Great comments from all so far. Pat, I've asked myself the same question a number of times over the past few weeks after having lost more than the value of a few muscle cars over the same time frame. What I keep coming back to is this...prior to 2004, people bought these cars for fun (just like Sam said). I always viewed the money that I put into muscle cars as "safe" - meaning that I never counted on making any money from them, but also never expected to lose anything either. I could drive and enjoy these cars and 'get my money back" when I wanted to change to a different car. I think many of us felt the same way.
Then prices started to creep up as many of us finally got to a point in life where we could afford the cars of our dreams, or multiple cars in some cases. This is where the speculation started and prices started rising more quickly. Many true enthusiasts started to buy projects "while they could still aford to get into the game" and we all started spending stupid money for cars that should have never demanded it - myself included. Project prices went up, as did resto prices and parts, and consequently the "done" cars went up also. There was lots of money to go around and everyone seemed happy! And don't get me wrong...I made money during this period too. I bought cars to restore and then was immediately offered more money than I had paid. If the offer was good enough, the car went down the road and I have no problems with that at all and would still do the same today. However, I think the times were we can count on this are gone. Yes, a good deal will come around now and then and one might make a quick buck. But we aren't going to have people lining up to buy our cars like we did back then.
And while prices have softened somewhat, I will just about guarantee that we have not even seen the start of it yet! I am in manufacturing and deal with other manufacturing companies, credit companies and bankers every day. Everyone says the same thing....that this is just the beginning of a huge "correction" in many markets and I believe the collector car hobby is one market that will see a massive correction for all but the best of the best - that frankly only the really well-heeled and those somewhat insulated from the credit crunch could afford.
Sure, things will come back somewhat in the future, as everything does with time. But I feel that the craziness is over and we'll get back to a time when we buy the cars thinking that our money is safe for the foreseeable future and not so much as an "investement" with an expected gain in the end. At least I hope that is what happens
