Are Old Car Prices Softening?

[JerseyHarold]

It seems to me that 'lower end' old car prices are coming down. I'm seeing a lot more cars in the classifieds and online that I'd actually consider at the price compared to the past few years. (The high-buck stuff is another story.)

Anyone care to share their thoughts?

[NatesSedan]

In our neck of the woods they are. We have been trying to sell a car for a friend of ours who is out on the road in his RV and it would have sold for what we are asking a year ago but there are very few people even looking.

I also keep a close eye on Craigslist and most of the classic on there are being listed for months at a time with small decreases each time they pop up.

It is very similar to what we have been seeing in the housing market.

[PatS....]

Prices around here are still pretty ridiculous for the most part. A few sensible guys but they are in the minority.

e.g.: 60 Chev Biscayne, 4 door, 3 on the tree, 6 cylinder, a #5 car not running asking $3500. Nuts.

[50PlymouthSled]

There are still a lot of guys around here that are asking stupidly ridiculous money for the cars they have. which is kinda ridiculous, but hey, you can still pick and choose which you wanna buy, so maybe they'll take a hint? Maybe not. Who cares, not my money going to them. But I have noticed, if people won't spend the money, the price comes down, it's when people have a bidding war, everyone gets a wild hair and thinks they can sell their autos for ridulous money, but that seems to be a trend that is ever present anywhere, not just here. Just food for thought.

[Captain Neon]

Depending on where you live and how poor the economy is, you will see lower end cars at first have hig asking prices. Some one can't keep up w/ his bills and wants to get some liquid assets (cash) so they try to sell their car for what they "have in it" which is usually too much. As time goes on and finances further deteriorate, the price drops and drops until finally they get desperate and sell the car cheap if ever. Most of the guys unwilling to sell their cars at a fair price usually never sell their cars because they always want too much eventhough they may be asking half of their previously absurd asking price. When the economy gets bad, people have less money for toys. Generally, supply goes up (I need money) and demand goes down (I don't have money for toys).

[50PlymouthSled]

That's true, Neon. But I guess it's just a side to side swing.

[Rodney Bullock]

It's funny you all are talking about this, for the past few months I have noticed that some private collections have become availible lately. A body man I know who also tows cars has a list of cars on this guy's farm, about 300 cars all were kept inside and they are mostly desirable models. He ran off some to me while I was at his shop, 1969 mopars (3) big block chevys (7) stuff like chevelles and pontiacs(10) grand prix and the like, With these kind of cars now being released into the hobby the price must come down. I was told most of this stuff was going for 800-1200 dollars. They need some work however not much.

Then the street rods are getting a new deal because the new breed of street rods have the new chasis and air conditioning. They also have crate motors that are very reasonably priced. I have seen some of the home grown street rods around here go for 7,500 to 9,000. I remeber these same cars where going for 15,900-22,000. The quality of the street rod is increasing.

The only cars that are getting to be more expensive is...... the original cars, hold on to your hats, these prewar cars are getting more expensive especially if they are low miles and in great shape and if they are orphan makes.

[62rebelP23]

have to agree; right now i'm skidding through a tight spot and had listed my Cambridge for just about what i had in it. then it hit me; i'll make it, whether i sell my toys or not. and if i sell them cheap, i'll never replace them that way! so i figure to hang on to the Cambridge and do what i can as i can, and have what fun i can manage. i got a pretty good deal on her in the first place, and she really doesn't need a whole lot of expensive parts right away, just a lot of labor, which i have a surplus of at this time....

[Don Jordan]

I just got my badge from the Vintage Chevrolet Club - 35 years!! Cars that were brand new when I joined are now eligible to be in the club.

It's been my experience that you can follow the economy by the price of cars. When times are good, people have money, they buy. When times are slow people have less money and they sell.

Me - I just buy. Can't bear to sell. And when I die someone will come in and have a big garage sale and it will all be gone. Beauty (and junk) is in the eye of the beholder.

[50PlymouthSled]

Yeah, I guess beauty is subjective to the beholder. And buy and sell in accordance with the economy? So what's with when it bad and people still buy?

[David Maxwell]

...today in the local Photo Ad. Fully restored, running great and looked very nice for $12,000 asking price. For Southern CA, that's a pretty attractive price. Problem is, nobody seems to have an extra 12K lying around.

[Mr. Belvedere]

The boomers are just starting to retire. Many have good retirements and will have money and free time for old cars. They will want to relive their past, it will be especially good for post war cars. This should help keep prices bouyed somewhat until our economy straightens out.

[crazycasey]

I'm in the business of selling parts...mostly carefully selected swap meet items that nobody wants at the end of the day, so I spin them on Ebay and make a profit. I've been doing this for the better part of 6 years now and have always made good money, yet lately the parts aren't selling. It seems like even when I drop the price, the parts are slow to go. I've actually had better luck sticking at my high price and being patient, but when you have bills to pay that can be pretty hard to do. I also sell a lot of old parts from projects that I am working on, like those brake drums that I just sold to Norm. I've noticed that a couple of forums that I belong to have started to charge to use their classifieds...I guess hard times are hitting a lot of us!

[Dennis Hemingway]

As far as I'm concerned' date=' if I was selling, I'd sell it for my price. If I didn't get that price, I'd hold onto it. After all, its just like stocks. You only loose money when you sell while the stock price is low. So...........hold onto it and wait for the price to go back up. It doesn't cost anything to keep it. As long as you keep it, the loss is only on paper, not out of your pocket.[/quote']

That's what I'm doing with the 56. If I get what I'm asking OK if not I'll keep driving & showing it.

We will have both cars at the Mother Road Route 66 Museum in Barstow in the morning for the Annual Car Show.

Dennis:cool:

Last weekend at Fort Irwin, Ca.

Then later the same day in Barstow, Ca.

[BobT-47P15]

It would be OK with me if the prices dropped back down some.

I think homes have gotten out of hand and the old car parts seem

over priced. As well as many old cars. Makes it tough on the "average"

guy who doesn't have big bucks to play with.

Don't plan of selling my Plym as it's been paid for for years.

[JIPJOBXX]

As for myself I have had my car for 19 years and I really don't see me selling it. But for some guys it might just make a difference with food or driver. I'm lucky to have three small cars to drive and no big yank tanks! So again I will only drive my old Dodge on some special occasion as It gets terrible gas mileage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe at the most 12 mpg or so.

[Captain Neon]

When I try to consider for inflation, I often use a stable commodity like silver or gold to determine how much I really paid or will pay for something. Six years ago, silver was selling for around $5/oz. now it is almost $20/oz. I try to compare costs by thinking in how many ounces of silver vs. an unstable marker like the US dollar.

[Normspeed]

At an auto swap last weekend, I saw three auto swamp coolers, all in pretty nice condition, each for $200 to $250. And that was the asking price, not the actual. I believe that's down quite a bit from what I've seen these go for in recent years. Even at that, only one of the three got bought.

[David Maxwell]

You can match it with typical items such as a "high quality" man's suit. In 1908 a man could by a "high quality" suit for around $20 which was the spot price for one ounce of gold. Today, a "high quality" suit runs close to $1,000. The current spot price for gold is approximately $900.

Another good measure of inflation is the minimum wage which is tied to basic living standards (although it can be argued you can't live on it). Anyhow, a person earning the minimum wage in 1947 might be making 43 cents per hour. To purchase a gallon of gasoline at approximately 25 cents per gallon, a worker would need to work roughly 35 minutes. In 2008, a worker earning a minimum wage of $7.75 an hour (varies per state, county and city), and spending $4.50 per gallon for regular (current price in my town) ironically needs to work approximately 35 minutes.

This seems to jive with the following chart:

http://www.inflationdata.com/inflation/images/charts/Oil/Gasoline_inflation_chart.htm

[JerseyHarold]

I discovered a fairly consistent ratio of approximately 10:1 between the cost of a new house and a new car. Plug-in some numbers from the fities, sixties, and today and you'll see what I mean.

[David Maxwell]

...it's too dependant upon where you live. New car prices vary only slightly depending on location, but home prices vary dramatically. A small tract home in California can range between $300,000 and $1,000,000. The same home in Oklahoma might run $100,000.

I discovered a fairly consistent ratio of approximately 10:1 between the cost of a new house and a new car. Plug-in some numbers from the fities, sixties, and today and you'll see what I mean.

[JerseyHarold]

Good point. I was using NY/NJ numbers. In the mid-sixties, an average car was $3000. and a house was $30,000. Now it's something like $25,000. vs. $250,000.

[David Maxwell]

...in Calfiornia. Geez, home prices jumped 150% in a couple of years and then droped nearly 28% this last year!! Wouldn't be so bad except lots of people went out and refinanced at the peak. They now owe more than their home is worth. So..., given a stable situation, your formula works which makes sense. We just don't make sense out here lol!

Good point. I was using NY/NJ numbers. In the mid-sixties, an average car was $3000. and a house was $30,000. Now it's something like $25,000. vs. $250,000.