Almost everything was cheaper 40 years ago, especially classic cars
40 years ago in March 1976, an auction of classic cars was held by Christie's on the occasion of the Geneva Motor Show. The Automobil Revue reported in detail at the time and wrote of a slump, as the prices were well below expectations. In fact, the prices offered, which were subject to bidder's premiums and 14% sales tax (WUST), were around 22% lower than expected. However, there was certainly no shortage of visitors at the time.
Automotive historian Michael Sedgwick, who advised the auction company on the estimated value ranges, explained the setback (the previous year's auction had gone better) with the recession, among other things, but was convinced that the observed slump would only be temporary. How right he was.
Roger Gloor, who reported on the auction for Automobil Revue at the time, found Sedgwick's comment interesting that the generational shift meant that even post-war cars were increasingly viewed by classic car buyers as desirable memories of their youth and that, on the other hand, cars built before 1931 were losing their practical value due to the minimal technical equipment now required, such as four-wheel brakes. And that was 40 years ago!
If you analyze the results and the Swiss franc prices achieved today (one DM was worth almost exactly one franc at the time), two things stand out. Cars with six-figure values didn't really exist back then and the gap between the individual value developments has widened enormously. Want some examples? An MG TC (1946) was knocked down for CHF 17,000 in 1976; today it would perhaps be worth CHF 35,000 to 45,000, i.e. around twice as much. A BMW 507 (1958, picture above) cost the buyer CHF 28,000 (before commissions/taxes), today twenty times that amount is certainly not enough. The same applies to the two Ferrari 195 and 212, which were auctioned for the price of a new mid-range Mercedes car at the time. Two Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing cars were knocked down for CHF 36,000 and CHF 40,000 respectively ...
So with an investment of around CHF 200,000, you could have bought cars back then that would be worth almost 20 million (CHF or euros) today. But you would have had to choose the right ones. But if you had made the "wrong" choice, you would probably have less rather than more money today after deducting all the costs incurred.
For those of our readers who are interested in figures, here are the complete results of the March 1976 auction:
| Vehicles | Year | cm3 | SP from | SP to | Hgebot | % Est |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motorcycle Rudge-Whitworth Ulster GP | 1933 | 500 | 4000 | 4500 | 2800 | 0.66 |
| Racing motorcycle Norton Speciale | 1960 | 500 | 4500 | 6000 | 3600 | 0.69 |
| Racing motorcycle Vincent Black Lightning | 1948 | 998 | 5500 | 6500 | 4800 | 0.8 |
| Steam automobile Grout Runabout | 1899 | 42000 | 49000 | 28000 | 0.62 | |
| Hispano-Suiza Torpedo Sport | 1910 | 3618 | 40000 | 45000 | 35000 | 0.82 |
| Oldsmobile Series 54 Torpedo | 1914 | 7333 | 75000 | 90000 | 68000 | 0.82 |
| Steyr Type IV Torpedo | 1921 | 1814 | 38000 | 42000 | 32000 | 0.8 |
| Delage D. I longue Torpedo | 1924 | 2121 | 35000 | 40000 | 30000 | 0.8 |
| Rolls-Royce 20 HP Torpedo Convertible | 1926 | 3127 | 32000 | 40000 | 32000 | 0.89 |
| Chrysler 70 Roadster | 1926 | 3568 | 12000 | 16000 | 9500 | 0.68 |
| Fiat 509 S Sportroadster (Moderna) | 1928 | 990 | 17000 | 24000 | 17000 | 0.83 |
| Auburn 8-120 Speedstar Boattail | 1929 | 4934 | 50000 | 72000 | 38000 | 0.62 |
| Rolls-Royce 20 HP (Convertible Salmons) | 1929 | 3127 | 24000 | 28000 | 19000 | 0.73 |
| Isotta Fraschini 8A (Sala) | 1929 | 7372 | 65000 | 75000 | 50000 | 0.71 |
| Packard 726 Coupé 2+2 | 1930 | 5342 | 34000 | 42000 | 30000 | 0.79 |
| Ford A | 1930 | 3285 | 9500 | 12000 | 7500 | 0.7 |
| Rolls-Royce 20/25 HP (L de V. Barker) | 1933 | 3669 | 23000 | 25000 | 18000 | 0.75 |
| Plymouth PC | 1933 | 3132 | 8000 | 11000 | 9500 | 1 |
| Mercedes-Benz 200 long | 1935 | 1962 | 21000 | 24000 | 16000 | 0.71 |
| Rolls-Royce 20/25 HP (Lim. Thrupp/M.) | 1935 | 3669 | 24000 | 30000 | 20000 | 0.74 |
| BMW 327/8 Convertible | 1938 | 1971 | 18000 | 20000 | 18000 | 0.95 |
| Talbot T 15 | 1936 | 2696 | 16000 | 20000 | 13000 | 0.72 |
| Morris 8 HP Series II | 1938 | 918 | 3700 | 4500 | 3200 | 0.78 |
| Ford V8 Convertible | 1938 | 3622 | 14000 | 17000 | 13500 | 0.87 |
| Rolls-Royce 25/30 HP Landaulette | 1938 | 4257 | 45000 | 70000 | 40000 | 0.7 |
| Lagonda V12 Short Cabriolet | 1938 | 4480 | 45000 | 52000 | 40000 | 0.82 |
| Daimler Series V (Lim. Hooper) | 1939 | 4624 | 6000 | 12000 | 8500 | 0.94 |
| Lagonda V12 sports sedan (Freestone/W.) | 1939 | 4480 | 37500 | 46000 | 30000 | 0.72 |
| MG Midget Series TC Sportroadster | 1946 | 1250 | 15000 | 19000 | 17000 | 1 |
| Packard Custom 8 Series 2126 | 1947 | 5832 | 18000 | 22000 | 14000 | 0.7 |
| Austin 16 HP Series FL 1 | 1949 | 2199 | 8000 | 12000 | 7500 | 0.75 |
| Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith (Young) | 1949 | 4257 | 30000 | 37000 | 30000 | 0.9 |
| Ferrari Tipo 195 2+2 (Ghia) | 1950 | 2340 | 30000 | 40000 | 30000 | 0.86 |
| AC 2 L Saloon | 1950 | 1991 | 7500 | 9500 | 6500 | 0.76 |
| Bentley Mk VI Convertible (Graber) | 1951 | 4566 | 28000 | 35000 | 22000 | 0.7 |
| Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn (Ghia) | 1952 | 4566 | 28000 | 35000 | 25000 | 0.79 |
| Mercedes-Benz 300 S Coupé 2+2 | 1952 | 2996 | 35000 | 40000 | 28000 | 0.75 |
| Bentley Mk VI Empress (Hooper) | 1952 | 4566 | 22000 | 27000 | 22000 | 0.9 |
| Hotchkiss Gregoire 11 CV | 1953 | 2188 | 6000 | 7000 | 4000 | 0.62 |
| Alfa Romeo 1900 Corso (Pininfarina) | 1953 | 1884 | 11000 | 15000 | 11000 | 0.85 |
| Ferrari Tipo 212 Inter Coupé (Vignale) | 1953 | 2562 | 28000 | 30000 | 20000 | 0.69 |
| Alvis 3 L Series TC Cabriolet (Graber) | 1954 | 2933 | 14000 | 18000 | 12000 | 0.75 |
| Facel-Vega FVS Coupé 2+2 | 1955 | 4768 | 17000 | 20000 | 11500 | 0.62 |
| Jaguar XK 140 Convertible | 1955 | 3442 | 11000 | 13000 | 12000 | 1 |
| AC Ace 2 L Sportroadster | 1955 | 1991 | 10000 | 13000 | 8500 | 0.74 |
| Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (gullwing doors) | 1955 | 2996 | 42000 | 48000 | 40000 | 0.89 |
| Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (gullwing doors) | 1955 | 2996 | 42000 | 48000 | 36000 | 0.8 |
| MG TF 1500 Sportroadster | 1955 | 1466 | 15000 | 18000 | 12000 | 0.73 |
| Talbot Lago America Coupé | 1956 | 2580 | 19000 | 23000 | 15000 | 0.71 |
| Nash Metropolitan 561 Convertible | 1957 | 1489 | 6600 | 8600 | 6500 | 0.86 |
| BMW 507 Convertible | 1958 | 3168 | 37000 | 43000 | 28000 | 0.7 |
| Jaguar XK 150 S Coupé 2+2 | 1959 | 3781 | 11000 | 14000 | 12500 | 1 |
| Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Cabriolet | 1962 | 2996 | 27000 | 30000 | 24000 | 0.84 |
| Jaguar E-Type Coupé | 1962 | 3781 | 6000 | 7000 | 5500 | 0.85 |
| Iso-Rivolta IR 340 (Bertone) 55 vehicles | 1964 | 5359 | 16000 | 20000 | 13000 | 0.72 |
