[LStathas]

Are the values of our cars gonna plummet with the next generation? Or do young men having no clue what our cars mean to us drive prices? I feel like unless a car is a rare or a special car in some way prices are about to fall. Kinda like model T territory. I hope not. But maybe.

[Scarebird]

I think a better yardstick would be what happens to Tri-Five prices. Like our cars you can drive them on highways, etc. whereas the Model T's not so much.

My guess is it will still appreciate but not in great jumps.

[mgarblik]

The very best of the best muscle cars and sporty cars will always retain value. These are the kinds of cars that are in museums, or very rarely driven. Cars too nice to have any fun with. The very low production models, weird, special; options, will also retain value. It's the cars that many, many owners "think and believe fall into the above category" that will drop in value like a rock in the next 10 years. Cars that are clearly a 2- to 4 on the typical auction scale. The owners are sure they are a 1 to 1- car because they saw one "just like it" sell on TV at the Barret Jackson auction for 125K but in reality their car is a 45K example. Sooooo many cars fall into that category but you can at least drive them and have fun with them now. Like mentioned, just look at the 55-57 Chevies. I have a good friend who bought a visually beautiful 57 Bel Air convertible 10 years ago for 140K. V-8, extremely attractive two tone red/white/black. Not a nut and bolt exact restoration though. Had a newer SBC engine and some tasteful upgrades. It went to auction about 2 months ago and just stalled at 80K. That was top dollar and the top bid. He sold it at a 60K loss. I see lots of that on the way as more and more of us age out. The kids have limited interest in the hoard of these cars still out there. It interferes with their screen time on their phones.

[jhein]

Just a few days ago a guy at work asked me if I have a Mini Cooper. I said nope. He says," oh cause I saw a guy in a Mini that I thought was you". So I show him a picture of the TA and I say, "if you see this car around, that's me". Then he asks "what kind of mileage does it get"? I laughed and said "if that's your first question about that car then I don't know what to say". The guy is probably around 25 and drives a Subaru. Couldn't have cared less about the TA.

What I see that's even more alarming is the lack of interest in driving period among youth. When I was a teenager, one of the things we all wanted most was a car. Lots of young people these days have no interest in driving. Maybe it's the cost of the car and the insurance or maybe other factors, I don't know but it does surprise me.

[67drake]

That’s why I buy drivers, so I can drive them.
I did the car show thing years ago, and didn’t really care for most of the people, and it was a drag trying to keep my car clean and have fun with it at the same time. So what I’m getting at is I don’t really care where the value goes, I buy them as a car to have fun with, not an investment. I wouldn’t really mind if the market fell out, more cars for me to buy.

[unruhjonny]

I can absolutely understand and appreciate how many people on this forum have significant money tied up in these cars, and the prospect of a down turn of any kind is frightening...

My opinion, is that a value down turn seems inevitable.

My parents were teenagers when these were affordable used cars;
I believe that this is age bracket is the main driver of values for these cars.
My parents are in their late 60's.

I love my car, but lets be honest what was not too long ago a $20k car in primo shape, is now a car eclipsing $100k in value...
This seems to me to be a little too over the top, and even if values keep rising in the short term, I am doubtful that they will maintain this stratospheric value for the next twenty years...

I might not be one of these younger guys (I'm in my forties), but I don't even know too many people in their forties who are as into these cars as I am;
And for the guys younger than me, the interest drops off very fast.

[ponchjoe]

In my opinion yes, the normal hobby will be filled with cars that in 10-15 yrs the younger gens won’t care about. Electrification brainwashing etc will divert their attention wherever their phone tells them to go. Once us old guys that didn’t grow up on an electronic device die off, so will this market

[BILL BOWMAN1]

Once our generation is gone, these cars will be crushed.. PERIOD

[JLMounce]

I talk with a lot of younger guys that are into cars and are lucky enough to have some Pontiacs. There is love for these cars with the youth, but they are largely priced out of the hobby. So, why would they care about something they can't afford?

There's one guy I speak with regularly that is in his mid 20's and has a 69 Firebird. It's been in mothballs for several years now because a few things broke and it's too expensive to get new parts. Most young guys don't have the time, money or patience to store a car for a couple years to be able to save and build a car as you can afford parts.

As a result the young guys that are in to cars, usually have something that is cheaper and probably doubles as their daily. So you get later model cars in general and many imports which can be had cheaper.

This IMHO will eventually create a supply and demand issue that will likely push prices for normal muscle and classic cars downward. But I also think that there's still a period of price inflation for certain cars ahead of us. Probably for another 5-7 years if I had to make a guess.

[Verdoro 68]

I was at a cruise in the other day looking over a '55 T-Bird and it got me thinking about generations. 30 years ago they were selling for top dollar and now they hardly get a glance.

There will be an inevitable downturn, but don't write off the kids today. I get a lot of interest in my car from my son's friends in High School. They love and appreciate the car, they've just been priced out from buying one. The one exception I can think of is the kid who recently scored a rough around the edges '71 El Camino SS454 4 speed on Marketplace. Just like we were, they're into what they can afford - diesel trucks, '80s G bodies, 4th gen F-bodies, 4th & 5th gen Mustangs. As a result, the collector car market will change as that generation grows older. The ZL1s, Demons, GT500s will be the top dogs. While I expect the market to soften for traditional '60's and '70's musclecars, I'm convinced they will always be a cornerstone.

[kingbuzzo]

Everyone is too broke to even afford the fuel these days, especially around here.

The kids at the shows really appreciate car culture and it is still extremely popular but they have bigger concerns just getting by which is understandable.

From an investment standpoint I would hope just to break even if something happened to the car.

[Sirrotica]

To own a classic car and maintain it requres disposable income, with the job market, and inflation the way it currently is there aren't an overabundance of younger people that can afford a down payment on a home, let alone have anything left over to spend on a hobby car.

Unless the US economy changes drastically, I don't see the younger generation being able to entertain a rather expensive hobby such as hobby car, or race dedicated cars.

I have my old home under a land contract, rent to own, and my tennant can't afford a mortgage, plus his credit record isn't perfect. He has a good paying job, but credit is really tight now, I've seen it first hand with the inability to secure a mortgage. He and his family can't live in a classic car, so securing a place to live is much more important than spending a ton on a classic car, or even a tricked out 4X4.

He's in his late 30s, with 2 kids, so he's an average Joe. He does like 4X4 trucks, and is talented enough to spin wrenches on his own stuff, so he could do the work, but just doesn't have money leftover to afford the hobby.

[poncho-mike]

I had more fun with my old Pontiacs when they were not nearly as valuable. I had a 1970 Trans Am 4-spd that I had a blast with in my youth. I almost wrecked my 1972 4-spd doing some enthusiastic driving on some curvy back roads. I wouldn't dream of doing that today.

Originally Posted by 67drake

That’s why I buy drivers, so I can drive them.
I did the car show thing years ago, and didn’t really care for most of the people, and it was a drag trying to keep my car clean and have fun with it at the same time. So what I’m getting at is I don’t really care where the value goes, I buy them as a car to have fun with, not an investment. I wouldn’t really mind if the market fell out, more cars for me to buy.

[VCho455]

I see a lot of young folks at the local cars and coffee Sundays with their cars. Imports and US vehicles old and new.

What I don't see is folks with GTO'S or first or second gen firebirds. It seems to me that unless there's a trophy or a prize to win the local Pontiac folks aren't interested. To this attitude I say "You can't inspire someone's dreams if you're not there" If you've never seen a 70 Trans Am or GTO up close and next to an ordinary vehicle you just don't know how cool they are.

Just my opinion and along with a tenner you can buy a steaming hot cup of Joe at your nearby cars and coffee event this weekend.

[geeteeohguy]

To me, it doesn't matter. I paid peanuts for them over 40 years ago and have driven them all of my life. I'll let the people I leave them to when I pass on worry about value. But the reality is, the people I have in mind won't be selling them, either. (car enthusiasts).
I know I'm not the typical classic car owner. To me, they are not only affordable, but have paid for themselves many times over. I've never bought a new car in my life, and have never owned a newer car than a '67 model year. (I do have an '05 pickup I bought used).

[mgarblik]

[QUOTE=jhein;6500934]Just a few days ago a guy at work asked me if I have a Mini Cooper. I said nope. He says," oh cause I saw a guy in a Mini that I thought was you". So I show him a picture of the TA and I say, "if you see this car around, that's me". Then he asks "what kind of mileage does it get"? I laughed and said "if that's your first question about that car then I don't know what to say". The guy is probably around 25 and drives a Subaru. Couldn't have cared less about the TA.


I get that question allot about my 62 Catalina with 2X4 on a bathtub intake. My pat answer is: "I really don't know but it gets way more "smiles per gallon" than anything else I know of."

[Mr Anonymous]

We are usually most drawn to the aspirational cars from our teens and early 20s, esp around the high school timeframe. By the time I graduated in 1988, a decent muscle car was priced out of reach for someone not making a lot of money. There were clapped out ones, and that's where I usually went. There were always the rare but smokin' good deals, but for the most part, I couldn't get anywhere near a decent GTO, Chevelle, or 442. I got a few in the under $1000 range and it was for a reason.

What do high school kids right now look forward to owning in the future? That's where the money will be.

My generation was a lot about the G-body cars, and of those, I've probably owned four dozen and I'm currently down to three. Most of the "first cars" for my friends at age 16 were 10 year old used cars that meant a mid 70s smogger that was slow enough to get schooled by a vespa at a traffic light.

Who knows what the future holds? The sole surviving refrigerator white Dodge Neon sedan (Garblik edition) could be big money!

(PY board members probably have no idea that Mike is a closet Mopar fanatic with the best neon ever made)

[jhein]

A couple other thoughts.

When most of us were teenagers, it was affordable to get a performance car, or one that you could make into a performance car. Especially if you were able to do some or most of the work yourself. Now affordable performance doesn't really exist.

The other thing is that you could get away with a LOT more back in the day. The local constables were way more lenient then. I got verbal "warnings" for stuff back then that may get you arrested today.

So the things we could afford and the fun we could have with them are just not there anymore.

Sure, there are still a few young car guys out there but things are just very different now. Or maybe I'm just older and have lost touch with the reality of today. That's possible too.

[TheSilverBuick]

Definitely a multi-faceted issue. IMO, a big issue is the junkyard source of hard parts is about dried up. No more local yard to pull "slightly" better seats, door panels, body parts etc are out there in high quantities. Same with engines, etc for that matter. So building these cars, if it needs something, the reproduction stuff is pricey. In the 90's I loved going to the junkyard looking for parts to put on my cars. I haven't seen more than two car's out of the 70's at once in the junkyard in years, let alone a 60's era vehicle.

I'm personally a fan of modernizing the old cars while retaining the exterior sheet metal look. I personally like matching engine make to car make, and modernize the dinosaur engine, but completely get the economics of a modern drivetrain swap. My old Buick has a roller cam/rockers 455 with multiport EFI, distributorless ignition, etc. and the same treatment to my Pontiac OHC L6 plus turbo. I can get ign coils, pumps, fuel injectors (that will work in a pinch), and sensors at about any auto parts store. Far easier than getting points these days! Let alone a correct Q-jet rebuild kit or mechanical fuel pump. I'm converting a thunderbird to electric, so that'll be an interesting case if fuel goes through the roof or worse, but the exterior will be OE sheet metal and interior mostly left OE.

[LastoftheThinkers]

As someone in a "younger" generation, nostalgia is powerful. Toys I couldn't give away as a child are selling for 100s of dollars literally. But when I tried to show my daughter some of what I watched growing up, she had no interest. You tend to view things you grew up with fondly, whereas "older" stuff is looked at poorly, unless you have a specific memory with it. If you want to preserve the hobby, you need to start with the youngest generation while they are still in diapers.