Has anyone noticed 356 A prices dip a little bit, or a lot??

[mike collinoff]

Hello Friends, I have been watching Ebay auctions and other sites and noticed that the A's price's come down a bit. No longer have I seen the ridiculous asking prices and perhaps that applies to other models?. What I don't understand with strong Euros and Pounds, still the sales are not that great, you think there are deals to Grab!. Is the whole 356 market slowed down perhaps and cooling?, Mr. Campbell or others have any comments to ad here Re current status. I am still searching for an unrestoed but not rusted out A to enjoy the way it is. Take care all.

[Cliff Murray]

Good question. I am not qualified to answer it but that never seems to stop me from giving an opinion. Today the Dow dropped 504 points. Does that mean people will feel poor and pull back from all spending or does that mean they will invest in collectibles instead of stocks? Also in the recent past the dollar has been gaining strength and foreign buyers have lost some of the advantage they have been enjoying. The real money is in the shipping business. Ship all the cars to Japan one decade then back to the United States then back to Europe a couple of decades later. All things of value go up and down and from buyer to buyer.
Of course, none of us wants to be the one that paid way too much at the top of the market but that can happen no matter where you put your money. The only sane reason to buy a 356 is because you love everything about the ownership experience. I think that 356s have gone up at an unsustainable rate in the past few years and it is likely to correct or at least flatten out. If you are patient and have cash to act quickly, there are always good values to be found. Beware of some of the cars out there because they may not be the deal that they appear to be.

[charles kourmpates]

I am still searching for an unrestoed but not rusted out A to enjoy the way it is. Take care all.

Depending on your budget, your search could be a long one.

I've told others how to find "deals." Call me, I'll tell you "exactly" what I tell them.

[Michael Eker]

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/classic_ ... eyword=356

http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/find/41 ... button.x=0

meker

[Dirk Heinrich]

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/classic_ ... eyword=356

http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/find/41 ... button.x=0

meker

And ???

I looked at the links, but didn't really get it. People ask any price they want - that does not give you any idea of the market right now. Only the low prices are interesting. I have recently seen 2 356A's at a great price - I felt like crying, because I went for an A with many issues. I paid a lot to learn about this car ... sniff

[Lockie McKinnon]

I have been watching the speedster prices on ebay and i have noticed that a few dealers have dropped their buy it now prices as they relist them and the prices seem to be ranging from 110,000 to 135,000 that are offered whereas last spring they were easlily and consistantly hitting the 160,000's . No speedsters seem to be selling on ebay as the sellers have higher reserves . Has anyone else noticed this or is it just the cars being offered...

[Cliff Murray]

I love watching the 65 year old, toupee wearing, gold clad, cigar smoker, guys at the Barrett Jackson auction bid while their 35 year old, busty bimbo cheers them on to pay whatever it takes to win(?) the car that matches their shoes. As my father(85) says "there’s no fool like an old fool". I don't think that we should look to these people to tell us what our cars are worth. When I die, I hope my kids find one of these idiots to buy my cars, but I can't see many Registry members paying such stupid prices.

[Adam Wright]

The high end Speedster bubble has not popped but it has shrank. For a few month spree nice Speedsters were all reaching the $200,000 mark, but have since backed off. This is not saying there are not $200000 Speedsters still out there, it just does not make all of them $200000 Speedsters. It's like the honeymoon suite at the Plaza hotel, all the rooms can't be honeymoon suites.

Most of the other 356s have slightly leveled off, but prices are holding steady. The only big difference I am seeing is that cars are still selling, it is just taking a little longer. I call about a lot of cars and for the last few months all the cars I see for sale are sold by the time you call, now more are still out there. So in a sense the buyer has a little more power, but not much, because the guys selling their cars right now are steady talking about how much Speedsters are worth, as if that has any affect on their rusty B Coupe that is sitting in the mud behind their house, but that is another headache all by itself.

[Lockie McKinnon]

Adam, your in the business. Have you noticed that you phone is a little quietier lately.
A friend of mine who sells older Porsches has found that.
The economy is a little different than it was last spring...

[Adam Wright]

I have had no problems selling latley, but then most of my stuff either goes to a short list of regular clients. The stuff that does not sell to my "short list" goes on EBAY, where it always sells.

But I know some of the super high end guys are watching dust collect on their cars, but the high end always feels it first.

[Trond Vidar]

I am looking for an A, so I am checking the market quite regular (the big sites daily) and would say "Definitly fallen"

Eg, a $27500 BIN on what seems like a good so cal car [356A no affiliation]

.. on a bi-note .. 16-24 months ago I was in the market for a speedster but I though the $85k asking prices were "over the top" ..

[Emil Wojcik]

a $27500 BIN on what seems like a good so cal car [356A no affiliation]

I think it's hard to use a car that's as far from original or complete as this car for a Then vs. Now price comparison. You need to compare prices between like cars. So it's easier to look at what a correctly restored car has sold for in the past and compare that with another correctly restored car that has sold recently. I personally have no idea if the market has changed either way, but since these cars are not commodities it's not that simple to make comparisons.

[Trond Vidar]

I think it's hard to use a car that's as far from original or complete as this car for a Then vs. Now price comparison...

Yes, sort of, but a good and sound so cal (i suppose) chassi is the perfect starting point for a perfect 356. If so, IMHO that in it self would make that car above the run of the mill patched and restored 356A.

Pricewise, look around and you will see the classic car prices dropping fast, and the 356 as well, that is my point. "2 weeks ago asking $32k ... bumping this week at $29k " .. this seem to be the current situation.

Correctly restored (or "mint") cars will never be the guideline to what is happening to the (everyday/weekend) classic drivers, unless you are a collector you most likely own a classic driver in more or less "weekend show condition" and thats the prices I guess 95% of us rely to.

I have a few 911's, and they have taken a much harder drop, now you can find cars selling at 60% of the spring 2008 tags.. also have a couple Ferrari's that market letters and specialists " advice to watch, prices on the up ", last 3-6 months they all dropped a good 30%. However, I have a couple british cars that never saw the hype and still hold their value well.

... my deflated 0.02 cents..

[Lockie McKinnon]

We would have to be naive to think that our cars are immune to the current economic situation. Even thought they are "necessities” to those of us with 35sickness.....the rest of the world might not agree..........

[Robert Murch]

Funny you mention it, I was just thinking of posting just such an observation. Particularly speedsters, convt D's on the other hand don't seem to have weakened a bit. Some of the 4 cam stuff still seems to be rising. It's too bad (maybe) that there is not some sort of data base that accurately tracks various models and their actual selling price. Rising dollar probably has something to do with it also.