Is the value of our trucks going up?

[nyncompute]

Been reading alot lately that in light of of some of the recent obscene prices that collector cars are bringing (have you watched the Barrett- Jackson auctions?), that the next hot market could be the truck segment.
How about it..are we sittin" on gold?

[LUV2XCLR8]

Originally Posted by nyncompute

How about it..are we sittin" on gold?

Not sure about gold, but I do think they are starting to command more $

[Tynee]

Only for the ones in good, (not great, but good) condition, judging from what I've been observing casually. The COMPLETELY restored to perfection beauties seem to be staying about the same, and the rust bucket beaters are staying somewhere near steady, too.

[corn]

They cant help but go up in price. I used to pick up an old chevelle or camaro fairly cheap but you just dont see them anymore. When all the old cars are gone & someone wants a toy, up goes the price of what IS available...corn

[72armyswbtruck]

valid point, hope that I can hord someo more of these so I have parts and I can share with others

[Luvlegs]

sssssssssshhhhhhhhhh! I need to get a few more first, and THEN it can be know they are going up! Don't TELL anyone yet! hahahahah The wife says I have to finish this one before I can have another one - that's gonna take awhile and she doesn't want one for herself (tried that one too).

[davidh]

This is my explanation for all my cars I'm buying to restore, 69 camaro 60% done, 65chevelle 2dr hardtop I haven't touched, nice 68 daily driver, 3 67's. They're not making them anymore. I'm trying to get a 55 chevy post that will get the gasser look somewhat, 327 4speed,
I've always come out ahead buying and selling chevy trucks. Fords I've had to sit on a while before and they don't bring the same $$.
These trucks aren't rare in the south perhaps up north where rust claims them. But 67-72 seem to be the most popular now in either custom or stock form. I"m sure in 20 years they'll be worth that much more. I wish I could've bought my friends 71cheyenne, it needed a motor or oil pump, and some rockers. It was black and white in the middle and top. It was handsome. $500 would've bought it in 1987 I was 15 and spent $2500 on my worthless 79 camaro. Today it would've been a $2500 truck in that shape.

[davidh]

There are still deals out there. I bought 2 running 67s in the last couple of years and drove them home at $300 each. HOw well they ran and drove is another question but still.

[truckdude239]

i paided 1700 buxs for my truck sitting in primer. runs good but i thougth i gave to much for it

[john@thepier]

I would say no. I have never had any luck reselling any of my old trucks. And these are better than over 90% of whats out there. For example I have a 62 on the board for sale that has nearly $17,000 invested in it. I can't even sell it for $8,000. I've had premo parts for sale for these trucks and could not seem to get rid of unless they were darn near give aways. Also look at e-bay I believe the market is saturated. Which should mean that its a buyers market now.

[Skruffy]

Originally Posted by john@thepier

I would say no. I have never had any luck reselling any of my old trucks. And these are better than over 90% of whats out there. For example I have a 62 on the board for sale that has nearly $17,000 invested in it. I can't even sell it for $8,000. I've had premo parts for sale for these trucks and could not seem to get rid of unless they were darn near give aways. Also look at e-bay I believe the market is saturated. Which should mean that its a buyers market now.

I tend to agree. They may be going up, but they made an awful lot of them and they will never, IMO, match the muscle cars.

[67ChevyRedneck]

It's both a blessing and a curse GM made about 4 MILLION of these trucks over a 6 year period. On one hand you have the opportunity to find lots of decnt used 35+ year old parts. On the other hand, there are so many of these danged things like has been said, its a buyers market for them. You'll find of lot of people have invested 15-20K in a truck barely getting half their money back on a resale.

[boraxman]

Originally Posted by Skruffy

I tend to agree. They may be going up, but they made an awful lot of them and they will never, IMO, match the muscle cars.

I dont know, here in So. Cal. the short beds are commanding some good money

Thats when you can find em!

[jku72]

My guess is that some models will command more, such as SWB big blocks, 2wd blazers, and other rare AND desirable truck models.
If you have a plain old pickup, that is not endowed from the factory with desirable options, forget about it. Even in Maine the regular trucks are plentiful. Even a fake truck, meaning one that has all that stuff added post factory, will not bring the money. It is just a bad decision financially to dump big money into an ordinary truck.
What the problem becomes is when a 1972 402 Super Cheyenne sells for $25k, and the guy driving the 71 c20 6 and three thinks his truck is worth big bucks. It isn't, and it won't bring any kind of money. Even though Longhorns are semi rare, they are just not that desirable to a mass market. My well optioned Longhorn is just never going to carry the price a factory V8 shorty will.
In my opinion, even a factory original short step 6 and 3 is more valuable than a V8 that was added in. This is all of course my opinion only. I am one of those guys that doesn't go for the lowered (or lifted) trucks. I guess I like finding an original truck. So to me, a good original is much more valuable than a molested anything.

[cstanley]

an original will almost always be worth more than a modified, no matter how much money is "invested." the reason lies, in part, in the fact that those of us who like working on our trucks don't want someone else's rig that they have "restored" or modified, or whatever. why? 'cause it wasn't done my way, using parts I selected with my own knowledge of their quality, where and if anything was "skimped" during the rebuild, etc. i'd much rather pay for one untouched and do it myself than one that has been redone. that way i know were everything went, how it was done, and what quality is built in. this is why originals will have a much better return on investment (percentage wise) than one with a lot of investment.

'course, if you're buying cars as an "investment" you'll have better luck down at the racetrack betting on horses than counting on the speculative market. it's inflated and always will be as long as you have too wealthy idiots willing to hand over 25k or 30k for a vehicle that's really not that rare. cars are almost never an investment, but a liability (unless you collect the kind of stuff Leno does.)

hang on for a few more years until the bottom falls out of the speculation market again, then grab a good one someone sank $30k in for $6-8k.

[JustLiveIt]

Originally Posted by boraxman

I dont know, here in So. Cal. the short beds are commanding some good money

Thats when you can find em!

I agree, the short wheel base fleetside in so cal is pretty hot right now. No deals to be had. All the little old widows out here still driving their husbands original 30k mile fully optioned short bed have been picked clean or know better

[CochinoFilipino]

I'm new to the Chevy Truck thing and will say that shortbeds are hard to find, are in demand and the buy-in price reflects that.

Longbeds on the other hand seem to be readily available and relatively cheap. I almost talked myself into getting one. I'm glad I didn't.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Theres a reason there are fewer shortbeds. Back when these trucks were built being sold and used AS A TRUCk was the main priority and you can't haul as much stuff in a shortbed as you can a longbed, so more longbeds were built than shortbeds. Why then were so many shortbed stepsides built? I don't know, maybe the bed was cheaper to make? I have 7 or 8 original ads from 1967 for trucks. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM showcases a longbed fleetside. Not ONE ad shows a shortbed or a stepside. Intersting, huh?

Maybe 30 years from now people will be saying, why on earth didn't they just make ALL trucks with 6 doors and 3 rows of seats?:LOL:

[CochinoFilipino]

It's basic grade school economics, Supply and Demand. When something is both rare (low supply) and desireable (high demand), that's when the prices get jacked (i.e. shortbeds).

But rarity alone won't make anything worth more when there is no demand.

[davidh]

Originally Posted by truckdude239

i paided 1700 buxs for my truck sitting in primer. runs good but i thougth i gave to much for it

That's the going rate ($1500-2200) here in OKLAHOMA. a 67-72, in primer, running good with an automatic. The same thing in a 73-79 would only get $1000-1400. However 6cyl, 3 speed doesn't bring anything. I've seen trucks with clean bodies little to no rust with less than 70k all original, bare with 6cyl, 3 on the tree, faded original paint. They are trying to get $1500-1800 and cant get it. Dont know why. If it was V8 and auto they would be $2500 to 3200 range. They are great work trucks and straight 6's are tough motors.

[blazerboy72]

I Have $4000 in this hunk of junk. I sure hope the price continues to go up. I have the two I wanted. Hopefully the bottom doesnt fall out and leave me with two that I have $20,000 in a piece. Not that i plan on saleing either one but I dont want a worthless truck either.

[CochinoFilipino]

Well what you have into it and what it's worth will be very diferent. Most of us will have way more into any vehicle than it will be worth. It's probably best (monetarily) to get something as close to what you want as you can get to begin with.

To feel good about it, I just think of how fast a new car depreciates in value with every mile and every day.

[davidh]

I think if you go back close to stock but say add aftermarket wheels, AC, and so forth you are ok. It's when you go to chop tops, blown motors, tubbed out you won't get your $$ back. Check out the "that's what I'm talking about" post. The 50k truck it will likely get 10k out of it.

[weasel29gm]

I put a price on mine and made the guy mad. He buys the 1-2k trucks puts a ''slap and smear get it outa hear'' paint and sells 6k and up. Sold 2 last year 6500 and 7500. So when he told me what he bought and sold for,said 6500 for mine And bring a trailer to haul it. He said I was nuts, I said this price is for 06 next year $ 7500 even if its not touched. I think a truck should sell it self. You should be able to tell a $2500 from a $10k or higher. Sink a fortune and can't bail on it its the owners fault. Not the buyer.

[nyncompute]

If you want to double the value of your truck.... put a set of tow hooks on it