Model A prices rising?

[hefty lefty]

Originally Posted by bart78

Of course they have gone up in price the past fourty or fifty years ago. The prices on model a's reflrcts labor costs. You can add parts to that but most stuff is pretty affordable. Fifty years ago machine shop labor was not what it is now. If it would have cost back them what it does not to have someone work on your car. There would be no mod a's. They carry some value because they are old. They are not a rare car. And the fact that they make nice hot rods has made the price go up. In a few years the way things are going. But when you have 4,000 in a motor. And if you have someone put a good paint job on it. You are allready up there pretty good. And that's just two things. These cars will continue to go up. But my opinion it will be due to labor prices.

Pretty much. Despite unemployment, car labor is skyrocketing because few people want to do hot or cold dirty work any more. And restored high dollar CCCA classics and exotics and pro built street rods are bringing stupid money and that's where the talent goes.

And the only way to learn to do this is to do it....you need a place to work, tools, and time and the drive to do something besides play video games or watch sports on TV. There is no school you can go to, really.

Pro shops are also getting a lot more expensive due to insurance, environmental and safety laws, and such. When you get a $100/hr bill from the stealer for labor on your out of warranty car, that all does not go to the mechanics. It goes for all the real estate, the exotic electronic tools, the smoke machines and nitrogen tire fillers, health insurance for employees, advertising, etc. Even if much of that is not germane to what you need to have done, you pay. The independent shops track the dealers.

There are still in some places guys that build up cars in their garages, work for cash, have no insurance, pay little or no tax. They aren't going to restore a stock model A because it is not profitable as compared to building or working on muscle cars and street rods. There's a guy like that about ten miles from me. Fixes up cars, drives them to LA and flies back with cash. survivalist type, totally under the radar.