Collector Car Values Down 8.3 Percent

1977 Pontiac Trans Am Bandit

This 1977 Pontiac Trans Am Bandit edition is one of the popular classic muscle cars which is fast appreciating in value according to the new Cars On Line.com Market Trends Report. The report on recent collector car values was just released. This 1977 Bandit Trans Am is on sale now in the Trans Am Section of the Cars On Line.com website.

Collector Car Values Report: Not What We Expected

Cars On Line.com has just done an up to the minute analysis on collector car values for the classic car market, and the news is not what we had been expecting. After rising in 2013, recent collector car values are continuing to trend downward. Cars On Line.com, the most trusted name in collector car sales, reports that collector car values have actually begun trending downward in the last three months. Cars On Line.com, in its fresh Market Trends Report,  shows that in their sample group of cars (see list below), the cars which change hands most often, are down by 8.3 percent compared to where average prices were at the end of 2013.

No, you say. What about the seven figure prices that you see at the top collector car auctions on TV? Unfortunately, while the prices on the most desirable No. 1 condition cars are ever escalating, the vast majority of collector cars are in No. 2 and No. 3 condition classes. Those prices are not going up. In fact, they have been trending downward for the last three months. The reason that it may seem surprising to hear that prices on collector cars continue to decline is that big name companies such as Hagerty Insurance have come out with statistics that show values are up in the past few years. That is true. But not at this point in 2014.

We always hear about the high profile classic cars, such as classic ’50s Ferraris, which are selling at what seem to be ever escalating prices at high profile auctions on TV. But the larger collector car market itself is tailing off at this point, trending slightly downward. The market is definitely experiencing some indigestion in 2014. The biggest loser for the past three months have been the 1967 Shelby GT500. Arguably one of the top ten most popular cars among internet buyers, recent sales numbers on No. 2 condition GT500’s has been trending downward. (See the chart below.) Classic ’50s Fords and Mustangs have been experiencing similar price reductions. Even the seemingly invulnerable Tri-Five Chevys have been seeing some slack in their pricing recently.

Below is Cars On Line’s “hot list” of classic cars which change hands frequently in today’s collector car market. We follow these cars to get a sense of what is happening in the larger collector car realm. This sample group is representative of the vast majority of cars changing hands today. Notice that we give you the average prices these cars have sold for for various years, i.e. 2008 before the economic recession; 2013 the most recent full year of sales; and 2014, the first quarter.

Year, Make Model Condition 2008 2013 2014
FORD
1928 Ford Model A Roadster No. 2 $23,100 $24,675 $24,125
1955 FORD F100 No. 2 $23,100 $24,500 $28,917
1956 FORD CROWN VICTORIA No. 2 $33,500 $36,233 $35,075
1956 FORD SUNLINER No. 2 $49,800 $69,333 $61,063
1957 FORD RETRACTABLE No. 2 $53,700 $36,500 $43,850
1957 FORD THUNDERBIRD No. 2 $55,500 $58,832 $48,169
1965 MUSTANG CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $33,800 $27,492 $26,694
1966 SHELBY GT350 No. 2 $164,100 $152,343 $157,000
1967 SHELBY GT500 No. 2 $191,000 $142,675 $131,190
1967 MUSTANG GT FASTBACK(S CODE) No. 2 $26,500 $60,250 $47,029
1969 MACH 1 MUSTANG (M CODE) No. 2 $37,400 $42,738 $36,744
1969 MACH 428 CJ (R CODE) No. 2 $81,000 $72,317 $60,933
1969 BOSS 429 MUSTANG No. 2 $269,500 $244,738 $239,125
1970 BOSS 302 MUSTANG No. 2 $85,000 $74,440 $64,015
1970 FORD TORINO 429 CJ No. 2 $45,900 $53,149 $35,625
CHEVROLET
1954 CORVETTE No. 2 $111,600 $73,708 $73,820
1955 BEL AIR HARDTOP No. 2 $32,200 $41,250 $39,275
1955 BEL AIR CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $64,750 $71,070 $60,417
1956 NOMAD No. 2 $77,000 $58,350 $56,475
1957 BEL AIR HARDTOP No. 2 $62,700 $54,550 $47,774
1957 BEL AIR CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $94,500 $85,774 $73,233
1957 CAMEO PICKUP No. 2 $26,250 $61,680 $50,363
1958 CHEVY IMPALA CONVT (348 TRIPOWER) No. 2 $99,000 $89,843 $82,985
1963 CORVETTE SPLIT WINDOW COUPE No. 2 $71,400 $80,194 $82,340
1963 IMPALA SS 409 CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $55,100 $59,800 $54,333
1967 CHEVELLE SS 396 No. 2 $54,400 $46,919 $39,912
1967 CAMARO CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $28,700 $33,238 $31,712
1967 CORVETTE 427/435 CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $154,500 $141,196 $141,623
1969 CAMARO Z/28 No. 2 $81,675 $77,312 $68,850
1969 CAMARO PACE CAR No. 2 $67,000 $66,625 $61,292
1970 CHEVELLE SS 396 No. 2 $55,825 $55,738 $47,652
1970 CHEVELLE LS6 454 No. 2 $98,580 $108,711 $101,100
MOPARS
1957 CHRYSLER 300 HARDTOP No. 2 $60,900 $70,000 $48,155
1957 DESOTO ADVENTURER CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $170,000 $225,500 $275,000
1967 DODGE CORONET R/T No. 2 $22,400 $25,433 $29,783
1969 DODGE CHARGER R/T No. 2 $73,500 $46,600 $47,725
1970 DODGE CHALLENGER R/T No. 2 $118,500 $80,873 $70,013
1970 DODGE CHALLENGER T/A No. 2 $89,600 $62,400 $68,575
1970 DODGE SUPER BEE No. 2 $54,000 $51,013 $48,350
1967 PLYMOUTH GTX No. 2 $51,500 $37,369 $44,231
1970 PLYMOUTH CUDA AAR No. 2 $99,900 $82,510 $74,231
1970 PLYMOUTH SUPERBIRD No. 2 $156,000 $122,762 $109,788
1970 HEMI CUDA No. 2 $261,400 $207,800 $197,333
1970 CUDA 340 CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $49,000 $76,133 $59,473
1970 PLYMOUTH ROAD RUNNER No. 2 $80,300 $46,350 $39,100
CADILLAC
1957 CADILLAC S62 CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $54,950 $64,788 $61,792
1959 CADILLAC S62 HARDTOP No. 2 $21,000 $39,300 $31,463
1976 CADILLAC ELDORADO CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $16,800 $26,283 $22,325
PACKARD
1937 PACKARD V-12 VICTORIA CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $103,600 $192,500 150,000
1953 PACKARD CARIBBEAN CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $42,000 $93,663 $71,833
PONTIAC
1957 PONTIAC CHIEFTAIN HT No. 2 $18,900 $27,748 $22,625
1965 PONTIAC GTO (389 TRIPOWER) No. 2 $35,000 $59,737 $64,575
1967 PONTIAC GTO CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $42,700 $58,942 $57,800
1968 FIREBIRD CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $19,600 $26,900 $25,692
1970 PONTIAC GTO JUDGE No. 2 $56,700 $73,425 $79,727
1973 TRANS AM SUPER DUTY No. 2 $45,000 $125,875 $99,675
1977 BANDIT TRANS AM No. 2 $18,000 $50,983
$63,675
BUICK
1954 SKYLARK CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $72,450 $123,133 $133,400
1957 ROADMASTER CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $32,900 $73,100 $71,283
1970 BUICK GS STAGE 1 CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $89,000 $88,086 $70,233
OLDSMOBILE
1957 OLDSMOBILE STARFIRE CONVERTIBLE No. 2 $62,500 $91,800 $81,528
1970 OLDS 442 W30 No. 2 $57,800 $69,700 $69,005
AUSTIN-HEALEY
1967 AUSTIN HEALEY 3000 BJ8 No. 2 $35,000 $79,975 $74,633
JAGUAR
1967 JAGUAR XKE ROADSTER No. 2 $64,050 $101,625
$83,300
1956 JAGUAR XK140 (MC) Roadster No. 2 $130,900 $105,292 $128,175
STUDEBAKER
1957 GOLDEN HAWK No. 2 $19,800 $57,000 $43,583

Asterisk * means none sold in that period.

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One Response to Collector Car Values Down 8.3 Percent

  1. Steve Twiss August 3, 2014 at 10:09 am #

    Hi: I have noticed the sliding values of the high end driver quality cars for the last few months.
    1. Lots of these buyers of these cars are now unemployed or are afraid of losing their
    jobs.
    2. The cost of living has increased dramatically especially food and gasoline which means less
    disposable income to purchase these cars.
    3. There is an over abundance of these cars on the market today. A run of the mill Chevelle
    SS 396 are a dime a dozen along with the Camaro’s. The only exceptions are the GTO’s
    and Firebirds which were produced in less quantity than the Chevelle’s and Camaro’s.
    4. When Ron Pratt announced that he was selling his entire collection, that to me was the sign
    that the collector car market has reached its top as far as prices go. There also have been
    other famous car collectors liquidating their collections. Hmmmm.
    5. The collector car Auctions have ruined the market for Joe lunch pail as the prices are
    way over inflated and the TV coverage has overexposed the market. Just look at NASCAR
    it got way over exposed and ticket prices got crazy. Now look at all the empty seats at
    the races.
    6. There are way to many auctions today.
    I could go on and on but IMO these are the top reasons that we are seeing declining prices. If you buy a collector car today at auction you better love it because you ain’t going to flip it and make money, those days are gone. Some of these collector car dealers are going to loose a ton of money as prices continue to slide on these driver quality cars.

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