Barrett-Jackson is having their annual Scottsdale Arizona collector car auction right now and i'm sitting here watching all the beautiful cars getting sold.
There was just a beautiful, completely restored REAL hemi orange 69 1/2 A-12 Roadrunner 440 6 pack 4 speed that went across the block and sold for $73,000. that is at least $40k LESS than the same car would have sold for in 2015 which was the most recent height of the muscle car auction market.
The cars that are now selling for over $100k on a regular basis at the BJ auction? they would be "resto-mods" of classic muscle cars. these cars are old muscle cars with modern engines, drive trains, suspensions and even interiors. even the owners of BJ that were interviewed about the state of the collector car market stated that the price leaders in the past - being original, numbers-matching muscle cars - are now being replaced by the resto-mod vehicles as the collector car market continues to change and evolve to new tastes with younger buyers.
BJ usually gets higher prices for the cars they sell than the same cars sold by Mecum. so the noted A-12 Roadrunner might have sold for even less than $73k at a Mecum auction. just for comparison to other cars than mopars, a PERFECT NCRS judged original red 1965 fuel injected 327 4 speed Corvette convertible just sold for $117k. THAT car in 2015 would have been $130k all day long. all the commentators are remarking how the "original" cars are not bringing the money that the resto-mod cars are.
i will continue to enjoy my old mopars because i never bought them with the idea that they would be my "retirement" income some day. anyone who is still buying muscle cars to "flip for big money" will likely get burned with significant loses.
