Car Collectors Panel Discussion for Collecting In Today’s Market

At Russo and Steele January 21, 2010

By Bill Zervakos

It was a cold rainy January day in Scottsdale Arizona at the Russo and Steele Auction but the conversation was hot as a panel of eminent car collector experts talked about today’s market.

McKeel Hagerty, Co-CEO of Hagerty Insurance moderated the event and kept the questions flowing to the panel which included; Drew Alcazar of Russo and Steele, Dave Kinney of Hagerty’s Cars that Matter Price Guide, Colin Comer of Colin’s Classic Auto, Todd Wertman of Symbolic Motors, Rob Sass, Hagerty Insurance Media Services and freelance writer and Donald Osborn, appraiser and consultant.

The panel addressed the market correction of 2008 and 2009 and its affect on collector cars and which ones held their value and the ones that didn’t do so well. Dave Kinney talked about how the Blue Chip cars held up well from ’06 to the present time without much of a loss at all. Colin Comer felt that muscle cars were the poster child, his words, for the plunge in values with particular emphasis on clones with the exception being true, numbers matching cars that hadn’t been modified.

Drew Alcazar followed up by saying that it was true in the sense that documented muscle cars are and will continue to do well while enthusiast cars, the ones that people bought because they wanted to tinker with something, are taking a bit of a hit. He also said that sellers are adamant about disclosure and they back up their documentation.

Todd Wertman said that the Euro cars took a pretty big hit after a meteoric rise, but the best of the best held value and will continue to. Donald Osborn followed by saying that buyers are even more selective and Rob Sass said that German cars held up fairly well in the European markets.

The panel pretty much agreed that the some post-war American cars like Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac etc., the dream cars of the Boomers if you will, will do well and are good buys but they can be a double edged sword. The consensus was, buy if you love them, but not necessarily as an investment. They did caution that no doc cars, 4-door cars and station wagons are very slow and tough to sell right now.

The panel also agreed that cars like the tri-five Chevy’s, Hemi Cuda’s and the like have reached a saturation point and unless you have the perfect car with all documentation, prices can be off quite a bit. There does seem to be building interest in the Brass era, late 1800’s to early 1900’s with younger buyers.

Summing up the market today, high quality well documented original cars are strong and will continue to be, while clones and wanna be’s not so much. Hot rods are pretty flat and to sell buyers want to know the builder and the quality has to be there.  Drew Alcazar talked about the confusion between true collector cars and enthusiast’s cars and how understanding the difference is critical. In other words, you better love the car if you buy an enthusiast’s car, because the only way to recoup the cost, by enjoying it.

In looking at recovery, most agreed that the premium cars talked about will do fine but if a car isn’t the best of the best or event eligible then plan to ride it out. Rob felt the Euro Sports cars will recover first, Todd talked about the event eligible cars, and Colin said that the top cars in all genres will recover well. Dave made an interesting argument for minor muscle cars like small block Chevy’s, 302 Mustangs and so on doing well and Drew feels as though the American romance cars, big fins and lots of chrome will come back strong.

It was an interesting and informative session, these gentlemen are the crème de la crème of the industry so I’m inclined to believe what they say. One thing they all agreed on of course, is that it is quickly becoming a world market and knowing how to work in different cultures is going to be key for players on that stage.