I really am not interested in how much my cars are worth on the open market. I bought most of mine knowing they needed restoration. I have put tons of money into them and I enjoy them every chance I get. I didn't buy the cars to resell them. I do want people to respect them for what they are though.
Having owned and restored British cars for many years, yes, the MG appears to be the "standard" for sports cars. The British cars are fun to drive, easy to work on, and Lucas electrical systems aside, are fairly dependable. The key in keeping any European car running well is MAINTENANCE, something most of owners never quite got the hang of. Be it MG, Triumph, FIAT, or Alpha- these cars are not 60's Chevrolets - where you just got in and drove, and drove..and drove. Fiats got a bad reputation because many didn't take the time to maintain properly, and the service department's of the dealers were a joke. Rust was more of an issue- but a prudent owner could have taken steps to arrest it before it consumed the car. My Fiat was purchased for a relatively cheap price, older restoration, rust free central CA car, and I really don't care if it ever goes up in value. The true value comes in the fun factor. I don't believe in garage queens. Buy a car to enjoy. Basic rule of any collecting: Buy primarily for the love of it, not what you can make on it.
since this is Barret-Jackson week, this thread is fairly relevent. IMHO, B-J has helped ruin the vintage car market. It's now populated by non-car guys with tons of cash. They "collect" a car for a year or two then it's back up at another auction. When people pay $250,000 for a Chevelle clone, you just know the whole car world is out of whack.
As I wrote before, I do believe that more value for restored or really nice cars will encourage people to fix them. It's a small percentage of owners that can say they will never part with a car. Most others will part with a car when the need arises, whether they want to or not.
Big part of the reason for prices is the fact that they produced "exactly" the same car for what... 20 years?? Small variations, but...
We see it every year when a "new" variant of an old car shows up with fantastic new features and drives excitement to buy the NEW one...
Why should an owner of a '74 buy a new '81? Really, almost exactly the same... The '67 Corvettes were quite different than the '78s... (Tho I believe most on this web site would routinely choose the older variants, lol!)
Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil, we have decided to turn off the light at the end of the tunnel. We apologize for any inconvenience.
1981 Fiat Spider, all black... "Corvino", italian for the Raven
the biggest issue with values for me is the fact I try to rescue Spiders, make them usable and try to sell them. My mission is to keep as many on the road as possible. But it's not very feasible financially if a driveable Spider is only worth $2500. Unfortunately, as more get crushed the supply of parts gets smaller which drives those prices up. We all see the ads on Craigslist for parts cars at $1000 instead of $100 like a few years ago. That forces up the price of a driver. The bargains that are out there now are desperate sellers trying to salvage something out of unemployment, foreclosure, etc.
The average person thinks any old car is valuable, and I'll blame that on B-J.
I wouldn't be driving this cool little car if I wasn't able to slide in under the wife's radar for a grand. Now I'm in the game and spending $30 bucks here and $100 bucks there goes unoticed. I'm so happy to have a little sports car in this price range.
Seajunkie wrote:I wouldn't be driving this cool little car if I wasn't able to slide in under the wife's radar for a grand. Now I'm in the game and spending $30 bucks here and $100 bucks there goes unoticed. I'm so happy to have a little sports car in this price range.
I don't have a wife (anymore) but that is how I justify it for myself.
If these cars would be worth more, they would cost more and I would not have one. Try to find a car that is as much fun for that kind of money. Who ever want's a valuable car can buy a Ferrari. Those for sure don't have a problem with the value.
I also like to customize my car a little and you don't do that to a car that goes up in value but only when it stays original.
I have to agree that it is not easy to justify big expensive repairs like I have to do soon (oil eating motor) but I will figure it out and just stick with the car till we will run out of gas!
