Why some cars from the 1990s are soaring in value
Not that long ago, cars from the 1990s were just used cars. And, really, most of them still are, if they’re still running at all. But as millenials get older, gain some disposable income, and pine for the cars of their own youth, many of these cars have crossed the threshold to becoming sought after collectibles with rising values in the car collecting world.
Cars from brands like Ferrari, Bugatti and McLaren are, of course, highly valued, but some models from manufacturers like Toyota, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen have also seen their values soar.
“Values, for the last three years, for cars and vehicles from the 1990s have increased the most out of any decade,” said Brian Rabold, vice president of automotive intelligence at Hagerty, a company that closely tracks the collector car market. In addition to insuring collectible cars, Hagerty also owns the auction company Broad Arrow.
Values for 1990s-era collectible cars have risen by an average of 78% over the past three years, “which is huge,” Rabold said.
Several factors are ramping up the interest level, Rabold and others said. First, there is the simple passage of time. Twenty-five years, give or take, marks the time when some special cars become collectible. For one thing, depreciation has run its course.
Usually, even if their condition remains largely the same, cars become less and less valuable with each passing year, but only up to a point.
Then some cars, ones that are special and desirable for whatever reason, begin to increase in value. That’s because, as the cars have been getting older, so have the people who were teenagers or maybe in their early twenties when these models first came out. They may have wanted them back then, but couldn’t afford them. Now they’ve grown up and have the disposable income to buy that Mitsubishi 3000GT, say, just for fun.
Collectors are often attracted cars outside their own age range, too, said Randy Nonnenberg, co-founder and president of the online collector car auction site Bring a Trailer. “We have young people that like 70 year old cars, and we have an 80 year old guy who just bought a new [Porsche 911] GT3,” he said. “So, I mean, it’s all over the map.”
Also, the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st marked a turning point in automobiles themselves.
“A lot of people think of the golden age of the automobile was the ’50s and ‘60s,” said Eric Charnholm, who owns a 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R, a car he spent 15 years looking for. “There’s an argument to be made that the ‘90s is actually the golden age.”
In that era, automakers figured out how to make small cars that met fuel economy requirements, but that could also be fun to drive. “You had this mix of high horsepower, light weight with minimal safety systems that made them for a very fun combination,” he said.
Cars of the 1990s still had a somewhat raw, mechanical feel that is often lost in modern cars replete with computer assisted and drive-by-wire technology, where cables, computers and actuators, rather than just gears and hydraulics, make the connection between the driver and the road, said Nonnenberg.
“Modern cars are very comfortable and wonderful,” he said, “but it’s more of a sort of ride-along experience.”
Still, cars from the 1990s are far from ancient, unlike models from the early 20th century which have, on average, fallen in value in recent years, according to Hagerty. Cars from the ’90s have at least some modern comfort and safety features, and even relatively inexpensive cars can have respectable power and performance.
“They have air conditioning, they have power windows, they have airbags, a lot of them,” Nonnenberg said, “but they have a little more character.”
None of this means that all cars from the 1990s are going up in value. We’re talking about “collectible” cars. These are usually, but not always, sports cars or performance models. With some exceptions, like ’90s Buick Roadmasters wagons, practical family cars are not generally considered collectible. (Prices for Roadmaster wagons have increased 48% since 2019, according to Hagerty.) Just as in the new car market, pickups and SUVs are now finding fans, too, but not everyone gets the appeal.
“Mid-nineties pickup trucks are the ones that make me scratch my head,” said Frank Mecum, consignment director for Mecum Auctions. “We’re selling some of these low-mileage pickup trucks for fifty, sixty, seventy grand and they’re just normal pickup trucks.”
Cars from brands like Ferrari, Bugatti and McLaren are, of course, highly valued, but some models from manufacturers like Toyota, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen have also seen their values soar.
“Values, for the last three years, for cars and vehicles from the 1990s have increased the most out of any decade,” said Brian Rabold, vice president of automotive intelligence at Hagerty, a company that closely tracks the collector car market. In addition to insuring collectible cars, Hagerty also owns the auction company Broad Arrow.
Values for 1990s-era collectible cars have risen by an average of 78% over the past three years, “which is huge,” Rabold said.
Several factors are ramping up the interest level, Rabold and others said. First, there is the simple passage of time. Twenty-five years, give or take, marks the time when some special cars become collectible. For one thing, depreciation has run its course.
Usually, even if their condition remains largely the same, cars become less and less valuable with each passing year, but only up to a point.
Then some cars, ones that are special and desirable for whatever reason, begin to increase in value. That’s because, as the cars have been getting older, so have the people who were teenagers or maybe in their early twenties when these models first came out. They may have wanted them back then, but couldn’t afford them. Now they’ve grown up and have the disposable income to buy that Mitsubishi 3000GT, say, just for fun.
Collectors are often attracted cars outside their own age range, too, said Randy Nonnenberg, co-founder and president of the online collector car auction site Bring a Trailer. “We have young people that like 70 year old cars, and we have an 80 year old guy who just bought a new [Porsche 911] GT3,” he said. “So, I mean, it’s all over the map.”
Also, the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st marked a turning point in automobiles themselves.
“A lot of people think of the golden age of the automobile was the ’50s and ‘60s,” said Eric Charnholm, who owns a 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R, a car he spent 15 years looking for. “There’s an argument to be made that the ‘90s is actually the golden age.”
In that era, automakers figured out how to make small cars that met fuel economy requirements, but that could also be fun to drive. “You had this mix of high horsepower, light weight with minimal safety systems that made them for a very fun combination,” he said.
Cars of the 1990s still had a somewhat raw, mechanical feel that is often lost in modern cars replete with computer assisted and drive-by-wire technology, where cables, computers and actuators, rather than just gears and hydraulics, make the connection between the driver and the road, said Nonnenberg.
“Modern cars are very comfortable and wonderful,” he said, “but it’s more of a sort of ride-along experience.”
Still, cars from the 1990s are far from ancient, unlike models from the early 20th century which have, on average, fallen in value in recent years, according to Hagerty. Cars from the ’90s have at least some modern comfort and safety features, and even relatively inexpensive cars can have respectable power and performance.
“They have air conditioning, they have power windows, they have airbags, a lot of them,” Nonnenberg said, “but they have a little more character.”
None of this means that all cars from the 1990s are going up in value. We’re talking about “collectible” cars. These are usually, but not always, sports cars or performance models. With some exceptions, like ’90s Buick Roadmasters wagons, practical family cars are not generally considered collectible. (Prices for Roadmaster wagons have increased 48% since 2019, according to Hagerty.) Just as in the new car market, pickups and SUVs are now finding fans, too, but not everyone gets the appeal.
“Mid-nineties pickup trucks are the ones that make me scratch my head,” said Frank Mecum, consignment director for Mecum Auctions. “We’re selling some of these low-mileage pickup trucks for fifty, sixty, seventy grand and they’re just normal pickup trucks.”
Source: edition.cnn.com
