Corvette values going down?
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 48
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From: Memphis TN
Corvette values going down?
Speaking with a co-worker about the value of the classic corvette a thought arose.
Right now, C1 and C2 corvette are worth more money than ever. The people interested in those cars are at the end of their career and have plenty of money to spend on an "unnecessary" vehicle. What will happen when that pool of people is thinned out by old age? Does the next generation have an attachment to those cars like this one does? If so, will that attachment be strong enough for them to spend $100K on one?
Just the other day I spoke to a friend that was in the process of a 69 Camaro restoration, I asked him how it was going, he told me he had already sold the car so he could pay for a fence in his back yard.
What do you think?
Right now, C1 and C2 corvette are worth more money than ever. The people interested in those cars are at the end of their career and have plenty of money to spend on an "unnecessary" vehicle. What will happen when that pool of people is thinned out by old age? Does the next generation have an attachment to those cars like this one does? If so, will that attachment be strong enough for them to spend $100K on one?
Just the other day I spoke to a friend that was in the process of a 69 Camaro restoration, I asked him how it was going, he told me he had already sold the car so he could pay for a fence in his back yard.
What do you think?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 5,941
Likes: 939
From: Chattanooga Tennessee
If you scroll down you will find a thread where this is being discussed now here on the first page. Also, if you google search corvette forum c2 values (or substitute prices for values) you will probably read about a thread a month where we all get tangled up in this question. 
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 6,987
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From: Greenwood In.
Up or down or up or down. The price on these cars are up one week and down the next. I figure if I want it and I have the $$$$ then I will buy it and if I don't have the money then I will just have to pass. I would NEVER barrow money to buy an old car just because I want it or I had one or had one like it in my past. I think that most of these kids today will buy rice burners with the goofy exhaust and tail pipes that make them sound like a tin can rattling. At some point in our lives the price on C1 & C2 Corvettes will be like model A's and T's. Cheap and not many people will want them. I hope I am wrong but I don't think so.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2007
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Army
Up or down or up or down. The price on these cars are up one week and down the next. I figure if I want it and I have the $$$$ then I will buy it and if I don't have the money then I will just have to pass. I would NEVER barrow money to buy an old car just because I want it or I had one or had one like it in my past. I think that most of these kids today will buy rice burners with the goofy exhaust and tail pipes that make them sound like a tin can rattling. At some point in our lives the price on C1 & C2 Corvettes will be like model A's and T's. Cheap and not many people will want them. I hope I am wrong but I don't think so.
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 176
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From: near Perth, Scotland
The people interested in those cars are at the end of their career and have plenty of money to spend on an "unnecessary" vehicle. What will happen when that pool of people is thinned out by old age? Does the next generation have an attachment to those cars like this one does? If so, will that attachment be strong enough for them to spend $100K on one?
But anytime I show my '66 Coupe or just pictures of it to guys my age or even a bit younger, it's oohs and aahs that I would not get with a car that was around when I was 10... I have the feeling that except some supercars of the 80s, which are already well in the 7-figure range (Countach, Testarossa etc...), the 80s have little to offer in terms of cars that have the right mix of fun to drive, visual appeal and relative affordability, compared to C2s or early C3s.
So I think the C2s will keep some appeal with the younger generation, because the '73 oil crisis and subsequent trends with the automakers make cars of my youth less appealing than those of my father's youth (he was 17 in '66... and always looks forward to taking the Coupe for a spin!!).
Racer
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 274
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From: Nashville TN
2015 C1 of Year Finalist
Up or down or up or down. The price on these cars are up one week and down the next. I figure if I want it and I have the $$$$ then I will buy it and if I don't have the money then I will just have to pass. I would NEVER barrow money to buy an old car just because I want it or I had one or had one like it in my past. I think that most of these kids today will buy rice burners with the goofy exhaust and tail pipes that make them sound like a tin can rattling. At some point in our lives the price on C1 & C2 Corvettes will be like model A's and T's. Cheap and not many people will want them. I hope I am wrong but I don't think so.
I am 41 years old. I was not raised with a car-loving dad or mom at all. I was by myself in my love for classics. I, like many of my friends, just love the design and craftsmanship of older cars. The more we get out and show off our cars, the more of the younger generation falls in love like we do. I can not tell you how many times I see young kids and teenagers say 'someday, I'm going to have an old corvette just like this'. Funny thing is that is what I said when I was 15. Now I have three of them. One car on my bucket list is a 32 Ford...built over 40 years before I was born. As population increases, so will the number of kids saying 'someday, I'm going to have an old Corvette just like this'.
Racer
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 402
Likes: 101
From: Ohio
Several years ago I owned a 1932 Chevy Confederate BA that was original and in almost perfect condition, I also owned, at the same time, a 1962 Chevy Impala SS that was in the same condition. For insurance purposes I had them professionally apprised. The appraiser told me that the value of the 32 was going down because the people who were interested in that era of car were dying off and the next generation was not interested in the cars of their father’s youth. The value of the 62 was on the rise because people my age wanted to relive our youth and were willing to pay for it. He finally said that if I kept the 32 I will have museum piece in a few short years. Soooo I made a business decision and sold the 32 and I regretted it ever since. So if you like it keep it and enjoy it. That the bottom line.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 17,571
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From: Fresno California
Over time, the value of these cars will continue to rise. How much is anybody's guess. But they have not gotten cheaper in the past 40-odd years I've been following them. Cars that were sought after and coveted when new will always be popular and hold value...from brass-era Mercers to today's super cars. Not so much garden variety cars from any era. Glad I bought my GTO's 30 plus years ago, and wish I bought my 'vette back then,too. And I should have bought that '57 Facel Vega for $3500 in 1991, and that '67 Dino for $7,000 in 1994, looking back. Buy what you want when you can afford it, and enjoy the ride.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2003
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From: Florida
Due to the current RAT ROD and HOT ROD culture, the ragged out old Model A's of our youth that were a couple hundred dollars are now a few thousand dollars. Check out the ebay sold prices.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 6,987
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From: Greenwood In.
Just look at the resto-mods so they are called. Hell they bring more money then an all original Corvette brings in most cases. With these T V shows now that are Chopping and Cutting and rebuilding not only Vettes but all old cars it is hard to say what the car market will do in 10 or 20 years. If we knew we would all go out and buy up the cars that are going to sky rocket in price and set back and wait for the value to go up on them. Maybe
Race Director
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From: Camp Verde AZ
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But a restomod is like a new car, it will depreciate over time, and in 5-10 years, is just old, newer technology. It isn't original, and it isn't cutting edge, and the hot look of when it was built, is just old modifications now.
.
Doug
Le Mans Master
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From: New York New York
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2023 C1 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
The appraiser told me that the value of the 32 was going down because the people who were interested in that era of car were dying off and the next generation was not interested in the cars of their father’s youth. The value of the 62 was on the rise because people my age wanted to relive our youth and were willing to pay for it. He finally said that if I kept the 32 I will have museum piece in a few short years. Soooo I made a business decision and sold the 32 and I regretted it ever since. So if you like it keep it and enjoy it.
I agree with the appraiser. I sold my two 1930 ******-Knight 66B cars a few years ago, the only difference between me and you is that I don't regret it one bit.
Here in NYC you can not drive those cars safely any more.
Mechanical brakes, steers like a truck, no shocks, max speed 50 MPH, aluminum bumpers, headlights that are less bright then a candle and poor visibility amoung other things.
So I bought another 61 and a 64 Vette to replace them!
Joe
Race Director
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From: Camp Verde AZ
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And in 20 years when all the cars on the road have radar, collision avoidance, automatic braking and are probably in communication with all the other cars around them so every car knows what is going on, you won't be able to drive your fiberglass dinosaurs safely anymore in congested area either.
Doug
Doug
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2015
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From: Dalton, Ma
The bubble burst...prices were artificial then anyway...Model T's wer never expensive...the never got crazy priced because they really aren't something you can really drive any distance...I mean is a fella gonna drive one 25 miles to a car show? So who wants one? Corvettes will probably hold there value better than most makes/models...
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2001
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From: Cohasset MN
2017 Corvette of the Year Finalist
2016 C1 of Year Finalist
I tend to think regional differences are a factor in values of C1 and C2 cars. The BJ cars seem to be holding values quite well and may be increasing, but up here in the upper midwest, C1s especially may be declining in value. The C2s are holding their value, I think, better than the C1s
I am at the point in my life where I am thinking of downsizing. It may be time to think of selling my '57 or '61 while I can still get a good price.
I am at the point in my life where I am thinking of downsizing. It may be time to think of selling my '57 or '61 while I can still get a good price.
Racer
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 402
Likes: 101
From: Ohio
I agree with the appraiser. I sold my two 1930 ******-Knight 66B cars a few years ago, the only difference between me and you is that I don't regret it one bit.
Here in NYC you can not drive those cars safely any more.
Mechanical brakes, steers like a truck, no shocks, max speed 50 MPH, aluminum bumpers, headlights that are less bright then a candle and poor visibility amoung other things.
So I bought another 61 and a 64 Vette to replace them!
Joe
Melting Slicks
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From: Chapel Hill NC
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The market drops when I try to sell, raises when I try to buy.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2015
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From: Really Central IL Illinois
Speaking with a co-worker about the value of the classic corvette a thought arose.
Right now, C1 and C2 corvette are worth more money than ever. The people interested in those cars are at the end of their career and have plenty of money to spend on an "unnecessary" vehicle. What will happen when that pool of people is thinned out by old age? Does the next generation have an attachment to those cars like this one does? If so, will that attachment be strong enough for them to spend $100K on one?
Just the other day I spoke to a friend that was in the process of a 69 Camaro restoration, I asked him how it was going, he told me he had already sold the car so he could pay for a fence in his back yard.
What do you think?
Right now, C1 and C2 corvette are worth more money than ever. The people interested in those cars are at the end of their career and have plenty of money to spend on an "unnecessary" vehicle. What will happen when that pool of people is thinned out by old age? Does the next generation have an attachment to those cars like this one does? If so, will that attachment be strong enough for them to spend $100K on one?
Just the other day I spoke to a friend that was in the process of a 69 Camaro restoration, I asked him how it was going, he told me he had already sold the car so he could pay for a fence in his back yard.
What do you think?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 2,793
Likes: 58
From: God's Country The Old Dominion
They probably also have lot more money spent on them making them a restomod, assuming somebody just paid a shop to do eth work.
But a restomod is like a new car, it will depreciate over time, and in 5-10 years, is just old, newer technology. It isn't original, and it isn't cutting edge, and the hot look of when it was built, is just old modifications now.
.
Doug
But a restomod is like a new car, it will depreciate over time, and in 5-10 years, is just old, newer technology. It isn't original, and it isn't cutting edge, and the hot look of when it was built, is just old modifications now.
.
Doug