Are car prices going down?

[67LS1T56]

I'm maybe looking to sell my car, does prices seems to going down or is it just the season? Should I wait till spring?

[PleaseNoSteve]

Wait till spring. Thats when people are itching to get out and drive fast. Wait.....maybe thats just me.:drive:

[Nine Ball]

down here in Texas, we drive them all year long. We also buy them all year long :)

[67LS1T56]

I hope soo. I got to wait till spring to put it in the market.

[vintageracer]

Yes, car prices are going down. The quality of available cars for sale is also way down overall so therefore the market price of these lower quality cars also goes down.

There are lot's of auction cars for sale right now. "Auction Cars" are cars that are shiny, pretty, rarely correct and built to sell. There are VERY few really good, well documented, properly restored/built cars available right now. The owner's of the great high end cars are holding on to their good cars and not interested in selling. I think they are very smart since really top notch cars are still selling for top money. An great example of this is the 1967 Corvette market. There are VERY few if any top notch, as good as there is, 1967 Corvettes for sale at this time. There are lot's of "auction cars" but few if any Good 67 Vettes available for purchase today!

BJ was a glowing example of this. Overall, the quality of cars presented for sale at the 2007 sale was WAY LOWER than in 2006. Therefore lower selling prices. This was true at all the Arizona auctions not just BJ.

The cost of restoration/building a car has not gone down therefore the only way for a builder/owner to lower the cost of building his/her car is lower the quality of the build. This becomes very obvious when you look at these short cut cars. A superb car will sell for superb ANYTIME of year! All Springtime does is bring a few more uneducated private buyers looking for the dream car and dealers looking to buy cars to sell to the few more uneducated dream car buyers during the Spingtime dream season. The one factor that certainly does affect prices is the location of your car that is for sale. A car brings more money in California than Minnesota. A car brings more money and sells quicker at BIG shows like the Charlotte Autofair than at your local Saturday night car show. That being said, the amount of time, effort and advertising YOU invest in the selling of your car can affect the ultimate selling price of your car by $1000-$5000 depending upon your asking price and your location. It's just like selling anything else, you car needs to look its best and be seen by the most people to bring the most money. All that depends upon how lazy YOU are!

Build it right or do not build it all! The last several years of building half ass cars for sale and big profits is over. The uneducated have already bought their half ass car and got burned. These buyers are now a lot smarter and more savvy to game of building, selling and buying cars! Your only hope with a half ass car is to find another hobbie newbie and they are getting fewer and fewer as most everyone with a car dream has been involved in this market in some way within the last 5 years.

[CraigMBA]

In the late 1980's, nearing the peak of our last real estate boom, prices of vintage cars had gone bezerk. At the time, you could buy a 95 point concours 1956 Thunderbird for about $45K and a total beater for about $15-20K. I was in college and remember telling my buddy "By the time I get enough money to buy one of those, I won't want one anymore!" Sure enough, by 1997 the prices of these cars had fallen to about half and I didn't want one anymore.

IMO the current boom in car prices has more to do with the instant wealth folks have walked into via real estate appreciation and thus many folks are seriously flush with cash, thus driving prices up. I have spent a lot of time looking at trends in capital markets and have see it happen over and over again (real estate in the late 1980's, the NASDAQ in the 1990's, art, rare wines, cars, ect.....) with the same result. Sooner or later the fast money dries up and you get more normalized prices.

YMMV.

[MarkM66]

Yes, car prices are going down. The quality of available cars for sale is also way down overall so therefore the market price of these lower quality cars also goes down.

There are lot's of auction cars for sale right now. "Auction Cars" are cars that are shiny, pretty, rarely correct and built to sell. There are VERY few really good, well documented, properly restored/built cars available right now. The owner's of the great high end cars are holding on to their good cars and not interested in selling. I think they are very smart since really top notch cars are still selling for top money. An great example of this is the 1967 Corvette market. There are VERY few if any top notch, as good as there is, 1967 Corvettes for sale at this time. There are lot's of "auction cars" but few if any Good 67 Vettes available for purchase today!

BJ was a glowing example of this. Overall, the quality of cars presented for sale at the 2007 sale was WAY LOWER than in 2006. Therefore lower selling prices. This was true at all the Arizona auctions not just BJ.

The cost of restoration/building a car has not gone down therefore the only way for a builder/owner to lower the cost of building his/her car is lower the quality of the build. This becomes very obvious when you look at these short cut cars. A superb car will sell for superb ANYTIME of year! All Springtime does is bring a few more uneducated private buyers looking for the dream car and dealers looking to buy cars to sell to the few more uneducated dream car buyers during the Spingtime dream season. The one factor that certainly does affect prices is the location of your car that is for sale. A car brings more money in California than Minnesota. A car brings more money and sells quicker at BIG shows like the Charlotte Autofair than at your local Saturday night car show. That being said, the amount of time, effort and advertising YOU invest in the selling of your car can affect the ultimate selling price of your car by $1000-$5000 depending upon your asking price and your location. It's just like selling anything else, you car needs to look its best and be seen by the most people to bring the most money. All that depends upon how lazy YOU are!

Build it right or do not build it all! The last several years of building half ass cars for sale and big profits is over. The uneducated have already bought their half ass car and got burned. These buyers are now a lot smarter and more savvy to game of building, selling and buying cars! Your only hope with a half ass car is to find another hobbie newbie and they are getting fewer and fewer as most everyone with a car dream has been involved in this market in some way within the last 5 years.

Some may not have that "money is no object" type of budget.

[bookends]

yes they are, tell you what I'll do for you, I'll buy your car for .50 on the dollar so you won't have to take a complete loss!

[67LS1T56]

thanks bookends. I will pass on that offer. .lol

[LMDGUY]

Arizona we drive them all year long..

[bookends]

it was worth a try, my 69 needs company in the garage.

[Bob Johnson]

In the late 1980's, nearing the peak of our last real estate boom, prices of vintage cars had gone bezerk. At the time, you could buy a 95 point concours 1956 Thunderbird for about $45K and a total beater for about $15-20K. I was in college and remember telling my buddy "By the time I get enough money to buy one of those, I won't want one anymore!" Sure enough, by 1997 the prices of these cars had fallen to about half and I didn't want one anymore.

IMO the current boom in car prices has more to do with the instant wealth folks have walked into via real estate appreciation and thus many folks are seriously flush with cash, thus driving prices up. I have spent a lot of time looking at trends in capital markets and have see it happen over and over again (real estate in the late 1980's, the NASDAQ in the 1990's, art, rare wines, cars, ect.....) with the same result. Sooner or later the fast money dries up and you get more normalized prices.

YMMV.
95 point concours 56 T-bird in the late 90's for 50% of $45K or $22,500.00?? Maybe a good #3 car, but not a 95 point car. I bought several during that time period, and paid more than that for a real good #3 or low#2 car. I do absolutely agree that some of the collector cars are being and more will be adjusted pricewise. The faster and more the increase, the faster and further they will fall.

[dqhemi]

Quality cars still seem to be bringining strong money.

We just sold a real nice 70 HemiCuda for $335K. Buyer was very knowledgeable as well.

I don't think prices are accelerating as they had been, but there is still money out there willing to pay top dollar for quality cars.

One of the problems with looking at BJ is that on TV you don't have anywhere near enough info about the cars to evaluate what they really are.

John Buscema
XV Motorsports
www.xvmotorsports.com (http://www.xvmotorsports.com)

[BonzoHansen]

Ismail, wait till it gets warm. Take it to some of the bigger local events, like Jackson Outlet cruise, Somerville, etc. With for sale info. Your car is real nice. I'm no walking price guide, but I am guessing at least 18k, probably higher if you do it right. I sure wouldn't sell it for less. Not considering a shell is $13k. I know yours is 'modified' (LS1, etc.), but it is both tasteful and modern - good resale points in my book. I've seen some s**tboxes go for over $10.

*67 Camaro with LS1 6 speed, 29000 miles (the best 1st gen, BTW :) )
*Hydroboosted 4 wheel C4 disk brake
*17" Intro wheels.
*Hotchkis hallow sway bar, all new front suspension with spring adjusters and Bilstein shocks all around.
*Hotchkis leaf springs, rebuilt 10 bolt with 3.90 gears,
*Brand new interior with leather Arizen racing seats and matching back seat, new headliner door panels gauges with Autometer, Momo steering wheel, DSE wiper motor and fire wall panel, inside totally insulated,
*Front sheet metal and quarters and new paint from fresh sheet metal,

Not much to spare on this car pretty much everything new and car is a solid car to start with. It still has the original floors and back structure is solid not changed.


(sorry, I forgot to check back at TC on your thread).

[67LS1T56]

Bonzo , thanks man. There is whole alott more to add what i did and spend in the car then that. Keep in mind. Thanks

[novanutcase]

Bonzo? Ismael?

Does one of you have the Arizen seats in their car? If so, how do you like them? I've been thinking of using them in my project. What model do you have? How was the Customer Service and turnaround time? Can you PM me and let me know? I need to make a decision fairly quickly as I am in the steering column/Pedals stage of my build and I need to start making some decisions.

John

[Beegs]

Follows real estate.

[BonzoHansen]

Bonzo? Ismael?

Does one of you have the Arizen seats in their car? If so, how do you like them? I've been thinking of using them in my project. What model do you have? How was the Customer Service and turnaround time? Can you PM me and let me know? I need to make a decision fairly quickly as I am in the steering column/Pedals stage of my build and I need to start making some decisions.

John
I do not. Check here: https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22344

[CraigMBA]

95 point concours 56 T-bird in the late 90's for 50% of $45K or $22,500.00?? Maybe a good #3 car, but not a 95 point car. I bought several during that time period, and paid more than that for a real good #3 or low#2 car. I do absolutely agree that some of the collector cars are being and more will be adjusted pricewise. The faster and more the increase, the faster and further they will fall.

I knew a guy who sold said Bird twice. Once in 1988 (for $45K) and wound up with it again in 1994 for $25K when the new owner went busto. I wasn't a 95 point car anymore, the new owner had driven it about 1,200 miles but it was still super nice. He detailed the snot out of it and got $33 for it a month later. The guy who sold it was, um, distressed. His real estate empire had fallen apart.

I may have been a bit hyperbolic on prices, but I'm not too terriblly far off.

[67LS1T56]

Novanutcase,
They are nice seats , I can not say anything bad about them, Customer service was nice also.