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Barrett- Jackson auction

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Dave Richards, Ive never taken my healey out and not had a very positive reaction from people of all ages, genders and socioeconomic standing, yesterday a friend of mine introduced me to a local guy about 62-63 years old who is the caretaker/mechanic of several vintage Ferrari race cars a maclaren something or other a couple of vintage street cars, he fired up his personal griffin?..Griffith? (spelling) its a 289 powered tvr. standing in his shop that's the size of a medium aircraft hanger surrounded by this wonderful collection all he talked about was the bn2 he once owned he didnt know until i left that i own a healey!, yes the prices on these and all cars will fluctuate like anything else but anyone that believes our cars will one day fall totally out of favor and that interest in these cars will just evaporate also thinks that people will cease viewing the Mona Lisa cuz its too old. .... p.s. i wish i could have brought everyone on this forum to see this collection it is incredible! i was denied permission to take photos or divulge the name of the owner or the location of this living museum, i didnt know previous that Ferrari made right hand driver models.
 
Hi Guys,

In my opinion there will always be interest in our Healeys simply because the lines still attract people over 50 years already.

If you are at the beginning of your twenties you have less money to spent while you need the most start a family buy a house etc etc so not much left for a car that can't be considered as a family car. Later on when you have in general more spending power you might be able to buy once the time is there.

hama 61
 
Well Ed since you brought it up look what happened to the prices realized by top of the marque, show winning Model A's. They once commanded big bucks but now are very affordable, even cheap. Auctions are a poor choice to base worth on other than that car on that day sold for that much, because two people fought over it because they had to have 'that' car. Look what happen to the Ferrari market. Yes a concours or near concurs proper frame off(all body panels)restoration will bring good money but can't be used to value a daily driver/partial cosmetic 'restoration'. Will they hold their value? The good ones, yes. The others that need a lot of real work to bring them up to the 'accepted' standard won't. The Model A's had a big following of old timers which drove the prices up. When the old timers began dieing off the next generation after them didn't relate to the cars and the market went bust. A variation of this will happen to the Healeys. As our generation (55 to 60+) starts passing the value of not perfect Healey examples will suffer deflation. Museum/Concurs examples will hold their value but only to a few 'collectors', but not the drivers.
 
I'm lucky enogh to live in southern CA and have been going to a Sat morning event for over three years that started with 10 to 15 cars in another location and now has about 500 cars of all types showing up between 6 and 9am(time to get home as wife wakes up)every Sat. Interest in Healeys(I have a red 62BT7) has always been high, even from the 20's crowd. Whether or not they'll buy one when they're 50 is another question. Interestingly, when I talk to the pros in the collector car business, they say the market for our cars(Healeys, TR's, MG's, etc.) with the proper documentation and in the right condition will increase over at least the next few years. The key to long term value (they say) is production numbers (ours were small compared to American muscle), documentation and condition. To me it's sort of like what your house is worth. It doesn't really matter what it's worth, until you are ready to sell. But it sure is fun to tell yourself you're not only having a good time, but, at least for once made a smart investment!
 
I think I fit into that younger group also. I'm 28 and I would love to own a big Healey and I would if they were not so expensive. I take my lbcs to a lot of shows and whether it is from the old guys or the young guys I get more looks in my crappy thunderbird.

Most of my friends think my cars are cool but they would never own and probably don't want one. Compared to the cars today the cars from the 60s are just plain slow and my friends would never have a car without a radio and side curtains (I doubt they even know what those are).

I actually think the price is the biggest problem. Someone my age is not going to get a big healey easily, they are so expensive you don't see people driving them as daily drivers, and I bet the cars we saw go across the auction block will only see the road a few times a year or be hidden away in some museum. I think if people my age were able to see them and hear them driving around, or even get to ride in or drive one the interest in them would change but thats not going to happen. The best thing left to spark interest would be for the release of a new Austin Healey model.
 
This thread reminds me of a post I made on another board I post on. I had been away from that club for a while and when I got the back issues of the club newsletter, I found that several key players in the club as well as the industry had passed away. What worries me is who are these guru's replacements? How is the knowledge and skills and experiences of these people being conserved? Are there the next generation of enthusiasts who are learning from these Masters? Or is this collective knowlegde and experience being lost to the ages?

Of course, we live in a different age and time with the internet and almost instant access to almost any information we need. But can that ever replace a living person who can place their hand on the air cleaner and say "Your timing is off 2 degrees and the valves on cylinder 2 are out of adjustment"? I am sure you get the idea.

What are your thoughts on this?
 
I think there will always be a group of folks interested in the available cars. (Leno renovated a Steam car)

When the amount of cars is less than the number of people wanting them, the prices will go up and vice versa. (supply v. demand)

Some cars I really like, I'll probably never be able to buy because of the price, that's just how it is.

I'm delighted that my kids love LBCs and American Muscle from the '60s and '70s, and I hope their kids love 'em too.

I'm happy to interest young kids in the hobby, and I think that's the key to continued interest.

I lament the loss of some old timers, but realize that's what I'm becoming!
 
Dave Richards said:
When the amount of cars is less than the number of people wanting them, the prices will go up and vice versa. (supply v. demand)
Click to expand...

My argument was that when cars get expensive they usually go to the wrong people, not the people who will take them out and enjoy them like they should be instead of mothballed in a garage or museum.

I see MGBs and Midgets driving around and parked in front businesses but I never see a big Healey out on a drive or driven to work.
 
Tullamore said:
I see MGBs and Midgets driving around and parked in front businesses but I never see a big Healey out on a drive or driven to work.
Click to expand...
Classic car insurers tend to have rules about where the car can be parked etc.

Over the years, my daily drivers have suffered numerous hit & run parking lot incidents. They are relatively cheap to repair.

When you consider that on a Healey or Jag, a "minor" parking lot crash could cost $15K to repair, risky, unattended parking is not good.

"Out on a drive" yes, many times. Parking in front of a business or at work, - no, not usually.

Guess I made your point?
D
 
Tullamore, when I had my Hundred I drove it to work and generally around for fun and errands when the weather was nice, know of a couple people in the area that do to.

I and my other Healey buddies are across the River in Nebraska.

You are right the super expensive cars are generally not driven, and to me I am sorry but if you don't drive it you might as well buy a pretty painting...anyway plenty of Big Healey drivers still out there, as I am sure others on this forum can tell you.

Great to see the interest in the cars, I have had plenty of Sprites in the past, they are great fun.
 
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