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hey all, It seems to be that the chrome bumper market is getting very soft !! I have viewed so many nice 68 to 72 vette's for sale and there just NOT SELLING !!! What do u guys think
I don't know man, I looked for a very long time before I found the right one at the right price. there are a ton for sale that are just not in that great a shape that are asking too much so those cars don't usually sell. the really nice ones are selling for pretty good prices from what I was seeing.
Agree. I think the market is definitely soft. I having been looking for a few months now for a 68-72 convertible, so I have been following the market very closely. Lots of cars just sitting. My theory is that everything sells if it’s priced right and most of these cars are overpriced. The sellers, most of them are not adjusting accordingly and the cars just sit. I have made realistic offers on a few cars that needed some work to get them up to pare but the owners just refuse and even got email yelled at They feel that since they were ok with these issues I should be as well. Only one car that I looked at actually sold and it had a rear end with faked numbers.
I consider cars like houses. If prices right they sell if not you need to adjust the price accordingly. If you don’t then you may truly not want to sell it. Waiting for a buyer willing to give you your asking price may work against you as the market saturates with unsold cars and continue to decline. Of course the market could head the other way but I don’t think so. Times are a changing!!! And we are aging out.!! Ike
Last edited by general ike; 01-26-2019 at 11:15 PM.
A few weeks ago at the local Caffeine and Octane- Atlanta- it's supposedly one of the largest car show nationally.
A lot of different ages show up- from ricers to 30" wheels to classics and the check writer exotics.
I was looking over a 71 coupe for sale- and two younger guys (early 20's) were talking among themselves how the people that like these car are dying off and you can get them cheap.
Also heard that Hagerty's for the first time- has given out more quotes to millennials this past year than the baby boomers.
So yep- looks like things are changing...
Richard
Last edited by Richard454; 01-26-2019 at 11:29 PM.
Depends on the time of year and the car. By spring, the chrome bumper convertibles will be rolling down the roads on sunny days and interest on these models
will climb. Of course that assumes the car is intact, looks nice, runs well, and isn't heavily modified. Cars kept closer to stock have a broader appeal for the simple reason that
mods are personal and not everyone has the same taste.
thank you ike. I feel the same way !! I see some nice solid vette's that a year ago would sell very fast for a decend price.. now there priced so high no one is biting .. example - 71 or 72 base coupe 200hp / 270hp is good condition asking price 25 to 28k that's crazy !! not that desirable .. I bought a 72 base coupe last year for my son and I to work on together for 10k , was not in great shape but was 90 percent original and straight as an arrow no rust if I put 5 to 6k into it you mean I can sell it for 25k ?? sign me up I will quit my job tomorrow lol you are right Times are a changing
sorry I don't agree nutzy… Verts, LT1, big blocks I can see them selling for 25k to 30k , but a base coupe 200 hp for 25k is nuts !! and that's why there no one is buying them, and if someone did they way overpaid and will NEVER recoupe there money
I don't think it's just the chrome bumper cars but all C3's. Dollar wise chrome cars have dropped more because they were valued higher but not percentage wise. I would say me and my car are getting just a little too old for the up and coming enthusiast. I think the kid next door views my 69 kind of like I would view or want a Model T for a daily driver.
sorry I don't agree nutzy… Verts, LT1, big blocks I can see them selling for 25k to 30k , but a base coupe 200 hp for 25k is nuts !! and that's why there no one is buying them, and if someone did they way overpaid and will NEVER recoupe there money
depends on what condition your looking at. sure there are many only worth around 14 or 15 grand that might need paint and so on but I think a really nice chrome bumper vette, with a 4 speed, numbers matching coupe with great paint still goes for 22, 23 grand although I was paying much more attention to the big blocks which is all I ever owned. if the prices are coming down I wish it would happen to the C2s also. would love one but there prices are still way up there.
I don't think it's just the chrome bumper cars but all C3's. Dollar wise chrome cars have dropped more because they were valued higher but not percentage wise. I would say me and my car are getting just a little too old for the up and coming enthusiast. I think the kid next door views my 69 kind of like I would view or want a Model T for a daily driver.
I don't think it's just the chrome bumper cars but all C3's. Dollar wise chrome cars have dropped more because they were valued higher but not percentage wise. I would say me and my car are getting just a little too old for the up and coming enthusiast. I think the kid next door views my 69 kind of like I would view or want a Model T for a daily driver.
Compare the C3 market to the other Bowtie products of the same years. The Corvette was supposed to be the premium Chevrolet offering, through those years, but Chevelles and Camaro are bringing more money in many cases and are easier to sell (IMHO). Why is that? Is it because the Chevelles and Camaros are easier to work on, especially the interior or rear suspension, not to mention the sometimes complex vacuum operated wiper door and headlight system. A regular solid rear axle car, can go for decades with little attention. Is it because they have a larger reproduction base, of parts vendors, compared to the C3? It's probably far easier to make a flat door panel that will fit well, versus the curved, complex curved panel, we have on our cars. A lot to consider.
I been predicting these market conditions for many years....why?? just like an old neighbor friend, our daughters same age, back when they were new kids on the block, he had a nice old metal body Ford rumble seat convertible, I was telling him to make a hotrod out of it, but instead he went the resto route, and so it was a V8 club regional show in NE winner.....but like any project of that type, it sat for a couple years and he sold it for 15 grand, having bought the privilage for only 13 grand.......as a cool looking hotrod with a SBC/etc he could have done similar but more creative/fun work and got 50 grand.....sold it like 30 years ago....
I bought my '72 vert with hardtop for only 7-8 grand back in '95, it was an old show car, '68 Olds tail lights, and flared/flapped fenders......when I moved to Florida the hardtop hung from the garage ceiling for near 5 years.....sold it.......and my project has gone on to it's present stage via a few accidents....once a deer into the headlights back into '98, so Eckler's sugar scoops/square lights, never liked the stupid looking round **** anyway.....Verizon truck hitch, backed into when parked..... so new bumper and smaller holes and modern lights further forward, a buddy welded up the front grill long ago......then an idiot backed over the front end with his damn jacked up pickup when I was in the bank parking lot......further work and fix a few body work/mod errors of mine, and a decent paint job......the list of mods on this old show car read like an encyclopedia......nothing stock, from wheels through roof, stem to stern....nothing, it gets driven like 2500 miles/year it went on the freeway the other day for first time in maybe 8 months....yawn.....
just a shame my wife insisted on selling her '91 Miata......huge mistake bought it for 1000 bux, and today it would be an easy 5 grand even here in Florida.....we have two other cars in the family, so the vette is a show off piece...it always get noticed by all the old retarred pharts here......
Yep , I should have been more clearer, this post is abut chrome bumper Vettes, but I think its across the board. Heck I even think that our market is the tip that will slowly spread toi the Camaros, Chevelles etc. I think its just the entire market that has gone or will go flat. Not that I am happy about this, since as the value goes down so does the interest in these great old cars.
Granted the rare, unique and limited originals will always get top dollar, but the average, even a nicer car will stay flat for a while and perhaps forever.!??!!!
Of course , as I like to say, all we need is some hot movie, game or action hero with a C3 and the market will re explode!!! Ike
Kids these days don't/can't save money. These cars have to have cash paid, a bank won't give a loan. Plus how many young men turn wrenches anymore? They have their video games and Iphones. My son will be 24 next month. He never really participated in all the work I did in the garage other than when it was something wrong with his car. He didn't like it, he leased a car a few years ago, against my advice. Now he's kind of broke, he has a bit of a spending problem. I take some responsibility in that. But I can't change the past on parenting.
Yep , I should have been more clearer, this post is abut chrome bumper Vettes, but I think its across the board. Heck I even think that our market is the tip that will slowly spread toi the Camaros, Chevelles etc. I think its just the entire market that has gone or will go flat. Not that I am happy about this, since as the value goes down so does the interest in these great old cars.
Granted the rare, unique and limited originals will always get top dollar, but the average, even a nicer car will stay flat for a while and perhaps forever.!??!!!
Of course , as I like to say, all we need is some hot movie, game or action hero with a C3 and the market will re explode!!! Ike
Camaros probably out sold Vettes 10-1. SO, far more wanted them.
They are all steel, more crash protection, can seat 4, more comfortable on long trips, Easier to enter and exit when old. Not such a PITA to work on.DO NOT have the Corvette tax, and you can probably build the whole car out of repops.
If you buy just one old car, the wife will prefer the Camaro.
Now the restomods are taking off. People want the "style", but modern drive train, suspension, and amenities. I think it's a good deal. Cars that would have been scrapped because they are incomplete can be saved. Win win.
A friend bout a crappy 81, and bought the aftermarket frame,LS, suspension BS, etc....With Ca smog laws, this is the way to go on the plastic cars. If it keeps them alive, so be it.
The market is changing but like the division of the distribution of wealth in the world the chrome bumper C3 market is dividing.
Meaning this.
We have a recent thread about a $185k LT-1. That has to be a record price. Also, in another thread I posted in about the 1969 Riverside Gold convert a link was posted to a 390hp roadster that sold for about $75k. Both cars were of outstanding examples for sure. But still WAY above any prediction I would have made. So the best of the best will continue upward.
Now the more common cars, and there are many, are going nowhere in price. Been feeling that for a long time.
The market is changing but like the division of the distribution of wealth in the world the chrome bumper C3 market is dividing.
Meaning this.
We have a recent thread about a $185k LT-1. That has to be a record price. Also, in another thread I posted in about the 1969 Riverside Gold convert a link was posted to a 390hp roadster that sold for about $75k. Both cars were of outstanding examples for sure. But still WAY above any prediction I would have made. So the best of the best will continue upward.
Sure. People with means will always fill that slot in their collection. Just like stamps.
Yeah I’m restoring a 69 Convertible now.
will have about 12 K in parts alone
That’s for new brake, fuel, electric, suspension systems ac and then power steering rebuild kits
then add engine and trans rebuild , and then paint
i figure I will have $45 total into it. That’s including original purchase price of $22,000.
i have no delusion I will ever get my money back out of it.
Plan to do some road trips with the wife. Better than a big RV or motorcycle cross country trips.
These two box’s are all electrical harnesses all gauges and relays and stitch’s etc. plus some a few other non electrical parts. $3,000 for these two boxes.
You think people will quit restoring chrome bumper vettes with soft markets ????
Im thinking damn this is a expensive hobby.
Dont know how many will be willing to do it in future.
01-26-2019, 04:33 PM
soft market for chrome bumpers
