Mechanics Corner - May 10
“CLASSIC CAR BUYING”
By Mike Godwin
Here it is Easter Sunday and the family dinner routine is behind us and the grandchildren are enjoying the spoils of an Easter Egg hunt that closer resembles a Halloween candy haul. For me, most of the time after dinner was spent watching fellow MNW member Lance Lambert’s, Vintage Vehicle program. In fact, an episode that finds Lance interviewing Mark Ellis owner of Memory Lane Motors inspired this article.
I highly recommend that you watch the episode titled, “Collector Car Buying”, and pay close attention to the suggestions that these two knowledgeable people share with the public. Besides some great humor, the show is simply loaded with tips and buying guides. I have viewed this show several times now, and can honestly say that I have never seen a show with so many pieces of solid advice and insight into the car hobby.
There are many factors that drive the collector car market, and it is simply impossible to apply them all to any single sale. For example, the family connection as I call it, is not one that every person will carry into the car buying experience. What is the family connection? The memory from the buyer’s youth about a car that their parents owned or maybe a family member such as an uncle or even an older cousin. For example, if you grew up always riding in the far back seat of a Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagon, then this memory might stir your desire to find one just like it. Or maybe you were fortunate enough to have a father that owned a performance Mustang when you were young. That memory of the Mustang might be just enough to influence your buying decision.
Now if the Mustang you are looking at is the same year and model as the one you remember from your younger days, then the influence is greater. Watch your wallet if the exterior color is the same, and should the interior be the same, then the urge to buy will soar. This factor is what drives many collector car sales. Sometimes the buyer has spent years looking for that one special car, and other times it is simply pure chance that the buyer and the car are in the same location at the same time.
Another factor is what I refer to as the twin effect. This can be either two identical cars or the old and the new versions of a particular model. In the Mustang community, I think of those that had to have a 2008 California Special to go with their 1968 GT/CS. Or the Mach I crowd that bought the new Mach I when it was offered, to make a pair when parked next to their earlier version of the car. Even the Bullet loving folks got a chance to own a set of Twins when that option was offered on the Mustangs.
Then there is the affordability group that seems to slip into two separate categories. Both groups remember a car from their younger days when they could not afford the car. These people now seem to gravitate to two separate camps. In one group we have the people with fat wallets that don’t mind opening them up and letting the cash flow. This group is likely to also be found at a collector car auction.
The other group consists of those that, although older, that dream car is still just that—a dream. They couldn’t afford it as a teenager and the price is even more out of reach now. Specialty cars often fall into this category no matter which firm produced the car. Using a Shelby GT 500 as an example, the 1970 model was our buyer’s desire in High School. Of course $4,000 plus was out of reach. In the 40 years that past since then, things did not improve much, as today the $200,000 plus for the same car is even further out of reach. But this group recognizes that the dream car might not be obtainable, but the new version sitting in the show room, complete with a warranty, is ready for a new home.
The televised auctions have a tremendous effect on the value of cars, whether justified or not. The reason is that the owner of a car that is for sale is sure that the one that sold on TV for a high price is the same as the one sitting in the garage. Of course we as car people take a different view of this situation. We want the cars to be in the exact same condition and have identical options. The most important factor is that the car we are looking at is not on TV, and normally we are not bidding against another buyer, and the car does not have sell in the next 30 seconds or it will removed from the market. My oldest brother has attended one of the famous televised auctions several times. He took note that the seating area for the high rollers was segregated and the auction house had letters of credit on file for every person that they expected to bid on the high end cars. His other observation is that you don’t get to have that many people with plenty of disposable income under the influence of free alcohol under one tent at the same time very often. He is right, and the fact that a certain car sold under those conditions also is no guarantee that an identical car will fetch the same price under different sale conditions. I have traded a couple of cars while under the influence of a drink, but can’t recall ever going car shopping after consuming a few drinks. Though I have certainly have stopped and had a beer after a very successful negotiating session. Usually that was to gloat over my success in buying low a car that I knew I could sell for an easy profit.
The economy of course will have a huge effect on the price of collector cars. Think of the cars as a art dealer will think of the works of art that are in a gallery. When people are employed and the stock market is providing great returns of the money invested, people feel good about themselves. They are ready to buy an expensive piece of art to place in their home. The same is true with the collector car market. It could be a car to complete a collection or simply fulfill a long time desire to own particular models, if the buyer is feeling good then they are in the market for a car.
“What to buy?” and “When should I buy?” are frequently asked questions. If any of us had that crystal ball, the market would be completely gone. All of us would have a stable of Mustangs that we bought for next to nothing, and the cars would have never increased in price. Can’t count the number of Big Block cars that I passed between 1974 and 1976 as they were viewed as albatrosses whose day had passed. No one wanted a gas guzzler so Big Block anything was dirt cheap.
If you applied current market logic, then we should all buy cars that are called “Tuners” and equip them with every trick that the various shops have to offer. The market guess is that in thirty years you can sell the car for huge gains as the youngsters of today will be able to buy that car.
Let me know how that works out for you. I will be very old so bring me a beer and some cash to show your gratitude for my visionary car buying advice. On second thought, make that an Ensure and plenty of cash!