ECON 101:
Value of a commodity, good or service is subject to the law of supply and
demand. Or put another way, the price of a good, commodity or service is
the dollar amout a willing buyer will pay a willing seller at a given
point in time, AND the transaction actually takes place.
The only way the value of our cars is going up is a change in either or
both supply and/or demand. The amount we have spent on them is
immaterial. (let the flames begin).
While the supply of LBC's is diminishing (which should drive prices up)
due to the gradual destruction of existing cars whether by accident,
neglect or whatever, the demand has not risen and may have declined
somewhat over the years. This acts as a brake on the price rise.
Granted, while most of us on this list, and those LBC junkies we hang
about with, do "demand" more MG's (Tr****h's, A-H's, etc), the numbers of
us are not increasing to a great degree. As we have had occaision to
lament in earlier threads.
A price being asked for a car by a potiental seller is subject to a
myriad of factors, not the least of which is amount invested, followed
closely by the seller's quite subjective valuation of it's "love
interest". In other words, how much he/she thinks of the car.
Whether or not the seller actually recieves that price is another
question intierly.
In the case of the 69 B on offer for $20,000, that will be the value of
that car, at that time if and only if a buyer actually pay's $20,000 for
it. The fact that it is evaluated at $20,000 does not lock in it's true
worth.
Too many times we have all seen cars over-priced in classifieds, etc.
(see any issue of Hemmings for examples). I've often wondered if these
were knowlegable people who were trolling for suckers, or blissfully
ignorant folks who had read too many Car & Driver/Road & Track articles
on what certain cars were going to be worth in the year 2000.
Another point, if the true values of our cars, especially MG's rises to
the heights of some of the more exotic iron, will we still take them out
and play with them like we do now? I doubt it. If Barney's "MGA with an
attitude" was valued in the six figures, he would probably have 2nd and
3rd thoughts about turning a wheel in anger.
Sorry about rambling on, but I just wanted to get my tuppence worth in.
Rick Morrison
72 MGBGT
74 Midget
On Fri, 05 Sep 1997 12:39:18 EDT britcars@juno.com (Lawrence J Alexander)
writes:
>Bruce....
>
>Don't you want the values of our cars to go up?
>
>If it costs over $12,000 to restore one from the ground up (and it
>does; my own GT has over $10,000 in parts and sublet labor in it, so
>if you counted my time it would ........scare me to even think of a
>total!) why should the finished product not be worth somewhere close
>to the amount invested? If my car is ever totalled in a collision, I'd
>like to think I'd be able to get somewhere near my investment back
>from the insurance company!
>
>Lawrie
>British Sportscar Center
>
>On Fri, 5 Sep 1997 11:16:36 -0400 (EDT) BDurgin1@aol.com writes:
>>In a message dated 97-09-05 09:31:51 EDT, garyb@pentek.com writes:
>>
>>> Well I've seen a $20,000 B (worth every penny) and seen pictures of
>
>>a
>>> L20,000 B (Not for me but a 100+ point car been rebuilt 3 times)
>>and
>>> just
>>> had my car (a 68) appraised for $12,000. Which while less than
>>I've put
>>> into
>>> it is probably what it would take to find a similar car in similar
>>> shape.
>>
>>
>>A 68 MGB appraised at $12000???? Is LSD back????
>>
>>Bruce Durgin
>>64 B
>>
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