impact of modern muscle cars on the old car market

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I will say this about depreciation. We now what it means to any modern vehicle. My '95 cummins has 207,000 on the clock, and it was maybe depreciated totally out 10 yrs ago!?? But I will drive it till it or me dies. Not on my plate, nor do I need or want a new one. Yes it could be had for $56000.... crew cab, 4 x 4, Cummins, BUT.....
Back bout 1998 it was, I took a job that was 65 mi away, ONE way, I drove a $900 dart sport 318 car every day. It got what highway 15-18 mi per gal? I put some used tires on it once, a new timing chain and carb kit when I first got it. Never another dime. Never worried about it at work, nothing was gonna get it. Sold it after 2 yrs on the road every day for $2000. No depreciation , forget it sold at a small profit. Comfotable?? Not like a new vehicle. I could have drove the Cummins and wore it out pretty quick. Next vehicle was a '87 1/2 T. slant ram, 4 OD I bought for $2500, drove it couple yrs, never spent a dime on it and sold it for $3500. Was new truck more comfortable? yes. BUT......
Sometimes I have to wonder,??? All these people that restore these old cars and then whine about selling them at a lose.....maybe they should drive them enough to justify it al!!!??????????????//
 
My dad and i restored a 79 lil red express. He kept it and drove it for 10 years, sold it for a model A ford after he got bored with it. Wanted something different
 
I have both old (Cuda) and new (Scatpak) I love both and have literally driven the Challenger across country with enough tools onboard to make a Snap on truck jealous. the car was so unbalanced from the weight of the tools it was hilarious! Point being it purred all the way across two sets of mountains and perhaps a bit over the speed limit on occasion with AC on. Try that in the Cuda and I would get a oil slick and shrapnel! By same token to say the modern outperforms the old is not exactly accurate. The photo attached is at track. Never never pick technology over brute force! Be safe and drive em both!

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Sublime one said:
By same token to say the modern outperforms the old is not exactly accurate.
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Well I guess it all depends on what out performs means to someone. The old may be faster (out perform) in a straight line but what one out performs the other in breaking, cornering, driveability and comfort?
 
The old cars took a good driver. The new ones not so much... Traction control, ABS, torque management, hill assist
 
abodyjoe said:
Well I guess it all depends on what out performs means to someone. The old may be faster (out perform) in a straight line but what one out performs the other in breaking, cornering, driveability and comfort?
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Exactly my point good Sir! Cuda would have grenaded in the Rockies Scat Pack gets doors blown off in 1/4 no power steering in Cuda no AC spooled rear end itty bitty fuel cell etc etc. folks have to sort out how they want to use the car. It is like asking what is best Cam grind! My humble opinion is the new muscle cars have created a wave of interest in old.
 
I agree there is a whole lot more interest in performance cars in general now than it was a few decades back, in the eighties for instance. The people with the old cars, some also own modern muscle,... and some sell off their old cars for new muscle, which in turns put someone into that old car. Personally I think it is great people buy cool looking modern muscle, be it Chevy, Ford, or Mopar (Fiat!??? LOL).... anyway... Just look at how cool modern classic car sorta look a likes are out there! Some run like a striped *** ape! Corner, and stop, and keep you cool and a warm *** in the winter. Many are out there. I am not worried about how it affects our hobby personally.. One day I will either be too old to drive, and just wake up dead one day and the family can sell it off!
Meantime I just enjoy the drive, the working on something to get that sense of accomplishment, the thrill of the hunt to find another decent old car to save.
 
barbee6043 said:
The people with the old cars, some also own modern muscle,...
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Good friend owns a '76 Duster that should finally be on the road this year and a couple of '69/'70 Roadrunner and Satellite projects for the future. He also owns a '13 Viper, '14 Ram, '14 Challenger Shaker and a '15 300. Makes it tough for him to decide what to drive!
 
They are all Great! Old and New! If you sell all your old stuff, you may realize later that you made a mistake. I don't drive my old stuff daily. They are to wrench on and show with the occasional joy ride. Nothing like Classic Muscle, and nothing like New muscle for daily driving
 
I like them all :) I drive new ones and old ones. Soon you won't get to "drive" one at all they will do it all for you. Better enjoy it while we can. Change is coming and sooner than you want to believe.
 
moparmat2000 said:
I'd take 1969 Plymouth Road Runner for $30k Alex.

Then buy a gas sipping **** box with working A/C as a daily driver.

Actually doing that now. Got a 2008 chevy HHR 2.2 ecotec with 5 speed manual. Bought it new for $13,800, 10 years later and 107K on the clock, i think i got my moneys worth. Nothing major ever broke. Tires, oil changes, and a new battery. Ignition lock tumbler broke under warranty. Thats it. Heck the stock front brake pads are at a bit over half life at 107K . I will replace with genuine GM since the oem ones lasted so long lol. Now its a game to see how far it will go before its shot. Maybe another 10 years and another 100k. I see these on used car lots for $4500 now. Ugly as sin, but great little car.

Some people may want to drive their vintage cars daily, but thats a dumb move in my opinion. People are generally dicks and envious of stuff like that. And to leave it sitting in a parking lot envites trouble, because people cant keep their dick beaters to themselves. Plus you get the assholes that text while driving and dont watch whats going on around them. Every time i see a new camaro, mustang or challenger in the walmart parking lot its always got a big ole door ding hicky or a few in it. I dont know why somebody would subject their classics to **** like that. I have an assigned parking in a secured area at the airport where i work. Same people park next to me every day in their assigned spots. I still wont take my 2007 mustang GT to work, or leave it in a parking lot. Call me paranoid, but it has no parking lot hickies or scratches from envious fuckers in it.
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As much as I would like to drive mine more, this is a big reason I don't. When I had my Vette, I was afraid to park it anywhere, even my driveway. Had the tops stolen at a mall parking lot, at noon on a Saturday, parked right close to the front door of one of the major stores. Had windows broken out in my driveway. Co-worker drove hers to a bar one night, and it got keyed. Too many jealous jerks out there.
 
abodyjoe said:
Kinda hard to justify messing with these old rust buckets with modern muscle sitting right there that out performs most of the old stuff in every imaginable way. And that modern muscle is cheaper in many cases, has a warranty, creature comforts and performance out the ***.
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Guess I'm just the opposite then. Had a 2010 Plum Crazy Purple Challenger and sold it to buy my Barracuda. Got tired of the issues I had with the modern mopar and went back to the old so I could fix things myself. Haven't regretted it one bit and actually find it fun to work and tweak on the Cuda. In my opinion,... they can keep the modern muscle. If you don't have the equipment and knowledge to read the computer,... your stuck to bringing it in all the time.
 
Cost is always a consideration for most people. If I was back in SW Missouri, the local country garage could work and fix anything, new to old. $40/hr, Here in Tx, I bet cost for new muscle repairs at a dealership would be $80 and up and finding a country garage that could actually work on the modern, I would have no idea her to look and I bet their rates are more than $40!!!!! Everything in Tx seems to costs more.
Keeping our old Mopars on the road is pretty inexpensive, if a person can and will do most repairs. I have always had a few "good" used engines and transmissions, rear ends, on hand if things went South. Picked them up when I lucked up on the cheap.
A man has two choices: buy a vehicle under warranty, or drive used and pay out $ to fix it as needed....... Or drive classic, have no deprivation, or car payments, and make the repairs YOURSELF!???? Pretty simple.
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
After 30 years of owning classic muscle, last year I left all of that behind and ordered a 2018 Challenger Scat Pack, exactly that way I wanted it.

I have zero regrets.

My neighbor kid (20 years old), doesn't give a damn at all about old muscle. All he cares about is boost, bagging and a bunch of other stuff I can't follow.

He doesn't even care about my Challenger because in his words "what's the point if it doesn't have a turbo and a tune?"

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Take him on a rocket ride in that thing, he wont care about boost anymore. Raw horsepower!!!
 
but doesnt have the big money to jump into mopars, i mentioned old 60s mustangs as a way to get his feet wet so to speak. He is thoroughly enjoying the 65 mustang V8
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I've been wanting a '65 mustang, but prices I've found have been higher than what I paid for the Duster.
 
Rotten cowls are common w those. Welded on like a mopar one. Lots of stuff to take apart to fix. His will need that done.
 
a 18 year old can take a pay check stub to a dealer, walk out with a 2015 to 2018 challenger with a loan and a 300 to 400 a month payment versus trying to get $3000 to $4000 to buy a rusty 72 challenger , then send an additional 10 to 12 thousand to rebuild it, the banks won't even talk to them about a 40 year old car and going in debt $15000 and to start a build they might not even finish, we all know the attention span of 18 year olds is having a shiny car and a girl on saturday night, they don't want to be a grease monkey,.I was raised poor, so if i was 18 again i would take the new callenger that i could make payments on versus staying broke and waiting 2 years to be able to finish a build.Now those of you that was born with a silver spoon and a dad and mom that can roll out the Ben Franklins to their kids, yea ,you may get them to take interest. A perfect example, my next door neighbor helped his son build a 67 chevy pickup, silver, and sounds great, but the boy told me he drives his moms toyota camray all he can because it easier on gas, not near as loud and handles on a wet road a lot better than the pickup. His dad has put the truck up for sale because the son likes the look of the new nissan coupe, said when they went 2 door in place of 4 he decided he wanted a black one. Long story short, the song "GLORY DAYS"come to mind, the reason the baby boomers like the 60s and 70s, it makes you remember that 1st date, drive in movies, and that 1st trip in the back seat with the right girl, you may deny it, but think back and you know its true...lol
 
Hey robert flippo, I agree you are pretty much correct. Easy for a kid with a paycheck to get loan to buy a new car. And let him walk in a bank and try to borrow $ to buy an older say, 10 year old sorta "modern" used vehicle. The bank really does not want that business, and if they do they will charge out the butt for interest! I gave my grandson a 85 slant 1/2 t. slant ram, he wanted a used ricer, I told him sell the truck and put it toward what he wanted. He got $700 for a $1500 truck! LOL!
But back in the sixties during my teenage years, NO HS kids had a new car, except the son of the richest man in the county. KIds walked, road the bus, many had plenty used up used cars hat were hand me downs from some relative, a couple of kids had after school jobs and made payments on a new one, I had after school job and drove what was handed down.
I have also seen kids that got out of school driving the ricers, and 10 years later, got into the old car deal, they wanted that old car, but it was a weekend warrior! Much like the majority of people on FABO I bet!!!!
 
barbee6043 said:
Cost is always a consideration for most people. If I was back in SW Missouri, the local country garage could work and fix anything, new to old. $40/hr, Here in Tx, I bet cost for new muscle repairs at a dealership would be $80 and up and finding a country garage that could actually work on the modern, I would have no idea her to look and I bet their rates are more than $40!!!!! Everything in Tx seems to costs more.
Keeping our old Mopars on the road is pretty inexpensive, if a person can and will do most repairs. I have always had a few "good" used engines and transmissions, rear ends, on hand if things went South. Picked them up when I lucked up on the cheap.
A man has two choices: buy a vehicle under warranty, or drive used and pay out $ to fix it as needed....... Or drive classic, have no deprivation, or car payments, and make the repairs YOURSELF!???? Pretty simple.
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we ain`t sen $40 an hr mechanics here in 15 yrs. !~!
 
Yep good little country shop is SW Missouri!! They could do it all. Life is simplier and in general, less costly back there. One well kept secret! I miss it!!
 
Hellrats said:
LOL :rofl:our dealership rate is $115 an hour. You guys are out of touch!
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Stores like NTB, Sears, Goodyear, etc. around $110 - $115; Dealships around $125 - $135, higher for Merc., Porsche, etc. Body shop labor is anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3 less.
 
From what I've experienced being 27, younger people overall love the looks and sounds of classic muscle cars but are intimidated by the (supposedly) higher level of maintenance and are too worried about not having competitive performance with modern cars, even if the majority of them can't drive for ****. The irony is all these turbo AWD Subarus, Audis and Mitsubishi Evos have so much stuff to break and wear out which it does and quite a bit quicker than our beefy cast-iron-everything tanks of the cold war.

I keep putting money in my Duster to keep it on the road because of the way it feels when I drive it, and because I know I can fix anything that could possibly leave me stranded with a small box of hand tools. The smells of uncatted exhaust and a carburetor, the sound of secondaries opening on a 4-bbl, the feel of that raw torque and throttle response through a car designed before Noise-Vibration-Harshness standards... tons of newer stuff on the road faster and more capable than my Duster, but they won't be around in 10 years.
 
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I also have to admit though in this day and age trying to daily drive a classic Mopar is silly, unless it's purpose built and not valuable (smogger '70s cars or slant 6/318 models for example). When I first got my Duster 10 years ago it was barely relevant, now it just doesn't make sense. Yes it's fun but after getting around in a newer car the squeaks, rattles, and wind noise of a classic start to get annoying. And the gas mileage of a full-size pickup truck without the capability can be hard on the wallet. Not to mention the lack of safety features and the plethora of inattentive jackass drivers on the roads.
 
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