Classic car prices are going up fast in these tough pandemic times
There are some gems in the automotive market that can be considered as investment grade purchases in the largely informal world of classic car ownership despite the tough times caused by the lingering pandemic. Classic car owners and industry veterans who are keen observers in the pricing movement of classic cars say that while in the US market where websites like Hagerty.com and Bring-A-Trailer auctions offer a more detailed history about classic car trends, the local marketplace relies mostly on online classifieds like Carousell or Facebook Marketplace or local car club forums to see what’s listed for sale. The choices are often few and far in-between because of the rarity of them that one can find in good condition and cars that offer legit paperwork of its history.
These classic cars have risen in value despite the economic lockdown largely because there is demand for them and people are willing to pay a premium. It is specially so for those car enthusiasts who could not afford those cars back when they were kids. Nostalgia plays a big role and perhaps revenge spending as well, as travel restrictions made overseas vacations impossible, some funds are freed up for “investments” like these. Here are some of the top cars, now considered investment grade and owning them even in the short term will buck the trend against your stock market or crypto currency portfolio. Owning these can also mean lots of driving fun not to mention becoming a source of pride.
Mercedes-Benz W124 E500/500E
Many car publications have hailed it as the “world’s perfect sedan”. This is no ordinary W124 series sedan from the mid-1980s. The 500E and later on badged as E500 was a collaboration with Porsche that was engineered to compete against the BMW M5 E34 sedan. With a coefficient of drag of only 0.26, the boxy-looking sleeper car can outdrag most sportscars on the road at that time. According to Rene Nunez, president of CATS Motors, “in 2019, asking price was about P1.5million and it is now worth about P2.5 million, that is, if you can find one. To buy one in the US, you need about US$50,000 plus add about P2million in taxes making the car’s value at close to P5 million these days.” I recently test drove a late model E500 from classic car owner Ken Uy and it still drives like a dream.
PRICING: From 1.5 million to a low of P2.5 million and high of P5 million
Air-cooled Porsche 911
This one is an obvious one, specially for the newer 964 and 993 models that can fetch as much as P9 mllion for a Carrera 4S manual transmission variant. These cars were hovering around P2 million about 10 years ago and in the last few years, have gone up substantially in value over the years. Just before the pandemic hit, the base 993 Carrera 2 Tiptronic variant is valued around P4 million and one can see a couple of these in the market with an asking price of about P6 million (or more) being offered. It will not be surprising that these cars will be snapped up very soon since there is no waning of demand for anything air-cooled from Porsche. Porsche stopped producing air-cooled engines with the 993 model and prices here and abroad have skyrocketed specially with the higher variants.
PRICING: From P2 million to a low of P4 million and high of P6 million
Mitsubishi Evolution V to IX’s
Inquirer Motoring columnist Botchi Santos says that prices of the Mitsubishi Evo 5 to 9 values are rising very quickly, as fast as you can drive them. He says that prices for original left hand drive either in stock or original or modified with factory accessories or big-name tuner brands from Japan can fetch between P2.5million for a mint Evo 5 to about P3.5million for an Evo 9. These prices are up by over a million pesos compared to its pre-pandemic period prices.
PRICING: From P2.6 million to as high as P3.5 million
Honda Civic SIR
Back when Honda Philippines sold the sixth generation Civic sedan, you would need to sign an agreement that these cars will not be used as a raffle prize or be part of a taxi fleet. This Civic became so desirable and many kids of that generation who wanted one even wanted it more when the SiR variant was introduced. Whether these are bone stock or modified, these SiR’s have been fetching 7-figure sums lately. Pre-pandemic prices would range around the half million peso mark. We asked two guys who sold their SiR’s recently and this was what they said. AAP’s COO Mark Desales said he sold his modified SiR for P1.3million and he had owned it for over 10 years and did the mods and a recent restoration job on it as well. Cyr Cruz sold his SiR for P1.35million to a good friend and said that he owned his near-stock SiR only for a short while and used original and OEM parts which were very expensive and difficult to find.
PRICING: From P500,000 to as high as P1.3 million
Land Cruiser LC80 and LC60
Land Cruisers of any generation tend to hold their value well over time. But a couple of generations tend to stand out in the classic SUV market, the 60 Series because of its rarity and the very robust 80 Series. According to Sam Liuson, a Land Cruiser and off-roading enthusiast, says that “the original left hand drive LC80 Series (stock, unmodified) would sell for about P1million. These days they have risen by about 50% to 80%. For LC60 Series, prices are harder to gauge because it’s harder to come across one. I know of someone selling a pristine one for about P1.9million.” Liuson sold his classic LC60 to actor and car aficionado Jerico Rosales not too long ago.
PRICING: From P1 million to a low of P1.9 million
