Do you think C1/C2 prices are flat/decreasing?
01-21-2019, 12:05 PM
#41
Instructor
Welllllllll - I have a couple of measures I look at regularly - we can call them the "Scooter Score" and the "Gawk Grade"....
Go to any prestigious car event anymore and the numbers of aged enthusiasts has increased out the ying-yang; the number of young people engaging in the hobby is pathetic IMO. I'm talking gross numbers so spare me the story about your 13 year old who just loves your car (and may not in 5 years) or the one-off, neuvo-rich 20 something tech start-up owner who is buying a toy... I'm talking legions of up-and-coming classic car aficionados - well, they aren't there... Our cars aren't symbols of youthful independence and a way to get laid anymore (well not much anyway).
Then there are the number of people that ogle our classics when we are out and about. 12 years ago my 61 was a guaranteed show stopper. I couldn't leave a restaurant or gas station and not find an impromptu photo session taking place by spectators. Now, I can sit beside 10 cars in traffic and everybody's head is buried in their cell phones. A rare "thumbs-up" (usually by an older person) is a treat now..
So where will the future demand come from for pumping up our cars' value ? Maybe the restomod crowd ? Maybe.
And this doesn't even count the waning interest in personal car ownership..... There are growing segments of the country where Uber and Lyft are mainstream means of transportation and self-driving cars aren't gonna be a hoot to run around in either... A "sea change" is coming.
Then there are the diminishing experts (specialists) that maintain original components. 1/2 of the Maxwell team is gone (C1 wipers/washers/etc), Pirkle is out (voltage regulators, etc), Jerry Rudbeck (I may have the spelling wrong - but -- radios), Bob Kunz has throttled back but now I hear he is still taking in work (WCFB and other carbs), Bill Harrison has hung up his shingle (instrument and cluster restoration), Andy Cannizo is making noises about retirement and no longer does certain jobs like rocker panels (63 shifter consoles, etc.) Grossmuellers is all but non-existent now... One could argue that this makes cars with original, working parts worth more but will be an anathema to future owners that may want to drive and maintain them...so -- maybe not.
I am down to one car and although I look at other classics now and again, in this evolving culture and at age 68, if I can't steal something extra - its not happening...
I'm just sayin'
Go to any prestigious car event anymore and the numbers of aged enthusiasts has increased out the ying-yang; the number of young people engaging in the hobby is pathetic IMO. I'm talking gross numbers so spare me the story about your 13 year old who just loves your car (and may not in 5 years) or the one-off, neuvo-rich 20 something tech start-up owner who is buying a toy... I'm talking legions of up-and-coming classic car aficionados - well, they aren't there... Our cars aren't symbols of youthful independence and a way to get laid anymore (well not much anyway).
Then there are the number of people that ogle our classics when we are out and about. 12 years ago my 61 was a guaranteed show stopper. I couldn't leave a restaurant or gas station and not find an impromptu photo session taking place by spectators. Now, I can sit beside 10 cars in traffic and everybody's head is buried in their cell phones. A rare "thumbs-up" (usually by an older person) is a treat now..
So where will the future demand come from for pumping up our cars' value ? Maybe the restomod crowd ? Maybe.
And this doesn't even count the waning interest in personal car ownership..... There are growing segments of the country where Uber and Lyft are mainstream means of transportation and self-driving cars aren't gonna be a hoot to run around in either... A "sea change" is coming.
Then there are the diminishing experts (specialists) that maintain original components. 1/2 of the Maxwell team is gone (C1 wipers/washers/etc), Pirkle is out (voltage regulators, etc), Jerry Rudbeck (I may have the spelling wrong - but -- radios), Bob Kunz has throttled back but now I hear he is still taking in work (WCFB and other carbs), Bill Harrison has hung up his shingle (instrument and cluster restoration), Andy Cannizo is making noises about retirement and no longer does certain jobs like rocker panels (63 shifter consoles, etc.) Grossmuellers is all but non-existent now... One could argue that this makes cars with original, working parts worth more but will be an anathema to future owners that may want to drive and maintain them...so -- maybe not.
I am down to one car and although I look at other classics now and again, in this evolving culture and at age 68, if I can't steal something extra - its not happening...
I'm just sayin'
