Earlier this year I went on a trip to see the cars of Hagerty’s vaunted Bull Market list. The editors went out of their way to establish that this isn’t about finding a cheap investment car that’ll be worth something someday. Instead, the premise is that the cars they listed were relatively undervalued and therefore more approachable for enthusiasts at different price points.
A vintage car’s value, like the value of most non-essential items, is based on what people will pay and not some sort of inherent worth. If the ability to perform the task of moving people, which is a car’s core purpose, was the main arbiter of merit then Bring A Trailer would be overwhelmed with 15-year-old Toyota Sienna minivans and not finicky Alfa Romeos.
The valuableness of a vintage car isn’t entirely arbitrary, of course. Old Alfa Romeos look and sound heavenly, in a way that’s almost objective. A Jaguar E-Type without a roof is more valuable than a Jaguar E-Type with a roof because it’s the iconic version of that particular car. But it does start to get a little random as you get deeper into the hobby.
Another car on that list was the DeLorean DMC-12, a vehicle that’s not great in a lot of ways. It’s a sports car that won’t sports. It’s not that quick, being way heavier than originally conceived. It’s part of a brand that no longer exists, so it doesn’t have the lineage of a Porsche or a Ferrari. It’s got an unloved French-conceived V6 behind the driver, they break all the time, and are best enjoyed at about 35 miles per hour.
And, yet, they’re valuable. Sure, they look cool, but so does a Saab Sonnett, which shares many traits with the DMC-12. A Sonnett is also, in a way, probably more fun to drive. But it wasn’t in a movie and it doesn’t have those doors [Ed note: don’t sleep on the Sonnett’s manual pop-ups, though– Pete]. A more modern example is the BMW i8. This is a car that looks cool, has fun doors, and does almost nothing particularly well. It looks like a supercar and doesn’t really perform like one. This is why they’ve depreciated so quickly.
Will those values ever come back? David tends to think the answer is “no” and he’s crazy for his similar i3 so I’d listen to him. I think the same is true of the Saab Sonnett, which will always be a great deal. They’re not alone. There are plenty of cool classic cars that might never cost that much. Is this a bad thing? Nope. I agree with Hagerty that it’s great that there are still affordable ways to do this hobby.
Image: Curb Your Enthusiasm
I don’t know if it’s old enough yet to be a classic, but you can find 2013 Scion FR-S/BRZ/86 for as low as $5-10k, looking online I don’t think I’ve ever seen one go for over $30k since they were new, even the special editions. It’s a sports car bargain at those prices, it feels like a car that will go up in value one day but so far they seem to keep getting cheaper.
The Polish FSO Syrena!
DKW-style 2-stroke FWD, neat curvy styling, but very rare outside of Poland and they were seen (Trabant-style) as being very dated and the cheapest option for the time, so not many have survived and parts are relatively hard to find…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FSO_Syrena
Any cool classic I actually own will be worth nothing.
I’ve had Silvias, RX7s, Lotuseseses, MR2s, loads of cool old cars. The only one that ever went up in price was the S1 Elise (her real name), and even that doubled in value in the two years after I sold it.
Same thing with bikes. You know the only 90’s 750 race rep that’s still worth nothing? It’s the ZX7R. I’ve had mine for 21 years now. I’m selling it later this year, so expect values to rocket after that.
Even when I buy something that’s a dead cert appreciating classic, like my RVF400, the values immediately stagnate, then the OEMs decide to start building sporty 400s again after a 20 year break.
I swear you could plot out my car history just based on which cars seem weirdly cheap, then suddenly expensive.
BMW e38 7 series, e39 5 series and e46 3 series
They won’t ever be valuable aside from rare optioned pristine garage queens never driven, maybe in 40 more years after all the M variants are priced out of reach.
But there’s so many out there, you can buy a fixer for chump change or hunt down a well maintained car/lower mileage for a bargain.
And the upside is the cars, when in good running order, are just peak BMW driving and handling. They set the bar for every “this is how far BMW has fallen” criticism.
I think the Chrysler Crossfire is a candidate for a car that is loved by some that will probably never achieve collector status. Although you never know! Let’s ask S.W. Gossin to weigh in on this!
The SRT6’s seem to be slightly more expensive than I expected, but seems to be more convertibles than coupes (at least what I found on Autotrader and eBay real quick).
Opel GTs. actually any opel is cheap. Actually most orphaned brand cars are cheap. Saabs.
I inherited my dad’s 95 Riviera, supercharged… it has 99k on it, been stored inside it’s whole life, annndddddd it’s worth like nothing lol.
I just took it on a road trip and it is a spectacular highway car; 85-90mph is just… pleasant.
i8s are cool still, and I’d like to have a go in one, but they start at A$150K down here.
As for modern cars that will be valuable future classics, there is no doubt in my mind the Lexus LC500 will be one of them.
The first car I ever bought for fun rather than need or desperation is a Mercedes R107 from 1988. It’s beautiful, fun to drive, very well built, and it gets compliments almost every time I drive it. It has the “classic” vibe and pedigree. MB made so many during a 17-year model run that it’ll never be worth much. That’s OK by me.
The jury’s out on whether the 6.9 will make the hagerty hot list.
The first downsized GM full-size broughams. I loved our ’88 Ninety-Eight and ’89 Sedan de Ville. Really sharp designs, and still definitely broughamy. Those were really the last gasps of the brougham era before the more rounded early ’90s cars came in. Underrated as hell.
(Also, that art-deco-ish final Ninety-Eight was pretty cool, too.)
“best enjoyed at about 35 miles per hour.”
You mean 88 mph?
All the G-Bodies that aren’t the ’87 Grand National or GNX.
I have two in my garage right now. ‘66 tbird and a ‘75 Spitfire. I don’t expect either will ever be worth much more than they are right now; both can be had for pretty cheap.
1990-1998 Eagle Talon TSi AWD
I always wanted one. They’re worth basically nothing now. Quick little sporty coupe that I always thought looked better than the Eclipse and had a way cooler name.
I’ve always had a thing for the Plymouth Laser of that generation. Loved its clean, non-fussy shape devoid of spoilers, etc. And the dashboard on the first gen of the DSM cars still ranks among my favorites for its industrial-future look.
Bought a ’90 back when they were new. Great fun on wet roads.
Somebody already said my first choice, the Corvair. 60’s Ford Thunderbirds are super cool, and surprisingly cheap as well.
I’m going to toss out the 94-95 Mustang. All the performance of a fox body Mustang with the looks of a late 90s Pontiac Grand Am.
Mod motor is so much better. If you really need head flow and okish intake manifold, the 4v exists. Nevermind how much it loves a turbo.
Aston lagonda. 76-89 versions. Newer is rare enough to be expensive even if it has minimal buyers
Agreed, which always surprises me – these were special cars. I guess everyone is afraid the digital screens will die.
Are those affordable now?
VW Type IIIs ( and Type 4s as well) of any version except the Type 34s (those are already expensive). Fastbacks, squarebacks, notchbacks, in that order of least likely to rise high in value. Way back when I had to decide which to keep, I knew that VW busses would be worth more in the future, I sold my ’64 Deluxe sunroof bus (which I still miss) but I kept the second car I ever bought, a ’67 squareback. It is due to be stripped down, get bodywork, and painted, and I have all the bits and pieces to put it back together. I know that whatever $ I put into having someone do the bodywork and paint will end up being more than that the entire car will be worth after I get it all back together. Ah well.
True of most cars though. I fixed the air conditioner and put new leather on the seats and door cards of my MR2. And with those two jobs I probably made selling it a break-even proposition.