aardvark

Good for You and I am truly happy things work like that for You. It hasn't gone like that for us. I've had 67 vehicles... Only 1 bought new (first car) and I ran it into the ground for 12 years and 250k miles. I figure I got my money out of that car . The rest were to get around but always in my mind has been to sell later for more or use it up until it gets hauled off on a hook. Since I've been blessed mechanically It was possible to do this... Everyones situation and abilities vary.

MFG. Good points and the stability of the markets is not always predictable.... but research over (say) 10+ years can show trends.. with market fluctuations. That said. Your 401K plans are also at risk of the same thing.. (I lost my ass(ets) in 2008). Being I went down the standard investment s... hole in the past, these Vehicles are a far more stable market, BUT.. They must be treated as such IF Your going to get ahead in the vehicle game. And it to me is a safer investment.. Like any Investment much research and time must be done to follow trends. I'm not a Master in that realm but I have watched the Vehicles rise and fall a little,,, but nothing near as bad as the Markets. I also see better offerings in the Vehicle Markets because YOU set the Purchase prices by buying at (say) 50% or more from what the Market is bringing.. Not true when doing stocks/bonds. Their prices are set... no fluctuations. No Negotiations. That said, IF You buy well below market value, You should be safe. You see. I'm in this to win,,, not just because I love a certain model car. As said... I can't afford to lose ... and so far so good. This must offend many that I'm not buying for the desire to own a certain model... BUT.. I do get to buy them.... Just under my terms.

I know this is going to possible\y offend or disturb some, but it's where I have to be. There's an old saying...."The profits are made at the time of purchase!" So to not be aware of the end game market price, and knowing if or if not the Market on the Vehicle will increase is a major loss to many folks . ... I can't (won't) buy without a significant built in profit. I see too many people buying just because it's their dream car. That attitude can be very costly in the end game. If You can afford funding losses, Enjoy! (Would You do this with Your stock investments?) I have to approach any ''Hobby'' as a ''Business Venture''. No matter how much I LOVE the Hobby, if it doesn't show a profit, I personally can't afford to participate. This means, that I also won't restore or Retro a vehicle unless the calculated end game makes a profit (labor included)... I'm just not in the Financial Class to afford to make big mistakes. I'm glad many of You have expendable cash to play with, but that's not the hand of cards that I was dealt.

It's good if You have the free cash to do so.

I was curious about that. Thanks for the info.

Shifting group for sure.

Good point but I doubt the Youngers even know what an Avanti is. They will more likely look at an old Chev / Chrysler / Ford and more likely than those, some Jap 4 to 6 popper. At least that's what I'm seeing at the Car Shows.

I can see that from a Buyers point of view... and agree it's like a good thing. For me.. ALL Collectibles are still surging and it suits me that what I've bought (4 differing Sports cars) have escalated to 2X the value that I spent. So the Avanti's haven't surged to (say) the value of a Camaro or Stang, That's good since the entry level is still available. But to me, the Avanti's are on the rise.

Well, Mfg... I just don't have a choice. I need to watch where my pennies go. I'm also at the age where working on them much is out of the question,

Profit for me is a necessity or I can't afford the hobby. I'm not made of Money ... I make Money... So I buy right and always shoot for a 50% profit, or I don't do the deal. Thus far I have 4 Sports Cars. ALL have a large built in Profit Margin. If they need sold I won't suffer a loss. So I'll be selling and searching for the next vehicle.. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE me some Horsepower and Shine, but I don't get attached to them over the Love.. It must profit or I'm out.

Amen Ron. Considering the rarity, It leaves us room to ask what We want. I'm in conversation with a guy right now who is searching hard for a '02' or newer, He's hitting a wall and can't accurately find any Comps on the vehicles. Imagine no real Comps... when only about 35 a year were even produced.

I believe there was just recently an R2 that sold for $150 and the one newer model that was in storage overseas went very high as well. For the R2, look in the For Sale section here. It kinda shows there are possibilities to bring the cars into unexpected profits. So currently I have an '02'. I wouldn't let it go for less than $60k.Understand I don't want to sell right now but if offered that, it would be gone. Will it bring that price today? Maybe but not likely.. All said, they will be bringing that in the future if the current price rises I've been watching continue. The price of mine has near tripled since I bought it just 2 years ago.

footer. Seems like there are more out there than were actually produced.

That is not the pricing I have seen. By the way, what year car are those numbers representing?

Yeah, it's due to rarity. And other issues enter into the mix. So then.. I have a '02' model.. 1 of 33 made. 1 of 15 in Convertible... I bought it at the right price (quite low) and in the 2 years I've watched it escalate to over 3X what I paid. They seem to be averaging $50k+. One recently sold for well over $100k (a fluke). So I'm in a quandary as to sell or not. Will it keep escalating in price? My suspicion is YES!..Mainly due to low miles and rarity.

Haggerty and Bring a Trailer have pricing data. They basically follow the sales trends. I'll buy that for the R-1 and R-2.. but there are other models.

So, we have the Original '63-64's, Following that comes a slew of '65-85?'s , then the 2001-2007's. The question is what are the average sell prices in all 3 categories? Please if possible break to down into those 3 segments. Lets use a 1-10 category and yes a 7 as a focus point..Not a perfect method by any means but an educated guess is desired.

If protection of the radiator is all that's desired, just put a wire mesh on the actual radiator surface. But me personally to get down near the ground to see a grill is sorta senseless, (my opinion). An airfoil is a little different.. It can be seen standing up.

So who is getting down on the ground to view a grill?

I have noticed the issue You are talking of . Even in the Trans Am model. My car has been mothballed for the winter but it's an interesting fix. and I'll look into it.

Who awarded these?

Yeah, Dwight... Thats good for us ''owners''. Those on here or in search of a deal are the ones who don't make out well. When I see a '73' Model bringing $152k+, it was all due to the rest-mod work done on the car since a 'stock'' version wouldn't bring but about $20-25k. This resto-mod was one of the best examples I've ever seen, especially in the Avanti world. If You look at the graph of sales on the BAT Site it's the top number by far ever sold. Notice they even installed the '63-64 round headlights. Nice touch.

Oct 18th and sold for $152,500k. Amazing...Not only does this shift thinking on our Avanti's it sets a new pricing bar to reach. I'm not saying any untouched and stock Avanti will bring anywhere near this price, buit to me it shifts a good clean example to the upside ... I have a totally original example of a '63' R2 in very good condition with 89,000 miles on Her. It would now (to me) bring a sables price of around $45.000. In fact on this site, just below this listing is a R2 selling for in the $70.000's And I'm starting to see some going for the $50,000's price range. It's a GREAT TIME for Us Avanti Owners.

Sorta shows us where the pricing can go on our vehicles. Last I looked it's sitting at $99,000.

Great history and the vid was wonderful.. Thanks.