Has Anyone Else Noticed........?

[ECS]

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[wiging19]

They know things are cyclical and the prices on our cars will eventually go up again.  Fewer and fewer cars survive so they will increase in value.  They just don't price things lower during the slow times for our cars.  Besides most of us chose these cars for ourselves and price isn't the driving value of why we spend money on them.   Otherwise we'd all be driving GM products.

[JS27N0B]

I think it all boils down to old adage, supply and demand. I still have some 30yr old stuff that I don't think will ever be worth anything. 

[Chryco Psycho]

It costs a lot to tool new part for a limited market as the value of the cars drops less people are buying as they can also do the math so where does the pricing have to go ?

[anlauto]

Dave, How many BE&A parts are on your Valiant ? or E Bodies for that fact ?

I think that the truth of the matter is, there are a select few customer's in this world restoring Mopars to an OE level where money is no object. Their obsession for "gold" has lead them to spend any amount of money to obtain that elusive NOS part.  When thrill of actually finding the elusive part has become priceless to some, the cost of the part doesn't matter.

With that in mind, the guys who have collected and hoarded these NOS parts for the last 40 years can ask any price they want...They may not get it from the average guy, but they may jusy sell it to one of the above...

How many years did Ron Adair  have his "Tent of Terror" set up at Carlisle with absolutely insane prices, and how many of us actually stood in line to fork out crazy money for the NOS parts that only he had ?

Right now on EBay there is a guy asking $2000 for Cuda exhaust tips....He won't get that from me, but there might be someone out there thinking "they have to be rare, look at how expensive they are"

There was an ad (gone now) for one of those reproduction MCO trunk mats being past off as NOS ask stupid money  only because some guys just pay big bucks for them like money is no object.

All I'm trying to say is that NOS parts are getting used up, and once they're gone, they're gone. You're not going to see the prices of them come down any time soon as long as there's still rich people restoring cars to an OE level. That potential market might be getting smaller as well.

Now reproduction parts are a different story, the more they pump out, the cheaper they should get...like Mustang parts...door handles for $6.00

[Jesus H Chrysler]

It's an emotional connection with some people.  I know a few guys who would never put "that Chinese crap!" on their cars.  They would put shelf worn and even slightly damaged NOS parts on their car before using shiny new repros.  This whole hobby revolves around emotional attachment to the cars, and for some that translates to a need to have it all original.  That one repro headlight bezel may look exactly like the NOS one, but mentally it bugs some people to the point they'll spend big money to put a lesser quality part on just for the sake of being original.  That's where the NOS guys make their money.  They've sat on these parts for long enough to know a buyer comes along eventually.  An emotionally driven buyer who will at some point let their heart override their head and open their wallet so their baby gets what she deserves.

[ChallengerHK]

  Why spend a fortune to obtain NOS components if the vehicle isn't even worth the sum of it's parts when complete?

Different definitions of worth.

[anlauto]

Well it will be great to see a quality trunk mat available, I hope you can do it with a price point that will appeal to the "masses"...no sense making one if it's going to cost $500 each.
With the cars I turn out....I would be comfortable at double what the crappy rubber ones go for... , however my customer base is happy with the $70 dollar ones most times.

[anlauto]

When I restored my "Barrelcuda" I had invested $12K alone just in NOS trim pieces. I had $1200 in my windshield wipers alone   I'll never do that again with any of my cars simply because I ALWAYS have re-sale in mind.

At the time I thought there was nothing like NOS and went crazy with even the smallest of items, however once bolted to the car...They are no longer NOS, they are just used parts. I think 99% of my potential buyers could care less about how much I spent to get the correct parts...looking back I could have just cleaned up a nice set of original windshield wipers and still sold the car for the same amount of money.

I have a friend that constantly beats me up for the $85 NAPA rebuilt starter motor I had in my car....nothing like his $400 Jim Ridge restored motor This comes from a guy with $135K invested into a Challenger he's still trying to sell with a asking price of $85K...

I think the people restoring cars with the intent to sell are not affected by the high cost of NOS, unless the part is not available anywhere else which is becoming less and less of a senario...

[HP_Cuda]

I believe you are also seeing a new trend.

The millennials and younger generations don't have the drive to restore cars like their parents or older folks. They are a new group of folks who would rather buy something new and throw away the old.

This does not bode well for classic cars going forward on a grand scale. There will always be folks willing to shell out big bucks for the ultra rare car.

[dutch]

exactly.  I don`t think prices will come up again ,or maybe for a little while.  There just won`t be enough interested youngsters to buy them. This goes for all classic vehicles, not just musclecars. There are A LOT of classic vehicles out there to sell .   My son thinks it`s a cool car but he also thinks it`s stupid to burn that much fuel for fun... he`s not alone 

[7212Mopar]

exactly.  I don`t think prices will come up again ,or maybe for a little while.  There just won`t be enough interested youngsters to buy them. This goes for all classic vehicles, not just musclecars. There are A LOT of classic vehicles out there to sell .   My son thinks it`s a cool car but he also thinks it`s stupid to burn that much fuel for fun... he`s not alone 

Totally agree about your sentiment on the diminishing population that have interest in the older muscle cars. When you go to car shows, you see the younger crowds attend with the newer muscle cars. The owners of the older cars are mostly older folks. May be as more years go by and that there are fewer cars left, our cars might attain the vintage car status and gasoline is $20 a gallon, LOL

[torredcuda]

Fewer NOS parts around since a lot of high dollar cars were restored with those NOS parts back when the musclecar boom was going on.

[Gumby]

99% of people don't give a hoot. 99% of people aren't young people owning these cars. While these cars are relatively cheap to get into nowadays, $20,000 will buy you a nice driver quality car, 99% don't give a hoot about restoring it to above factory standards. They just want to drive it before they die. I don't care if my car is 100% I just want to drive it. I don't even care if it is 50%. I just want TO DRIVE IT. As long as it looks relatively stock. Seriously, the market for 100% cars is dwindling. Time marches on. The next generation could give a shoot less if it is 100 percent perfect. THEY JUST DON"T CARE. Only museums care, or people that don't drive them. They didn't make that many of these even back in the day. Young people don't want to carry the tradition on. Especially 100% stuff. And they don't have the money to deal with it if they did care. You could make 100 percent factory original Model t parts. I doubt that there would be a market to support it. I just want mine to be an every day driver to be different from all the cookie cutters. They couldn't give these cars away back during the big gas crunch/insurance calamity, and now they are worth $100,000? lol. I don't think so. Enjoy them while you are still alive folks, you sure ain't going to be enjoying them when you are pushing up daisies. Only museum pieces deserve NOS. Sorry to sound so harsh - but what the hell are you saving it for? WHY DON"T YOU JUST ENJOY IT? These are 40 year old cars! Get real! lol. I don't get keeping them garaged and 100% and never driven, when the aftermarket has finally reproduced parts to keep them going. When you die - do you think it is going to stay in the family? It will likely be the first thing auctioned off. Sorry to be so harsh. And the family will think it's worth $100,000 only to be disapointed when it goes for $10.000.  No kid nowadays wants a carbed car, maybe with points, that no one knows how to work on unless you have taught him. Chime in if you feel different. Most people don't own a one in 12 car. Truth hurts.

[Jamiez]

Only museum pieces deserve NOS. Sorry to sound so harsh - but what the hell are you saving it for? WHY DON"T YOU JUST ENJOY IT?

What makes you think you need to drive the car to enjoy it?  Personally, I enjoy working on my Challenger more than I actually enjoy driving it.  It's like model cars we probably all built as kids.  Some people liked to build them precise, add all kinds of extras, etc and then put them on a shelf and still enjoyed them.  Other people slapped them together in minutes and put a firecracker in them to re-enact their favorite episode of CHiPs.  Just because you wouldn't enjoy a 100% OE restoration doesn't mean that no one does.