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Are The Investors Gone

2K views 31 replies 13 participants last post by  bandit96 
#1 ·
Seems there is a lot of talk on blogs about car values and declining prices. A lot of us " older car buffs " talk about back when we bought cars dirt cheap and really enjoyed them and tried to make each one an individual with a very limited budget. Racing, drag or oval, was a backyard hobby so to speak. Then came race cars new from the dealers and dirt cheap. Most of us would go through a car every year or 2. Then suddenly in 70's the gov. put an enviromental stop on detroit. With an economy similar to todays people began putting money in things that last, cars art etc. Then came the roaring 90's and every Tom Dick and Harry got into the collecting game, plus the thousands overseas now shipped them out of the country, putting the real car guys in a bind to find and own great cars. Now they may be gone, at least for a while. My ? now is are there many real enthusiast left? For the first time in almost 30 year there is a great opprotunity to own a true classic or original and not be kept awake all night over how much you spent. Like we have heard for years "Be carefull what you wish for, you might get it "
 
#2 ·
The investors are in full swing, but they're buying the blue-chip, ultra high-end cars. Prices for all those cars keep rising, and the trend will continue as long as the market stays down and the high-end cars continue to be a "safe" place to park cash.

The mid-level cars, the $100k ones, the overhyped ones, the clones, are all sinking because those "little" investors either need cash or are just scared to hold onto an expensive toy. These "investors" are getting a bit of a bath, while the enthusiast in this category is hanging onto what he's got and enjoying the drive.

The lower-level, cheap collector cars, the sub-$20k ones, are holding their value quite well even though there seems to be a small drop. Us car guys prefer these cars anyways, so it's safe to say the "investors" don't hang around this category - thank God. These should stay alive and well unless the whole world goes to the crapper. I much prefer to hang around this category anyways - it's the most fun and has the nicest group of guys.
 
#3 ·
IDK, I keep hearing something about a car "buyback"? Where any car over a certain age you turn in, they will pay you so much for it?
If this is true, that would CERTAINLY push the value of our cars up, but I imagine it would also raise parts prices.
 
#13 ·
I too have heard this for years and it really ruffled a lot of feathers in all the car clubs, collectors, street rodders and hot rodders alike. It was rumored to be a government mandate that was coming.

As for me they will have to force me out of the seat and the gun out of my cold dead hand.
 
#6 ·
^ I disagree, Dug. Not if you buy smart, something that may need a little TLC.
Now for the guys that go out and spend 10K +, THEN I agree. Won't lose on them if well maintained, but probably won't appreciate. Just drive and enjoy!!
 
#8 ·
I would humbly ask...What are the kids doing these days?

The kids of yesterday covet the cars they grew up with.

Todays kids are having just as much fun fixing up cars and racing them as we did 30/40 years ago.

Will a "tuned" Jetta be a coveted car 30 years from now?
 
#10 ·
IMO, it's one generation removed. Most of the cars that I "grew up" with were hand me downs from relatives. So growing up late 70's I started out: 69 chrysler 300, then 80's was 70 monte carlo, 71 dodge charger, 75 datsun, 76 monte carlo, etc. Roughly 10 yr difference.
 
#9 ·
Point is...... 107 beimg joined by many possabilities. Lots of interesting stuff available and cheap. The buying factor for us and now most buyers is what appeals to us for reasons other than money. be it Jetta 107 or maverick. I like todays market.
 
#11 ·
As a child of the '80s, our dream cars were the AMGs, the Ruf Porsches, the Ferraris - note, all of these are European cars. I think when my age group (I'm 40) gets another ten years down the road (with a better economy?), the MBs will be quite collectible - some more than others.

Either way, yes, as far as I'm concerned this is a hobby and hobbies cost money. But they sure are fun!
 
#12 ·
A large player in resale value is scarcity or quantity available. It will be interesting to see how many will be out there in ten years. The current market I think has an interesting twist in that many of these cars are worth more as parts cars than they are as drivers. And the cost of restoration is a deterrent to keeping it going. We see that exampled on Ebay with 107 after 107 being bought up and parted out. The long term affect may be a drastic reduction in the stock of available 107's.

Just a theory.
 
#16 ·
What they are going to do here in california is make it impossible to smog/register these older non-exempt models. A car can only get so old before a valve stem seal or something wears out that will prohibit the car from passing smog. Then the government will offer you a small sum, but being that the car is now unregisterable it is worth more in parts than what the government is offering so you part it out. It sucks but I need to be a realist. The other thing they'll do is load the fuel full of crap like ethanol and pollute the expensive k-jet fuel system with bad gas making it so you need new fuel distributors, fuel pumps, accumulators, lines, etc, which are all expensive parts.

As far as the 107 as collectable the jury is still out. The real issue preventing them being collectable is they made too damned many of them. If a combination of gov't regulation, neglect, and parting of the cars decimates the poplulation of 107s then maybe they will become collectable.
 
#17 ·
"They" will find that rather difficult to enforce when all of the taxpayers are gone and there are no monies for any services. I would really hate to be the last taxpayer in California.
 
#18 ·
Sales tax is 9.25% here tell me about it.

Sorry if it sounded like a rant, just replace "they" by "california's liberal legislators" in the first paragraph and "they" with "mercedes" in the second an it should make some sense.
 
#22 ·
It IS a great market. I picked up a recent Hemmings and I see I can buy a 1965 Mustang in showroom condition for less than it cost originally, adjusted for inflation.<br>They made a quarter-million of our SL's; I estimate just over 50% are still extant, given an attrition rate of just a few percent per year. The cars are very sturdy and it takes something extraordinary to kill them, like the fella who got hit by the red light runner, or the girl who got hers flooded out. The next 20 years should see the numbers cut by a third; inflation will rise by about a third, yielding a doubling in price. By the time my daughter gets it (2025 or so) the 380 will be fetching $25-30,000.
 
#23 ·
Yea weatherman and I talked to a outo export broker who said while euoro was so hi they were being bought here and shipped to eourope by the thousands. reguardlees compaired to many " collectables " what a deal for the money. My grandaughter has already laid claim to mine.
 
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