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Vintage - What's it going to be worth?

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Meriden

Meriden

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Back about 1984 I started working with a woman close to retirement age. She was an interesting person, made more interesting to this gear head when I learned she had owned a Duesenberg. She had never driven it and her brother kept it in a climate controlled garage somewhere in the north east. She claimed it was the best investment she had ever made.

There are a lot of interesting cars and bikes around the neighborhood in Houston. A guy down the street is rebuilding a Moris Minor. The next door neighbor has a '41 Indian and '54 HD K model. Another guy has 2 Nomads a '56 and '57.

For my part, I have an elderly XJ6, a BSA A65, Triumph TR6R, and a RD400 Daytona that desperately needs restoration. THE XJ6 is worth more than I paid for it and the TR6Rs are going for almost five times what I paid for mine. While I keep them because I just want them, not for the investment,
I wonder if the following generations are going to have an interest in antique bikes and cars.

Is the market going to quit booming with us boomers?
 
Well the RD,those are worthless so I would haul it off for you if you pay for my gas down there.:rofl: All kidding aside,that is one that needs a full restoration then parked inside the house. Especially the rare Daytona model.:drool: Like a idiot I let a Yamaha mechanic talk me OUT of buying one. Bet the salesman gave him the rash after I left.:box:

In the past I semi-restored 60s Ford Mustangs. I am shocked how Mustangs prices have shot up. Bet classic bikes will do the same as long as they are in decent condition.

On the market only time will tell. Maybe kids of the future will be eyeing that Focus or Cobalt and think those would be neat to restore or collect.:doh:

I hope that folks continue to recycle old machines both bikes and cars. Love those old Novas,Camaros,Falcons,Stangs,Demons,etc as well as just about any old bike.
 
I don't know if it counts as vintage but my son drove my mother's truck his first year in college. It's an 89 F250 Extended Cab Long Bed 4X4 with a 460. He developed an appreciation for older vehicles from that year of driving the beast.

I approached my mother this summer and told her that if she goes to sell it that I want it. She said "You can have it". I'm going to pick it up next summer and then begin the project of making it purdy. It's not my favorite year but you can't beat that engine or the price. I'll likely sell my monster Excursion and plow all of those funds into the F250. I don't drive my truck much and the same will hold true for the F250 so I would expect to be able to pass this down to my sons.
 
In answer to your question, as has been discussed before. But as us boomers drift off geared stuff will probably become less valuable to most. Might be a few collectors, just don't see this next get being interested in it.
 
I think the hurdle for future collectors of music seen vehicles will be the electronics. As they age and the technology in them becomes obsolete it will be more difficult and more expensive (even when inflation is considered) to maintain/restore modern stuff.

It's a lot cheaper to build/restore carbs and steel body panels for stuff from the 60s and 70s than it will be to do the same for electronically controlled suspension systems and aluminum or carbon fiber hoods. Enthusiasts have a way of figuring stuff out, though.

What I foresee happening is that the collectible vehicles will be isolated to fewer models. Corvettes in particular, I think, will always have their place in the enthusiast world.

The other thing I see working against future collectors and restorers is the fact that people don't keep vehicles as long as they used to. Clean, he owner vehicles that are 10+ years old are almost nonexistent these days. That means the starting specimens will likely be in worse shape as a starting point, leading to more expensive restorations.

Then there's the slew of vehicles that "cash for clunkers" took off the road. That robbed future generations of some good stuff to work with

In short...I think the collectible/classic/restoration market will always exist. It'll probably just be a bit different than what we see now.
 
Gee, my '81 Virago was bought new (136,000 miles), as was my '82 S-10 (690,000 miles) I thought I would just have them CRUSHED when I die, but maybe the SigOth should sell 'em for cash.
I was thinking of copying another old pick-up by painting "No se vende' on the tail gate.
 
mikes old virago said:
Gee, my '81 Virago was bought new (136,000 miles), as was my '82 S-10 (690,000 miles) I thought I would just have them CRUSHED when I die, but maybe the SigOth should sell 'em for cash.
I was thinking of copying another old pick-up by painting "No se vende' on the tail gate.
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You're an outlier, though...regardless of generation. I bet fewer than 1% of the motoring public will ever put that many miles on a bike or truck.
 
Meriden said:
I wonder if the following generations are going to have an interest in antique bikes and cars.

Is the market going to quit booming with us boomers?
Click to expand...

Everything that I see on Pickers and Antiques Roadshow indicates that the interest in older stuff will greatly die off as our generation dies off. Our kids have no interest in this stuff. I need to start selling off stuff, but just like many of the people on Pickers, I find it hard to let a lot of this stuff go.
:giveup:
 
Texas T said:
Everything that I see on Pickers and Antiques Roadshow indicates that the interest in older stuff will greatly die off as our generation dies off. Our kids have no interest in this stuff. I need to start selling off stuff, but just like many of the people on Pickers, I find it hard to let a lot of this stuff go.
:giveup:
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Well the kids are sooo interested in what is on their I-phone they will never learn to enjoy an older bike. Just wish they would stay off the **** things while they drive!
 
Ya'll are all spot on.
This next generation is not so interested in material things other than their electronic device (and even that is replaceable with the newest model). By-and-large (not saying ALL), they get more reward and self-accomplishment having 100 million followers/friends on whatever-social-media than owning stuff; be it bikes, cars, trucks, guns, homes, garage-majals....

If you're holding onto stuff for the market value, it really is time to consider liquidating. The market cannot be sustained forever. Just look at the end of the boomer generation as they reach empty-nester and just-retired phase of life. This is the end of the large population that generally cares about the past.

There will still always be those that want stuff, but nostalgia will fade into a distant memory of all things that are old and not politically-correct.
 
Lots of good thoughts here. I would only add that much of even the boomers' own fascination with vintage cars and bikes has been media driven, peaking especially during the 2000s. Barrett-Jackson, American Chopper, American Hot Rod, etc., all encouraged their interest and played upon their sense of nostalgia. That created a bit of a Rube Goldberg effect. As a result, a lot of the obscene prices we've seen over the past decade were actually driven by wealthy boomers.

If anyone can keep the prices of this old stuff in the clouds, it'll be Gen-X and definitely not millennials. But like many here have mentioned, I see the bubble bursting soon. In another generation, the car/bike culture as we know it will probably be gone as everything becomes electric and more utilitarian. I'd wager that if you wanna sell at a premium, the clock is ticking.
 
Texas T said:
Everything that I see on Pickers and Antiques Roadshow indicates that the interest in older stuff will greatly die off as our generation dies off. Our kids have no interest in this stuff. I need to start selling off stuff, but just like many of the people on Pickers, I find it hard to let a lot of this stuff go.
:giveup:
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More to the point, kids grow into mature adults, have disposable cash, and sometimes want to reach for a piece of heritage. But not YOUR and your parents' heritage, but rather THEIR and their parents' heritage. Someday that rusty Chevy Cobalt could be the collectable Model T of their generation. You can't really predict these things.

Automobiles aside, other collectables will move in directions we can't predict. There may be a time when you'll lament having junked your Atari 2600, IBM 386, or original Sony Walkman. I'm already wishing I had any of the 20 or so transistor radios that I owned from the early 60s to the mid 80s. Particularly the ones with a shortwave or longwave band, and international frequency markings.

Markets get fickle and turn, too. From what I can tell, vintage 50s Gibson Les Pauls must have lost about half their value after the Crash of '08, and have never returned to those earlier numbers. If you planned to sell your '59 burst for north of $200K, that train has left the station and may not be back in your lifetime. So heck, you might as well put a new set of D'addarios on and play that sucker.

A couple of good shows to watch, both for sheer entertainment value, but also to get a glimpse of what's trending in automania, are 'Chasing Classic Cars' and 'Jay Leno's Garage.'
 
TWTim said:
In another generation, the car/bike culture as we know it will probably be gone as everything becomes electric and more utilitarian. I'd wager that if you wanna sell at a premium, the clock is ticking.
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Yep. That's spot on.

I think it circles back to the idea that if you own a classic bike or car today, that you do it for yourself, for the moment. If you own it, use it, enjoy it, and then if you can crash it and walk away thinking, "I'd pay $X,XXX to do that all again" resale value doesn't count.
 
I have a classic flip phone.























:duck:
 
KenH said:
I have a classic flip phone.

:duck:
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I wouldn't be at all surprised if there's a brick phone or a bag phone in the Smithsonian American History building. I do know they have the original computer "chip", which is about the size of a refrigerator.
 
Threads like this always have the same effect on me...they start off entertaining and end up borderline infuriating.

If you expect people born 20-50 years after you to have the same interests as people your age your expectations are unreasonable. A lot of these posts seems so condescending toward the younger people in our society. It's certainly nothing new, and isn't isolated to this thread (or this site...or the internet in general).

I'm not sure where the line of demarcation lies, but it seems like there's some age above which the most common hobby becomes complaining about "kids these days".

The world changes. Nobody is asking you to change with it, but complaining about it and refusing to even try to understand or relate to younger folks just makes them even less likely to attempt to relate to you.
 
Annhl8rX said:
Threads like this always have the same effect on me...they start off entertaining and end up borderline infuriating.

If you expect people born 20-50 years after you to have the same interests as people your age your expectations are unreasonable. A lot of these posts seems so condescending toward the younger people in our society. It's certainly nothing new, and isn't isolated to this thread (or this site...or the internet in general).

I'm not sure where the line of demarcation lies, but it seems like there's some age above which the most common hobby becomes complaining about "kids these days".

The world changes. Nobody is asking you to change with it, but complaining about it and refusing to even try to understand or relate to younger folks just makes them even less likely to attempt to relate to you.
Click to expand...

Well, some people just don't raise their kids right. My 5-year old grandson has dropped and bagged genuine Western Flyer Town and Country wagons and a custom painted Batman electric car, bagged, of course. His Mom has a custom painted and upholstered golf cart for the campgrounds for riding around when they aren't playing in Daddy's 30-year old Glastron that still looks brand new. I raised my kid right so don't blame me!

I think there will always be interests in customs, rods, and retrorods, but going back to home built. There will always be dirty fingernails, and since they actually know how to make machines work, they will eventually rule the world! BWAAHAAHAAHAAHAA!!!
 
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Meriden said:
I think it circles back to the idea that if you own a classic bike or car today, that you do it for yourself, for the moment. If you own it, use it, enjoy it, and then if you can crash it and walk away thinking, "I'd pay $X,XXX to do that all again" resale value doesn't count.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Is kinda like these guys who buy Harleys because, "They hold better resale value." Such nonsensical reasoning. You should be buying it to ride the wheels off of it, not resell it. Motorcycles are generally not a sound investment, and anyone who thinks otherwise is probably bad with money. LOL.

:mrgreen:
 
Buy a Volvo. They're always a good investment because they always hold their value. :trust: (Plus, your preppie friends will be impressed)
 
When I was in the Army, I had a buddy who bought an Austin Bugeye Sprite, thinking he could drive it for a couple of years, then turn it for a profit. He bought it for $800. Over the next year, the car was down more than up (typical British sports car) and he pumped close to $2,000 1974 dollars into it, keeping it running. He had to have the flywheel replaced, for pete's sake! How many cars have you run across with teeth missing on the flywheel???

Anyhoo, after a year, he'd had enough and sold the Sprite ----- he got $800. Not only do you have to understand the market to turn a profit on a car, you have to understand the LOCAL market. El Paso isn't typically a great market for British sports cars, unless you run into a GI with a pocketful of money and no common sense.

After that, he turned around and bought a Volvo with 100K on the odometer because he was told "they always hold their value." :doh: Shortly afterward, I checked out & headed to a new assignment in Germany. So if there was a sad followup to the Volvo story, I at least didn't have to listen to it.
 
tshelfer said:
Buy a Volvo. They're always a good investment because they always hold their value. :trust: (Plus, your preppie friends will be impressed)
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I would never allow a preppie to befriend me. Alligators are for steaking, not embroidering on shirts.
 
Texas T said:
Everything that I see on Pickers and Antiques Roadshow indicates that the interest in older stuff will greatly die off as our generation dies off. Our kids have no interest in this stuff. I need to start selling off stuff, but just like many of the people on Pickers, I find it hard to let a lot of this stuff go.
:giveup:
Click to expand...

They've been showing older Antiques Roadshow episodes from the early 2000's with updated values for the items in today's market. Most all have dropped considerably in value by as much as half or more.
 
tshelfer said:
Automobiles aside, other collectables will move in directions we can't predict. There may be a time when you'll lament having junked your Atari 2600, IBM 386, or original Sony Walkman. I'm already wishing I had any of the 20 or so transistor radios that I owned from the early 60s to the mid 80s.
Click to expand...

* I still have my Commie 64 in the box. With the cassette tape drive and the monster 5 1/4" floppy drive.
* I still have my Nintendo system in the box. With Rob the Robot.
* I do wish I had kept my son's GameBoy.
 
Texas T said:
* I still have my Commie 64 in the box. With the cassette tape drive and the monster 5 1/4" floppy drive.
* I still have my Nintendo system in the box. With Rob the Robot.
* I do wish I had kept my son's GameBoy.
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Just a few weeks ago I recycled a bunch of old hardware. I kept a Compaq portable with dual 5 1/4s and upgraded to a 30-30 hard drive. I think it is still running DOS 3 something. Need to see if it will fire up.


I heard a radio interview Sandra Button who is the Chairman and Executive director of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and she had an interesting spin on the issue. She pointed out that while horse ownership by the general public had dropped to almost none, that there was a huge industry built around people who show, jump, race and otherwise enjoy horses. She argued that antique motor vehicles will continue in the same way. We may not be commuting the same way in the future, but there will still be a market among collectors for true classics.
 
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