Hello 696pack,
I do agree that the collector car market has been cyclical in the past. This was also in a time before the dire straits this country and many parts of the world for that matter, are in. In the current economic climate where foreclosures are at a astronomical high and the unemployment rate is hovering around 8% (or at least that is what we are told) which is approximately 25 million people either out of work or have stopped looking for a job etc, an upcoming student loan bubble, furloughed workers by the 10s of thousands and bankrupted municipalities all over the nation. You are very fortunate to one of those who are in the "dont have to sell crowd. I also think you may be misled by the extremely inflated prices of the periodicals you have listed below. The folks in the Moparts crowd I believe are very accurate with their assessments of values and are correct in their comments here. Car after car at Mecum is one of the auctions that I noticed a large number of muscle cars that the bid went on. The 1971 FC7 Hemi Cuda' convertible that had been estimated at over 4 million just barely broke 1.2. In my humble opinion if that same car crosses the block in the next few years, I would strongly suspect the car would not even get to seven figures. A friend of mine actually sold a REAL 1966 4 speed, numbers matching, survivor Hemi Coronet a few years ago for just over $50k. The car was beautiful and not junk in the least. The crowds you refer to are for the most part, those who are purchasing or attempting to purchase these cars. In my humble opinion and the humble opinions of those expressed here, some, not all sellers have delusions of granjure when It comes to the prices they are asking for their cars. The proof is in the final bids, the constant re posting of cars, the bids that go on,ads that run forever etc. The site you list collectorcarmarket.com for a 1966 Hemi Coronet in #1 condition is priced at $91k. I personally have not seen a base 1966 Hemi Coronet go for anything close to that figure in a very long time or even ever unless of course it is a special car or a famous racer owned car. I do not mean to be offensive and I am not, by any means an expert but I have been studying the results of many of the auctions in the past several years. What I see is sellers who are in touch with the current prices of what the market will bear, sell their cars and those who are out of touch, do not. Most of the people you refer to out here are by no means, unintelligent and they know where the market is. I am sure you have a very nice car but perhaps those out here expressing the fact that these prices are way out of line are right? Unfortunately You cannot eat a Hemi or rare car, pay a mortgage or rent payment, medical bill or school or college tuition with it either. It is certainly a buyers market out here whether you have a Hemi Coronet or a Hemi Superbird, it all comes down to price. If you are waiting for the cycle to reverse, in my humblest opinion, you may want to prepare for the long haul and pack a lunch because you will be waiting for a very long time. I don't even think this whole mess has hit rock bottom yet. I sincerely hope I did not offend anyone on this site. If I did, I really do apologize. This is just one persons opinion and you know that old saying about them. Perhaps some of you will agree. Thanks!
You sound like the Moparts crowd. There are many Hemi cars out there for sale but not many buyers bidding the money owners want so they are not selling. Therefore the Moparts crowd THINKS the final bid price is ALL they are worth. I am speaking mainly of Ebay auction as that is the only gauge they have access to other than Barret-Jackson unless they want to take the time to search through all Mecums sales results.
The subject car in this thread has a rebuilt 1966 Hemi engine according to the decription. There are a lot of unanswered questions as to what is included and not pictured in this ad. However here is an example for you. I had the original engine for my 66 Hemi Coronet with the car when I bought it but was missing a lot of parts for it. In the end after rebuild to NHRA stock specs (not a cheap rebuild) with correct carbs, air cleaner, etc. I am in the engine alone $25K and that did not include original exhaust manifolds as I have headers. So back to the subject car and break it down. It is mostly original paint with no hidden sins, needs quarter work but not floors or trunk. What is the original Hemi body with correct numbers worth in resale red? What is the air grabber worth? What is the engine worth?
My point is that there may be Hemi owners out there that WANT to sell but don't HAVE to sell and that seems like the vast majority of them as you seldom see a REAL Hemi car actually sell for the money the Moparts guys are always babbling about. I follow the 66-67 Hemi car values/sales closely as that is what I have and would also LIKE to sell but don't HAVE to sell. The link below is from the Collector Car Market Review magazine/price guide that follows all of the classic car auctions and reports from classic car dealers of sales. These are the only things we can really rely on for values because they are independent source with no vested interest in any one car either way unlike trying to make heads or tales out of some forum thread where it is he said/she said type of comments of mostly unseen in person cars.
The 1966 Hemi Coronet (other than the 66-67 Hemi Chargers) is on the bottom of the ladder pricewise of all the Hemi cars. The
1st link below is for 1966 Coronet. The prices have moved down exactly $1000. for a number 1 car in over at LEAST 4 years and I believe longer as I don't recall what year I started watching.
The
2nd link below is for a 1969 Roadrunner.
http://collectorcarmarket.com/menus/ccmprcs/66docomi.html
http://collectorcarmarket.com/menus/ccmprcs/69plromi.html
The collector car hobby prices have always been cyclical. They typically follow the general economy which since late 2006 has been down with not a lot of change. People that don't HAVE to sell will wait for things to improve. After all with the price of what the Moparts crowd thinks you should be able to buy one for, you can't buy the parts to restore one if you have just the original shell for a real car that some one GAVE you so it can't get worse with time only better.
