In a message dated 3/24/02 10:18:26 AM Eastern Standard Time, tbird52@msn.com
writes:
> The key here is buying a car at the bottom end of its valuation, but when
> restored and over time, will increase in value....similar to what our MGs
> (or
> other classics of that time) did in the late 70's. So, the question
> becomes,
> what are those features that make up a future classic and what might some
> of
> those cars be...mazda miata, pontiac fiero, etc, etc.?
- - - - - - - - - -
This comes up on the lists every year or so. Pretty much ANY car will
EVENTUALLY become collectible. You just gotta wait long enough. How many
Model T's did Henry make? That wasn't anything special back then. Go to any
large multi-marque car show, like the big show in Hershey, PA, and you will
see cars of every type, from every era. A 1960 Chevy Impala wasn't
particularly good at handling, and it wasn't luxurious, but it is a classic.
The trick to modern cars (As I see it. IMO. My 2 pence. I may be wrong,
but it would be the first time.) is that the cars today are all run by
computers. Cars don't provide the friendliest environment for a computer, so
you have to expect the computer to die at some time. Will you be able to get
a replacement, 25 or 30 years after the car was made? Can you still get
parts for Apple II or TRS-80 computers? (That's only 20 years.) I know that
no one makes single-sided, 720Mb, 3 1/2" floppies for my Mac 128 anymore.
So be careful about what you put money into as a future collector car. Check
out Hemmings.com for their list of cars that are relatively cheap now, and
will be great collector cars soon. Spridgets are among them, along with BMW
2002. I can't remember the rest.
Allen Hefner
SCCA Philly Region Rally Steward
'77 Midget
'75 Midget "The Project"
'92 Mitsubishi Expo LRV Sport
///
/// mgs@autox.team.net mailing list
/// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
///
|