>If your roadster doubled in value tomorrow, it wouldn't drive you out of the
>market......
>
>I bought an old Fender Stratocaster about 10 years ago,
>like many of the replies on the list that say "I bought it to drive",
> "I bought the guitar to Play". It cost me about 500.00. I didn't buy
>it for
>the collectability or the appreciation, but because it played great and I
>could afford it.
>
>The last time I checked it was worth about 1800.00. That appreciation
>hasn't
>"forced me to sell it", and parts still cost about what they did 5 years
>ago.
>
>I am not planning on selling it, but if I HAD to or wanted to, it is worth
>considerably
>more than what I paid. Sorry, I just don't see that as a bad thing!
The bad thing was that cars were bought up by investors not collectors or
hobbyists, and garaged, locked away. Some kid who would love a Fender
Strat has to settle for a sears guitar, and the people actually buying
these prized instruments are not interested in making music, they're
interested in making cash.
It is unlikely that our cars will become collectible because they're
not British, Italian, or "Classic American Iron" whatever that means. It
seems that concern about the collectability of these neat little cars is
a concern for what other people think of them. I don't care what other
people think, if I did, I'd still be saving for an E Type Jag. Lack of
snob appeal will not contibute to the demise of these cars. People are
keeping them alive because they like them, not because they're
fashionable.
Roadsters are prized in Japan, and have been known to sell for
$20,000 for a mint 67.5 2L, but they're having a bit of a recession there
(another pitfall of car as trading commodity).
I understand your concern about the parts supply, but considering
the low volume production run of these cars, this would be a problem
whataver the collectability status. Fortunately, roadsters share parts
with Z cars, 510s which had much higher runs. but supplies of parts
unique to roadsters are finite. I sincerely doubt that inflating the
value of roadsters will cure that, it may well aggrivate the scarcity of
parts by encouraging hoarding and profiteering. Not by our freinds on
this list, or the suppliers we depend on now, but by "Good Businessmen"
who will move in when there's real money to be made.
Stepping of soapbox,
Marc T.
An optimist thinks that this is the best possible world. A
pessimist fears that this is true.
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