I received this from Bruce Treaney at FANTASY JUNCTION in Emmerville, California. I have known Bruce since 1978 and believe he has an excellent pulse of the Antique Classic Car Market. His current Market Report is as follows.
''It is not a huge surprise to anyone even casually watching the collector car market to see that the feeling of rushing into the market to control an upswinging asset has cooled markedly. The buyers today, seem to be people interested in cars for what they actually are, rather than cars representing another investment asset class. This can bring people previously priced out of the market back in. It also means that the buyers are more particular, and not rushed into a decision thinking that they will miss a deal. Today, buyers seek more of information, history, and photographs, yet few seem to take the time to actually go see and drive a car.
However, an interesting theme emerged during 2019; the re-sale of cars back to their previous owners. On no less than six occasions this year, cars from our inventory found their way back to their previous owners, ranging from Ferrari Daytonas to Morgan plus 4s, a trend which does bring into question the longevity of the currently active buying population, still primarily comprised of Baby Boomers.
High quality cars- particularly very accurate repilcars- with a broader use-case continue to sell well, particularly now. Cars with several purposes or capable of a range of uses including eventing with minimal prep or team support, fare well in the marketplace. The more relaxed events, non-official rallies, vintage races, and cars and coffee-type get togethers are catering to these more casual mixed-use cars. Assuming they are priced correctly, cars which are not perfect but very presentable, and easy to casually show, appear to be more in demand than fully restored examples which require delicate handling. Cars which are comparatively simple to use and can be operated by friends or spouses are also of increasing popularity.
There are more events on the calendar where car enthusiast can participate with their car than ever before, and events like the Le Mans Classic, the Mille Miglia and many others continue to be oversubscribed, so there is obviously interest. We do feel that moving forward in the near term, these should be the reasons to buy an old, or interesting car, rather than counting on a car to outperform other investments. ''
''It is not a huge surprise to anyone even casually watching the collector car market to see that the feeling of rushing into the market to control an upswinging asset has cooled markedly. The buyers today, seem to be people interested in cars for what they actually are, rather than cars representing another investment asset class. This can bring people previously priced out of the market back in. It also means that the buyers are more particular, and not rushed into a decision thinking that they will miss a deal. Today, buyers seek more of information, history, and photographs, yet few seem to take the time to actually go see and drive a car.
However, an interesting theme emerged during 2019; the re-sale of cars back to their previous owners. On no less than six occasions this year, cars from our inventory found their way back to their previous owners, ranging from Ferrari Daytonas to Morgan plus 4s, a trend which does bring into question the longevity of the currently active buying population, still primarily comprised of Baby Boomers.
High quality cars- particularly very accurate repilcars- with a broader use-case continue to sell well, particularly now. Cars with several purposes or capable of a range of uses including eventing with minimal prep or team support, fare well in the marketplace. The more relaxed events, non-official rallies, vintage races, and cars and coffee-type get togethers are catering to these more casual mixed-use cars. Assuming they are priced correctly, cars which are not perfect but very presentable, and easy to casually show, appear to be more in demand than fully restored examples which require delicate handling. Cars which are comparatively simple to use and can be operated by friends or spouses are also of increasing popularity.
There are more events on the calendar where car enthusiast can participate with their car than ever before, and events like the Le Mans Classic, the Mille Miglia and many others continue to be oversubscribed, so there is obviously interest. We do feel that moving forward in the near term, these should be the reasons to buy an old, or interesting car, rather than counting on a car to outperform other investments. ''
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