Muscle Car Prices Coming Down.
 

Has anyone noticed the price of muscle cars coming down?The first thing I noticed a couple years ago was the price of race cars.I saw 2 nine second fox bodies go by for under 10K Canadian.Not mint cars but ready to go with proven performance.Today finding nice 10 second race cars for under 20K Cana. (13K US) is no big deal.I don't see high end LS6,COPO,Hemi cars dropping,but middle of the road BBC Camaros and Novas are not hard to find at a great price up here in Canada.Pro Street and anything with a roll bar in it are dropping big time and tough to sell.One thing I have noticed going up is motors and motor parts for these cars.L78,L72,LS6 and L79 stuff are going up.

Yes. The supply and demand slide has started. The kids that used to buy our generation of cars have no practical recollection of driving gen one muscle cars on the street and the comparative high resale prices (since about the mid 1980's) for most of our cars - have kept the kids from developing the kind of emotional bond we have.

My 23 year old son is a total car guy and loves all types. We were talking about all the modern day cars and how there are so many choices for 400+ HP cars. His comment was the number of kids his age that are just leasing, Hellcats, ZL1’s etc vs buying so the entry level to performance is cheaper than forking out cash that can be used for other things. Not many kids his age have 25k plus cash to buy a older hot rod. In addition, they prefer the modern amenities the new cars offer.

I've said it before, time marches on. Most of us here lived the heyday of these cars, it's what 'we know". The average younger person these days has no association, hence, no interest. Same philosophy in that I have no interest in the '40 Ford Coupe hot rod type era, didn't grow up in it. That group is unfortunately fading away and the prices for those cars are rock bottom now due to the very limited market left pursuing them. If you want one of these, you can get beautiful hot rods now for a fraction of what it cost to build them originally. Just my $.02

everything goes in cycles..ive seen them up and down 4 or 5 times in my life..

What's Ironic is I hang out with plenty of guys up here in Canada with these type of cars and they think there cars are worth $50K, when it comes time to sell they are in for a shock how they can't get one phone call or even one guy to come to there front door unless they give it away. Just too many Modified Day 2 cars up here in Canada and too many buyers looking to get cars for under $20K.
I have seen many buyers just take there money and buy a modern Muscle car.

On the other hand I don't think High Quality Restored or even Survivors from the first Generation of muscle cars with "Born With" Drive trains will ever go down as those cars get scooped up right away when they come up for sale and honestly keep trickling up in value. My 2 Cents.

The relative upside is the availability of heads and intakes that are on the market today as modern rodders switch away from analog technology to modern engines for a build. I think soon a stock appearing muscle car with say an LS instead of an old hi compression flat tappet motor will make complete sense if you plan to do any real touring beyond the week end cruise scene.

Running any of the old engines with modern fuel is flat brutal.

The only data point that I have recently is that I took my 67 427/400 Corvette coupe to a car show in Florida a couple of months ago and had 4 different boomers fighting to purchase it. I finally did sell it for all of the money. Colors and options make all of the difference IMO. My car was bone stock and drove like a new car.There are a lot of retired boomers who still want that one muscle car that reminds them of their youth. Boomers have the $$ to make a good investment in a car that they can drive out to dinner or to the ice cream stand occasionally. The market for "over the top" trailer queens may be different.

I think any quality built, correctly restored or nice original type car is still going to attract it's own captive audience. The common cars that are heavily modified are usually the ones I see people passing by without people giving them a second look. Take the whole Pro Tour thing that was so hot 5-7 years ago? Now guys are listing those cars on the cheap and many people will pass them over. Pimped out dash boards full of after market gauges, seats that look like they belong in a speed boat. big brakes, and rubber band tires on over sized wheels is turning a lot of people off where I see a large push looking back to originals. Myself included.

I've seen the race cars going dirt cheap as well, but look at the reasons why? Engines are becoming very costly to build. Competition is stiff, and everyone and their dog is running turbo's and LS configurations so many are giving up on building another drive train to try and compete. On top of that are all the tracks that are closing up. My local track closed 7 years ago and it's 2.5 hours to the nearest track now.

While I knew muscle cars back in the 80's growing up, I wasn't really around in the late 60's to early 70's (I was only 5-10 back then) but sure grew to appreciate them as I got older. The same holds true today as peoples tastes do change. Years ago, I liked Day 2 muscle cars and while I still do, I'm digging the original cars and survivors much much more. I also never liked the 30's and 40's hot rods 10-20 years ago but at my current age (52), I'm starting to look at the idea of a nice 32 Ford as a cruiser to be added to my muscle car collection. I think that I'll soon be adding an old hot rod to the mix, and I never grew up with these kind of cars either?

Like it was said above...it's cyclical and tastes change. My thoughts are that they will always run full circle with true car guys, and many of today's kids will grow and mature into car guys. Also seeing the younger guns starting to develop an interest again. My 13 year old wants to build a muscle car with me and his buddy at 13 is also about to build a muscle car with his grandfather. These two will help spur others in their circles and that's how it all takes shape. Two become 4 and before you know it there's another cyclical surge once again. :)

Here's what I'm looking at buying into these days. (A couple from a show I was at yesterday)

https://preview.ibb.co/j3k2Mo/IMG_0584.jpg

https://preview.ibb.co/he9Ju8/IMG_0582.jpg

This topic, like most, is all about perspective.

I'm "young" by nearly all definitions, and when asked why I love hot rods and muscle cars of generations before my time, my usual answer is "well, I was born in the wrong generation". I prefer music from the 60s and 70s as well; always have.

My perspective is quality always costs. Your perspective of the cost changes with the economic times and market in general; we remember when these cars could be had to "very cheap" and when prices have soared while auctioned on TV. While I don't have stories of owning these cars new, or missing that opportunity to buy a true Shelby GT350H for $8,000, some of my friends - who are double my age by the way - do!

When forced to think about it, precisely one of my friends that are my age are interested in muscle cars. That's it. All the others rather have something they are personally nostalgic about: Subaru STI, Honda S2000, Acura NSX, ...the list goes on! Great cars and in many cases subjectively better, but very different than what we here are passionate about.

From a buyer's perspective, with the cash ready to go, I don't believe the prices are currently coming down. Sure, I've passed on many $15-20K cars - mostly non-matching, needing reasonable amounts of mechanical and cosmetic work. But the nice cars, where owners know what they have and love them, aren't selling for cheap.

I see two value peaks:

1985-1988...Killed by 1987 stock market crash and follow on gulf war economy.

2005-2008...killed by 2008 market collapse but this time not a drastic drop it has been more of a slow slide as guys kept their cars. I guess the other factor is the availability of performance to the masses during the gap period following 2008.

The difference being is that a regular car today driven by a soccer mom has the acceleration to stay with many of the average old gen 1 muscle cars on the street.

If it wasn't around when the 8tk tape player was,I don't want it. :burnout:

:biggthumpup:

Yup...I may drive a new truck most business days...but when I park it, it's time for something old and nostalgic.

Something else.There seems to be a shortage of Nova SS cars.Maybe just my area but I have seached across the country.There seems to be more Camaro SS cars around then Novas.I'm selling my heap soon and I'm seaching for something else.I missed a L34 Nova SS that was triple black.It had a fresh 454 in it.It went for $19K.

My daily driver is a big 4-door sedan that weighs 4,400 lbs. without me in it. It will consistently run bottom 12’s bone stock. It should crack into the 11’s in cooler weather but unfortunately I don’t live close enough to a track to go very often. It’s very reliable too, you don’t have to pop the hood for months at a time unless you’re checking the oil or cleaning under there. It also gets over 25 mpg on the highway. The good old days of muscle cars are right now. This has everything to do with the younger crowd not being interested in old cars. A lot of them don’t know how to work on them, most don’t know what a timing light or carburetor is. Why should you when you can buy a turn key 9/10/11/12 second car straight off the showroom floor.

This was last year when englishtown was still open:

https://youtu.be/0ZAYjxCinNk

I've always subscribed to the theory that Musclecar prices began to escalate in the '80's when the current offerings of that dark era were just kinda lame when compared to the cars of 10-15 years ago. People were of the mindset that the glorious Musclecars of the '60's & '70's were long gone and weren't coming back. Well, guess what? They did come back and folks were & are able to buy hyper-fast Corvettes, Z/28 & ZL1 Camaros, Hemi Challengers, Hellcats, Boss Mustangs, etc. without worrying about spending crazy money on a 50-year old car that may-or-may-not have had substantial rust repair, it's original block popping on E-Bay when you thought you bought a #'s matching car, no A/C on big horse stuff which makes the car less than enjoyable by many people's spouses, etc. The new cars have A/C, nice stereos, retro styling, they're faster, more economical, safer, warrantied, and basically do everything better than their old counterparts. Sure, there'll always be hardcore guys like me in dwindling numbers that like the rawness of the old stuff but I can certainly understand the appeal of the great new stuff!

I believe the present and future value of muscle cars boils down to memories and most kids today don't have many fond memories about the cars we love because they can't afford them now and haven't been able to for quite a while. I grew up in the 80's and barely caught the end of the days of a kid being able to afford a muscle car on a budget. My first car was a beat up 1970 Chevelle SS 396 without a motor or transmission that I bought for $250. Bought a beat up 69 Caprice with a 396/TH400 for another $275 and had a cheap car paid for by a summer of de-tasseling corn.

While there are younger people that enjoys classic muscle cars there just aren't enough of them to keep prices going up forever as the supply appears to have met the demand. That being said I still think the best cars will continue to bring the best money since the demand for any Yenko, Shelby or Hemi car isn't going away anytime soon.

My three kids like old cars, I believe, because I take them and their friends out for rides whenever they want and even let the girls drive them now and then. I even encourage them to "get on it" from time to time when if there's no one else around on the road and its safe. My youngest daughter loves driving my 69 Grand Prix and says it rides and drives better than her 2006 HHR. My son, who's only 12, can't wait to get his drivers license because he already knows he's going to get to drive them too. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that others do the same and the fire will continue to burn.

Time may march on but I look at it this way. There is a fixed supply of truly great cars with a growing money supply. If you have a great car, I believe that its value will increase over time.

A lot of great input on this subject . Being in the business i think car prices are relatively strong for the most part . This will always hold ground , good cars always trade for good money . KP

It is not just the muscle cars here according to the business Insider value trend analysis for collector cars in general-the market has absolutely tanked.

I believe muscle cars were affected the least however.

rarity and quality will be just fine

From where I sit, owning real estate free & clear has a better upside than any muscle cars. Still fun to find/buy the right car, but rental prop offers a steady income and a good lick on the back end. I only car shop 5-15k range now and they're mostly garage/project cars. Always liked the hunt...
...debt free life = contentment ✌️

Personal opinion; economy is gonna take another turn downward its just a matter of time.. I am betting the average musclecar/ponycar will see this hit again and I think it will be worse this time though. Maybe get them back into the pre-2005 range of pricing which isn't a bad thing for the younger generations. Thankful I am debt free (aside from the current house) and still have the 2 cars I have always wanted. Still waiting on the 3rd and final but I've got time.

I've seen the prices go up and down a few times over the decades. Doesn't really concern me.

Not much of a fan of anything new, and don't really care how fast they are. We have absolutely no interest in blowing money on a brand new car of anything.

Matter of fact we sold off all our new cars years ago and daily drive the classics now. We just enjoy them for what they are and love the simplicity. I don't have to be the fastest on the road to enjoy what I'm driving, and we don't want all the amenities either.

On the younger side of things, my son, on his second year of college, is heavily into the classics. He and one other student actually daily drive classics to college (the other being a very nice 69 Superbee 4-speed) Pretty cool to see college kids drive them. My son wants a 72 charger or 70 El Camino at some point in the future.

For me, I've owned 16 first gen Camaros. I kept the 1st & last one. I bought one in 1976 & the other in 1981. I've watched the prices go up & down over the years. I didn't care about the value. I bought them because I liked them & kept them all these years for the same reason. I know my thoughts don't cover everybody. Just my opinions....Joe

I went out of town to my nephews HS graduation party this past weekend.

My brother and BIL were asking about my Mustang but my nephews, their friends and my nieces husbands have zero interest in cars=all late teens or twenty something guys.

My wife tells me all the time we are dinosaurs and she notices all the gray hair at car shows.

Other than the rare modesl these cars are going to continue to drop in price.

The antique tractor hobby is about 15 years ahead of us age wise and that hobby has collapsed and imploded and has been decimated. The amount of restorable old tractors I see going to scrap is frighting.

I wonder if it's just the environment kids today are growing up in. Everyone thinks they are saving the planet these days. If kids don't have parents that own classics they'll most likely have no interest in them. Or maybe it's just that the younger crowd that isn't established in working society can't afford the prices these cars command. Maybe the prices are partly to blame.

I'm with Joe though. I'm not selling anything so not worried about it. If anything I'll be buying more in the future. If I have a garage full of worthless cars when I die, I'll still die happy either way :wink:

Believe it or not IMHO one of the main things that keeps driving interest in cars in general for the younger generation is drag racing. NHRA to some degree but in large part like it or not but the explosion of Street Outlaws and No Prep is the current big thing. I don't care for several of the personalities but the cars are amazing and the racing is great.

Prices of original, stock or restored muscle cars continue to climb in the Pacific Northwest. SS El Camino's and 68-72 Chevy trucks are also extremely popular. Modified, custom or the latest fad in cars always seem to fade in value after their style or trend starts to fade and the newest craze kicks in. Restoration, paint and part prices are definitely not going down, paint is especially rising in price by leaps and bounds. I have to laugh when I see the annual "are prices declining?" thread as they sure are not for the cars I want. Have you tried to buy a restored '70 SS El Camino lately? Holy cow. And late 70's and mid '80's muscle cars are really hot.

Trucks are hot no doubt, and IROC-Z prices have roughly doubled in the past 5 years.

Both of my kids grew up around them and got to drive some of the rarest cars Pontiac ever built, but have no interest whatsoever in them.

Stick with solid lifter 4 speed original paint documented cars and you'll be more than ok... I haven't seen these take a hit AT ALL.

Ill have to agree with James . X2

You need to move;)There was a Butternut yellow 69 SS that went for somewhere around 15K US.It looked great and didn't last very long.

This one would be 26K US.

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars...ationFlag=true

This one would cost you about 15K US.


https://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars...ationFlag=true

About 26K US for this one.

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars...ationFlag=true

1969 Z/28's are not going down in price from what I have seen. They have been pretty steady.

And they seem to be helping pull the nice 68 & 70's Z's up with them

Just attended Grant Miller's classic car auction in Lock Haven, PA. Prices on 60's muscle were VERY strong. '61 Chevy 4 speed convertible (327/300 - black/red) sold for $135k!

58-62 B body verts are super strong and have been for years. If the top goes down and it has tail fins really look out...

It is the most asked one of the most asked questions I get. I think unfortunately a lot of people answer the question based on truly little to no REAL knowledge but instead based on a very small sample size that see. Things like listings on eBay. Or Craigslist and that's just listings not sales. Then there are the mecums and BJ's and again, just what YOU SEE from a far. Not a large sample size. One or two cars that SHOULD bring bigger money but don't. but consider you are not always privy to what the car looks like in person. What knowledge the real buyers found out that you didn't know?? There's so many variables in market price too. From my view point and the niche market I'm dealing with. Just 66/67 SS Chevelles., things are and have been STABLE. Not up nor down but then I'm talking about fully restored and very correct cars!! Detailed and Quality. Quality built too!! Run of the mill cars. Driver quality are a dime a dozen and they are all over the map in price. But the really good stuff!! Still bringing very strong money. You just don't always see it happen.

Just my 3 cents
Mike

For me it is simple. I go to a cruise in and the average age is 60 and I am one of the youngest guys there. Same thing with the swap meets. It is the coming demographic shift and sadly the writing is on the wall.

Had my 1969 Camaro very out last night for an ice cream with my wife. 20 years ago a trip to get a cone was a 45 minute or longer adventure, due to all the people who stopped to chat and ask about the car. Last night no one even gave it a glance because they have no emotional connection to the car in any way.

Anybody here seeing flocks of younger people at the shows checking out gen 1 muscle cars?

If so where do you live?