………..further to the general topic of car values, it has been evident for some years now that, special interest or ‘classic cars’ have been appreciating in value at alarming rates. Oh how I wish I’d put a few away in a shed 20 years ago.
When the previous owner advertised my 740 for 16K many would laugh and simply say “tell him he’s laughing “. Actually I did too.
But then I considered the price I had just sold my Datsun for. A car that I paid $1900 for in 2009.
This is just my take on the subject, but I think current prices are less crazy depending on where you are starting from. What I mean by that, is saving up your hard earned dollars and buying your first ‘classic car’ OR selling one to buy another.
Look at the housing market, luckily we bought our first home nearly 30 years ago, I feel sorry for first home buyers now. But if you look at a house with an asking price of 1 million +, that would scare the crap out of me as an average first home buyer. But if you sell a house that you’ve owned for many years to buy that million dollar home, it just seems routine.
If I woke up one morning and decided to buy an old car, and the first one I saw was a 1990 740GLE for 16K, I’d say nice car, but he’s dreaming. But I had just sold my $1900 Datsun for more than the final sale price of the Volvo.
I had considered buying something new for quite a while but didn’t want to pay crazy prices. But once I made the decision to sell my Datsun, it all seems quite routine, a bit like the house scenario!
I would rather have paid 5K for the Volvo, but in that world I wouldn’t have been able to sell my Datsun for what I did, so I’m looking at it from that perspective.
I guess cashed up old men like myself are fuelling the market!