COL Market Trends Report for January 2010 Barrett-Jackson Results Show Prices Up 14 Percent in 2010

After surviving a tumultuous 2009, the recent 2010 Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale is a sign that stability has returned to the collector car market. In fact, the prices paid for investment class collector cars at the Barrett-Jackson sale this year were up 14 percent over last year's prices. Classic 1950's cars were up almost 25 percent, however the selection of '50s cars was a little thin this year. Mopar muscle cars, which suffered the greatest loss in value in 2009, were up by 26 percent by our accounting. Shelby Mustangs were up nearly 40 percent over last year's sale. We are not saying that the collector car market has rebounded to the levels it experienced in 2007, but it does show that collector car prices are finally in an upward trend. Some of the top muscle cars that enjoyed a great runnup in price over the past ten years did not increase in value in 2010. The lack of interest in big block Corvettes was probably the biggest surprise in the auction. Corvettes have been the "gold standard" in this hobby for decades, with big block Corvettes being heavily sought after. Yet, at this particular show, the true No. 2 condition Corvette big blocks did not generate the same frenzied bidding that they had in past sales here. At least at this show, their value seemed to be undergoing an adjustment. Camaro Z/28s were up slightly, but the 1969 Camaro Z/28 RS's and Cross Rams did not draw the high bids that they had in the past. Chevelle big blocks did about the same as they did last year. These results come from our analysis of the data collected at the world's largest collector car show, the Barrett-Jackson Auction in Arizona. Cars On Line.com follows a list of collector cars which are a representative sampling of the investment grade cars in this hobby. These are cars that would be most interesting to collector car investors. Usually they are of such high desirability that they are "liquid." In other words, they are easy to sell and will hold value. We've watched the results of the Barrett-Jackson Auction since the 1990s. What we've learned is this: whatever happens at the Barrett-Jackson in January is reflected in the greater collector car community the following spring. If prices are up at the January sale in Arizona, we project similar results for the following spring market. The Barrett-Jackson doesn't control the market, but it certainly reflects what collectors are interested in. Cars On Line Daily Update newsletter readers know that we watch a "hot list" of top collector cars to determine how market values are trending. We frequently publish the chart below. We update it with the most current average pricing for the cars that are on our "hot list." This is a quick measure of how collector car prices are doing. We base our numbers from auction prices on No. 2 condition cars. We look at No. 2 condition cars only because they are a smaller group to analyze and reflect a more stringent price discipline. Click here to view the definitions of classes for appraising collector cars as used by our Cars On Line Appraisal Service. Here (below) is our COL Market Trends Report. The first column shows the results of the Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale 2009. You can compare those numbers to the average prices we saw at the recent Barrett-Jackson Auction 2010 last week (third column.) The values in the column marked "Prices as of December 2009" are average values experienced at auctions in the winter of 2009. For vehicles that were not represented in a particular sale, we have simply put an asterisk in the box.   Cond. Class Barrett-Jackson 2009 Prices as of December 2009 Barrett-Jackson 2010 FORDS 1953 Ford F100 No. 2  $37,950  $27,200  $32,450  1956 Ford Crown Victoria  No. 2 $38,000 $39,000 $71,500 1957 Thunderbird No. 2 $42,350 $55,900 $59,600 1967 Shelby GT500 No. 2 $115,500 $125,000 $159,500 1966 Shelby GT350 No. 2 $110,000 $155,000 $214,500 1966 Mustang Convt No. 2 $37,400 $27,500 $23,650 1967 Mustang GT  Fastback (S Code) No. 2 * $32,900 * 1964 1/2 Mustang Convt No. 2 $48,000 $29,200 $38,500 1969 Mach 1 Mustang (M code) No. 2 $46,750 $51,500 * 1969 Mach 1 428 CJ (R code)  No. 2 $110,000 $75,500 $71,866 1969 Boss 429 Mustang No. 2 $209,000 $204,500 $244,750 1970 Boss 302 Mustang No. 2 $121,800 $76,500 $81,033 1970 Ford Torino 429CJ  No. 2 $38,500 $42,000 $31,900  CHEVROLETS        1967 Chevelle SS 396 No. 2 $47,300 $53,900 $46,200  1969 Camaro Z/28 No. 2 $55,300 $58,300 $61,600  1970 Chevelle SS 396 No. 2  $38,500 $55,000 $42,900  1970 Chevelle LS6 No. 2 $80,300 $92,800 $99,000  1967 Corvette 427/435  Convertible  No. 2 $143,000 $165,000 $120,500  1963 Split Window Coupe No. 2 * $46,900 $93,500  1954 Corvette No. 2 $88,000 $87,500 $84,150  1963 Impala SS 409 Convertible No. 2 $77,000 $75,200 $80,300  1958 Chevy Impala Convt (348 Tripower) No. 2 $73,000 $90,200 $132,000  1957 Chevy Bel Air Convt  No. 2 $94,200 $78,000 $82,500  1957 Chevrolet Cameo   No. 2 $41,800 $36,300 $30,250  1956 Chevrolet Nomad No. 2 * $63,000 $57,200 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Convt  No. 2 $68,750 $76,400 $88,550  1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Hardtop No. 2 * $41,900 $42,350 MOPARS        1969 Dodge Charger R/T No. 2 $58,300 $41,450 $110,000  1970 Ply AAR Cuda No. 2 $68,200 $77,500 $90,200 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T (440 6Pack)  No. 2 * $58,000 $90,200  1970 Plymouth Superbird  (440) No. 2 * $92,850 $159,500  1970 Hemi Cuda No. 2 $167,700 $254,950 $231,000 1970 Plymouth Road Runner  No. 2 $49,000 $44,540 $38,500 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A No. 2 * $74,200 $77,000 1970 Dodge Super Bee No. 2 * $35,800 $35,800 CADILLAC        1957 Cadillac S62 Convertible No. 2 * $64,000 *  1976 Cadillac Eldorado  Convertible No. 2 * $26,000 $25,650  PACKARD          1953 Packard Carribean Convt No. 2 $84,500 $108,650 $154,000  PONTIAC         1965 Pontiac GTO (389 Tripower)  No. 2 * $48,000 $61,600  1967 Pontiac GTO  Convertible No. 2 $64,900 $66,000 *  1970 Pontiac GTO Judge No. 2 $51,100 $65,000 $77,000 1973 Trans Am Super Duty  No. 2 * $48,600 $51,700 1968 Firebird Convertible  No. 2 * $30,000 * 1977 Bandit Trans Am  No. 2 * $28,000 $36,300  BUICK          1970 Buick GS Stage 1 No. 2 * $42,000 $51,700 1953 Skylark Convertible  No. 2 * $146,350 * 1954 Super Convt No. 2 * $76,150 $115,500  OLDSMOBILE          1970 Olds 442 W-30 (4-spd) No. 2 $60,500 $57,070 * 1957 Oldsmobile Starfire Convt  No. 2 * $50,800 $68,500   AUSTIN HEALEY          1967 Austin Healey 3000 No. 2 $66,500 $62,000 $70,033   JAGUAR          1967 Jaguar XKE Roadster No. 2 $83,600 $65,000 $61,050  1956 Jaguar XK140 (MC) No. 2 * $94,450 $106,700 * Some of the vehicles that we follow were not represented in the auction. We have simply put an asterisk in those boxes where a similar No. 2 condition car was not in the sale. These asterisks can be significant. It means that people who own these cars are not putting them up for sale because they may not think they can get their price.