When are our cars gonna decrease in value?

[six-tee-nine]

I dont know.

I can follow some of you guys. I am 34 years old and can appreciate alot of cars from say 1960 up to today. However I have no interest at all  in Original cars from the 20's and 30's. Maybe the teenagers of today wont be intersted in cars from the 60's in another 30 years from now.

On the other hand, lets say we run out of gas in another 50 years from now. Only thing we'll drive by then are electric or fuel cell powered cars. We all have electric lawn mowers, so no more gas, nothing, nada. Theoretically that turns our classic cars into boat anchors or "yard art". Only for looking not for driving anymore.....then what will they be worth.

I hope to never have to witness the last because I'll shoot myself if it ever comes that far

[Ghoste]

I plan to keep mine until I die anyway.  I've said a number of times that even when I can't drive I plan to be one of those guys who parks it in the backyard and sits in it all day drinking from a bottle in a paper bag and swearing at the cats sitting on the hood.  Chargicle cats.

[Mike DC]

   
Gas prices will never affect the hobby in any big way.   These are $30,000 cars, and few of them go through more than 100 gallons of gas in a year.   
 
 

[Lord Warlock]

Old guys keep buying toys well into their 80s, my dad just got a new motorcycle at 84.  Knows he's running out of time and is intent to enjoy it while he can.  His generation liked the 30s-60s cars from first hand experience, and they still have 10 years left, us kids who bought them cheap in the 70s, and allowed him to relive some of his youthful exuberance.  We drove them hard, and often tossed them aside when we were done, we are the ones reliving our youth with the cheap cars of our time, we still have 30-40 years of keeping the dream alive, and with every car movie that comes out has a 2nd gen charger in it as one of the star vehicles-even if it usually gets wrecked, the newer generations will see our toys as desirable and also want to own one.  Having the number 1 recognized muscle car of the 60s largely due to a tv show in the 70s, if you are waiting to buy one after we are old and gone, you are going to be waiting way too long to enjoy the hobby.

Lucky for you, they make new muscle cars so you can have some when you get older and richer.  

I will say that in my lifetime, I have yet to see interest die in the car hobby at any time, it goes up and down some, but there is always demand, and I've never seen the older cars drop in value a 2nd time, they usually increase and hold a long time, and increase more as time goes on, they almost never go down in value.  When money becomes available, people will spend to get their favorite cars.  

We used to worry about running out of gas,  I wouldn't worry about that anymore, the USA is on the march to become the largest producer and have the largest reserves in the world now that shale is being utilized.  We may never see 60 cents a gallon again as long as the politicians are involved, but we will always have gasoline until we are too old to care anymore.  It may cost a little extra, just like going out and buying 100 octane fuel does today, but it will be around as one of the primary fuel sources for at least another 30 years.

[Dino]

And if we DO run out of gas, we'll make them run on methane.  And as far as I know, plenty cows around to supply.   

I don't know what's going to happen in the future, there are many good points mentioned here but in the end it's still speculation.  If I see a car that I want then the value just went up a bit.  I just got offered way too much for my car so does that mean the collective value of these cars went up as well?  If Brian gets $80K for his car, is the value of ours going to skyrocket as well?

I think that many cars of the 20's-40's are among the most beautiful ever made.  I'll take one of those art deco boat tail cars any day of the week, and once the price is down enough I may get serious.  Question is, will the price actually go down because so far it has not.

I'm a 40 year old gen x'er in a college of mostly 20 year olds.  I took my charger over there once and it was like having flies all over it.  There are many young kids who are just as mad about these cars as we are.  It's not the generation that decides what looks good, it's the machine itself.  These kids may like the technology in new cars, but they too can see that they are among the most boring looking cars ever so something different is always a welcome sight.

I was at Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford a while back and rode in a model T.  Most people waiting in line for the car stuff were my age and younger.  There is still hope.

[ws23rt]

This is pretty much the same question asked in another thread.

It's all about value.  What is the value of something that many want vs the value of something that few want?   We collect and restore these cars because its fun.  We like the look, sound, and feel of them.

The question of future decrease in value (in this case) seems to come from a desire to participate.

Hmm---If the value were to drop to the floor would that be good for those that can't afford to play right now? Or would they find that it's not so fun if the car has little financial value?

This is a personal question that I think many should ask themselves.  I suspect that most older folks that grew up with them will tend to care less about the resale value of their hobby car.

[68charger440]

This is a personal question that I think many should ask themselves.  I suspect that most older folks that grew up with them will tend to care less about the resale value of their hobby car.

I'm with you...  I would love it if these cars were $1000 each  in good condition.  Then I could have one of everything I liked.

[Todd Wilson]

This is a personal question that I think many should ask themselves.  I suspect that most older folks that grew up with them will tend to care less about the resale value of their hobby car.

I'm with you...  I would love it if these cars were $1000 each  in good condition.  Then I could have one of everything I liked.

They used to be!  That's how all of us high skool guys in the 70's and 80's were driving muscle cars around!   


Todd

[68charger440]

This is a personal question that I think many should ask themselves.  I suspect that most older folks that grew up with them will tend to care less about the resale value of their hobby car.

I'm with you...  I would love it if these cars were $1000 each  in good condition.  Then I could have one of everything I liked.

They used to be!  That's how all of us high skool guys in the 70's and 80's were driving muscle cars around!   


Todd

$700 for mine in the mid 70s

[Chad L. Magee]

On the other hand, lets say we run out of gas in another 50 years from now. Only thing we'll drive by then are electric or fuel cell powered cars. We all have electric lawn mowers, so no more gas, nothing, nada. Theoretically that turns our classic cars into boat anchors or "yard art". Only for looking not for driving anymore.....then what will they be worth.

I hope to never have to witness the last because I'll shoot myself if it ever comes that far

We will simply not run out of gas, it will just go up in price/gallon to a point that most will not use it.  There is already a known microwave radiation conversion process that can produce crude oil from waste plastics (ie. currently landfills and the oceans are full of plastics).  Modified bacteria have been used to convert cellulose (ie. wood, paper, corn stalks, etc.) into hydrocarbons, which can be reformulated to make synthetic gasoline.  I don't think we are going to run out of either supply in my lifetime unless we do something really, really dumb.  But, you never know with humans....

[HPP]

 
It's 2014.  $5000 is the new $1000. 


When it comes to classic muscle cars, $15,000 is the new $5000. 

This probably the best truism in this thread so far.

I think well maintained restored big block 2nd gen. Chargers will be under $30k (today dollars) in 10-15 years.

I wouldn't agree with this sentiment, as much as I'd like it to be true. The reason why I don't agree with it is because 2nd gen Chargers are not being reproduced. The original production run is all that's left. This will continue to inflate prices as more and more of them are worn out and destroyed, even if the demand remained constant or tapered off some.

Now, will a Tri-5 Chevy or a 1st gen Camaro be available for $30k in adjusted dollars, probably. But you can also buy brand new ones without an original Chevy part in them these days. The demand for these cars is so great, they had to step outside the millions of them already made and start making them over just to keep the demand feed. The Charger does not enjoy that same luxury right now.

[A12 Superbee]

Also keep in mind how many classic era muscle cars get written off each year. They may be getting dragged out of barns, yards and garages all over to be restored but one day the bell curve will start going down as the cars die off in auto wrecks, house fires, floods etc. I know it would not be be many cars each year but it must be a dozen or more, every year. They are only getting rarer.

[Brock Lee]

There is also an intrinsic value in a roadworthy car. $1K will not buy that great of a daily driver these days.

[Mike DC]

$1K will not buy that great of a daily driver these days.

Fixed it for ya. 

[Brock Lee]

Lol..yeah. True. But I wanted to protect myself from the "I know where there is a '89 Cavalier for $800 I can drive home". Like that turd is going to last any length of time.

[Aero426]

A photo illustrating the problem we face.      Yes, that is a real Ferrari P4 refueling north of New York City.   

Yes, that is a millenial buried in his phone.     Hopefully he is sending out a photo of the P4 to his friends, but I doubt it. 

[Ghoste]

He's likely on a handheld version of Grand Theft Auto.

[Mike DC]

He's likely on a handheld version of Grand Theft Auto.

[73rallye440magnum]

Aero- you only further support my argument.

Many of my generation would rather take a selfie in front of something cool and share it on 5 different social media platforms for some instant gratification than save enough money for something cool to call their own (delayed gratification).

Zombies.

[Ghoste]

Kind of the natural evolution of the "me" generation though.

[Mike DC]

Many of my generation would rather take a selfie in front of something cool and share it on 5 different social media platforms for some instant gratification than save enough money for something cool to call their own (delayed gratification).

Zombies.

It's being a zombie to commemorate & share your experiences with your friends?  And it's not being a zombie to work 3 or 4 years to amass enough money for some common consumer product that can't even be used well in the area where they live? 

I disagree.  


Millennials aren't the problem.  It's the world they are born into.  Cars just don't offer them what they offered us.  

[Ghoste]

Thats a good insight actually Mike.

[73rallye440magnum]

Good point Mike.

Yes, it's available to us. I don't think it's healthy to reference it so frequently.

Cars of today have a lot to offer. Power, efficiency, reliability, comfort. Less of a 'driving' experience in terms of engagement though.

[69_500]

Great photo Doug. Now if I saw that car at a gas station the owner would have a hard time leaving without me having shot 2-400 photos of the car. Then again I am a certified car nut. Just ask anyone.

[polywideblock]

just watched an episode of chasing classic cars ,Wayne was at a collage interviewing interns from an automotive restoration course . final test was to identify a condenser, points and rotor     3 of the 5 couldn't pick the points one asked if it was a door latch      just a sign of the times