Old things appreciate in vaule

One reason to own something vintage and rare and expensive, if you need an excuse is that the right ones really appreciate in value.
I just saw the story of a rare Mercedes 300 SL roadster selling at auction for $1.045 million. It is the road version of the race car. the 300 SLR that Moss, etc dominated in back around 57. It particularly caught my eye as I came close to buying one about 1970, but was talked out of it. They were asking, if I recally in the high teens ,maybe $18,000. It was a whole car,ran and was drivable, but by no means show perfect. I dont know about any matching numbers, but I have never forgotten that car and wonder where it is today.
Does a rare car like that appreciate more than a rare airplane? Seems it may.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood

Does a rare car like that appreciate more than a rare airplane? Seems it may.

---

Yes, because there are a lot more people interested in old cars than old airplanes. Supply and demand.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dana

Yes, because there are a lot more people interested in old cars than old airplanes. Supply and demand.

---

And there are only just so many with Kermit Weeks $$$ in their mattress. - lol

Let’s see to Dana”s point........
Cost to learn to drive a car $200-800 vs $8-12,000 for a private pilot license in the US.
228 million drivers licenses issued vs 610,000 active pilots in the US.
Over 4 million miles of road to drive vs 5170 airports open to the general public in the US.
Average annual cost to own a car is about $8500 vs $12,00-30,000 for an aircraft in the US, excludes purchase price.
Anyone can work on their car vs required to go to A&P. Yes there are caveats.
220,000 general aviation aircraft where 80% ate estimated for business and public use vs over 270 million registered cars in the US.
Yup I think I can see why cars are mote popular than airplanes.

I have not driven all out race cars, but I used to own a Corvette, ( lots of power, good 4 speed, adequate steering, but small hard tires, 6.78 x 15 that had very little traction, a set of Michelin radials would have transformed it) and owned 2 Porsche 911). A Porsche drives like a Spitfire flies, great steering, even if the ones I had were not the fast ones of today. I think I'd be tempted to get in trouble if I owned one of the 450 hp turbo 911s out there now. A Porsche steering just seems to know where you want it to go.
There is no car that I have ever driven that seems as special as a Spitfire, or maybe a Mustang. I did have a car Mustang once, it was not a tiger in sheeps clothing. Roads are so crowded today that it seems really hard to get away from traffic and ever use a 1/3 of a ultra high performance 200 mph car, and do it safely. I live in a small town and almost never drive over 50 near town. If I 'm in Austin and everyone on the freeway is going 80 it seems too much to me. I used to upshift out of 2nd gear at 6500 rpm and 85 mph in the Corvette and its a wonder I didn't kill anyone. We used to race to and from school daily. The morning I left for the Air Force we took the Corvette out on the highway for an all our run about 140 mph.
But you take off in an airplane and you are in another world and I can go 15 miles away and not be crowded or limited at all.

Up to a point, old pilots have value due to experience and like fine wine appreciate.

"Up to a point, old pilots have value due to experience and like fine wine appreciate. "

Whereas this old non-pilot seems to be aging like milk. lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Airmutt

Let’s see to Dana”s point........
Cost to learn to drive a car $200-800 vs $8-12,000 for a private pilot license in the US.
228 million drivers licenses issued vs 610,000 active pilots in the US.
Over 4 million miles of road to drive vs 5170 airports open to the general public in the US.
Average annual cost to own a car is about $8500 vs $12,00-30,000 for an aircraft in the US, excludes purchase price.
Anyone can work on their car vs required to go to A&P. Yes there are caveats.
220,000 general aviation aircraft where 80% ate estimated for business and public use vs over 270 million registered cars in the US.
Yup I think I can see why cars are mote popular than airplanes.

---

Bob Pond, Tom Cruise and Carl Edwards all come to mind. All great Aviation Enthusiasts as well as car guys. There’s tremendous crossover with guys who like airplanes in addition to cars. You don’t have to be a pilot to collect classic aircraft. You obviously can be like the gentleman above but the fire is there for those who are not as well. I never met any little boy that didn’t like an F-14 Tomcat because he liked a Porsche 911 Turbo more. We love them all and given the resources, will have them all. My Dad flew in Vietnam. Was in High School in the 50’s. Wants a 1954 Hudson Hornet Convertible probably more than anything in the world except for his own Super Constellation. Yup the Super Connie probably Trumps the Hudson but if he hit the lotto I can guarantee you both of them are in his hangar in a heart beat alongside a 1941 Chris Craft Barrel Back. Guys cut from our mold love the same things- Speed, Style and Substance. Doesn’t matter if it’s an Airplane, Boat or Car. We want them!

Oh and to Bill’s point- I owned a Mercedes SLK 350 AMG Package 6 Speed MT Hardtop Retractable Convertible. Best car I’ve ever owned period. So much fun to drive. Tops out at 174 MPH. Point and Shoot Steering. Super Nimble for a Convertible in overall handling and corners. Power for days and truly amazing style. My Cayman Clubsport obviously crushes it on the track but for a daily summer driver, nothing beat it. If the New Mid Engine Corvette came with a Manual Transmission, I’d buy one in a heart beat and I think it would be every bit as good as the SLK but maybe lacking some of the refinement. But for the money, nothing would touch it. Too bad GM lost their mojo on the MT cuz there’s tons of guys like me in the Gen X and Millennium Gen that would buy it up in droves. I Traded the SLK on an Audi and miss the SLK everyday in the summer. It was an amazing car.

Like anything else, the value depends on the popularity as well as the rarity.

I've gotten into collecting antiques, specifically "technology" antiques. Stenography machines, Magic Lantern projectors, rams-horn speakers, dictographs, etc.

One of the interesting thing is that this stuff is surprisingly cheap, even at the conventional antique stores. I bought a restored, working Edison wax-cylinder phonograph, with two dozen music cylinders, for $300. Here it is, set up to provide a little music while I work on the airplane....
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/edison.jpg
Similarly, I bought a fully-restored, working pre-heterodyning radio for less than $200.

Most of the stuff I buy is from when my father was very young, or even from my Grandfather's youth. Like I said, it's generally pretty cheap.

But when it gets to the stuff from *my* youth? Cash-in the CD, Martha!

Much of the toys from the 50s and 60s were just cheap tin trash, but they go for beaucoup bucks. Just too many people scarfing up the toys from their youth. I've seen stuff I'd love to have, but they ask too much money for it.

As far as cars were concerned, when I was growing up, my dad always reminisced about the cars he had when he was a teenager... Model Ts, Model As, etc.

Once the youngest fledgling (me) was kicked out of the nest, my dad started to indulge himself. Had a big garage added to the back yard of the house, started buying old cars. A Ford Model A, a 1930 Chevrolet, then a Ford T, etc. He wasn't a restorer...they were in good condition, and he was just content to putter on them and drive them around on nice days.

But it didn't quite do it for him. All the little quibbles and quirks he laughed at as a kid now irritated the hell out of him. The mechanical brakes were a bit scary, to one who'd been accustomed to power hydraulic brakes for the past fifty years. The Model T was practically the last straw; having to hand-crank to start and fiddle with the spark advance. All of them were awkward to drive in modern traffic... slow to accelerate, hard to stop, and, probably the final straw for his 70-year-old bones, TOO rough-riding.

He eventually sold them all and bought an early '50s Ford. Comfortable seats, rode smooth, powerful engine, great hydraulic brakes. Still....no air conditioning, and by this time, the lack of seat belts (or any occupant protection) tended to bother my mother. As well as a lack of air conditioning. Within a few years, the antique and classic cars were gone, and his Winnebago sat in the new garage.

I almost caught the same bug a few years ago, thinking of the cars I had as a kid (1946/51 Willys Jeeps). Saw one at the Arlington fly-in a couple of years ago. Got permission to sit in it for a moment, and that brought back everything that as BAD about it. No legroom, bolt-upright seating position, steering column a thick steel tube aimed at one's sternum. Didn't have to drive it to remember the incredibly bad ride and the lack of speed (45 mph top end).

I respect the folks that buy the big-buck antique and classic cars, but can't see me doing it, myself. I'd want to drive it, and the thought of risking a multi-$100K car on the road with all the (other) crazy drivers bothers the heck out of me. Got one the world's largest car museums just a 15-minute drive away (LeMay Museum), and that scratches any itch I might have.

Ron Wanttaja

I bought my Aeronca Sedan in 1988 for $10000. At that time I was driving 70's vintage cars. Aeronca Sedans have increased in value 2 1/2 to 3 times in value since then. The 70's cars have increased in value more, some of them much more.

It seems that one thing you don't see is an old plane that is more valuable than an equivalent new one.

I think the problem with any old what ever is. There is only a very small hand full of the younger generations that are into or interested in the old stuff. Most of what us older ones think is very valuable, I see the day coming when it is just considered junk.
Yes sad but true. What would really be bad is when they in the future decide to scrap old planes, cars and such in museums. The way things are going I don't think that is too far fetched.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by enginesrus

I think the problem with any old what ever is. There is only a very small hand full of the younger generations that are into or interested in the old stuff. Most of what us older ones think is very valuable, I see the day coming when it is just considered junk.
Yes sad but true. What would really be bad is when they in the future decide to scrap old planes, cars and such in museums. The way things are going I don't think that is too far fetched.

---

We all want the toy we couldn't afford when we were 20 or 25. My Father, born in '34, really wanted a '57 Thunderbird. It was the cool car when he was a young man, so when he was in a position to buy one many years later, he did. Funny thing though. The market for those cars is going down, not up. Why? There are fewer and fewer 80 year olds around who covet them. The current "hot" cars are the early 911's. And in 10 years, the guys who lusted after them in 1970 (?) and bought one in 2010 will be aging out and will be selling them for a fraction of what they bring today. That's the cycle...

Kyle, coincidence on the '57 Ford Thunderbird. Someone ran one off in the ditch near where we lived on a big corner on Memorial Dr in Houston and my Brother and a friend brought the car to our house, seemed to be unharmed. I do recall that one was supercharged, not turbo and had a good kick on acceleration. I really liked the looks of the original small one, later they had the big ugly 4 seat version that was a whale. I don't recall details but we had to give the car back. I loved that curve, a guy also ran his Triumph 650 motorcycle off and again it was brought to our house, he was injured. I really didn't want to give that back!. Years later I was at the Navy Test Pilot station at Pax River, Md and got to drive a guys 57 Tbird there, found it didn't really live up to Porsche handling. Still a nice looking car.

And I don't think anyone is selling any hot rare car for a fraction of what it was worth, but you can always dream. The rarest Ferrari, a genuine F1 that had been driven by big name racers sold last year for $44 million. There are enough people with that kind of money to support it.