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Journal: What Is the Next Vintage Car to Skyrocket in Value?

What Is the Next Vintage Car to Skyrocket in Value?

By Petrolicious
February 15, 2013

The Mercedes-Benz W113 280SL is still living in the shadow of the 300SL Gullwing and Roadster, but it is slowly creeping up in price. While prices have recently started to shoot up, there are still some deals to be had in finding one of these beautiful Pagodas. Some of the prime examples are reaching close to six figures, but most are still in the 30k-50k range, and we believe that in ten years or less, you may be hard pressed to find one under 100k. A well-designed car doesn’t look dated nearly half a century after it was created, and the 280SL looks just as timeless now as it did when it rolled off the factory line.

to see a nice SL for sale on eBay with only a couple of days left to bid.

If someone outbids you on the SL linked above, check out the other SLs available here on eBay.

– – –

Now we’d love to hear your opinion. What is the next vintage car to skyrocket in value?

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P Carrasquillo
P Carrasquillo
11 years ago

Hey. New to the comments. Awesome blog.

The 280SL bit reminded me of a couple of meticulous projects some acquaintances put together. Using 3.5 Litre V8s, intended for 3.5 coupes, they built up two example cars they call the 280SL 3.5 GT and the 280SLR 3.5. All factory parts, except for the motor mounts, and the fit and finish is world-class. They look absolutely amazing. [url=”http://www.hatchandsons.com/pages/280sl/”]Link here.[/url]

I would rather build one of those and drive it every single day, than buy a classic anything and turn it into garage trophy / trailer queen, just to watch it’s value go up. If I can’t drive it then its value, to me, goes down.

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Jon Warshawsky
Jon Warshawsky
11 years ago

Hard to argue with the 280 SL – they still look great, and Mercedes seems to be able to provide everything for its classic cars. Also, I think 1973-4 was the cutoff for vintage cars that are infinitely rebuildable and relatively simple, and the 280 SL fits there as well (look at longnose Porsche 911s or Dino 246s as other examples of European two-seaters moving up the price curve… neat, small bumpers, no computers, minimal plastic, etc.)

Porsche 356 B coupes are still a deal, relatively speaking, but I would guess not for much longer. The open cars shot up a few years ago, but the B coupe with a sunroof is really nice to drive, and reliable.

The other one I keep thinking will move up is the Ferrari 308 GTB/GTS, although it’s on the wrong side of the 1974 divide. Still, the early ones had carbs are are reasonably simple cars — and with 246s pushing $300K the 308s seem ripe to move beyond the $30K-$50K range.

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matthew wiseman
matthew wiseman
11 years ago

I was going to say mid 80s early 90s bmws but the price of e30s and e28s have already skyrocketed compared to what it used to be (unfortunately)

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Steve Armstrong
Steve Armstrong
11 years ago

BMW 2800-3.0cs (e9). Because they are beautiful and undervalued. And I own one 🙂

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matthew wiseman
matthew wiseman
11 years ago
Reply to  Steve Armstrong

I thought E9s already go for a very pretty penny, beautiful cars and for what they are very practice and reliable in comparison to a lot of other classic cars, I think E3 Bavaria’s are going to start sky rocketing simply by assertion to the E9s and 2002s

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BiTurbo228
BiTurbo228
11 years ago

This is one of my least liked facets of automotive culture. I fail to see how skyrocketing prices for certain cars is a good thing. The only positive I can see is that there will usually be more people to keep them in good shape, but what’s the point in that if the vast majority spend their time locked away in sealed garages. Cars are meant to be driven, to be seen in the real world, to excite passers-by with their looks and sounds, and the only upshot of this is that fewer of them will. People who are passionate about these cars will likely never even get close to owning one, and personally I think that’s very sad.

It is not something to get excited about.

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Inigo Loy Colmenar
Inigo Loy Colmenar
11 years ago
Reply to  BiTurbo228

I guess rarity, popularity and desirability are getting quantified with price. The more popular, rare and desirable is, the more expensive it becomes. It is bad for buyers but good for current owners and sellers….:D

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Josh Clason
Josh Clason
11 years ago
Reply to  BiTurbo228

I wholeheartedly agree with you. It isn’t something I get excited about but I do love to discuss it and hear what other people think. Here on the site we run into a lot of great cars but can’t do videos on them because they sit in a garage and aren’t driven. That said there are lots of owners who do drive their cars regularly(like the 280SL above) and we are featuring another this Tuesday on an Iso Grifo.

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Matthew Lange
Matthew Lange
11 years ago

Lancia Flaminia Supersport Zagato. Sell for around £150k ($280k) but compared to prices of Lancia Aurelia Spyders that’s a bargain for a car that shares styling cues with an Aston DB4 GT Zagato.

Early Ferrari 308GTB’s, glass fibre bodies and dry sump engines are climbing but half price of a 246 Dino.

Porsche 924 and 944s will never get cheaper

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Travis Barr
Travis Barr
11 years ago

What I do is look at a current 60 year old… Take the current year (2013) and minus 40 to 45 years… 1968 to 1975…. Then look at what the “cool” doctor in the neighborhood was driving over those years… That is what you will see grow in interest and price.. Guys love to buy what they dreamed of having when they were 15… Then every year that goes by repeat the process…

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Mathias Jahn
Mathias Jahn
11 years ago
Reply to  Travis Barr

Very well, Mr. Barr – that makes it my ’73 Mercedes 350 SL (107 R), icon-gold metallic… A favourite with doctors (in Germany) and with Mr. B. Ewing (in Dallas), as seen here: http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_3412-Mercedes-Benz-450-SL-R107-1975.html. Thanks for the hint and I’m hoping for the best.

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Inigo Loy Colmenar
Inigo Loy Colmenar
11 years ago
Reply to  Travis Barr

What is more rare here in the US are 107 coupes. Those are a lot fewer in number than roadsters. They are nice driving GT cars, too

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Terrence Dorsey
Terrence Dorsey
11 years ago

Clean, unmolested, original 4-cylinder Porsche 914s are going to be 5-figure cars within a decade. There simply aren’t that many left and they are going to take the entry-level classic P-car space formerly held by the 912.

Also, thanks to Mazda killing the RX-8 and a growing interest in early, sporty Japanese cars, the first few generations of Mazda rotaries are going to start getting more (well-deserved) attention. So start looking for that R100, RX-2 or RX-3.

I wrote a blog post about this a few weeks ago. How crazy are my predictions here? http://thesportwagon.com/2013/02/02/Future_Classics.html

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Jonathon Glazebrook
Jonathon Glazebrook
11 years ago
Reply to  Terrence Dorsey

Completely agree, and unlike the 912 which shares a good number of body/trim parts with the 911 (making it more expensive to restore than folks looking for a “cheap” Porsche are often willing to spend), the 914 is a glorified VW and reasonably easy to own/operate. The 914-6 will always command a higher price, but the relative rarity of that car may help drag the 4-cyl version up market as well. The other two on your list I agree with, the MK1 Rabbit/Golf (especially the GTi) and the GTO (and I’d add G8), though, those are already hard to find and haven’t depreciated nearly as much as their GM brethren (especially the hi-po V8s).

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Inigo Loy Colmenar
Inigo Loy Colmenar
11 years ago

Another M-B. The 190E 2.3-16. Set several world records during its day. Cosworth engine, Recaro interior, hydropneumatic suspension, Getrag dogleg transmission and it even came with a lap timer from the factory. Ayrton Senna was discovered racing a 190E 2.3-16. Almost forgotten but worth a close look by all car enthusiasts.

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Josh Clason
Josh Clason
11 years ago
Reply to  Inigo Loy Colmenar

I also believe that one will creep up in price. I have a lot of respect for the 2.3-16v.

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Inigo Loy Colmenar
Inigo Loy Colmenar
11 years ago
Reply to  Josh Clason

Please feature it, already!
😀

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