Old Car Prices vs New

[Limelight]

When discussing the cost of old cars to new and their increase in perceived value, you also have to take into account inflation. A new Camaro in 1969 cost between $3,600 and $3,800 to acquire. In today’s dollars, that’s roughly equivalent to $25,500 2020 dollars. So the true growth in value comparing an apple to an apple is closer to 2x not 20x - assuming a nice driver 69 goes for around $50K. A mint example goes for more but then you’d have to account for the tens of thousands of dollars the owner invested to get it like that.

The 1969 ZL1 sold for $7,200, which is roughly $51,000 in 2020 dollars, so again, not much off the equivalent 2020 MSRP.

If looking to hold on to cars for a long period of time as a means to make money, you’d be better off investing in a blue chip stock that pays dividends and you’ll be further ahead. But you’ll lead a boring life

Moral of the story - buy the car; take good care of the car; enjoy the car; and some day sell the car and recoup a good portion of the initial investment to acquire it. But holding on to it; insuring it; storing it; maintaining it and not driving it - and you won’t be that much further ahead.... My two cents.

[Bigtime53]

Originally Posted by lbls1

Bigtime,
That is one area that I did not focus on; The advent of electric cars. Don't get me wrong, as I advocate the development of alternative fuels to save our environment etc. It is just that I don't believe that electric is the savior alternative right now. I feel that the technology is still a century away in terms of development for daily use. The reasons that I feel this way are: Much of electrical power depends on fossil fuel for facilities that generate electric power. 2. Charging stations are rare, at least where I live at. You just can't readily find them as opposed to gas stations. 3. Charge time for batteries is woefully too long. You have to wait 7-9 hours to fully charge a battery, and in general the mileage ranges are still shorter than some gas vehicles. Gas vehicles you can replenish fuel in minutes. 4. Boring and generic car styles, but that's nothing new for today's cars.

I don't see electric cars becoming a major hit in the present time due to its inconvenience. A lot of work will be needed in order to make electric cars as convenient as the most efficient gas cars we have in the present time.

To me, it is a rather sad time for automobiles in general, because they have become lifeless utensils. No more style, or excitement from most cars (that includes a few high dollar luxury makes as well). That is why I will be clinging to my examples and the last vestiges of American car excitement.

You don't think electric cars will be the norm in 20 years? I think the car companies will have it all figured out by then but gas engines might still be available in cars but at more expense to encourage the buyer to go electric but after that I believe it will be the norm within 23-25 years if not just a little sooner.

[lbls1]

Originally Posted by Bigtime53

You don't think electric cars will be the norm in 20 years? I think the car companies will have it all figured out by then but gas engines might still be available in cars but at more expense to encourage the buyer to go electric but after that I believe it will be the norm within 23-25 years if not just a little sooner.

It possibly could if manufacturers put their mind into it. It will need to be a concentrated effort with car manufacturers, electricity suppliers, and customer acceptance. Realize that we will probably get push back from OPEC and other oil suppliers. The key is that cars have to be at least as good as the liquid fuel cars we've enjoyed for almost a century. People have to be able to get in them and roll. Re-charging has to be done in 5 minutes or less, not 5 hours. I can see it now; Electric cars as a fad would last 2-5 years tops, then we'll be back to gas and hybrid cars. Like I said, the way the cars are now it seems that the technology is a century off IMO. Amazing things can be accomplished, however.

[KenKat]

I think there is a compelling case for electric cars right now, but we are still in a situation where you occasionally may need an ICE (internal combustion engine) car for longer trips, etc. So an electric car can’t be your only car unless you never go farther than 100 miles from home or are willing to take it slow and plan for recharge time when traveling. Until recharging technology gets further along, we’re going to have ICE cars around for awhile.