How Will The CoronaVirus Affect The Classic and Collector Car Market?
The original version of this article can be found on Test Drive Technologies Blog.
*Written by Steven Paul, ASCAA Certified Vehicle Appraiser / NRVIA Certified RV Inspector
"While doom and gloom might be on the horizon for most in the stock market, the collector car market values will likely remain unimpacted for true collector cars."
There is no argument that the Corona Virus will have a negative effect on the U.S. Economy but the world-wide economy has also taken a big hit. Most classic cars and collector car dealers are considered small to medium-sized businesses and are operating on a “by appointment only” basis.
Here in the St Louis, Missouri area, we have five well known classic car and collector car dealers that fall under the definition of a “small business” as they have less than 250 employees. Many of these dealerships have been required to close their showrooms to the public and are only offering viewings by appointment only. Jon Faust the sales manager at the St Louis Car Museum told me “The museum itself is closed to the general public as of last Monday. Vehicles for sale can be viewed by appointment only during our normal business hours and our service department is also still open by appointment only” Their hours of operation are 9 am to 6 pm weekdays and 10 am – 2 pm on Saturdays.
What I see as a small business owner is that the economy is going to take a hit and depending on how bad we get beat up will depend on how long we are shut down. It is going to take a hit because consumers are not able to go out and spend their money but also very soon, they likely will not have much money to spend until they are able to go back to work. Some restaurants and bars some are operating at half staff or corporations allowing their employees to work from home, these are the lucky ones. Some not so lucky ones are the “non-essential” businesses which have had to shut down completely such as car washes, bakeries, and many others.
While doom and gloom might be on the horizon for most in the stock market, the collector car market values will likely remain unimpacted for true collector cars. Phillip Metcalf at Hyman Ltd. says while the world economy has slowed down they are still selling cars everyday. This is what Phil had to say when I asked him. “In the past, the cars we sell at Hyman were largely unimpacted in economic downturns which is why they make such solid investments. I think buying volume will be down in the short term while we work through this uncertainty, but we have been selling cars!”
Click here to read about what ASCAA Certified Vehicle Appraiser / NRVIA Certified RV Inspector, Steven Paul, believes will happen to the classic car and collector car market values on the vehicles themselves. When buying volume goes down, values usually come up for that period. This is why it is time to buy but also time to hold and of course ALWAYS time to appraise!
Additional article regarding safe approaches to working in the automotive industry during COVID-19:
"What TDT is Doing to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 During Pre-Purchase Vehicle Inspections"