I can't help but think that there will be a sharp increase in the value of our old Volvos in the near future. My resoning? What has kept the value down, is the abundance of Volvos that are in poor condition or even junked. People, like us, buy these old cars for a song and then spend thousands restoring them. Eventually the supply of unrestored cars should dry up. Even now, most cars that are still in poor condition are rust buckets that are beyond help. Once we reach the point that all cars are in good condition, the prices should rise dramaticaly. This scenario is dependent on there being a steady or even increased demand for them. But I get the feeling that people love these cars, and that includes young people. Well that's my reasong, faulty though it may be.
Tom

There are two types of collectible old cars.

There are rare old cars which were expensive when new, rarely driven
and now valuable in the same way quality art is expensive. There are
also sold, mass produced, quality made old cars which are driven by
owners who love the cars and want a couple extras around in case ol'
reliable gets hit by suzy minivan.

For the first group, the primary interest is getting a "real" car.
You want "matching numbers" "documentation" and "low miles". You don't
want a car with a story, like "oh -- that was frank mcduffy's car;
didn't he hit a tree with that car?"

The other group, with VWs and darts and datsuns and volvos and old
benzes, that stuff hardly matters. It's on it's third motor? Great!

Old volvos are going up in value for 2 reasons: New cars are getting
more expensive and *everything* is getting more expensive. They'd call
this inflation if wages were going up too... Instead of increasing
wages, we've just got cheap (and terrifying, if you open your eyes)
credit.

So, we've got two scales -- art car and utility car. A primo art car
in the volvo world is the 445, but even there most people would be glad
to get one with a (correctly installed) B20 and M41 instead of a B14a
with an M30. A primo utility car would be a 74 145 with working AC and
okay paint. The 445 is probably a better "investment" but you'll never
drive it so you will have to have another car to actually drive; the 145
will probably always be worth less but you'll probably enjoy the heck out
of it anyhow. The others, like a nice 122, are just somewhere in the
middle of that spectrum.


Summary: invest in bonds, have fun with cars.

chris

The price of decent examples has climbed sharply over the past 4-5 years -- I'd say the PV and Amazons have doubled at least, and the 1800 tripled.

I'd say it's already happened... 15 years ago, old Volvos (excluding 1800s perhaps) could be had easily for $0-$200... nowadays it seems even 140s in average condition are fetching a grand or more...

One huge factor in the situation is that vintage Volvos are one of the few, if not the only, classic cars that can be and are driven daily by owners... That fact makes them desirable... it also means that there are a lot of them with huge amounts of miles unlike other collector cars. Very rare to see a '50s or '60s Jaguar with more than 100k, and they often still need total restoration. Huge amounts of miles means good clean low mileage (sub-200k or so) are rare, and will fetch good money I expect.

Of course though, there are still great deals to be had. My rust/dent free '70 145 with 117k was offered to me for free by a stranger off the street... I gave him $100 so I could sleep well...

--
-Matt '70 145s, '65 1800s, '66 122s wagon, others inc. '53 XK120 FHC

I see a lot of people hawking their 40 year old Amazons on eBay claiming 40,000 original miles and asking $4-6,000 for them. Most of these people can't support their claim and seem to forget that an Amazon only goes to 99,999 before it flips.
While low miles are the claim to cost for these cars, I very much doubt that any 40-year old volvo has less than 200,000 miles on it.

My 1967 reads 43,000 miles, but the maintenance log tells me that it had at least 350,000 before it's odomter fouled up, and the owner (only other) tell me he put 200 miles a week on the car, estimating that it has nearly 500,000 miles on it. I paid $750.00 for the base car and another 450.00 in spare parts and replacement bodywork. Despite the miles, I think I got an excellent deal. It was licensed and had *many* good upgrades including IPD swaybars, electronic ignition, brake light switch upgrade, and others.

If I laid out $2,000 for it, it still would have been a deal. If the asking price was more than that, I would not have bought it.



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You mean Volvo makes cars that are *NOT* Wagons?!?

but if you drive it, you will save money by not buying a new car.
--
MPergiel, Elmhurst, IL '74 145e T-5 'Orange Alert'

They were made in very high numbers though, compared to many truly rare classics. If the prices go up much at all they will all start crawling out of the woodwork.
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I'm JohnMc, and I approved this message.

True, however the MGB was made in very large numbers and their value has skyrocketed in recent years...

--
Mike!

Well, there are more people that want an MGB than want an old Volvo.
--
I'm JohnMc, and I approved this message.

I figure enjoy the car and drive it. That is where the value is, If prices were to climb like some other more sought after cars we would all be paying a lot more for parts when we needed them.
All of those pristine cars sitting around and not being used are just letting all their seals and gaskets dry out and if run would probably leak oil from everywhere. Things will wear out faster if you don't use them.
Along with my '72 142 I have a '80 Maserati Merak a nice mid engine exotic which I drive about 6,000 miles a year, (6-7 months anyway). It runs great hardly ever has an issue. However, small supply made (1,700)='s $$ parts. ...actually not too bad because there isn't the huge demand for Maserati's as fro say Ferrari's.
CU

I think you're on the right track. I bought my '67 123GT 10 years ago (83,000 miles), and spent $5,000 (including purchase price) to put it on the road. I've averaged $700 per year on maintenance, and it never let me down (even in the Canadian winter), while being a head turner, and a blast to drive. For that money,I couldn't have had a Neon.

After 10 years I'm about to spend another $5K or so on some TLC,and expect another 10 years of fun driving. So the real value of these cars is their reliability, ease of maintenance, and classic styling. I'm never selling, so I don't care what happens to the resale value!