Are they leaving

[David White]

 have noticed in the last several years that some car collectors from Europe have actively been placing ads searching for certain cars like Jaguar XKE for example to buy and resell in England and europe, just wondering if this has OR may happen to our Reatta's ?  also anyone know if there are many of our Reattas outside of North America

[KDirk]

I don't think there is any trend towards that for now, and rather doubt it will develop to any significant degree. There are one or two known to be in the UK and one in Germany based upon informstion previously posted here or elsewhere that I've seen. The Reatta was never sold outside of the US and Canada,  so international awareness of the model is almost non-existent, leading to it not really being on the radar of European or Asian car collectors.

 

Probably not a great candidate for export either, as lack of parts supply elsewhere in the world would make ownership and maintenance a real challenge. Pretty much anything you'd need would have to be imported from the US, and while that's possible, it is costly and time consuming, especially for a car that barely has a serious collector following yet in the US. I can see interest dometically picking up ever so slowly, but if it is not terribly popular here [yet], it seems logical that it will be even less so elsewhere in the world.

 

The Reatta is a car that needs to gain popularity with collectors based upon its own merits, as it isn't a well known model and didn't benefit from an image boost from exposure in tv, movies or racing (save for a pace car and a funny car conversion). Those would be its rarity, it's unusual assembly process, it's aesthetics  (which are very good, though most here will be biased, of course) and to a lesser extent its technological edge for it's age.

 

Going against it (from a collector's standpoint, not my own) are the bog standard powertrain (reliable with decent performance but not exciting, high power by any means),  general perception of late 80's and early 90's GM  cars as largely boring, uninspired and unworthy of a second thought (like it or not, this is a widely held perception and does hurt the Reatta by association I believe) and the fact it is front drive in an era where rear wheel drive and muscle car levels of performance are once again popular. So, it's a mixed bag and may or may not eventually develop a serious following. I'd like to think it will, but there are too many variables to predict that with any certainty.

 

 

Edited March 16, 2018 by KDirk (see edit history)

[Cargirl]

I agree with KDirk as far as Reatta's going off shore. I too have noticed many classic cars are being exported and that's too bad. One of my friends just sold his 1973 Mustang Convert to a guy in Europe.

 

As far as collectibility of the Reatta, I am very optimistic and recently put my money where my mouth is. They are a real anomaly for a '80's or '90's sports car. Eventually cool and rare cars like these get the respect they deserve after about 40 years. Just look at the crazy prices they are asking these days for a 70's Trans Am. Try to find a good example for under $25 to 30 grand, good luck. !0 years ago they were giving these cars away. I am particularly bullish for the '90 to '91 convertibles. Amazing to drive, strikingly great looks and as they say, "when the top goes down the price goes up." I just did an exhaustive search and I can say one thing, they are asking good money for low mileage Reatta's. That is good news for all Reatta owners. Once the low mile cars get harder and harder to find, the collectors will start buying the ones that need a little fixing up.

[AZVET]

I helped a guy in Belgium import an older Corvette from Florida.  I looked the car over, test drove it and then assisted with shipping.  The criteria was that the vehicle had to be at least 30 years old in order to qualify for a huge import tax discount.

There are several American car clubs in Europe with good turnouts.

The exchange rate back then (2010) was in favor of the European buyer.  The car was shipped out of a Southern Alabama port on a roll on/roll off ship,  If I recall the buyer's shipping cost was about $800 USD.

The seller loaded the Vette on a small transport trailer out of FT Pearce, FL who took it to the shipyard in Alabama.  The buyer picked it up in Amsterdam.  He wired money to the seller's bank in Florida from his bank in Brugge.  

There were lots of good communication and pics involved.  I made life long friends with both the buyer and seller and we still keep in touch.  The last I heard, the buyer in Belgium had put the Vette up for sale at twice what he paid for it.

If you ever get an offer from Europe to sell your Reatta then you should consider it.  Your funds are safe as long as your banker and the seller's bank are involved.  There are a few shipping companies that specialize in this service.  They have ships that roam from port to port around the world and shipping American cars are their specialty.  Some of them even ship the cars in containers if you and your buyer want the car to be better protected.

[Cargirl]

Just think about this, the worlds largest American made car show is not in the USA, it is in Sweden. They get 55-75000 people that attend this huge American muscle car event.  I have a friend in Sweden and when he told me about this, it just blew me away. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Big_Meet

 

Next time I talk to him I will ask if he has seen a Reatta over there