How is the classic car market developing?
10/15/2017
One question we are often asked is about the current market assessment. This question cannot be answered in one sentence. Depending on the perspective, the answer is not always the same. There are influencing factors that can shift entire trade flows. Changes in (local) laws, their enforcement and the specific economic situation in a country (e.g. Brexit) also have an influence on the state of a market. For example, the exchange rate between the Swiss franc and the euro has shifted by almost ten percent within a year, to the detriment of the franc. This can have a positive effect for classic car sellers (in Switzerland), as a Swiss car is now cheaper for a buyer from Germany, Belgium or France, making it easier to sell. For a Swiss buyer who likes to look across the border, however, the opposite is the case: cars become more expensive.
Another example is the Americans. They can import old cars that are over 25 years old without having to adapt to local laws , and the demand for cars that have just reached this age threshold increases every year. However, this also increases the supply of these cars in the USA, which were previously difficult and costly to get into the country, so some types of car could also become cheaper locally.
If we want to venture a brief assessment of the market despite all these refinements, then we would probably have to speak of a somewhat calming buyer trend, stabilized or slightly eroding prices and a continuing unbroken trend towards record prices for selected and unique (history, condition) rarities.
This does not sound entirely new; market observers were already saying similar things a year ago. But such an assessment is of little help if you want to sell a Triumph TR4, a Porsche 914/2.0 or a Fiat 1500. Here, local circumstances and whether you manage to attract the right potential buyers to the car are decisive. And, of course, the communicated price tips the scales. Somehow, determining the "right" price is still more like alchemy than science, unless you are dealing with frequently traded vehicle types where you can quickly gain an indication.
