Blowing Blue Chips Off The Road
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Written by Steve R. Lowry
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Wednesday, 21 January 2009 |
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BATTERED BY THE STOCK market and afraid of a housing bubble, investors are taking some of their money for a spin in an altogether different type of investment: collector cars. Despite a sorry economy, this market has been growing about 10% annually, to $1 billion this year.
And it looks as if it will keep motoring on. America's largest collector-car auction, the Barrett-Jackson sale in Scottsdale, Ariz., in January, which attracts 150,000 people from 19 countries, is already turning away cars for sale. The number of people signed up to bid is up 60% over this time last year. Craig Jackson, who runs the auction, is heartened by the interest — and the fact that 66% of his recent sales at other auctions are in the $20,000 to $75,000 range. In contrast, most money in the early '90s was chasing the highest-priced cars. He credits collector cars' rising popularity to nostalgia, the stability of the investment, and the fact that it's, well, "fun."
Jackson offers this advice to newbie buyers: First, decide what kind of car you'd like to take for a Sunday drive, then research its history, including whether it has its original engine.
Looking for the equivalent of a blue-chip stock? A '65 Mustang Convertible or '57 Thunderbird are cars with big appeal that also are plentiful enough to keep prices below $60,000. Those with a bit more cash can hunt down one of the six 1930/1931 Bugatti Royales for upwards of $12 million.
Yet it's muscle cars that are all the rage. Built in Detroit in 1964-71, they have relatively small bodies for their supersize motors. One, a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle convertible, sold at auction last year for $172,000. Not a bad return on a car that cost $3,200 new.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 January 2009 )
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