Quote:
Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C
Also, from my vantage point, the overall prices of Model-As has not kept up with other collector car marques. This has seemingly allowed many people to purchase a Model-A with the mindset that they are a cheap car to have. At that point, those owners typically won't/don't spend $$ for upkeep. When someone pays a lot of money for a collector vehicle, they tend to maintain their "investment" both in storage and mechanically.
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Like the Model T the A was AND STILL IS the car for the common man. I think of it as the entry level of car collecting. It's always been a "I restored it myself" car not the one you took to a shop to restore.
Rarity is what drives the price of collector cars. With about 1/4 million Model As still in existence it's more a buyers than a sellers market. Prices won't go up until it's a sellers market and I don't see that happening. With the owners aging out of driving and living at a rapid rate the number of very clean cars on the market far exceeds the demand.
The rate of return is not in the restoration of a Model A. Materials and shop rates far exceed what a car would sell for when done. That same exact money could be put into a rarer car or one of a different era and while one would still probably lose money on their investment it would be less.
This is currently on Craigslist in Los Angeles. A Packard at about 30% higher buy in than an A in the same condition. If you put another 10 grand into each which would be worth more? A $22,000 Model A is about the top. A $28,000 Packard is $15-20 grand below the current market for a driver and a top flight restoration can reach 100 grand for this model but one would probably have to spend $80+ on the full restoration so the return isn't there at the 100 point level.
We can't forget, despite the goal of Paul Shinn to introduce the Model A to a whole new generation there are very few sub 60 year olds lusting after a car without automatic, air conditioning and a killer stereo that you can't drive on the freeway.