15th Jan 2019, 18:39

The current owners of fantastic cars from the 1955 era will pass them to the newer, younger owner generation. If someone is 90 or dies, the heirs will sell, consign or find a specialty broker to sell. My friend sold a 1955 Chevrolet 2 door Belair Convertible recently for $65.000. The new owner is in his 40s. He will be its guardian as we all are for a while. Maybe a year, maybe for 25 years. Then another. These popular cars trade hands everyday. A 55 Mercury 4 door may have limited collector appeal. It’s not that the person is 90 or died and the car hasn’t shot up in value. It’s like comparing a first gen Ford Mustang to a Cougar made by Mercury. The Ford has broader appeal and value. Age of car and age of collector has no bearing. Every year has its winners and losers in the collector market. It’s knowing which ones to buy. Others will be a good driver and you can have fun with it. But when it comes down to money, do your homework. There’s young successful buyers really after these cars. The cars I lusted after were ones I was making models of long before I ever had any license. And bought some 40 years later. They were instant classics then and now.

16th Jan 2019, 20:55

I absolutely believe the market for anything collectible is heavily based on whatever generation of buyer happens to demand a specific era.

Let me give a few examples. I collect, restore, and work on vintage electronics: radios, TV sets, stereos, and so on. Perhaps 10-15 years ago radios from the 20s and early 30s carried higher values. Fast forward to today and the market for that era has fallen dramatically. The museum I volunteer at routinely gets radios from that era and as of now we can barely give the things away.

Another example: Ford Model Ts. Take a look on Ebay, craigslist, and so on. The values of these cars has fallen dramatically to the point where you can now get a fully running Model T for under $5,000.

OTOH... Going back to my electronics example: A few years ago we would get in large stereo consoles from the 50s-60s. Anyone old enough might remember those huge stereos - the size of a refrigerator laying on its side with cabinets that opened up to show the record player and controls. A few years ago we could not give these things away. But today? A nice example can easily fetch over $1,000. Why? Because again - people of my generation grew up in households where these stereos were still down in the living room. That and shows like "Madmen" have made mid century modern interior designs popular.

The exact same thing with Toyota trucks. Go TRY and find a good original example. The prices on these is now obscene. Once more and because people in my age bracket are now the generation with expendable incomes. Boomers are now retiring en mass and the generation before them is dying off from old age. As such what was collectible and nostalgic to those generations will fall in value. It happens every single time.

Nostalgia is everything to do with the prices and nostalgia only comes from people who experienced a certain era.

17th Jan 2019, 19:54

If someone indeed offered you $3500 for a 1996 Tacoma with 300K miles on it, it's hard to say which is more fantastic: that someone made the offer, or that you did not grab it and RUN.

18th Jan 2019, 14:50

That’s the point I made; do research on desirability and values. So staying domestic instead of buying a Model T, buy a 1910 Cadillac for well over $100,000. Same era. Same case in point. It’s unfortunate but the Model As are worth more with modern drivetrains. I was just at Simeone Auto Museum during the latest Bonhan vintage originals Auction. Better bring your wallet. If you think a Tacoma will have tremendous value 20 years from now and great escalation, that’s fine. I don’t have a crystal ball. I simply stay with safe proven classics with timeless appeal, with ones with deep pockets and all ages.

18th Jan 2019, 23:32

So consider this. If you can buy a desirable Tacoma for cheap at only $3500 as a start off point and have very high expendable income, do a frame off Tacoma complete restoration. No stone unturned. Send matching numbers engine and transmission out for complete fresh restoration. Same with suspension, new interior, body and new paint. All rust eliminated. Make into a like new restoration. Then find willing cash buyers beating a path to your door. With all you have now into it. Our gut feeling is the restoration cost sticker shock would wind up simply being cheaper buying a brand new Tacoma. And that is exactly what people would likely do. It’s not like someone spending more to restore a car like an old Mini Cooper than buying a new one. I think the Tacoma is a very poor choice to do any sort of costly restoration. Drive it til it’s dead in the ground and find a new one. The only downside may be it’s not as well made as the older one once was when new. Baby boomers I know may have a vintage stereo system. But have a smart home set up and perhaps an Alexa Echo with screen playing music in their foyer by voice. Baby boomers like their modern electronics, cells etc as well. They haven’t all died, peaked or lost interest.

23rd Jan 2019, 18:29

I don't think either one of you are getting my point. Both of you seem absolutely unable to comprehend that something like an old Tacoma "could" in fact become a highly desirable, collectible, and valuable future classic. Perhaps it doesn't fit per-conceived notions of what a classic is... Many people just generically assume that all of the cookie-cutter Belairs at car shows are what must and always pass as a desired collectible.

As I had previously mentioned: go out and TRY and find either a vintage or restored 80s Toyota 4X4. Guess what? A good one these days is now going for $20-$30,000 and that number is rising rapidly.

People my age grew up with totally different eras of vehicles. We didn't grow up with Chevy Belairs, Corvette Stingrays, or any number of muscle cars. We grew up with the very kinds of vehicles that are now commanding larger and larger amounts.

So yes - in the future vintage Tacomas stand just as good of a chance as any other vehicle, especially given the legendary reliability and honest utility they were and still remain so well known for.

I think we can let this one go to rest....

24th Jan 2019, 22:58

Just so you know, you are only communicating with one individual. Read comments 14:50 and 23:32 very carefully. They are obviously posted by the same person. Some commentors on here like to reply to their own. For whatever reason.