Craziness continues with 100M pricing

[bighealeysource]

I continue to be amazed but pleased with the pricing out there for factory 100M's. Now I see one one on ebay, item # 170961142890, with a Buy it Now of $125,000 for an unrestored car. It's a white over red one, not even correct color, and would put a link in to the listing but do not know how to do that - finally figured out how to do pictures thanks to Basil's upgrades. Anyway, seriously doubt he will get his BIN price but still amazed at the craziness of that price for it. There is a very nice fully restored 100M on this week also for $125,000 but not redone as original color combo. That price seems to be about "normal" right now which still amazes me. I am beginning to wonder if the 100M pricing climb will suffer the fall of prices like muscle cars or Pontiac GTO's after they rose like crazy and then the bottom fell out. I hope not but even Gary Anderson of AHCUSA said the same thing on a recent article in the monthly mag. I am lucky that I have a factory 100M and thank goodness got it well before all this craziness happened or no way would I own one so the rise obviously benefits me. Guess when I can no longer get myself in and out of it on a regular basis, and those in our sixties or older know what I mean, that continued rise will help with the usual retirement issues. But still crazy !
Merry Christmas to all,
Mike

 

[HealeyRick]

I, too, wonder if this is a bubble that's about to burst. It's just not about the 100M, but in classic cars in general. The folks that lusted after these cars aren't getting any younger and I just wonder if those in their 20's, 30's and even early 40's don't have dream cars of their youth that they'll be wanting to purchase rather than some old man's car. But, I'm a notoriously bad judge of these things, so don' rely on me for investment advice.

 

[MikeP]

At some point I think prices will stop or drop back. I think about when I was a kid in the 60s, you went to a car show and half of what was there were model T Fords. Well restored examples were selling in the mid to upper teens at that point, which then was good money. These days you don't see nearly as many and the prices certainly haven't kept up with inflation from then. I would guess that while there will be younger folks interested, 30-40 years from now it won't be like today.

 

[MarshgrassA]

Mike...I am begining to feel your pain! Getting in and out of my MGA and TR4A is starting to catch up with me. I too am amazed at the 100M prices that seemed to happen overnight while the later Healey models have dropped (with some exceptions). I may not have followed enough sales for that to be the case but in my limited conversations with car friends it seems others think the same. I decided the 100M was the next car on my Bucket List and since I can't afford one I won't get in trouble with my husband for just drooling over yours or any that pop up for sale!

I do think that there will be buyers for our cars when we are ready to pass them on as long as our hobby continues to share the cars and history with the public. Our club is involved with a local school that has a body shop class and the kids help at our car show to raise money for supplies. There are many youth programs across the country that are helped by car clubs. I did not buy my cars for investments but it would be nice to think that they might do better than my 401K.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year,
Irene

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Certainly prices will drop off eventually. However, I think classic sports cars like Healeys, MGs, etc. are in a different category than muscle cars. Muscle cars have always been about stoplight drag racing--the guy in the old Camaro in the Viagra commercial notwithstanding--and are not suitable for much more than car shows and the occasional short 'show off' cruises. Just like in the 50s and 60s when LBCs first became popular they remain fun cars to drive, and drive over long distances. I also think the muscle car mania has been diluted somewhat by the proliferation of 'custom' and 'replica' cars; the customs--a Chip Foose original excepted, maybe--lose value when they get hacked-up with a big block crate engine dropped in. As for the 'replicas;' well, I suspect after changing hands a couple times the 'replica' moniker gets 'forgotten' and some unlucky/uninformed buyer gets stuck with a Tempest with an aftermarket GTO badge on the grill.

I watch a lot of auctions on TV when there's nothing else on, and there are a lot of custom muscle cars--most with crate engines, glossy paint and godawful 22" chrome wheels--selling for $15-20K.

 

[Editor_Reid]

Car prices/values is certainly a subject that provokes frequent head-scratching. However, in the current climate of car collecting, everyone wants the special model, and so that's where the money flows.

For example, witness the difference in price between a four-cylinder Porsche 914 and the 914-6. The 6 doesn't have THAT much more power, but a nice one is likely to cost you five times - maybe more - what a nice four-banger will bring. They look the same, they drive pretty much the same, but the six-cylinder version is rare(r) and does have a little more umph. Thus it commands way more money.

Same deal in the Healey world. The 100S looks pretty much like a plain Healey 100. Oh sure, the grille is a different shape and the 100S has got a few more horsepower and those cool seats with the vertical slots in them, but is that "worth" 20 times the price (nice BN1/BN2 = $35k; nice 100S = $700k). Obviously it is to some people. The owners of the 100S cars have no trouble attracting buyers, but think about what you're getting for your 20x price premium: grille, different shape; aluminum body, OK so it's a little lighter, big deal; more powerful engine, but only incrementally more - the difference between 90 and 132 HP is not night and day, and it's perfectly easy to upgrade your standard BN1/BN2's engine to that much HP and more; "history", a strictly notional attribute. And so on.

Craziness? Yes. But that's the nature of collectibles. Meanwhile, we "enthusiasts" just enjoy owning and driving and showing them, regardless of what "the market" may be doing.

 

[drambuie]

Even in this crazy economy the highly prized cars such as a 100M will still command the big dollars! The folks with big bank accounts are not as much affected and can ride out the storm unlike most people, and in fact buy collecter grade cars as investments that can be moved anywhere! unlike the declining real estate around this country. Did you ever notice on ebay that most Austin Healeys just sit there and languish for weeks and weeks with out meeting a reserve of say 35 to 67K. Yet when a Healey 100M shows up on ebay in any condtion, the people with the big bucks always seem to scoop those 100Ms right up! And many times offer the seller enough money to end the aucton early....

 

[glemon]

I have been sort of on the defending side of Big Healey and 100M values, but a couple things have made me think it is a little crazy, one the prices lately, two, been researching MGA twin cams a little bit, a car with comparable performance to a 100M, the M having similar horsepower, better torque, and a less sophisticated chassis and handling, and also comparable in that it is a hot rodded version of the standard model. The twin cam was made in a little higher numbers, but was a much bigger upgrade and more exotic specification from the 100M, with a twin cam engine vs. the standard OHV lump, and 4 wheel disc brakes, upgraded interior, really closer to a 100S type car than an M. Yes they had some issues when new, but all known and correctible now. Anyway, from what I have been checking, a pretty good twin cam looks like it brings about 50K, a real bargain next to a 100M.

 

[davidb]

A lot of the price increases in the "S" and "M" series Healeys (although a different type of "S&M" certainly came to mind when struggling to refit the grille on my BJ8) has to do with the relative rarity of these models, not unlike true Shelby Cobras or TVR Griffith 200's, regardless of their performance differences from stock models. My old British mutts barely see the light of day anymore, due to either the weather, other projects, or my advancing years. I do share the concerns of others, that these classic cars that we grew up with and likely couldn't afford when we were growing up, won't hold the same magic for the next generation, and prices may suffer as a result. For the moment though, I'm still a kid when I go out to the garage.

Just my two cents. Merry Christmas to all.

DB

 

[glemon]

I do share the concerns of others, that these classic cars that we grew up with and likely couldn't afford when we were growing up, won't hold the same magic for the next generation, and prices may suffer as a result. For the moment though, I'm still a kid when I go out to the garage.
DB

I am in total agreement about the kid in the garage part, as far as values I don't know, as someone who wants to own a lot of these fun cars in my lifetime, I am kind of hoping as someone on the tail end of the baby boom that the market does "relax" a little bit and I can get another Healey or an E-type without taking out a 2nd mortgage on the house or selling one of the kids. I also don't know how much the sky high prices really benefit "us" by whom I mean people who have had a long and deep desire to own these cars. I think the prevalence of auctions and coverage has pushed some cars, like the big Healeys and Jags into the "investment/bauble to show off how much money and class I have status", which is why they have separated so much from the TRs and MGs and such in value. I realize there is a big gray area between the mythical "us" and "them" I am describing, but all I am really saying is that as speculators move in the cars can rise in value over their worth, or maybe more precisely a bubble occurs since worth is so subjective, and the cars are viewed as investments rather that objects to be used and enjoyed and I won't put words in anyone's mouth or presume to know other's feelings, but I don't know if it benefits me as enthusiast.

 

[davidb]

glemon,


You're spot on with your comments about speculators versus enthusiasts, and speculation seems to be what drives the market. So little time, so many toys....

Love that TR250 in your avatar!

Cheers
DB

 

[glemon]

Thanks Davidb, and your bird thing, er well, I am trying to think of something nice to say, but its kind of late and I keep looking at it and worrying that I am going to have nightmares:glee:

 

[WaltCasten]

Only time will tell but I can't see 100M becoming another 100S where they are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. They're just not rare enough and I also think the fact they look just like the standard car doesn't help either.

My personal prediction is Nash-Healey all over again. A #1 car climbed steadily (~5%) for years and years until they hit $75-$80K, then in a very short period of time shot up like a rocket to $250K! They sat there for a few years, then people came to their senses and they rapidly decined about 50% in a two year period back to where they should be...the ~5% for that period of time or $110,000.

 

[Healey 100]

I concur with glemon that high prices do not serve most of the collector community at all. High prices mean higher insurance costs, makes cars more difficult to sell, makes driving them less fun because it's so risky, etc, etc. Unless you're in the business of flipping cars or trying to buy and sell a living on old cars, can't see much good in rising collector car values.

I would love to return to the day when you could buy a decent project Healey for $500. Of course then your friends would rag at you for paying so much for a worthless beater! I choose not to play the game, there are still plenty of nice collector cars around at decent prices -- if you stay away from the bubble cars out there.

 

[WaltCasten]

I see the two other 100M on ebay were sold off ebay so we'll never know what they went for. The one that was supposedly solid but in need of resotration was bid up to $61,700 before it got pulled. The other one which appears to be serviceable but is painted the wrong color was (I thought) bid up into the $70's before getting pulled.

 

[drambuie]

I see the two other 100M on ebay were sold off ebay so we'll never know what they went for. The one that was supposedly solid but in need of resotration was bid up to $61,700 before it got pulled. The other one which appears to be serviceable but is painted the wrong color was (I thought) bid up into the $70's before getting pulled.

This is just the point i was making on my first post pertaining to 100M sales on ebay.... There are still people with money out there just looking for the right investment worthy car to restore, or someone with money that is been laying in the weeds, ready to jump on a car like the 100M for the pure pleasure of owning one of these rare beasts.