The Ford Barn

WHN · 05-08-2026, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronn

well said Seth. mkt is soft on most classics. exception is porsche mercedes ferrari etc.

when a young fella cant afford a mortgage, well that shows you where the car mkt is.
salaries havent gone up substantially since the 1970s but houses have. expectations are also high. young women expect 4 bedrooms 3 baths 2 fireplaces and a 3 car garage. I grew up in a 1000 sq ft rancher, 4 people and 1 bath.

a collector car is never as important as a house, understandably.

a house in the 70s was maybe 40k today the avg is closer to 500k. do the math............

This is true all over the country.

I would hate to have to start my life today.

I wonder what our grandparents said about our time.

Seth Swoboda · 05-08-2026, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WHN

This is true all over the country.

I would hate to have to start my life today.

I wonder what our grandparents said about our time.

It wasn't easy for them. One of my grandfather's graduated high school and went off to WWII. When he came back he got married, built his house himself with the help of my great grandfather. He started farming, eventually starting his own small business. It was hard for them too but the work ethic was stronger back then. They worked hard for what they had. I think that is one of the big differences. I have no idea how inflation affected them as it does today.

1942deluxe · 05-08-2026, 01:12 PM

Seth, I think their needs (overhead) were lower than people today. If you spend $100 a week going out to eat and the like that's $5,200 a year and over 20 years that turns into $104,000. Life changing numbers. We had extremely low interest costs for an extended period of time which I believe contributed to the inflation. When I started in the Ford business in 1992, I had a 200k line with Ford Credit and I could put close to 10 new trucks on the ground for that. Today maybe 2 and a half. December of 1993 the rate dropped to in the 7% range which was great. A year later it hit 10.25%, ouch. I'm with WHN, not totally unhappy to be on this side of the trip.

05-08-2026, 01:12 PM	#43
1942deluxe Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Albion, PA Posts: 1,100	Re: Selling a car Seth, I think their needs (overhead) were lower than people today. If you spend $100 a week going out to eat and the like that's $5,200 a year and over 20 years that turns into $104,000. Life changing numbers. We had extremely low interest costs for an extended period of time which I believe contributed to the inflation. When I started in the Ford business in 1992, I had a 200k line with Ford Credit and I could put close to 10 new trucks on the ground for that. Today maybe 2 and a half. December of 1993 the rate dropped to in the 7% range which was great. A year later it hit 10.25%, ouch. I'm with WHN, not totally unhappy to be on this side of the trip.