cars , good builds hold value . Last Harley I purchased , I got the bill of sale when he walked out the showroom door with it being his . $2865 .00 . It had not moved since 1994 , I paid $ 6500.00 for it . It was complete and one owner , well cared for until parked . I have been offed 2x what I paid for it , and say “ not for sale “ . I used to say you will have to talk to my wife about it . Now she did not out last me here to have to worry about selling it . Just an example of values .
From my POV we have a couple distinct different groups in Southeast Michigan. We have the true car people and we have the Dream Cruise crowd. The Dream Cruise crowd start shopping in the spring usually just after the Detroit Autorama, demand usurps supply, drives prices up. Many adverti*****ts refer to cruise season. Through the summer the new toy is pampered, washed, waxed and takes a place of honor in the garage. Once the Dream Cruise is past the interest starts to wane. The owners find out how much work a collector car really is and when the realization comes as the leaves start to fall that they now have choices to make. Do the daily driver(s) spend the winter outside where they have to clean the frost and snow off on a daily basis while the garage ornament stays inside, do they rent a space somewhere at several hundred dollars or more for the next six months or lastly, does the summer toy get put up for sale at the worst time of the year along with many other cars which depresses prices all the more?
To me it shouldn’t be looked at as a bad thing, yes I know there are people who are losing money on cars. When you treat something as an investment (not as a hobby/lifestyle) just like any investment sometimes you win some times you lose others! In my opinion the cars, parts, hobby lifestyle are returning to a level where a working cl*** job a garage and a few tools can afford in again, and a new younger generation will come in!
Personally... At nearly 70 years old, I'm making one final effort to build an awesome hot rod. I don't care how hard it is. I don't care how much it costs. It's a personal thing... something I very much want to do... something I have to do. And I will... or die having fun trying. I don't care what the market does. For the hobby itself... I think of the really old collector cars from the teens or earlier. The interest has waned and the prices reflect that. But there are still people doing it. Just not as much. Not many blacksmiths anymore either. Or builders of covered wagons and horse-drawn buggies. The old disciplines have just become very rare and specialized. I see that eventually happening with hot rodding.
I am a new guy here but old to the hobby, we do this because its fun and the feel of going back in time thrills the hell out of me, the moment I climb behind the wheel of one of my cars I just regained my youth, it stimulates all of the senses, the prices of this stuff is always secondary to the joy and the memories made when we get to play with our toys.
/\ || This, right here. That's it. I hate the flipper thing, the wheeler dealers. Eff all that. Buy it cuz you love it and work on it because it brings you satisfaction and gratification. Then get in it because it takes you back. Spot on Steven. Amen.
Drive your rod and custom around town doing everyday stuff, when the grocery market folks say how they love to see old cars like yours, it'll rub off on the kids that are with you and they'll keep it going.
The Jalopy Journal
