5 Big Losses From the Latest Hagerty Price Guide

If you’ve been paying attention to the collector car market the past few months, it’s clear that the pandemic boom is over. While blue chip grade prices appeared particularly shaky at the Monterey auctions back in August, there is much more to it. Indeed, there have been drops everywhere from Maseratis to Muscle Cars, from SUVs to Siatas. While there is a lot we could cover, here are a few meaningful drops in our most recent update to the Hagerty Price Guide, which went live at the beginning of the month.

Curious how we come up with our values? You can read more about the methodology behind the Hagerty Price Guide here.

1964-70 Maserati Mistral

Average decrease: -18%

Previously a racing powerhouse, Maserati began a pivot to grand touring cars in the late 1950s. A successor to the 3500 GT, the Mistral is the first Maserati in a long line of cars named after a wind. Mistral is the cold northerly wind that blows from France into the Mediterranean. This car also holds the distinction of being the final Maserati to use the company’s venerable twin-spark, inline-six engine, derived from the very successful Maserati Grand Prix cars of the 1950s. Topping everything off is a very handsome two-seater body designed by Frua.

Maserati continues to be a finicky market. While arguably just as important as Ferrari or Lamborghini, the brand doesn’t have the same name recognition or staying power. Recent sales results suggest a down market for these cars, and expert sentiment is down. Like other high-end vehicles of this era, the overwhelming demographic collecting these cars, as indicated by insurance quotes, is of the Baby Boomer variety. Meanwhile, fewer younger enthusiasts are longing for a 1960s Maserati. It’s not all bad news for Mistrals, though, as better accessibility can be a boost to interest. We will see in time.

1958-60 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe

Average decrease: -15%

For classic Ferrari fans, this is an important car. The 250 GT Pinin Farina (PF) Coupe is a must-have for any sizable classic Ferrari collection, and the 250 series as a whole is without doubt the most recognizable of the classic Ferrari road cars. That basic shape defined and era for the brand and the 250 Colombo engine powered some of the most important cars of all time, like the 250 GTO and 250 SWB. To own a 250 GT PF Coupe is to share DNA with these legends.

Looks, heritage and a less insane cost (relative to their crazy-valuable cousins, at least) have kept the 250 GT PF Coupe’s values steady over the years as the cars around them have seen more pronounced fluctuations. That said, there are a number of factors going on here which contributed to the drop. First being a poor showing of 1950s-60s Ferraris as a whole at the Monterey auctions over the summer. While Monterey is a small snippet of the market generally, it is always a watershed event for the Ferrari market. The poor showing there and low expert sentiment about the wider market were huge contributors. Less obvious is an undeniable market shift happening at all levels. As Gen X have taken over as the dominant collecting demographic, they are buying cars they relate to more. Why buy a 250 GT when a Testarossa or F40 is the Ferrari they grew up dreaming about? The 250, meanwhile, is overwhelmingly a car collected by the old guard, which does present headwinds for the future.

Doom and gloom aside, this car remains a work of art that still is a must have car if you have the means to collect Ferraris. However, it may have forever shifted from a logical entry point to serious Ferrari collecting to a car you simply buy to round out the collection.

2003-10 Bentley Continental GT

Average decrease: -11%

Unless you’re a hardcore Bentley fan, it may be hard to grasp the importance or the lure of the Continental GT. When Bentley burst on the scene with a flagship car pumping out 552 horsepower from a twin-turbo W-12 engine in an era when 400 horsepower was still something of a novelty, you couldn’t help but pay attention. There was also the fact that, prior to the 2000s, much of Bentley’s sporting identity dated from way back before World War II. So, a coupe with monster power from a company that mostly built country club cruisers was a big surprise.

What is equally eyebrow-raising is the Continental GT’s resilience to the usual freefall of depreciation luxury cars, especially Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, are prone to. The Continental GT wasn’t immune, but it handled the blow far better than it could have, as their values quickly settled and held firm. Now, though, we’re seeing additional drops.

For many enthusiasts, cheaper sales figures and lower listings are a good thing. Believe it or not, you can pick up an excellent condition, early production Continental GT coupe for under $40,000, later production cars with all the refinements for a tad over $50,000. Think about it, that’s some major horsepower for your dollar, plus a top-shelf badge. Of course all the usual luxury car caveats apply of buying the best car you can afford and with a documented service history. Supersports and Speed models with their higher collectablity and power are out of reach for many, but are still under the six-figure mark on average. So if you’re wanting a big, comfortable car with pin-you-to-the-seat power, then the Continental GT may be the best aristocratic bang for our peasant buck on the market right now.

1992-96 Ford Bronco

Average decrease: -11%

Ford Broncos have been on the rise for so long, it seems truly strange to hear about any of them going down in value. Surprisingly, this one did.

When thinking about the 5th generation (1992-96) Bronco, you have to take a step back and appreciate how far the line had come over the years. Ford did a great job of smoothing the rough edges and when you open the doors, a well-appointed interior is there to greet you. Auto manufacturers were beginning to recognize that buyers wanted less utility and more comfort in their trucks. For a 30-plus-year-old collector vehicle, it’s hard to argue with the 5th gen Bronco being the best one to live with.

Despite the 5th gen’s draw, it seems buyers are beginning to be a bit pickier with the trucks they shell out big money for. Examples needing attention are being passed on by buyers, while sellers are needing to accept lower prices, while the drop for top-condition examples is less severely felt. Beyond the fact that pickier buyers are driving lesser vehicles down in value, there are only clues to why 5th gen Broncos changed in value while others were more stable. Perhaps they’re shaking loose the perception that 1990s trucks are used trucks, maybe fear of restoring an old truck with computers. Whatever the reason, the 5th generation Bronco is a solid choice that just got more attractive in price.

1980-91 Volkswagen Vanagon

Average decrease: -10%

In the United States, the Volkswagen van has long been a symbol of freedom and the open road. While this sentiment applies most profoundly to the first and second generation VW Transporters, the later Vanagon still beckons the same way its older siblings did. Basic, practical and endlessly configurable, the Vanagon has the same DNA within it. However as time progressed, the Vanagon would go through massive changes. Starting with air-cooled and and carbureted engines, they changed to water cooling in 1983 and would eventually offer a diesel option and even all-wheel drive.

Vanagons have experienced growth over the years, however not at the explosive rate of the earlier split and bay window vans. The market right now is saturated with driver-quality examples or worse, which historically has a negative effect on the market. All that aside, even if the barrier to entry is falling, the cool factor of a classic VW van is priceless.