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Prewar car values


papafarms

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It is sad to see but there is a younger generation out there that wants nothing to do with ANY classic car. I feel that when I am out cruising there are younger people who stop and stare and it seems like they are curious but don't know how to approach someone because millennials and below only communicate via text messaging! If you see the youth out encourage them and these prices will increase.

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I'm so tired of this! I'm 39, and technically a millennial, although I don't really feel like one. I'm on my second pre-war car, and I'll add to the collection in a few years once I get out of the military and can stop moving every 1-3 years. There are still young people interested in the hobby, but many times they cannot be as active.


I have 2 kids, ages 6 and 9, and my wife is working on her masters degree full time - that means I can't go to every dinner meeting or awards banquet. I get to as many shows as I can, but most of the events off the show field aren't really kid friendly. Not complaining, just explaining why maybe you don't see a lot of toddlers at awards banquets!

 

I know of several guys my age via some of the blogs in the Packard world, and as I get deeper in Willys trucks and Jeeps, there are quite a few young guys there too, although many aren't purists.

 

The hobby will change, and may even shrink, but it probably won't die. Hell - people still ride horses! (some even collect horse drawn carriages)

Edited by Ken_P (see edit history)
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1 hour ago, robcars said:

The thing is people generally buy what they wanted as a child. . Is is just like the collector market is dying. The Baby Boomers were the last big collector generation left.

 

1 hour ago, robcars said:

 

I have friends my age and they say nice car, but none of them want one .

 

You have described exactly what I am seeing here in Eastern Connecticut.  In the last 2 years I have only seen one local stock prewar being occasionally driven on my local roads, a Model A pickup owned by a 75 year old guy. 3 years ago I saw a local stock 32 Plymouth roadster on the road, now it never goes out, and I never see it in his driveway on a nice day; it stays in the garage. 

 

I do see "slightly more" hotrod prewars in the last few years on my roads here, but nearly all are driven by guys in their very late 60s or older, so that segment of prewar car hobby will also dwindle/die off sooner than later.

 

I personally only know of one guy left, (30 miles away) who does still enjoy the "building/rebuilding" of prewars as his hobby. He is around 50 and likes stock prewars but mostly builds rods now.  I think because he can find a buyer easier than selling a stock one when he finds another project he wants to rebuild.

 

If a person shuts off the internet and car related TV shows, then the hobby seems to be non-existent because they simply are not out on the roads anymore being used as pleasure drives.   

 

To me, it also seems like people have no interest in working with their hands like past generations did. Project cars are such a tough sell now.

 

 

 

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Must admit the lack of shows and my reluctance to go out for the last year has had an impact. Now that am a member of the double-V club (had both shots) this should have changed but lingers. My parents were affected by the great depression all of their lives and wonder if this will be the same.

 

I do see the same prices that tanked last year, rising sharply now but neither the Allante forum nor the Reatta forum have many posts now.

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5 minutes ago, padgett said:

Must admit the lack of shows and my reluctance to go out for the last year has had an impact. Now that am a member of the double-V club (had both shots) this should have changed but lingers. My parents were affected by the great depression all of their lives and wonder if this will be the same.

 

I do see the same prices that tanked last year, rising sharply now but neither the Allante forum nor the Reatta forum have many posts now.

I think pricing is part of it too. Younger people have to pay rent/mortgage/new car payments/raise kids, and can't justify the cost (even if it's falling) of a car they only drive on weekends in the summer.

Edited by AL1630 (see edit history)
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I moved to SC just before the pandemic started so have only gone to a couple cars and coffee events. My 38 Studebaker has probably been one of the oldest cars attending. BUT it also is one more people have checked out and smiled or given me a thumbs up over. I let the kids climb in it for pictures and the parents could not be more appreciative. I think the show circuit as well as cars and coffee events draw a completely different group of people than young families. Most seem older which makes sense as they probably have more disposable income and not as many family financial or social demands. Or they are younger without family demands so have the income for the car hobby. The young people just out of school have careers starting and most have a large debt to pay off if they went to college. I know when I was in my late twenties early thirties I was spending 18 hours a day building a business and starting a family. I didn’t have time or dollars for a hobby. Once that business was well established and my daughter was off on her own I had time and money for the car hobby. Give these kids a break the hobby will do just fine as that reality of responsibility becomes easier for them. Besides worrying about prices can’t fix anything, no one should expect to make money in a hobby but should be thankful if they get enjoyment out of it. Put your energy into fixing and maintaining your old car. Find and make new friends and have fun with it. The prices will take care of themselves despite anything you do about them. 
Have fun. 
dave s 

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Is part of it. I grew up around a large number of European cars, mostly sports but also at least one NSU Prinz, DKW, and Borgward. Was when I learned how easy it is to hotwire a Rolls Royce. Even knew where they hid the starter in a Land Rover.

 

Kids today mostly didn't. Gave my son a Fiero but got traded for a Taurus. They grew up with computer games and 1,000 TV channels. I grew up with 4.

 

The world changed and is still changing. When growing up I learned how to fall off tall horses. Who does that now? Cars got too fast for a 1/4 as horses intended so now race the 1/8th. Drag cars now have too much power so have to be turned down and most have traction control.

 

Today's cars are tuned by laptop, mine were tuned by filling the float bowls with nitro.

 

And so it goes.

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Congratulations on reviving an old topic!

I'm sure there are always new insights, but

this is officially the 1000th topic on "getting

youth interested in old cars."  And Padgett's

posting above is the 100,000th posting on the

same subject!   😄

 

When cars were new inventions around 1900-1910,

I wonder whether people were concerned that

children didn't have enough interest in old horses--- 

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Wow. Didn't know that one of my postings counted as four normal ones.

 

ps cars were new in the 1890s, by the next decade they were commonplace and some could do over 100 mph.

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I always have a bit of a chuckle when I see posts stating that you can't give project cars away. Around here it seems that reasonably priced project car sell very quickly. There are always an easy dozen pre war " street machine " type cars on the market locally but in general the asking price is well beyond what 80% or more of people { young or old } can spend. And they stay for sale for a long time. Priced for the U.S. dollar / economy  market is the most likely explanation. A person could probably do very well exchanging U.S. project cars for finished Canadian cars, except most U.S. project cars can't be exported due to the need for a valid title.

 Not sure who is buying the project cars , possibly the same group of low profile " do it yourselfers " that have driven the price of building materials through the roof over the last year.

  In my neck of the rain forest there is lots of interest . And pretty much right across the age spectrum. The Friday night , informal car culture get together that occurs close to me is always very well attended . As long as it isn't raining too hard. Just little raw material that fits average disposable income  situations.

Edited by 1912Staver (see edit history)
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I must have some sort of death wish because normally I ignore these endless threads. Exactly what planet do you folks that seem to think a lot of young people were EVER interested in old cars come from. I'm certainly old enough to remember the last 50 years – I got my first old car in 1971 when I was 20 years old and I assure you that it was considered VERY odd then. My HS class had about 250 members in an upper-middle class town – the exact place you'd expect to find people with the disposable income to indulge in old cars. I know of exactly one person in town that kept one, a 1930 Packard Waterhouse Convertible Victoria. Aside from my two friends, the Zangari brothers, absolutely no one was the slightest bit interested. We belonged to the local VMCCA chapter where we were easily the youngest members by at least 20 years...

 

The only thing that has changed is that the relative prices have increased – hardly a sign of declining interest. I doubt many 20-year-olds could afford a very nice 1927 Cadillac today (while working at my Uncle's optical company and earning $3.37 an hour. I can clearly remember the week I worked enough overtime to take home $100 after taxes). As often as not, the the very people who are constantly harping on "young people aren't interested" expect to get $40,000 for their '56 Chevy... The interest is there, likely as much as it ever has been, but the means are deficient

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In HS in the early 1970's I was part of a small group that liked things like Model A's and other pre war vintage cars, but car culture in general was strong . 57 Chevy's , 59 Impalas, Mustangs right on up to Big Block Muscle cars. 

 And I completely agree about the relative prices, now vs that time. In High School and my early 20's lots of interesting cars were affordable. These days , the prices of almost any interesting car is far higher.  Wages have for most part not kept up by a fairly wide margin. 

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