Thread: Compared to Thailand ... How cheap are cars in the West!

Originally Posted by docmartin

ust wait a few years when the boomers have fallen off the perch and the hipsters won't give a hoot about old muscle cars. Then they'll be cheap again.

I see your point and don't necessarily disagree -- I've been kinda thinking the same thing -- but there's a lot of life left in it yet I would think.

There are also those of my generation and later for who these were our first cars or cars that we ended up with since they were so relatively cheap at the time.

Mind some of them have never been cheap enough; I remember an E49 for sale for $20,000 when I was 17 which was too much then and the price just kinda kept outpacing me.

My first car was 200 usd. A Plymouth Fury 3 with a 383 cubic inch engine.
Bought a Plymouth Satellite with a 383 in it for $200 from this gal off the south side of Milwaukee.
My buddy ended up shacking up with her for the summer.
That was quite the car. It needed dual exhaust. That's why she sold it.
That car today, who knows?

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

I see your point and don't necessarily disagree -- I've been kinda thinking the same thing -- but there's a lot of life left in it yet I would think.

I think as an investment indicator we need to use America as a model, who had classic muscle cars long before Australia did. Let's use cars like 50's Corvette's as an example which are highly collectable with ever increasing prices to match. The vast majority of them would be owned by people who weren't even born when those cars were released, so there's no huge sentiment or people paying a premium to re-live their youth when they owned one or wanted one but couldn't afford them. What about we throw cars like 55 Chevy's into the mix too, there's no denying they're a true classic and people of all ages simply want one.

I can see the muscle car boom stalling (it's just out of control right now) and maybe prices coming down a little to meet the market by those that have to sell, but they'll never be cheap again.

Originally Posted by docmartin

I remember seeing an E48 for sale at a servo / gas station for $2500 and being a poor pimply yoof being able to drool but not buy.

My first car that I bought when 16 was an XY GT Falcon that I paid a bit under 2 grand for. GTHO's were about $2500 - $3000 but I couldn't afford the extra money and when my Father offered to loan me the money and pay him back @ $50 a week I said no. By the time I started to make real money a few years later HO's were already in the 20-30k region so I stuck with GT's and plain old Falcons from the XW to XB era, as long as they had a 351 in them I was happy. The best buy I ever saw from that era was a mate picking up a really nice condition HT 350 Monaro for $1650. Farkkkkk!!.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Out of control, where?

Australia, that's where. I don't really follow the US market besides watching some auctions on Discovery Velocity sort of thing, but in Oz it's most definitely completely out of control. This will make no sense to anyone but people who know Oz muscle cars, but Monaro's that were 50-75k 2-3 years ago are now pulling quarter of a Mill. Not asking quarter of a Mill, pulling quarter of a Mill. I'd call that out of control....

Originally Posted by Headworx

I think as an investment indicator we need to use America as a model, who had classic muscle cars long before Australia did. Let's use cars like 50's Corvette's as an example which are highly collectable with ever increasing prices to match. The vast majority of them would be owned by people who weren't even born when those cars were released, so there's no huge sentiment or people paying a premium to re-live their youth when they owned one or wanted one but couldn't afford them. What about we throw cars like 55 Chevy's into the mix too, there's no denying they're a true classic and people of all ages simply want one.

I can see the muscle car boom stalling (it's just out of control right now) and maybe prices coming down a little to meet the market by those that have to sell, but they'll never be cheap again.

Well I've literally just seen a zero option 3 spd Pacer go for NZ$44,200 so in comparison to what I paid and what I have I'm over the fucking moon right now.

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

zero option 3 spd Pacer

But does your car or your find have "history"? It appears that those that do fetch higher prices.

Originally Posted by OhOh

But does your car or your find have "history"?

Well it does to me personally, a great deal of sentimental history, but racing history or provenance no but the neither does the one just sold.

That's just the current market speaking and valuing.