Future Investments In Classic Cars
The top things to consider when investing in classic cars are:
- Who is buying these items right now? What age group? Where is / who has the money to spend on toys?
- What were they driving in HS, or what was the hot new dream car of that era?
- Your budget
- How long you want to wait for a return on investment
So, for example the answer to those questions right now are:
- People in their late 30’s – 60 or so
- Cars from the 70s – early 90s
- ?
- ?
Right now cars from the 70s – 90s have caught up to or even passed the cars that were hot 10 years ago. A clean second generation Camaro is bringing as much or more than a first gen Camaro. The late 70s to early 80s Camaros are not far behind that, and the late 80s to early 90s are climbing rapidly! 5-10 years ago a nice 85-90 Camaro IROC could be had for $5,000 - $10,000. Now you’re not touching one for less than $15,000 and they can push $35,000+ for a low mileage, rare, unmolested survivor. A nicely done restomod can bring even more, pushing into the $50,000+ range! That was unheard of 5-10 years ago and is the norm today.
Fox Body Mustang, OBS Ford and Chevy trucks, full-size Broncos and Blazers, and even C4 Corvettes are climbing in value over the last 3-5 years.
So, it’s almost too late to get in on that market. Everyone knows what they are worth by now. What’s the next big market to explode over the next 5-10 years? Well, chronologically it would be vehicles from 1995 – 2005.
Possibly:
Terminator Cobra
Mach 1 Mustang
Ford Lightning
SRT10 Ram Trucks
Vipers (but that has already started)
Camaro, Trans Am, Firehawk
Low production Corvettes like Pace Cars, ZR1, Callaway, Lingenfelter
2006 - Last year for Jeep Wrangler 4.0 Liter with 6-speed manual (low mileage)
Tahoe SS and Silverado SS
SSR – think rare colors and manual transmissions
Pontiac GTO? - this is a big maybe!
Dakota R/T with the 5.9 liter V8
With this, I think the key is low mileage and originality. Good documentation also helps. Clean CarFax, original window sticker, owner’s manual, maintenance records, etc.
What else would you add to this list?