The increase in value of classic cars in 2021

With the COVID lockdowns hampering the ability to travel internationally and even nationally, people have been kept at bay for many months. The rise in home improvement demand has skyrocketed with people spending much more time at home. Creating a work space has been high on the priority list of many, but what are people doing for fun? Maybe people are choosing now to invest in classic cars in 2021.

Besides home entertainment, many automotive enthusiasts have been scouring the internet and classifieds for new project cars and classic automobiles. The shift looks like this

Younger ‘Fast and Furious’ era fans (aka 'JDM' lovers) have been causing a huge price spike in classic Japanese cars. Aussie and American muscle has continued to perform strongly. The issue is two fold.

1. Buyers have a larger amount of time spent at home, thus they are happy to browse the internet. Buyers also may have money stockpiled that was earmarked for a big holiday, or some other event that has had to be cancelled due to COVID.
2. Sellers are reluctant to sell because want to limit the amount of interaction they have with other people. Other factors may be that sellers also are seeing a rise in prices and want to wait until they can sell at the higher price.

"I watch with interest when somebody prices a vehicle too high on a Facebook group, as inevitably the conversation leads to the car being a rip off or too expensive."

- Jonno

Either way, the market is incredibly fragmented. Let’s look at the usual suspects when it comes to looking for classic car to purchase in 2021:

1. Carsales: Generally, this would be considered as the marketplace that provides the ‘highest quality’ vehicles at basically the highest price. I personally see a lot of very opportunistic pricing and often wonder if these cars actually sell.
2. Gumtree: Can be very hit or miss – a lot of car dealers do use Gumtree to drive traffic to them. The cars can be lower priced and a lot of project cars change hands on this platform. I notice that Gumtree is used by some people that are not very tech savvy which often reflects in their photos and description. There is some good buying on Gumtree.
3. Facebook Marketplace/Facebook groups: There are some seriously good buying opportunities on Facebook marketplace however most people will know what they have and at what price it should be. I watch with interest when somebody prices a vehicle too high on a Facebook group, as inevitably the conversation leads to the car being a rip off or too expensive.

You know the market is hot when you starting seeing a plethora of WTB (want to buy) ads clogging up your Facebook or Gumtree feed. Either way, it seems that people are parting with substantially more money for a classic automobile. Remember when you could pick up a Toyota Supra for $7k?