I have been noticing alot of older cars for sale in the 30k + range, I am wondering do these cars sell ???? for something you cant really finance how many people have 30k to spend on one and are willing to spend it.. I know there are the guys in their 50's -70's with money but they dont seem to be buying our type of cars. they have the money to buy nice finished cars. The working guys in their 20-40's seem to be more into the low buck build it yourself stuff. It just seems to be that many of these cars are way over priced for what the market is and most of us can afford. Is it a case of the owner dreaming or the inflated prices from the cheep home equity loans ????
My experience is guys with money don't have time to build it themselves, hence the trend to buying finished cars. I don't think any cars are really overpriced. They all get the price they deserve due to their individual rarity.
30k isn't as much money as it used to be, although it is a lot to me. Look at what 30 large WON'T buy anymore.
the issue is living the "american dream", lots of regular guys taht bought into houses they couldnt afford etc, and have been living off credit cards since last year when the ARM rates adjusted... now they find themselves $20k in credit card debt and 2-3 months behind on the house payment.. suddenly, selling the one thing u said you owuld never sell makes sense.. trust me, im in the mortgage industry, and there are a LOT of these guys trying to unload nicely redone cars, projects, etc, in an attempt to catch up.. i talk to them ALL the time, i just dont find much i would be interested in
My dad and I were talking about this the other day, people pay that much for a new Harley and it immediately drops in value. 30 grand is alot to me, but not alot to other people who don't have the means or knowledge to build. And if they do want a project to have it built it will cost them more than that.
What I've noticed is A LOT of NICE finished cars for sale that are now out dated. They were built in the late 80's through the turn of the century Street Rod style with pastel paint jobs, graphics, smoothie looks and tweed/burlap interiors. Tastefully done at time, but seem outa' style right now. Presently it seems like nostalgia and REAL Hot Rod stuff is the direction to go. I'm glad I never fell in the "Trendy Tweedy Trap". I have always thought you could build a Smoothie car outa' a PoS, but to build a nice period correct car you're better off to start with a nice one. Right now there's several cars I know of that are getting rid of the "Trendy Tweedie Trap" look and being made over to what's current. Pastel is out, old pre WWII Ford colors are in. EFI is out and multiple carbs are in. Tweed is out (Thank God) and Indian blankets are in. Mustang II's are out and straight axles are in. Isn't progress a wonderful thing!!!!!!!!?????
The trend is down now ,so they are trying to cash out B4 the market collapses. My advice ? wait two years then SCORE!
Todd, hit it on the head from what I have seen so far. alot of people took money out of their houses to buy cars/toys.. and now have to sell but they have alot more in the car than it is worth and are trying to catch up by selling it. What it is doing is bringing alot of cars to the market with very few buyers out there. Many of these fall into the catigory of pay someone else to build it people. Modified... I agree on the dated cars also there were several at barrett Jackson where the owners got a supprize on how much a dated car takes off the value.... It will be interesting to see where this goes, I think the prices are going to go lower just due to the volume of cars I see for sale.. same with the houses... supply and demand....
I don't think you could be more wrong. If anything this hobby is growing by leaps and bounds every year. one example, look at the number of Good Guys events this year. They add more dates every year and it gets bigger and bigger. I'm not saying that GG is the benchmark but it certainly will tell you something about where old cars are going. If I had the money I'd probably buy a 30K car simply because I don't have the time to really invest in building one myself.
I don't see it diminishing either, I've seen alot of high dollar cars sell this summer, and rod runs and shows getting bigger. Those people that have money are spending it on toys and desirable parts are getting more expensive .On the other hand my stuff is worth more. Ha, ha.
I agree there are alot of dated cars on the market right now, Dad's '48 Ford is one of them. I also believe that the "Rat Rod" look will be "dated" in due time. Has nothing to do with money/market and everything to do with style. There is something to be said for building a nice, well thought-out, timeless hot rod or custom.
that the only way i can afford stuff is when it is not trendy just like the chopper scene i will get one i just have to wait thanks yuppies lol
I think the housing market downturn will in turn affect the demand for these cars. Home equity was funding a lot of toys, that's coming to an end for lots of people. Time will tell.
If you think 30K is a lot for a car these days ....wow.... most of the cars in my shop start at 30K.... you cant even buy a Honda Accord for 20K man.... put it in perspective. They DO sell and my clients range from 25 to about 70 so the guys are out there who would rather just have the thing built the way they want it.
Tons of low-mileage, 3 - 4 yr-old Harleys on the market here. The sellers think they are gold, too. What strikes me on the specialty car scene is that there are still plenty of $3k - $6k cars, and lots of $30k cars, but almost nothing in between. No one seems to wants to pay $15k for a car that has all the major work done and just needs an interior or fresh paint. When those owners drop them into the <10k range they sell quickly, it seems. Some good bargains there!
There are undoubtedly a few toys that have been part of the latest US consumerism (read debt) phase that are distressed property right now. These may present a buying opportunity for the one that is seeking. The US and the world economy is still in fact robust. The fundamental (read supply/demand) car market is stronger than ever. There are more events, more services, more and better quality components, and yes more people spending serious cash in the scene than ever before. Happy motoring!
Interesting, thanks everyone for the comments, I really like the opinions here as they vary and give really good feedback. I find the comment by chop shop going against what I see out here (no offence just an observation). It may be regional but I have a good freind with a medium sized resto shop and have worked in and most of my freinds still work in the automotive industry. Most if not all of the small and medium shops here are slow right now. They are still doing some resto work and paint, but there are less and less people with money doing big jobs. This coupled with the number of cars I have seen for sale lately is just fueling my opinion, now I may be wrong--have been before. I just don't understand what I have been seeing as far as people using their house and credit cards to do cars. Never saw this to this extent in the past. The number of these people making 40-80k a year driving new 40k trucks with 50-60k in a rod is weird. The math doesn't add up here unless they are living under a rock. Somewhere the $ have to come back to making sence. or maybe they don't and I am just cheep...
Another thing that I'm sure affects the sale of alot of cars is the "personal taste" paint and interior that so many cars get done up in.
The sad thing is they are not selling. Right now has to be the biggest glut of pre 48 cars I can remember. It is by far a buyers market. You can definetly buy cheaper then build. Fifties and sixties Chevy's, muscle cars, and mopars are where its at.
Well, if I were going to sell anything big ticket I'd want to do it now, while the economy is still doing fairly well. The dollar is losing value, the housing market is weak, and a lot of people are in trouble with credit issues - it wouldn't take a whole hell of a lot to put the economy right in the dumper. And then it's going to be that much harder to sell anything expensive.
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