What’s new with classic cars? From an appraiser who sees it all.

Can you tell us about the classic car market and what does well at classic car auction?

The collector car market has been healthy 10 years or more, with many collector cars’ values outperforming other alternative asset classes. Historically, vehicles that are perceived to be unique in terms of condition, ownership history, or documentation, tend to do well at auctions. If a comparable car cannot be sourced locally, the basic laws of supply and demand apply, and this often results in record sale prices.

How has the pandemic impacted the classic car market?

Values of vehicles in virtually every segment of the collector car market have risen significantly over the past two years. Anecdotally speaking, every classic car dealer with whom I speak is telling me that they “now have to pay for cars, what they were selling them for two years ago.”

How have millennial buyers impacted the classic car market? What kind of classic cars appeal to younger buyers?

Millennial buyers are having a significant impact on the collector car market. They are reaching the age at which they have the disposable income to spend on collector cars.

An old adage says, “If you want to know what the next generation of car collectors will be buying, think of what cars were on posters on their walls when they were kids.” This has proven to be true to a large degree, as Millennials are often interested in “supercars,” and “hypercars” of the 1980s through the early 2000s.

A new segment that also appeals to younger buyers is known as Japanese Domestic Markets (JDMs), or cars that were never exported to the United States when they were new, in the 1990s. They are now old enough that they can be legally imported in the United States. The subset that appeals to these younger buyers include some very high-performance cars , like those featured in the Fast and Furious franchise.

Over the last several years online auction websites for classic cars have been growing across several markets. Have websites such as Bring a Trailer impacted the classic car market?

Auction websites that sell collector vehicles have been around for a long time. eBay is a good example of this. However, as the values of collector vehicles have increased, so has the demand for more diligence around the online auction process. Traditional auction houses such as Gooding & Company have expanded into online sales, while several other sites specialize in online only.