Yahoo article explaining recent pricing increases

[jpbadonk]

I don't think it's a bad thing at all. But it does weigh more on people minds... risk vs enjoyment. Obviously the "value" or "worth" of a car will vary from owner to owner and it's probably proportional to their relative income. If I'm ripping about a race track in an uninsured race car worth more than my annual income, the weight of the potential loss sits heavily on me

+this

And there's a second reason I won't take mine to the track any more. 7 or so years ago, I was headed down the track car path with my '72. Grady pulled me aside and gave me a great analogy. He said...think of your car as a box of tissue. When you go out on the track, you furiously pull the tissues out. Eventually, you run out of tissues. You can stuff more in (although not quite as many as new), but the box isn't ever the same. Grady's advice? Pick up an SC or carrera and turn it into a track car, use the '72 as a fun street car.

With values where they are...and the personal time investment I've put into mine, I am having second thoughts of parking it at the grocery store or driving in the snow.

[Frankr]

Driving pleasure is not the same as dollar value.

Is it possible you misunderstood Mr. Martin's comment?

I believe he's spot on AND the T/E models are probably undervalued at the moment. It happened with the 356 market and there's good reason to believe it will happen again with the 911 market. Model disparity tends to equalize somewhat over time.

Well, for 50's AR that martin really knows about the veloce model is usually worth 2 to 3 times the normale and the diff are similar to T v S. I am focused on the value aspect as driving is all subjective anyway. And I think buy the best rarer model given the choice and you'll never be sorry.

[Frankr]

Well, for 50's AR that martin really knows about the veloce model is usually worth 2 to 3 times the normale and the diff are similar to T v S. I am focused on the value aspect as driving is all subjective anyway. And I think buy the best rarer model given the choice and you'll never be sorry.

I may not live long enough to see the values coalesce.

[Gearby]

I'm not kidding myself, I just dont care. Maybe I'll care someday, but I dont know. The only thing I care about is people charging $5-10,000 for a set of seats, $750 steering wheels or $1500 for something stupid like oil lines. THAT obscene crap is what irritates me.

I can't be the only one who's noticed that there are very few used parts being sold anymore though. It's allowing the sellers to ask whatever they want. If you want to finish your car, you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. None of these cars are being parted out anymore. The cars that should be parted out are being brought back from the dead.
I went to a local cruise in for classic cars a year ago, and it made me remember the old '72 I had in storage. Good thing I started buying the parts I needed back then or I'd be coming in last place. I'm still worried about the few parts I still need, and it's only getting worse.

[blucille]

+this

And there's a second reason I won't take mine to the track any more. 7 or so years ago, I was headed down the track car path with my '72. Grady pulled me aside and gave me a great analogy. He said...think of your car as a box of tissue. When you go out on the track, you furiously pull the tissues out. Eventually, you run out of tissues. You can stuff more in (although not quite as many as new), but the box isn't ever the same. Grady's advice? Pick up an SC or carrera and turn it into a track car, use the '72 as a fun street car.

With values where they are...and the personal time investment I've put into mine, I am having second thoughts of parking it at the grocery store or driving in the snow.

Yes, but I am sure am glad I was able to thrash several great, fun, fast long hoods on the track back before this market went nuts....and now I'm doing the same with my SC, and I figure I've got a few years before that market gets silly, too.

truth is, an SC or mid-year car, even a g50 can be lightened enough to provide almost the same level of fun as the early cars....

[Louie]

Bingo......

Why do so many people think increased value is a bad thing? A few years back people complained that their house was dropping in value. Now people are complaining that their cars are increasing in value.

Or, is it the people who never bought a car or a house that are upset?

Personally, I'm not at all upset that my cars are worth more today than they were last year. I still drive them and I still work on them. So - what's the downside of owning an appreciating asset?

Richard Newton
Historic Racing Images

[Richardnew]

OK - Let's be honest about why we don't take our old long hoods to the track. They're stupid slow. We spend the whole session doing wave arounds. Track days are getting totally crazy in the last few years. Here's in Florida we get the Miami crowd with the Ferrari Challenge cars. Then we always seem to have a few World Challenge cars. Then we get the Porsche Cup cars. The 48-Hours of Sebring is now dominated by Cup Cars. Last year there was only 1 long hood on the track. That was out of several hundred Porsches.

Quit crying that it's the value of the car that keeps you off the track. Most of the cars out there cost 2 to 3 time what a long hood costs. I have a friend that has a $40,000 tire budget for this year's track events.

That's serious money in anyones budget. This is for a 2 year old Cup car.

Richard Newton

[Frank Beck]

OK - Let's be honest about why we don't take our old long hoods to the track. They're stupid slow. We spend the whole session doing wave arounds. Track days are getting totally crazy in the last few years. Here's in Florida we get the Miami crowd with the Ferrari Challenge cars. Then we always seem to have a few World Challenge cars. Then we get the Porsche Cup cars. The 48-Hours of Sebring is now dominated by Cup Cars. Last year there was only 1 long hood on the track. That was out of several hundred Porsches.

Quit crying that it's the value of the car that keeps you off the track. Most of the cars out there cost 2 to 3 time what a long hood costs. I have a friend that has a $40,000 tire budget for this year's track events.

That's serious money in anyones budget. This is for a 2 year old Cup car.

Richard Newton

Historic racing and track days are way different. Historic racing is where you take your track prepped long hood and get passed by guys who spend hundreds of thousands on racing. Track days are where you get passed by guys who spend hundreds of thousands to go fast on track days.

(And I can attest to the 40k tire bill yearly. That's what our '07 Cup burns through and those are ALL amateur, just-fer-fun events.)

[Fishcop]

Are we getting a bit lost here? It's not all about racing. And if I wanted to race miata I would I happen to love wheeling around a track in an old 911.

I don't for a second think anyone is "sad" about owning an appreciating asset - if this is the case sell it and give to charity.

I think those of us who make financial sacrifices to enjoy the hobby are simply lamenting the explosive growth in popularity and cost 'outside our once familiar circle'. Personally I'd love to keep a few other hobbies (I'd love to get back into clay and skeet shooting), but for me right now, my first love is these old cars So I budget. The problem now is that the once affordable things such as insurance, cool bespoke parts, and track days have become either actually more expensive or potentially more expensive and it makes average guys like me pause.

Kris, I hate the big coin now being asked for stuff as well. BUT people don't break up these cars like the used to, and the guys making reproduction parts (the quality ones) can't be expected to absorb the production costs. There are a few people at the pork barrel I'm sure, but that's capitalism I guess.

Not that long ago my attitude was who cares, just insure it accordingly. But even if I insure my 'perfect'* car for for genuine market value, now, in the event of any loss I can no longer actually find another 'perfect'* car in the same condition... So I can really appreciate it when people say they are reluctant to expose their car to potential damage or loss at the track based on the decreasing chance of being able to replace it.

*insert your version of 'perfect' here.

[Frank Beck]

Are we getting a bit lost here? It's not all about racing.

HaHa

He said "it's not all about racing".

God is allowing this crazy appreciation so we can sell cars, make a profit, and race more.