The TC as an investment?

It has been my impression over the years that at least a few TC's were bought specifically for the purpose of stashing them away, perhaps with an eye to turning a profit on it as a collectible at some later date (remember that at the time of the TC's introduction, the market for specialty cars of all sorts was as inflated as it has ever been, so this proposition might have seemed plausible then).

I admit to being one of these "stashers" in the sense that I do garage & drive very little my about perfect TC that I found with 16K on the odometer (it has a little over 17K now), but I have no illusions about making money on it - I simply want to (& can afford to, having three others to drive) preserve one in as close to original, showroom condition as I can, with the idea that I will eventually display it at local car shows.

But as to the stategy of holding a TC back, even a 16V, to make a killing on it - well, there is an item in the current issue of Automobile magazine that is instructive. They note that at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale this January (hardly a "bargain basement" venue), a 1992 Viper with 330 miles on the odometer, one of approximately 150 made in that initial year of production, & that had been in "careful storage" & which could be descibed as being "as new" in condition, fetched $47,520 on the block, or about $2,500 less than its original retail price.

Incidentally, Automobile magazine has always been, right up to the present, rabidly negative with respect to the TC. My best guess is that somebody on their editorial staff has for some reason an ax to grind as regard to the car, & cannot let this vendetta go. The first time they cover a TC's sale at auction, expect the commentary to be very snide.

Post deleted by Peter Gariepy (peterg)

Post deleted by Peter Gariepy (peterg)

Please correct me if I'm wrong with this observation. It seems like Stephen is talking about circa '91 front wheel drive Chrysler Maseratis and Peter is talking about '46-'50 Chrysler flathead 8 wood bodied cars.

Tom

P.S. They both need ~200 sq.ft. of storage space. In todays market that can translate into as much as $200/mo just to park it.

Tom, you are so right! my mistake. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Peter

TC & T&C are close <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I am new to the world of Chrysler TCs but my list of owned cars includes a : Jensen Interceptor, Citicar, Land Rover 88, TVRs, Triumph Stag, Jaguars, Eldorado convertibles, Volvo Bertones, a Dodge Dakota factory convertible and AMXs. My repeatly tested and verified method to increase the market value of a particular model of collectable vehicle (generally producing an increase in value of 25%-50%) is to sell the one I own and wait six months.