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Interesting Market Shift

Bruzilla

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Since the beginning of this year, I've seen six classic Mopars show up for sale at non-classic car dealerships. Two Cudas, a 69 Road Runner, two Furies, and a Duster. In comparison, I saw one come up for sale at a dealership in the past two years (a 72 Satellite Sebring), and the last one I saw before that was about five years ago (a 72 Road Runner). I was wondering if anyone else is seeing these cars showing up at dealerships in their areas?

If this keeps up, it could be a sign that as car prices drop, owners are becoming interested in trading in their rides rather than taking a loss on them.
 
There will always be ticks up and down, but what's important is the trending, and prices are trending down. It's going to be interesting to see the next BJ and Mecum auctions to see how many more collections are getting sold off. I suspect we'll be seeing a lot more of that this year.
 
I could not agree more, nothing is selling for what it's worth or even what it costs to build as evidenced on FBBO's Mopars for Sale....unless someone really needs the cash a trade is the best way to go (from my perspective)
 
In my area we don't see any Mopar's for sell ever...

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let alone at a dealership
 
I've noticed more "classics" in general showing up at mom and pop style lots.

I stopped to look at an 85 T top 5 speed mustang GT yesterday.

Poorly done quarters, trashed interior with mismatched seats and brand new dash cap.
WAAAAY overpriced at 5.5K.

I'm stopping to look at an 87 fiero GT today or tomorrow ( I know, but I want to see it)

...and a few months ago there was a 66 Newport 383 car for $1200 across the street.

If you've never been to FL, the dealer laws are somewhat different down here.
There can be literally dozens of small used car lots on both sides of some well traveled roads.
Some never even sell a single car to the public, they just keep running them through the auction.

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...and I agree that people are probably trading them in rather than trying to sell them outright.
 
I couldn't miss all the production and advertising money the auction houses are putting into disposing collections. Special ads, taped interviews with owners, the works. All sounds on the up and up until you start seeing the same pattern repeated over and over again. First they tout all the great cars coming out of the collection, then comes the interview with the owners going something like "I really love these cars, and hate to part with them, but I'm just out of room and need to get rid of some to make room for more!"... a high-end version of the screaming "we're overstocked and need to make some room for the new models!" pitch car dealers make.

Okay, I can see one or two owners being in that position, but six? Or ten? All suddenly needing more room at the same time? Not likely. On the other hand, what else can they say? They can't come out and say "Look, the bottom is falling out of this market fast and I want to unload these cars while there's still enough ignorant people who are willing to pay top dollar for me not to take too big a loss." Telling the truth would just depress the market more, so BJ and Mecum are trying to keep fees high by investing in the "need more room" story.

All of which makes me wonder if some wily owners aren't running the same deal on the dealers. Trade your car in for more than you can sell it for to a dealer who still hasn't figured out the market is going down. I've been following an AAR Cuda clone for a while that an auto broker is trying to sell for $44,850 even though a similar clone has been for sale an hour away from him for over a year now for half that much. Don't know what the owner got from the dealer for that car, but I'll bet they end up with a better deal than the dealer is going to get. :)
 
Mopars are very few around my neck of the woods. Most of them are in "uncle marks" barn.
 
I've noticed that several of the dealers around here have a classic for sale front and center on their lots. I'm pretty sure that they are using these cars mostly as attention grabbers to try to get some traffic on their lots any way they can. If they can get the classic cheap enough and attract business with it, that's all they want. A lot of these dealers don't know anything about classic cars (or much about any cars in some cases) and are not really interested in the classic market. Sure, they'll flip a classic if they can double their money, but they don't want a lot full of them.
Sadly, some older classics end up on used car lots because their owner has died or become incapacitated in some way. The family ends up selling the car for pennies on the dollar to the first place that offers them anything for it simply because they don't have the time to mess with it, or just know any better. Hard to believe, but a lot of used car dealers are crooks. You can quote me.
 
As you have so eloquently pointed out many times now, well since 2007 people have been saying the collector car market has bottomed out & these guys with multi-million $$$$ collections, museums or high end beautiful "rarer or low production #'s cars" are always rotating their collections, they always have & always will... I think it's all just speculations period, there was easy money to be had or borrowed or available before the wall street & bank bail outs late 2007-2009, now there isn't easy money to be had or borrowed now, people don't have a ton of equity in their homes now to borrow against either, that was a big part of the car boom was easy money to be had, people that couldn't really afford these cars were, buying & spending borrowed money, to try to catch the wave of $$$$ in the collector cars boom & the market is down now & it will come back again... IMHFO the market was way overinflated & now it's finding an economic normal again, like any investment will do from time to time, it will be a rollercoaster ride yet again, too many people spending way too much money, trying to capitalize on a market high, then paying someone else, "big money to restore these cars" instead of doing themselves as a hobby like the rest of the people that can't ever afford these high end, rare or high dollar cars anyway... IMHFO it also spawned a large part of the SEMA & market, many fab & production companies/shops, retailers etc., to recognize we needed restoration parts, for these old collector/classic cars, there was a market for them... And that's a good-good situation to me, even if the new restoration parts, are way overpriced normally, at least some of them, they are available now.... Instead of like 10-20 years ago where you had to buy several cars for parts cars instead, dwindling the classic car pool even that much more, taking more restorable cars off the market to be used as parts cars... Most of these cars wouldn't even be around today if not for the auction houses & the collector markets, driving the boom, they wouldn't have the value & most people wouldn't have given most of these cars a second look, especially as an investment, with out a market place like Mecum BJ or RM auctions to sell their wares, cars, products, services at a captured affluent audience with lots of $$$$$ money... Just the ubber-rich playing with money, like they always do, no more no less, this round was just the ubber-rich car people instead of some other speculation like real-estate or some other market share driven investment.... my $0.02 cents

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also we're in the middle of the allot of "Baby Boomer's" all retiring & having more time & discretionary spending money.... the market will come back with all the guys/gals, with their new late life "mid life crisis's", trying to relive their youth, buying that car they got 1st laid in or what ever reasoning....LOL...
 
I also think that folks can actually do a reverse "take" on a small dealer.

Let's face it, most don't know much at all about cars, just about markup and profit.

if someone brings in a "classic" and the dealer has to rely on "book" value, and does not realize the key condition areas or how to tell repro or correct options...he could pay #3 money for a #4 car, and think he's going to sell it for close to #2 money.

I've also seen some "medium" sized dealers selling clones as "real" cars because they really don't know how to tell (and probably don't want to).
 
I don't see any 72 on up Coronets like mine around where I live just the one I have.
 
Craig Jackson sold some of his cars at the last auction here in Scottsdale. I don't remember his exact words, but something about time for a new owner to appreciate.
Hot Rod mag. interview with Jay Leno, asked Jay about selling cars, Jay said you don't sell cars, they are family.
 
That AAR Cuda clone was just relisted today. Price has gone from $44,850 to $39,980. I guess they're learning the bloom is off the rose for these cars.
 
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