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WE MUST Raise Our Prices

Vermont Rock

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I'm following MJB765 thread about what his car is worth and feel it's time for all of us to reconsider prices for MOPARS.
1. There's debate if MJB's car is worth $25K or more. We shouldn't even be talking about those low numbers. A comparable Chevelle, Camaro, Mustang, etc. would be $35-$50,000. So why are we willing to remain at the bottom of the barrel for what appears to be a great car ? We should be trying to raise the prices of our cars, not suppress the prices.
2. If the sale price does not increase, it makes it near impossible to justify a restoration, or, simply upgrades.
3. With low prices that don't justify proper upkeep & restoration, the owner will sometimes part-out the car & one more muscle car has disappeared.
4. A "driver" should be $25K and great cars like MJB765 should be $50K. Only then will our cars continue to live new lives.
5. For those of us that already own MOPAR, the increase in buying price is offset by the increased value of our current ride. It washes out.
6. Have you noticed that the auctions are always proclaiming " That's a new record price for XXXX ". People looking to get into the collector car market don't want to tell their friends that they have the cheapest priced muscle car. Do you think Mercedes, BMW or Audi would be as desirable if they were $18,000 ? NO. Part of the pride associated with high-end cars is that they're not available to everyone. We must raise the prices, not hold them down.

NOW: Let the debate begin. Rocket
 
Yeah that's right, ruin the hobby even more by over inflating the prices so that people who just love cars cant afford one. Its become all about the numbers and money instead of the beauty and performance of what mopar was building.to me it's always been about what my mopars represent and not what the damn things are worth. Its become nothing but greed
 
i was on ebay looking at 1969 classic cars. and clicked on "highest price first", it was riddled with Chevy's. must be the demand driving those prices up. take a look at any pre 71 Mustang FB too.
 
I agree Rock. I already thought the prices were going up judging by some of the car shows on TV.

Btw, if anyone wants a great deal on any car you can buy one from Canada. With the exchange rate you can really score. Example, a CAN$30K mopar is a bit over US$20K. I'm contemplating selling my 71 Cuda for precious US dollars.
 
having been in the hobby since mid 80's I've pretty much seen it all. seen the "craze" start and abruptly end. seen prices of our old cars be pretty stagnant for several years before our last price rise, a nd then came the bust of the economy in '08. seen the mopar as the least desirable and also when it was the most sought after. everything runs a cycle.

I see the mainstream mopar guy as a hobbyist. we enjoy our cars, we like them affordable. BUT I also would like to buy a fair priced project car, do ALL the work myself, and if I wanted/needed to sell I could at least get my $$ back out! but we also have to recognize it costs basically no more to restore a slant dart as it does to restore a 440 charger RT. the difference is in what the initial project car costs! in general mopar guys are pretty conversative as a whole. they think with what I call " the swap meet" mentality.

the actually value of our cars is determined by the buyer no one else. if we price a car that no one is willing to meet that price, then it is priced out of the market. and will not sell... the market consists of us guys already in the market, new guys coming in, and those already "car guys" moving here from brand x and y. if, say, a G M guy is used to seeing high er prices, he will study our market and buy accordingly. just life.

yes there are always people that are looking to make a buck. basically they trade in the upper priced desirable cars because that is where a profit could be had, not at the lower value cars.

and wealthy , successful people want only the best and desirable. they are used to having the best, and like said, there is no "fun" for them telling their buds they own a " mundane mopar" ???? bragging rights go with the hemi, the 70 cuda, or maybe even the 69 charger rt ????

basically I just soon see our average mopar remain affordable even if under valued... if the price of the rarest and most desirable cars get more expensive, it will unfortunately drive up the price of the rest, just as soon that not be the case.

my little collection of mundane mopars reside here because I love them, period. just me.
 
Why in the world are you lobbying to make this hobby MORE expensive. You're watching too many TV auction shows. I, and everyone I know, want things in this hobby to be MORE AFFORDABLE.
 
I'm following MJB765 thread about what his car is worth and feel it's time for all of us to reconsider prices for MOPARS.
1. There's debate if MJB's car is worth $25K or more. We shouldn't even be talking about those low numbers. A comparable Chevelle, Camaro, Mustang, etc. would be $35-$50,000. So why are we willing to remain at the bottom of the barrel for what appears to be a great car ? We should be trying to raise the prices of our cars, not suppress the prices.
2. If the sale price does not increase, it makes it near impossible to justify a restoration, or, simply upgrades.
3. With low prices that don't justify proper upkeep & restoration, the owner will sometimes part-out the car & one more muscle car has disappeared.
4. A "driver" should be $25K and great cars like MJB765 should be $50K. Only then will our cars continue to live new lives.
5. For those of us that already own MOPAR, the increase in buying price is offset by the increased value of our current ride. It washes out.
6. Have you noticed that the auctions are always proclaiming " That's a new record price for XXXX ". People looking to get into the collector car market don't want to tell their friends that they have the cheapest priced muscle car. Do you think Mercedes, BMW or Audi would be as desirable if they were $18,000 ? NO. Part of the pride associated with high-end cars is that they're not available to everyone. We must raise the prices, not hold them down.

NOW: Let the debate begin. Rocket

The average hobbyist has no control over the value of these cars. The value is determined by the marketplace, supply and demand, or simply put, when the perceived value of ownership of the car is greater than the pile of money that the buyer is willing to part with, and that balance can only be measured in the eye of the buyer. I like to boil it down to desire, and there is absolutely no way to put a price on that ...
 
Just deciding to raise the asking price of any car because it "should" be worth more is naïve. Like any other commodity the price will be determined by the market and the market is a fickle bitch sometimes. The entire muscle car segment has been through at least two major pricing bubbles and within that the rare Mopars (Hemis) have had their own crazy bubbles. Right now Mopar prices are down, will they go back up again? Who knows. Unfortunately individual sellers will not influence the market by just raising their prices, it will just mean their cars will not sell.
 
If the prices go up, I guarantee you won't be getting much new blood into the hobby. Once the older guys are gone, what's left? Younger guys like me can't just go out and fork over $50k for an old muscle car..especially when we can walk into a dodge dealer and finance a sweet new daily drivable scat pack challenger for a little over $40k with 485hp AND ac, cruise control, comfortable leather seats, etc. I know the newer stuff is a completely different world, but its the next best thing if we aren't going to be able to afford the old cars.
 
my 2cents, not in favor of raising prices just to raise them. let the market work. don't want to loose fans and young guys willing to carry on the legacy of restoring muscle cars and collecting them also. don't remove the fun and make it a business like barrett/Jackson, hate those people. my 2cents.
 
It's funny how I can't get 'reasonable' prices for my stuff but as soon as someone does buy something, they turn around and jack the price up 40%. Seems like that's been happening since the late 80's. Every now and then, I run across someone that is willing to pay a 'fair' price and not try to cut my throat. I'm also sick of the CL morons that call and make an offer on something without even coming to look and I tell every one of these to just show up and take a look and then we can haggle price.....but do they show up. Nope.
 
I'm 33, so around here I guess I'm with the "young" crowd.. but I have many even-younger friends (and brothers) in their 20s that would rather put their money (and usually less money overall than would be spent on old iron) into a new car, financed or not. Want to see what they're buying?...

2013-ford-focus-st-front.jpg

I kid you not. This is today's "musclecar" and this (and all the other ones that look just like it) is what most young guns want. Personally I think it looks (and feels and drives and sounds) like tupperware. But all they can see is that shiny paint and that it's light and quick.... and it's AFFORDABLE (not to mention no rust). And I get that. But it sucks.

I'm all for increasing the value of our cars. As mentioned in another thread, if I was looking to get my money back out of my car, I probably wouldn't sell to FBBO members because I know I'd be picked apart and everybody would want what I have for bottom dollar. If I was looking to promote the hobby and make friends, well that's different. What drives me isn't dollars, it's an appreciation for everything these old cars are. BTW I don't think we can affect the market really; like someone mentioned, it's cyclical.. just wait for it to come around again.
 
Tupperware! LOL These old 'muscle' cars do not make very good daily drivers these days. They are kinda hard on gas and don't have all the stuff in them that the new cars have like the touch screens and on and on. I used my 66 Belvedere for a daily driver for 10 years....15 years ago but it had a /6 with working AC. That suited me fine along with a good tune, jetted up carb, advanced timing, lowered suspension, decent wheels and tires, 4.10 geas and.....a straight pipe! :grin:
 
I love to see the value of our finished cars go up. Especially since parts are so expensive. I don't know that I see it happening because the younger guys don't have the $$ and they seem to be into the rice burners. They're cheaper to buy and cheaper to fix up - as distainful as that may be to us it's seems to be reality. Seems as though the age of our peers is early 50s to late 60s. The older guys are selling and the younger guys aren't buying.m

i don't get why the Chevys and Fords would go for more $$ when there's so many of them around. Seems they would be less than Mopars. I'll sell my GTX overseas if I can get a reasonably better price for it. Asia is a likely area. With all the up and coming wealthy people over,there and everyone looking to better the next guy. Most likely someone in the family or a close friend will inherit it though.
 
Prices will be what ever someone is willing to pay. Everyday people over pay. Everyday someone gets a deal. Just because the asking price is a certain number doesn't mean it sold for that amount. Perfect example. Car #1 is a high end resto, all the parts are correct. It brings big money. Car #2 is a nice resto. Though it has a matching engine it was rusty and has had many parts replaced, headers and aftermarket wheels and tires. #2's owner sees what #1 sold for. #2 says my car is just like that. So it must be worth at least as much. Then it trickles down a 383 car is worth only a little less than a Hemi. Anyone that thinks they're going to make money restoring one car and selling it, is probably in for a rude awakening. If you shop for parts, do all the work yourself and don't count labor, maybe. Face it, this is a hobby. I do it because I like it. I do my own work because I like to. I waste money racing cause it's fun. Wish all the prices would fall so the guys that really like to do stuff could afford to. I've been very fortunate to build some nice stuff for pennies on the dollar and had a great time doing it.
Doug
 
Smaller market, daily. New muscle does EVERYTHING better, and in comfort....and the kids don't care about old stinky, crappy-mileage, sqeaky/rattling, unreliable, uncomfortable, ill-handling/stopping, overpriced cars... that are seldom done with high-quality all the way thru.
 
i couldn't care less about what my car's worth. I wouldn't sell it if its value went up to $100,000, I wouldn't give it away if its value plummeted to $1,000. I'll let my kids worry about that. Then again, I'm building so many memories for them in it, they're more likely to fight over it than sell it.
 
This is a topic where no one is wrong depending on their situation and I'll leave it at that.

For a guy looking for a deal these days, he should be looking north of the border with the CDN dollar as it is. I know of a J code 68 Hemi GTX here that would be a real deal for someone south of the border.

Here's an example of the crappy CDN dollar. I just slipped over the border and picked up a Summit order at my US shipping address today. The US price of the order was $3,014.00. It cost me however, $4,308.00 CDN! Sure would have been nice for that order to have been $1,300.00 in my favour.. image.jpg
 
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