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Reality Check: The Collector-Car Market Has Reached Correction Territory

It's nice that the cars I love and enjoy turned out to be worth money,but if they weren't I would still be building them just like I did when people were giving them away and wanted them gone. The plus side of them being valuable is that after many years of no support from the aftermarket and reproduction parts producers,the parts are finally available to build them to the level of the GM and Ford cars,the negative side is that they are very expensive to buy and restore them. It's a double edged sword.
 
As far as the Mopar collector cars are concerned, this is no longer the average guys hobby. The collectors have made some cars essentially unobtainable. E body muscle cars have be priced insanely since 2005,wingcars are now unobtainable for most enthusiasts, and as of the current round second generation Chargers have reached the point of being unaffordable for most average car enthusiasts. We are essentially priced out of our own hobby due the the collectors. I am grateful for the E body cars and second generation Chargers I currently own,and certainly would not want to buy them in the current market. As for wingcars,if I sold off a bunch of cars I could probably buy one,then I would be too afraid that something would happen to it and not want to drive the car,so I will build my clone and drive the hell out of it.
 
he collectors have made some cars essentially unobtainable.
Never had any problem with clones when they were done nice. Heck my 1st restoration back in the early 80’s was my mother’s Cutlass Supreme vert I did some cloning to make it resemble a 442. It’s all bolt on, SAME platform, just adding more options. Restoring my ’63 Fury, have some Sport Fury features I added.

I took notice of when these muscle cars started ballooning in price in the later 90’s and just got crazier later on. They became attractive to well-off people overseas leading to massive exportation of these cars. And the wealthy here (good number of non-wrencher types with money) finding them as something to collect having everything else they could want…hedge funders, pro-athletes, movie stars, with cash to burn driving up the prices. Who pays $3.5 MILLION for a Cuda also having a collection of 20 more?

Agree, the market for the most sought-after rides and some of their clones, have left the planet for the majority of the population. On the other hand, those that restored them, often put in a LOT of time and cash. I sometimes find it hard to believe the money I dumped into mine having done a lot of the work in my garage.
 
I don't care what my car does value wise in the future. Its mine and will stay mine as long as I'm above grade. After that I'm fairly certain its future is in good hands with my girls


I actually brought up the idea with the wife just last week to sell it and cash out. Buy something cheaper and pocket a boatload of money.

She shot that down in an instant. The car is going no where.


Pretty much most of the good cars are no longer within reach of the average buyer. Unless,,, they sold a car to buy another. Especially wing cars and hemi cars.
Hell even some nice 318 cars are in the upper teens / low $20s if its a nice car.
 
Never had any problem with clones when they were done nice. Heck my 1st restoration back in the early 80’s was my mother’s Cutlass Supreme vert I did some cloning to make it resemble a 442. It’s all bolt on, SAME platform, just adding more options. Restoring my ’63 Fury, have some Sport Fury features I added.

I took notice of when these muscle cars started ballooning in price in the later 90’s and just got crazier later on. They became attractive to well-off people overseas leading to massive exportation of these cars. And the wealthy here (good number of non-wrencher types with money) finding them as something to collect having everything else they could want…hedge funders, pro-athletes, movie stars, with cash to burn driving up the prices. Who pays $3.5 MILLION for a Cuda also having a collection of 20 more?

Agree, the market for the most sought-after rides and some of their clones, have left the planet for the majority of the population. On the other hand, those that restored them, often put in a LOT of time and cash. I sometimes find it hard to believe the money I dumped into mine having done a lot of the work in my garage.
My Ford buddy decided to sell one of his earlier builds last year. I warned him not to value it based on what he had in it, even keeping his labor out of the equation. After some market research, I gave him a number based on about a dozen sales I'd checked out. He took the truck to Mecum last July, and it was bid to exactly what I predicted, and he took it home as a no sale, totally disgruntled. The market has a mind of its own. My former A33 GTX was bid to nearly twice what I paid for it five years earlier that same month. I was lucky to get into them before they started riding the coat tails of gen 2 Chargers. The market has truly been driven by a different crowd than in past years. My former GTX has been driven one mile since I parted with it in 2021. I put 3000 miles on it when it was under my care.
 
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"Cost" and "Value" are NOT the same thing.
 
I'm not much of an E-body person, but I could go for one of these .....

View attachment 1564171
& Even in Yella' (Top Bannana)
I'd rather have almost any other color
not a huge fan of Pink' (Moulan rogue) or Rally Red (R4) either,
but in one of them, I'd take it

Never been a big fan of E-bodies, but I do like the 'cudas
especially the AAR versions

70 Cuda AAR B5 Blue.jpg


70 Cuda AAR green #1.jpg


Resto-Mod pro-touring
70 Cuda AAR black & bad ***.jpg


70 Cuda AAR Moulan Rouge Pink.jpg



70 Cuda AAR orange.jpg


70 Cuda AAR In-Violet #1.jpg


70 Cuda AAR silver #1.jpg


not a fan of red cars either, but I'd take an AAR in Rally Red
70 Cuda AAR rally red #1.jpg
 
I know I know, sacrilegious here

Same deal with Mustangs,
not a fan of Mudstains 'at all' otherwise
if it's a 69-70 Boss 302 (or 429), or a 69-70 Mach 1 428 or 429 scj esp.
I'd take it, even in red or yellow
now when done correctly, bringing '6 digits'

69's
69 Mustang Boss 429ci.jpg


69 Mustang Boss 302 blue #1.jpg

70's
70 Mustang Mach-1 Advert #1.jpg

Grabber Yellow
70 Mustang Mach-1 Grabber Yellow.jpg
 
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Same with 57 Chevy BelAirs HT, Nomads or convertibles
are bringing 6 digit prices done to a professional level,
I do remember the days of $1500-$3000 for one
the same era when the gen 2 68-70 Chargers were like $500-$1500,
all day long too

way, way over the top, not really my style,
70s vibe
57 Bel Air HT 70's style.jpg


57 Bel Air HT red.jpg

not a huge fan of completely stock, more of a day 2 look
57 Bel Air HT Advert. #2.jpg


57 Bel Air black.jpg


57 Bel Air Nomad Wagon.jpg


build a brand new one & not even use any old rusted out overpriced parts
57 Bel Air #1 HT Body Kits Woody's Hot Rodz.jpg


57 Bel Air #2 Convertible Body Kits Woody's Hot Rodz.jpg
 
I know I know, sacrilegious here

Same deal with Mustangs,
not a fan of Mudstains 'at all' otherwise
if it's a 69-70 Boss 302 (or 429), or a 69-70 Mach 1 428 esp.
I'd take it, even in red or yellow
now when done correctly, bringing '6 digits'

69's
View attachment 1564686

View attachment 1564687
70's
View attachment 1564689
Grabber Yellow
View attachment 1564690
I even attended the Ford Nationals in Carlisle with a gay Boss 302 fan and her partner (and my wife who hates all vintage cars.) Michelle since split with her partner, but still has her California Special.
 
There's 6 AAR's coming up at Mecum this January. Not that I'm going there, but it would be interesting to see what they sell for. I think the white one would be the cheapest.







 
I even attended the Ford Nationals in Carlisle with a gay Boss 302 fan and her partner (and my wife who hates all vintage cars.) Michelle since split with her partner, but still has her California Special.
Test drove one like this, it was triple-black 4-speed. How long ago was this? The dealer wanted $2,200 for it.
It is one of my top five favorites.

1701125465897.png
 
There's 6 AAR's coming up at Mecum this January. Not that I'm going there, but it would be interesting to see what they sell for. I think the white one would be the cheapest.







Best wild *** guess is low as bid at maybe $69k
to maybe $90k+ for a near-perfect car (before all the fees)
a low milage & well optioned survivor (or Calif. Car ?)
or the same in a 4 speed car (+10%-15% premium)
or a bit more maybe (?)
they were even higher for a while,
seems people were way over paying/bidding for everything

The last auction I watched;
I thought I saw 1 sell/sale (B5 ?) a 727tf version for like $55K +buyers fees on top of that
I think it had a period correct dealer replacement/warranty engine in it too

IMHFO seems that;
MoPars never have got the same respect 'as in price/value'
as some of the other Brand-X real muscle cars/era always do...


My $0.02 cents
 
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Clean AAR’s have been over $100k for the past two years. Obviously depends on color and options. I’d want a 4 speed with no vinyl top. That black one will bring big $’s, but I’d rather a color that pops.
 
The white one is VIN BS23J0B287467 and it sold this past July at a Greensboro, North Carolina auction house for $84,000.

Screenshot_20231127-181748~2.png


Edit to add link:

1970 Plymouth AAR Cuda
 
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The first green one is VIN BS23J0B285375 and has been on Hemmings for awhile; first offer in March and last offer in August.

Asking Price: $95,000
Highest Offer: $80,000


Screenshot_20231127-183749~2.png
Screenshot_20231127-183255~2.png
Screenshot_20231127-183322~2.png
 
Every time I see some ad with “Galen Govier verified” BS, I think the owner is not an enthusiast but more of an investor.
The Car guys (that I know) that drive their cars see that guy as a pompous assclown. You might as well include a certificate from the Shamwow guy.
 
The white one is VIN BS23J0B287467 and it sold this past July at a Greensboro, North Carolina auction house for $84,000.

View attachment 1564742


Being that it’s an automatic on the column with a bench seat and in need of some finessing, I wouldn’t think that it would be worth that much.
 
Being that it’s an automatic on the column with a bench seat and in need of some finessing, I wouldn’t think that it would be worth that much.
I was surprised by the high $84,000, but that was because auction prices I've seen at GAA for other cars seem to run lower than in other markets.
 
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