Station Wagon Bubble?

Cars are subject to fashion whims as much as clothing.

Currently old pickups and wagons are popular...they'll probably stay that way for awhile...but like the muscle car boom that ended in 2008 because of the recession/depression...that could always change.

My latest Sports Car Market price guide says even the popular 56-57 Nomad wagons are down 14%...so some models do have peaks and valleys (probably because while they're neat, a lot of guys who aren't emotionally involved in the 50s think they're overvalued).

Some rare nice wagons from the 60s- early 70s will probably continue to increase in value...when was the last time you saw a clean MOPAR wagon from that period?

 

4 posts ago! Besides Dewey's - you're right. Not many around. Heck, I have yet to see another '69 Fairlane wagon in person - saw 2 or 3 in the Fairlane Club of America magazine car show coverage in the last 3 years.

 

In the past ten or so years I have been noticing more wagons at shows, both restored and un-restored,not only that but some high profile builders have started taking notice..Like Bobby Alloway and the 427 Cammer engine 1956 Ford Ranch Wagon.

Since we have gotten our wagon on the road I have met a lot of folks that have been involved with the car hobby and are in the process of bringing a old wagon back to life or they want to.

I honestly believe the wagons have yet to peak in popularity,lets face it a lot of us old greybeards grew up riding in the family wagon and if your like me the wagons are just time machines reminding us of simpler times.

 

I dunno...........

Seems I'm seeing prices on the rise - for certain wagons. Could be just an opportunistic thing - sellers seeing market prices on good units on the rise, thinking their wagons could bring that money. Might be a false impression. We have no way of actually tracking selling prices. As to my own situation, I think I would be lucky to get what I bought the W.B.M for in today's market. I probably paid a 'top market' price for it (although I got it for $500 under the advertised price).

Most of us here don't really care what our wagons are worth, though. We're not selling them.

Marshall

 

Very well put Marshall and very very true.

 

I figure that the price of a wagon should depend on the amount of work needed to fix one up. A worn and damaged car is going to need to be spruced up. Restored real Woody wagons command a premium due to amount of custom wood working that needs to be performed. An Olds Vista Cruiser is a nice wagon with its roof glass. The downside is that the roof glass is a moisture trap and many of these roofs are rusted. Even if it looks solid, there may be hidden rust in the channels. Rust repair is not cheap nor easy to repair (especially roofs). I've seen some people offer Vistas at $5000 and above even with visible roof rust. If there has been roof repairs and roof resealing performed, then I would understand a higher price premium.

Nice full size wagons are drying up fast. The newest Roadmaster is eighteen years old, full of aging electronics, higher mileage on most, and 90's GM build quality. 1980's wagons have been mostly crushed by now. I'm sure Cash for clunkers took many of them out. Some wagons are survivors for not having been crushed so long ago. These wagons were kept by owners who just would not get rid of their wagons. Wayne

SavedURI :Show URL
SavedURI :Hide URL
http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=288286​

 

I think the wagon's popularity will remain fairly high for some time to come. I recently looked at a 92 Roadmaster with 142k on the clock and the blue leather looked like it had never been sat on.Great overall condition and the asking price was 4 grand. I waited a day(too long)and it was gone.It was on the lot exactly 2 days.
For the past several years I have had a person who calls me about every 3 months asking when I'm going to sell him my 57 Safari. Every time I tell him it's not for sale. Last summer he came down and offered me 25 grand for it unrestored. It is in nice shape but not that nice. I told him I was flattered but still didn't want to sell. He then made the fatal error of saying in a somewhat nasty voice:"Well how much is it going to take to buy it; EVERYTHING has a price!" That is when I threw him out of the garage and suggested he never come back.
Was I an idiot for turning him down? Maybe. But I am not a whore and that in my estimation is what he was saying.
As an aside;when I bought it in 1997 I paid $1,600 for it and that included 6 months storage fee and what it cost to transport it from Massachusetts.

 

I read an article on line (maybe linked from the SWF), the authors primise was that wagons are coming back into to vogue because twenty and thirty something's don't attach the stigmata to them that people in there 40's and 50's do. Instead they see the mini van and SUV as the representation of the "mom mobile". While I'm a little older than my 30's, I will say that I died a little inside the day I bought a mini van and was never happier about a viechiale purchase the day I found Rex covered in a layer of dust in the back of a used car dealership garage.

 

Yes. I will drink to that. My wife and I were both born in '81, so we are early 30's now. One clause that we both agreed upon in the fine print of our wedding vows was absolutely NO mini vans in our garage. We were just a few years old in 1984 when the Chrysler Corp. brought out the Voyagers and Caravans.....and all of the other minivans that followed suit. We grew up in them. I am a bit of an odd duck. I seem to prefer cars that are fashionable during the pre-nursing home years...I have had the following since I began driving in '97.

1960 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, Series 62
1985 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park
1986 Buick Riviera
1988 Buick LeSabre Limited Coupe
1988 Lincoln Town Car Signature
1990 Chrysler New Yorker Landau
1991 Buick Park Avenue Limited
1992 Cadillac Brougham D'Elegance
1993 Lincoln Town Car Signature
1995 Lincoln Town Car Signature
1998 Cadillac DeVille
2004 Lincoln Town Car Limited/Ultimate

 

I agree not everything has a price. Attachments are made with vehicles. I have a car in my backyard that my family had since I was born. It needs transmission work and is a 4dr. I know if I was to get rid of it it would end up in a dismantler. So it sits covered. I bought my '68 Colony Park (CP) since my Volvo has just about 400k and needs to be parked and restored. So I figure the CP would aid in fixing up the 4dr (moving a transmission and other parts). I could use the 4dr as a daily driver and the CP when I need to move things or intra-state road trips while I get the Volvo fixed up. Wayne

SavedURI :Show URL
SavedURI :Hide URL
http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=288305​

 

Had that happen at a car show with the 64 . Pretty amazing what some people think that money can buy anything they want .

Yesterday in my garage.

 

Okay, that's two of ...what? A couple of hundred thousand?

I'd expect to find nice MOPAR wagons here...but in the outside world (away from vintage wagon collectors)...they're still rare.

 

Well...heres the way I see it
Ive been buying and selling for over 40 years now...I dont profess to know it all...just what Ive seen
Over the years I have watched the "car game' do `1' continuous thing..
...and that is 'out price' the market.
My example is this...when everyone wanted a 60's Mustang...and they got too expensive...then the Falcons found a new market .
When everyone wanted a 47-53 Chevy p/u and they got too pricy...then the 55-59 found a new market...then the 67-72...and now the 60-66

When I used to go on the H--M ...(10 years ago)...I remember guys complaining that they used to be able to find a 51 Chevy for a $100 bux...and now they'r $2000!...and blamed all the FAD jumpers for the price hike

20 years ago...you couldnt give away and old 60's Drag car !!
...now they'r hotter than sliced bread

...'Everything old is new again'... at some point !!

So...when some of us got into wagons...they were dirt cheap ! because they had NO market except for Derby's
When I bought my 61 Falcon 2dr wag (30 years ago)..I paid $450. for her with 48,000 original on it..she was perfect !
And now due to sentimental value and the market...she's worth 10,ooo to 15,ooo easy...not that I would sell her

...so...In short(or long)...'are we in a bubble?'....in my opinion...YA..we are

the market will falter just like the Hemi Dodges of BJ fame 5 years ago did... --it happens

Im 50/50 on whether it will be a good thing or not
Ive always been proud of my 'individuality' ...but then on the other hand....I never woulda met all you crazy kids

I'll drink to that

 

I believe that wagons are peaking and will stay that way for awhile. The Boomers who actually rode in and drove these cars are in their 50s and 60s and are in their peak disposable income years. They have the $$ to buy what they want. If you can add sentiments or nostalgia to something, the price is going to go up. Wagons will always be "cool" to some people regardless of how old they are but if you have actual memories of these cars, they are going to be worth more to you.

 

Here's one on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Other...7deac86ad&item=171239573165&pt=US_Cars_Trucks