Prices Up ?

[Mulletwagon]

Seems like the asking price of Model As is spiking upward. Not too long ago $8-10K would buy a nice driver. The price now seems more like $12-14K plus --often big plus. Just curious if our senior folks can give some history on the cost of an A over the years. Model As use to be the affordable way to get into the antique auto hobby. It is all relative, but I think this may be changing.
Watcha think ?

[Joe K]

My opinion for a long time is that a restored Model A Ford could be had for about the price of a "cheap" modern car. I don't think that has changed. Toyota Corolla would be the model, although Honda Civic or Ford EcoSport could fit the bill as well.

And in the low $20Ks for most modern cars the modus seems to still fit.

Here in Cow Hampshire the occasional "Ice Cream/Parade" model A still exists - and can run around $12K. I call these the 1980s restorations, usually done by one's now deceased father.

A few "Barn Fresh" are found - these might be $5-8K - but need "attention" before they're truly road-worthy. The trend now is to do the minimum necessary to get it road-worthy - or at least leave the cosmetics original and do the restoration on the reliability part.

Joe K

[Keith True]

I just sold two of my A's.An unrestored roadster and a unrestored Tudor.Both were being driven regularly.I set my prices on them,and when the right ones came along they bought them.I was getting some really stupid offers from some A guys.I made it very clear that whatever price I set on them was THE price.It was going to be a yes or no.Some of the A guys wanted me to subtract the costs of the work they needed from the price.I always felt it takes about a year to sell an A unless it is a fire sale type of affair.

[1931 flamingo]

I've got a deposit on my tudor, have had it for 9 good years, paid 10k (it was a late 80's re-do done right), and got almost that for it, it had to go as I'm itching to drive the 40. Had a for sale sign on it for the past year. Going to Italy.
Paul in CT

[ronn]

dont think prices have gone up at all. remain constant with inflation........


in my opinion.

[jhowes]

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Keith True and others, can you divulge the prices that you are getting. Are they in the range that Joe K mentioned. Just curious. Jack

[37 Coupe]

Are all the different body style prices going up or down at the same rate? I have always wanted a 1931 Deluxe Phaeton and in the last forty years they have just gone up up up. I have followed 1931 Deluxe roadster prices for a little over a year and bought one.In my personal experience before I bought the roadster prices were in mid twenties for a very good one and in the last year it seems every week there is a better and cheaper one. I know several local ones that I liked but owners locked in at mid twenties and they still have them.I bought one I liked in the teens but it is taking more and more money to get it on the road.I have learned enough at 73 years old and over 55 years in this hobby just in the past year to have looked away from this car.One lesson learned would be to take a veteran Model A Club guy with you to sort it out before buying or not buying,not as much a good deal as a good car. When I look at one nowadays the first thing I look for is good shocks,good original shocks.That is a start to whether effort was put into the build.

[WHN]

We should be having this conversation over a couple of beers.

Having sold what I think was a very good, well cared for, early 80’s redone, mechanically restored, body redone but not taken completely apart car. Sold in Hemmings, gone in less than two weeks. Three serious buyers, including one from England. No question on price, price listed was price received. Received just under $20,000.00. Sport Coupe.

My personal view is that if you have a body style that is fun to drive and look at. A car that is very well sorted out mechanically. Has not been overly personalized. Whether a 20 footer or a nut and bolt restoration. It will sell and the prices are in most cases higher than what we see on e-bay.

Most of the cars that I have looked at for sale are just old cars that have been worked on by many different owners over 90 years. If they were a 10 year old modern car, they would be going to the scrap yard. Most of these cars are going back to the barn over the next few years with continued aging of cars and owners.

Solid, well maintained, attractive body style cars will be in demand. Restored or unrestored.

The secret is stock, solid, well maintained cars.

[Oldbluoval]

Solid, well maintained, attractive body style cars will be in demand. Restored or unrestored.

The secret is stock, solid, well maintained cars.


Yessir, junk still doesn't sell but as above, those are still in demand. The rarer stuff is still commanding good prices (A400, cabby, phaetons) that have escalated.


One problem of buying a junker or one needing resto is the resto cost. That subject has been belabored a lot here. Easy to have $60K in a $25K car if restored.


IMHO

[Jeff/Illinois]

Originally Posted by WHN

Solid, well maintained, attractive body style cars will be in demand. Restored or unrestored.

The secret is stock, solid, well maintained cars.

I tend to agree.

I also believe that '30-'31 Roadsters, Deluxe and Standard, will always be in demand. The rodders want good ones too.

If you want to see what is popular look at what the aftermarket is building in new bodies. '30-'31 Model A Roadsters, '40 Ford Coupes, '67-'68 Mustang fastbacks, '69 Camaros and Chevelles. That alone is an indication that there is a demand for these cars and will be for quite some time.

[Mulletwagon]

Most A hobbyists will probably tell you that you do not buy an A with the expectation of turning a profit when you sell it. Over a few years, if you can break even on your acquisition price you have done well. If you can also recoup your upgrade/restoration costs - home run ! The days of getting a barn find dirt cheap and bringing it up to driver status inexpensively are gone. The goal for most of us is to find a driver for a reasonable price and not find hidden issues later like a cracked block, bent frame, worn suspension, or massive rust. This is a real challenge if you are buying far from home and a detailed inspection is difficult. I think most of us just want a reliable driver rather than a car prepped for Pebble Beach. Those Drivers are out there, but the prices seem to be creeping up.

[Keith True]

I don't mind telling the prices I got,but I don't because the buyers might not like it.The two I sold might have been considered barn cars,(well,that's where I got them) but they were turn key drivers.Lot's more than Joe K said,but he has seen them and knows they are not fresh hauled out of the barns.I sell/have sold a lot of junk,but very few A's.A's were for keeping to me.I have sold a few for other people though.When you have 5 A's and only one driver it gets kind of old.I did just sell one through facebook.60-70 idiotic responses,half a dozen serious,and one,I like it,load it up.I always give them a phone number.If they can't run a phone they're not interested.Something I found interesting about the facebook ad was after I took the ad down yesterday I got 11 calls from people who had retained my phone number.Every one was using the tactic of waiting until the ad had expired,then making me a lowball offer in case I was desperate for money.Kind of funny and clever.

[alexiskai]

Worth noting that a lot of the lower-priced transactions happen away from the markets, so if you're just looking at list prices then (a) you can't be sure that's what they're really selling for and (b) you're not seeing the ones that sell through informal channels.

For example my '29 coupe was listed on Hemmings for $12K, although I didn't know that when I approached the owners. They were the children of the previous owner, who had died, and they just wanted to liquidate the car, and they liked me and I lived locally, so I offered $8500 and they took it.

[Keith True]

I sold this coupe about 10 years ago,$8000.Rust free,had been stripped to bare metal,and left in a garage.It was straight.It had a never started Sears reman engine,for what that is worth.(zero to me)i had to top a street rodders offer to buy it and figured I would peddle it to an A guy and save it.Bad move.After a year of listening to lowball offers from some of the old boys I sold it to a rod builder and got my money back.It was the first time I heard it put this way,I can pay you $800.for this rust free,straight body,or buy a rusty one for $3000.and give the body guy $10,000.He made perfect sense.Funny thing about that car was a couple of years later one of the buyers buddies told me he had been grumbling about the car.He felt the car was way too nice to cut up for a rod,and had turned into an expensive garage ornament.I have no idea where the car did wind up,his shop and property has turned into a shopping mall.

[Joe K]

The other thing about pricing is that it isn't always about the money. As the two posts above allude, many who sell want to sell to someone who "appreciates" the car. Sort of a continuation of what they themselves feel in their own hearts?

I certainly would rather sell to an enthusiast rather than someone who intends to "rod" the car. I almost can't imagine today someone who would sell to a rodder?

But that's me.

But things have changed, are changing. I think I have told my story here about my father in the 1960s who was tasked with removing the mechanical steeple clock from our church prior to replacement with an electric driven unit (with "recorded" time gong.)

The church was built in 1867 and that when the clock was installed. It was of Brit origin - all the nuts & bolts & whatever were all British standard. It was cast iron and it was the size of a small commercial walk-in freezer. Dad removed all the brass gears and was so proud when he announced he made $75 for the church in scrapping the brass. The frame of the clock was too large to bring down the stairs so he busted up the frame with a splitting maul before loading it for 1 cent a pound at the scrapper.

Today that clock would sell on Ebay in excess of $10K. Then it was only scrap.

I imagine many sellers of Model A's when confronted with a year-long wait simply misunderstand the market and jump at a first opportunity - after all - in their minds this is a car that Dad pulled out of a barn for $15, restored to functionality for his own pleasure for a total cost of $267.85, and has had ever since collecting dust. (I'm trying to remember a restoration cited in the 1960s book below)



Its not 1960 anymore.


Joe K

[alexiskai]

Originally Posted by Joe K

I imagine many sellers of Model A's when confronted with a year-long wait simply misunderstand the market and jump at a first opportunity - after all - in their minds this is a car that Dad pulled out of a barn for $15, restored to functionality for his own pleasure for a total cost of $267.85, and has had ever since collecting dust.

The gentleman who restored my coupe from '83-'86 kept meticulous records, and I was able to calculate that his total layout for purchase and restoration – just in money, not counting any of the hundreds of hours of his time – was about $28,000 in 2019 dollars.

True story, a lot of that money was spent getting the sheet metal restored by a young local guy who did restorations and hot rods named Craig Naff. Whatever happened to that guy?

[Keith True]

Somebody reading this thread just called me and said the Roadster I sold was just sold on ebay for a lot more than I sold it for.He said,what do you think of that? I said if it didn't suit him I'm glad he came out of it well. But,he MADE money on you.I didn't get what he was talking about,it finally sunk in to me that I was supposed to be mad about it.I explained that the man that bought it from me paid my price without whining,and I got what I wanted.Good for him if he got more.I don't look at ebay so I wouldn't have seen it.

[Jeff/Illinois]

That was a dumb thing that guy did to you Keith, calling you and telling you that about your Roadster. Was he trying to rub it in your face

What was that supposed to accomplish? I think it was rude and stupid for that guy to do that. Very poor manners

[Keith True]

I don't really know why the guy called me to tell me.I sold the car,and got what I wanted.The guy that called me had nothing to do with it,it was like he was stirring the pot,but there is no pot to stir.There is nothing to rub my face in,the guy that bought it from me can do whatever he wants to with it.Very nice man,and I hope he did make money on it.The man that called me did try to buy it from me a couple of years ago,but he offered thousands less than I wanted.I think I ticked him off a little when he said,you've had this for sale for a month and still have it.I said if I haven't sold it in a few more years I will think about dropping the price.I don't look at ebay so I never saw the car,so it could very well be another car that he thought was mine.

[Joe K]

There are those in this world who HAVE to one-up you. If they can't one-up you themselves, they look for others to one-up you, and then take perverse delight in the one-up.

Of course this begs the question WHY they have to one-up you in particular? Might it have something to do with your acumen in things Model A? Or perhaps you bested them in a deal, or beat them to a purchase, or beat them to a sale?

Or maybe just because that's the way some folk are?

It takes all kinds I guess.

I'm glad you saw through it. Life's WAAYY too short for that sort of thing. Or even to worry about it.

Joe K