Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.
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ukdave2002
Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4231
Location: South Cheshire
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 Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2025 12:57 pm Post subject: Pre 1960's values plummeting? |
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The value of pre 1960's vehicles seems to have plummeted over the last 18 months, good I suppose if you are in the market to purchase.
Do you think the trend will continue, or have we hit the bottom? |
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Rootes75
Joined: 30 Apr 2013
Posts: 4168
Location: The Somerset Levels
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| Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2025 1:31 pm Post subject: |
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Honestly, in the last 12 months we have been tempted by so many prewar cars, simply due to their price. We have neither the space or tbh the spare cash but seeing cars that cheap we're always going to be interested.
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Various Rootes Vehicles. |
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 7075
Location: Derby
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| Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2025 4:11 pm Post subject: |
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I think what has happened is that the demographic has changed. The cars that presently seem to be in demand are the 'fast Fords'. In fact they seem to have lifted the price of more common place Fords as well. Minis are another good seller. Other 1980s and 90s cars are also doing well for nostalgic reasons.
We have to face the reality of the situation that most pre pre 1960 cars are likely to appeal to an ever reducing market as the older guys fade away.
The same thing happened to pre War vehicles when the then younger enthusiasts came on the scene some time ago.
Likewise, veteran and vintage enthusiasts are very thin on the ground and now form a tiny sector of the overall old car market.
Interestingly, however, if the cars are still relevant - or have a genuine purpose - then they will hold their price. A LBR eligible veteran car will (and always has been ) more desirable than another - perhaps better car - from 1905 onwards.
I am hoping that in time the present craze for what to me seem like modern mass produced expendables will wear off and the market for rarer classic cars will recover.
What I do hope is that enthusiasts will not forget 'Genevieve'... the film about a 1904 Darracq of that name which captivated the Public imagination and led to the hobby we have today. |
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ukdave2002
Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4231
Location: South Cheshire
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| Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2025 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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The demographic will always be changing!
I must admit I have always fancied a Lotus Sunbeam, in the late 90's I was offered one for £1200, it wasn't perfect but very original and usable. At the time we were rebuilding a house , the kids were young, so I declined thinking it can wait a few years.....Last year I bid on one at an auction, it was a complete car but a restoration project, my bid of £14k was far too low, it went for £19.5K  |
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 7075
Location: Derby
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| Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2025 9:45 pm Post subject: |
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| ukdave2002 wrote: | The demographic will always be changing!
I must admit I have always fancied a Lotus Sunbeam, in the late 90's I was offered one for ?1200, it wasn't perfect but very original and usable. At the time we were rebuilding a house , the kids were young, so I declined thinking it can wait a few years.....Last year I bid on one at an auction, it was a complete car but a restoration project, my bid of ?14k was far too low, it went for ?19.5K |
Was that the one sold through Mathewson's with an unused spare body shell ? |
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badhuis
Joined: 20 Aug 2008
Posts: 1467
Location: Netherlands
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| Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2025 1:34 am Post subject: |
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| ukdave2002 wrote: | The demographic will always be changing!
I must admit I have always fancied a Lotus Sunbeam, in the late 90's I was offered one for ?1200, it wasn't perfect but very original and usable. At the time we were rebuilding a house , the kids were young, so I declined thinking it can wait a few years.....Last year I bid on one at an auction, it was a complete car but a restoration project, my bid of ?14k was far too low, it went for ?19.5K |
So interesting to see that such a Sunbeam command high prices. It was basically a cheap car mated with a nice Lotus engine (and a nice interior and probably many suspension changes).
The Jensen Healey never got the attention of the public, so are on the market for much less, but has the same engine. Same for genuine Lotuses like the Elite and Eclat.
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a car stops being fun when it becomes an investment |
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Rootes75
Joined: 30 Apr 2013
Posts: 4168
Location: The Somerset Levels
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| Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2025 9:40 am Post subject: |
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One sort of bright side down here with me is that with prewar prices dropping so much a few of my classic car mates children have taken the opportunity to dip their toe into the classics scene without having to shell out a fortune....
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Norseman
Joined: 09 Jan 2019
Posts: 114
Location: Essex UK
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| Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2025 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Ray White wrote: | | I think what has happened is that the demographic has changed. The cars that presently seem to be in demand are the 'fast Fords'. In fact they seem to have lifted the price of more common place Fords as well. Minis are another good seller. Other 1980s and 90s cars are also doing well for nostalgic reasons. |
I think you are right there Ray, but another contributory factor is what buyers expect from their purchases & of course their age group.
At 80 years of age I look for a car that not only satisfies my desire to own a classic that I can exhibit at shows but also serve as a second car, as both myself & other half have differing interests. I would love a 'real' classic ie pre '70's or even way back to the '30's but have no means of garaging it, so I stick to the 'eighties cars as they are old enough to be of interest but young enough to benefit from spares availability & all year round usability.
As always each to his/her own.
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1987 classic Range Rover Vogue auto
1998 E39 523i SE auto sedan
A great many models have served me well since the 'sixties, all of them old & some even older than me. |
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 7075
Location: Derby
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| Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2025 1:32 pm Post subject: |
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There are of course other factors that affect the price of classic cars. There was a perfect bubble for precisely one year from 2023 and 2024. The market since then however has continued to fall such that prices now are at the same level as they were in June 2019.
As more players come into the market the prices should stabilise,,, but it would be a brave man who predicts when they will start to rise again!! |
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Vintage Fly Guy
Joined: 27 Jun 2024
Posts: 170
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| Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2025 11:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Ray White wrote: |
As more players come into the market the prices should stabilise,,, but it would be a brave man who predicts when they will start to rise again!! |
Probably if interest rates start to fall. If savings start to earn their owners 'rock all' then I think people tend to think of other ways in which they can enjoy their money, particularly those people of retirement age.
However, currently unstable global events could well temper that sort of decision for some, so it's a hard one to call at the moment.
Last edited by Vintage Fly Guy on Wed Feb 26, 2025 11:24 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Vintage Fly Guy
Joined: 27 Jun 2024
Posts: 170
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| Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2025 11:23 pm Post subject: Re: Pre 1960's values plummeting? |
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| ukdave2002 wrote: | The value of pre 1960's vehicles seems to have plummeted over the last 18 months, good I suppose if you are in the market to purchase.
Do you think the trend will continue, or have we hit the bottom? |
As the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Unfortunately, the beholder doesn't live forever, and then it's down to what the next generation sees as 'beauty' (which includes the car they always wanted in their youth but could never afford, the car they had in their youth and wish they'd never sold, the car their Dad or neighbour once had, etc.).
So most of those lovely old 30s, 40s and 50s cars are now becoming about as popular as brown antique furniture, horse brasses and warming pans. They've simply lost their audience. I'll probably be accused of heresy here, but mark my words, '60s cars will be next, followed by 70s cars, and so on, and it will take a gold standard, 'timeless' classic to buck the trend. |
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Rusty
Joined: 10 Feb 2009
Posts: 271
Location: Bunbury, Western Australia
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| Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2025 1:59 am Post subject: Re: Pre 1960's values plummeting? |
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[quote="Vintage Fly Guy"] | ukdave2002 wrote: | | I'll probably be accused of heresy here, but mark my words, '60s cars will be next, followed by 70s cars, and so on, and it will take a gold standard, 'timeless' classic to buck the trend. |
Absolutely agree !
As badhuis brought up about the Sunbeam Jensen comparison, it comes down to what you are interested in at that "impressionable age", in my case I wouldn't be interested in owning a Sunbeam at any price (well not a Lotus Sunbeam, maybe a 60s Rapier) but I would buy a Jensen Healy in a heartbeat, but that's because I worked on and was privileged to drive (and flog) a few when they were new and loved them but couldn't afford one, or any of the other sports cars of the era, but I pre date the later "super small sedan" cars of the 80s and 90s so they hold no interest at all. The car I am currently restoring is a 63 Studebaker GT Hawk, big yank two door car I also liked because of exposure to them in the early 70s but this time I bought one in the 80s when I could afford it and used it as a daily driver until circumstances dictated I take it off licence, but kept it and now retired I have gone back to it. The Stude encapsulates the problem, they stopped making them in the mid sixty's so almost all the makes original owners are no longer with us, and even the few enthusiasts that still hold the marque in high regard are my age or older and the next generation younger has no "exposure" and so no "interest". Theres nothing we can do about it, it's just the natural progression, it's been happening since "Genevieve" and it's going to continue. At least "WE" can still enjoy them in our turn, but just don't get hung up on what their "monetary" value is, I know I spend more on things than I should if I was being rational, but rationality is not what the hobby is about. I have a mate who is a golfer, and he spends three times what I do on his hobby so just enjoy what we have, at least at the end of it we still have a car, a second hand golf game is worth a lot less! |
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Miken
Joined: 24 Dec 2012
Posts: 577
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| Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2025 9:25 pm Post subject: |
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Could the fall in classic car prices be influenced by the bringing forward of the ban of the sale of new ICE powered cars to 2030 in the UK?
Consider that average new car has a life of around 15 years before it is scrapped (actually, it's a bit less than that).
So, 15 years after the ban (20 years from now), petrol powered cars will mostly disappear from the streets of the UK.
With hardly any ICE powered cars on the road, supply and demand suggests to me that there will be a lot fewer petrol suppliers.
I think uncertainty about the future of motoring will deter many people from spending a lot of money on an old car. |
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bjacko
Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 516
Location: Melbourne Australia
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| Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2025 7:00 am Post subject: Classic cars |
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The problem with the 2000 cars is the electronic modules etc there won't be any replacements or repairers when they die (the car that is) so some people may go back to the earlier cars.
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1985 Rover SD1 VDP |
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 7075
Location: Derby
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| Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2025 10:12 am Post subject: Re: Classic cars |
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| bjacko wrote: | | The problem with the 2000 cars is the electronic modules etc there won't be any replacements or repairers when they die (the car that is) so some people may go back to the earlier cars. |
I expect there will be a way of updating the electronics. The problem will more likely be the cost. I am already faced with a "bottomless pit" in that my 2000 P38 is beyond economic repair.
I for one have eschewed a more modern replacement and will hopefully change to a 1950s high end Bristol 401 or Bentley Mk6. |
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