Insider Insight: The market for modern classics is...

Hagerty

Vehicles built in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s have been the darlings of the collector car market in recent years. They appeal to new generations of enthusiasts, who are entering the market en masse, and have benefited hugely from the growth of online auctions. But how hot are these vehicles, really?
https://www.hagerty.com/media/market-trends/hagerty-insider/market-for-modern-classics/

billyt

So, no low production 2003-2004 Mustang Mach 1 ?

JAG

Great list. Problem is so many are just great cars to drive and they end up in someone's inventory. $ for $ the 06-09 Z06 is almost impossible to beat even though they do have some expensive (it all relative if you compare it to a basic Ferrari maintenance) items that may need addressing. Another car missing from the list is the 2014-15 Z28. A race car for the street and last use of the 427. Prices have bottomed out and are rising. Trying to find one under $50000 is not easy.

stevecobb45

I'd like to think the American car classics are a much better opportunity to spend less & see a bigger return than most of these listed. Buick Grand Nationals are still around at decent prices as are 1989 Pontiac Indy Pace Cars for the performance orientated turbo fans. The 1982 & up Camaros & Firebird/Trans-Ams are great handling cars with lots of potential with speed upgrades. Put a SB 400 in one of these & you got yourself a rocket.

MATTMERICA

I was just at an auction where Grand Nationals went for almost 100k each 😞

Martin44

It appears by the graph presented that the collector car market, given the examples being relatively equal, has just kept up with inflation over the past 20 years. $80K in 2000 dollars is inflation adjusted to about $122K in today’s dollars. At least that’s better than putting your money in a bank savings account that might currently earn 0.25%.
Therefore, buy it, drive it, maintain it and just enjoy it.

OldCarMan

So only the PLYMOUTH Prowler and not the Chrysler Prowler??

Unless one is selling said vehicle, why does any of this matter? It will always be what a buyer is willing to pay. The uneducated buyer is more likely to get stiffed, but that is called a learning curve and not doing your due diligence.

MattK

Splitting hairs much? You obviously know Plymouth didn't exist anymore so they called it the Chrysler Prowler, I'm sure it still qualifies.

LINY

Cadillac CTS V Wagon? 1,700 produced in 4 years 556 HP Supercharged. Chirp Chirp.

Eric

these are monsters, no doubt. Prices are strong, and we took a look back in June of 2019. https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/2009-15-cadillac-cts-v-luxurious-modern-hot-rod/

There was also a record-setting sale this past October: https://www.hagerty.com/media/auctions/2012-cadillac-cts-v-sells-for-a-record-high-93975/

bblhed

But what if I just bought my car when it was reasonably affordable, in great driver condition, and my intension is to just keep on using it as often as possible until it or I die? At that point it will either be a worthless car that is going to be junked, or my estate will be lowballed when they try to sell it. Anyone that has slapped a For Sale sign on anything lately knows that the actual offer price is going to be about 60% of retail. The car is either for investment or enjoyment but unless you enjoy investing it is not both. I will mention that cars that become items purely for investment will eventually not be safe for road use because they will not be properly maintained, don't believe me, you can check with Paul Walker but he won't be able to tell you his opinion because of the way he was killed in an investment car that had tires on it that were too old to be considered safe for road use.

JACY

Have you missed the huge run up of Porsche 996's 1999-2005 ?In the last 18months

Eric

996s have indeed been on the rise since 2017. Check out our recent piece on the State of the 911: https://www.hagerty.com/media/market-trends/hagerty-insider/porsche-911-market/

Ajakeski

MINI Cooper R53. Especially 2005 and 2006 models

GMGS2K

Just sold my 2008 S2000 with 10,600 miles. Completely original. Bought new in January 2009 as retirement present to myself. Sold for $40,000. Prices climbing quickly for low mileage original cars. To ease the sting I've ordered a C8 convertible!

Markbenz

No AMG?

trickytrick

So is it a good thing or a bad thing if my car is not on the list? I have an 05 Subaru WRX STi that I would have thought for sure would have been included. Does it mean too few have been sold?

Darold

The STi and Evo VIII/IX models have definitely seemed to be a little slower to heat up, but there have been auction results for nice, lower mileage cars that indicate they are trending upward for sure. I wouldnt be surprised if it was included in future lists like these

salsa96

The Subie STi as we like to call them around here is the muscle car of this current generation and will definitely be sought after in the coming years as long as they are well cared for. Just like any other car for that matter. There are plenty of them available so should be good for those who aren’t swimming in money.

Eric

don't fret, trickytrick.

The WRX STI was a member of the Bull Market class of 2019.

https://www.hagerty.com/media/valuation/best-collector-cars-to-buy-now-2019-bull-market-list/

They're very much in the conversation, just not included in this specific data set. Hope you enjoy it--someone in my neighborhood has a very clean one that I can hear coming from a mile away and love to see it zip by.

plymouthgal

My 1948 Plymouth is vintage and it sort of bothers me when someone says "oh you have a classic, it must be worth $60,000 dollars or more." Only because they think I must be very wealthy and assume every "classic" car is worth a fortune. Totally wrong! They made millions and sold millions of 1946,1947, and 1948 Plymouths for the Boomers after WWII. I am older than my car and know what Hagerty valuates it at, but to me she is worth millions. I agree with the gentleman who said he would drive his car until he or it died. I didn't buy her for the money, nor do I think of her as an investment of money, but as an investment in my happiness.

salsa96

Pretty sure those were made for the parents of the “boomers” but I do agree with your point in an investment in one’s happiness. Isn’t that what it’s really all about for most of us?

dbucknh

No MR2, yet all of it's contemporary market competition is on this list?

Eric

The data set isn't meant to be utterly comprehensive. No question the MR2 is on people's radar, though, and you're right to ask about it. We included it in our 2019 Bull Market list:

https://www.hagerty.com/media/valuation/best-collector-cars-to-buy-now-2019-bull-market-list/

chrlsful

like that you vary the list. I'd say even more of the same into "trucks" (and if willing, bikes). Some vehicles we know are 'classics' (my wrd for some '50s/60s european & late '30s - very early 50s u.s. of a cars/trucks) as soon as made. We laughed at the Viper, but still 'knew' when it was submitted...

OK, 'modern' classics. That like 'door card' might come into more use. For me? if just muddies the waters. Cord, Auburn, Dalahaye can't B compared to miata, typhoon or S2000.

MATTMERICA

Covid money has spiked the 2020 and 2021 markets for everything, especially collector-grade autos.

HELIDR

Soooo...Ferrari Testarossa on the list, but not the 512 BB or 512 BBi? Much more classic lines on those two models. For the 512 BBi, only 1007 were produced vs. God knows how many of the Testarossas! Owner bias here, since I've owned an '83 512 BBi since 1986! Dr. John

Chris2161

So my 1995 Lexus SC300 is not on the list. And yet whenever I take it out people take notice and compliment what beautiful car it is. So it’s not on your list. It’s on mine. The real value is the smile it puts on my face to fire it up and cruise down the road. Screw your list.

Utopia1

Same with my '95 SC400! I didn't expect to see it on the list but was secretly hoping it might be.

Gene_M

It is sad that the BMW E21 is not here, just another ding against the true start of the 3 series BMW.

Eric

E21 is a bit on the older side for this list's focus. But about a year and a half ago I wrote up a short piece on climbing values we were seeing in the data. Hopefully it scratches your itch:
https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/1st-gen-bmw-320i-is-climbing/

TG

My Allante still doesn't get any love... except from me

MisterTorgue

Most Allante owners are the only ones who care about them. They're so cheap that anyone who like them can afford them and already has one.

erne75

No 90-96 Nissan 300ZX Twinturbo?

mags56

In 1985 I bought a ‘53 BelAir that was sitting in front of a farm in Reisterstown, MD. Olive green and white, 6 cylinder, four door. The tube radio worked! Kept it for three years and then sold it to my mechanic.
She was the ugliest of ducklings but one of the coolest cars I ever owned. Never should have let her go 😕

Harrdware44

No AMGs at all?? No V12 SLs? Kinda light on Mercedes Benz in general. Quite the iconic cars in the 90s especially.

Eric

Lot of comments here from those who are wondering why specific cars (usually their own) are not part of the list we used to produce the index.

Keep in mind, the point of this exercise was to look at a wide set of data to draw conclusions about how a loosely defined class of vehicles is performing. Whether one specific model is on here or not misses the forest for a tree. Of the vehicles we did include, some are performing extremely well, while others are not doing as well as one might think. Together, all of the data tells a story.

What the data shows is that when you pull back and look at the big picture, modern classics are not as red-hot as it can sometimes seem when you see big auction results of single sales. Many of the cars being mentioned here in the comments are vehicles we've spotlighted in specific articles over the last few years. I'll drop in some additional links for further reading!

SJ

No New Edge Bullit or Mach 1 but a four door GTO(Holden) with a Chevy Engine? Demon& Viper? I know this is tough to choose but......

bemrfst

This is where the younger guys are looking 25-35ish. And to many people have to much money to spend. Prices have gotten crazy on every thing!!

Jfcrider

What about the 2005-2006 Chevy SSR with the 6 speed gearbox?

ELDee

some data and examples would surely help explain the graph. For example, I believe I've seen the Ford GT explode in price since 2004, when they might have been seen as 'used cars' rather than appreciating classics. Aggregating the data into a graph gives no real insight without knowing a specific model, the actual pricing over time, and the number of times a paticular car sold

gec

As a sidebar to this discussion, what's interesting to me is how many of these so-called collectibles are real dogs to actually drive or own. Among the cars on your list, I can tell you from first-hand experience that anything made by Chrysler (Prowler & Viper) had terrible build quality and were crude excuses for cars -- no matter how unique they were to look at. Old Ferrari's are maintenance nightmares and models like the Testarossa are huge outside and tiny/cramped inside. You get the idea. Bottom line: there's a lot NOT to like about many of these examples, except maybe their investment value. A recent C6-C8 Corvette is way better to live with and has most/all of the performance you could want for a lot less $$$. Besides, I like to actually drive my cars.

rdoss8

The list includes Shelby GT500 08-14. Why does it not include the 07, the first year they started producing them again?

Insider Insight: The market for modern classics isn't as wild as you think | Hagerty Media