Quote:
Originally Posted by AGBill
Unfortunately for those of us that currently own a Model A, the sales price for a typical Model A has been drifting down over the past few years. In my opinion, this is mostly due to the passing of those that wanted an A in their youth.
About 95% of the time, the total cost of restoring a car, (even as a driver not a show car), exceeds the cost of purchasing a complete car in a similar condition.
A 10 year old resto car today should be able to be bought for $13K to $15K, not $18K.
If you are 50 years old or older, I would buy the $18K resto for $15K. Life is short...…
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I must respectfully disagree with much of this.
To begin with, I have been around this hobby for all my life of nearly 60 years. In all 6 of those decades, the price overall for Model-As has increased over the prices found 10 years prior. The prices today reflect this same basic increase over what they were 10 years ago. Secondly, the generation that owned & drove Model-As in their youth have passed by for more than several decades now, however there have been buyers since those times for Model-As and continues to be, -so it is NOT the passing of those people that have affected sales.
The brutal reality is that most Model-As that are surfacing on the market today are absolute junk, -and the prices reflects that. From my perspective, Model-A hobbyists during the last decade or so have jumped on this excuse that they only want a driver-level car, and as such they are cobbling together stuff and choosing not to restore/repair it correctly. Therefore what they have is a pretty, well-worn used car.
In this day & time with the resources (parts, knowledge, etc.) that we have easily available to us, there should be no reason on this planet why every Model-A being driven shouldn't be able to stop quickly, start reliably, steer safely, and get you to and from your destination without ever needing to lift the hood or put a wrench on it. The issue is most Model-As that have been 'restored' over the last few decades have had poor craftsmanship along with the "it'll do" mindset on re-using worn parts, and buyers today are much more educated and know what to look at. Therefore the buyers know they are going to spend a great deal of money re-restoring the 'restored' car, therefore the sales prices reflects the true condition. A Model-A has always been, -and will continue to be a great entry-level collector car that has great appeal. The prices will always reflect that.