A New Generation of Buyers Is Changing the Antique Car Market

There’s a good chance that the first car you ever drove is already considered an antique. The cars Gen Xers and Milennials grew up with are now part of that category, and it’s changing the classic car market.

Multiple factors go into the market for antique vehicles, including global economic conditions, collectability and scarcity.

Some cars are less collectible than they used to be and now come in at price points that make them more attractive to budding enthusiast collectors.

“Some prices have been stagnant for years, such as a 55 Thunderbird,” Larry Printz, automotive journalist and concours event judge, told Newsweek. “But others, such as C6 and C7 Corvettes, are seeing prices rise as younger buyers now realize their performance since the launch of the C8. And, they provide supercar performance at reasonable used car prices.”

At the same time, it’s no secret that owners of large collections of classic cars are aging and selling their assets.

“I think we will see more of that,” Brian Rabold, Vice President of automotive intelligence at Hagerty, said. “The folks who have amassed those collections tend to be older, and it’s more of a fact that they’re either aging out of the hobby or they’re not they’re not able to drive these cars as much anymore, and so they’re looking to consolidate.

There’s an aspect of proactive estate management as well, just recognizing. If they have 100 cars in their collection, maybe it’s easier to move them on … while they can be caretakers of that that transaction, rather than waiting for an estate to handle it.”

Younger generations are also approaching classic car ownership differently,” Rabold said.

“Next-generation car enthusiasts have the same passion as older generations, but they express their love in a different way. Young enthusiasts tend to get the most out of one car rather than amassing a collection. They focus on owning fewer but better cars,” said Art Cervantes, Director of Radwood, a car show brand owned by Hagerty insurance company that is aimed at younger antique vehicles.

“Everyone has their own nostalgia,” Printz said. “What’s a used car to one generation is a collectible car to the next. This is why you won’t find younger collectors at concours, but will find them at Radwood.”

The generations that grew up connected to the internet where their enthusiasm for vehicles was fostered in forums, chat rooms and blogs are now ready to buy.

These are the now-adults that grew up watching Top Gear with about the same level of devotion they dedicated to playing Oregon Trail, coming up with their first AOL Instant Messenger screen name, and wearing the fashion trends of today the first time they were popular.

“Radwood has opened doors for owners of 80s and 90s enthusiast cars to get more out of ownership, but it’s also given enthusiasts an excuse to buy into that era which has helped values. Online communities have flourished and fed the trend as well, celebrating unique and interesting cars and their owners year-round. The enthusiast DNA remains but as times change, so must the ways we support the community,” Cervantes said.

Radwood’s most recent iteration saw classic cars come to a recently revitalized hub of transportation from the early 1900s in Detroit, America’s Motor City.

“Within the Motor City’s new tech and cultural hub, our Cars at The Station community event brought together an incredibly younger and more diverse group of enthusiasts who are actively engaged in their love for 80s, 90s and even 2000s era vehicles – which is also one of the fastest growing areas of Hagerty’s insurance business,” said Jiyan Cadiz, producer of Cars at The Station for Hagerty.

“Younger enthusiasts aren’t sitting in lawn chairs or waiting for trophy ceremonies, these people are engaging and bring new energy to car culture by helping to fuel community, passion and understanding through their efforts to create and post high-quality social content for their friends and followers,” he said.

The Antique Automobile Club of America designates an antique car as being 25 years old or older. That makes cars from 1999 and before eligible for antique status.