25 cars getting no love from classic buyers
It isn’t a good time to be a 1966–68 Mercedes-Benz 250SL, 1984–88 Pontiac Fiero, or 1975–79 Cadillac Seville. Those three models are tied at the bottom of the latest Hagerty Vehicle Rating.
The HVR tracks a vehicle’s performance relative to the rest of the collector vehicle market. Based on a 0–100 scale, a 50-point rating indicates that a vehicle is keeping pace with the market overall. Ratings above 50 indicate above-average appreciation, while ratings below 50 indicate vehicles that are lagging. The rating takes into account the number of vehicles insured and quoted through Hagerty, along with auction activity and private sales.
The 250SL, Fiero, and Seville are tied with 30 points. That doesn’t mean they’re bad cars, it just means that they aren’t currently performing well in the market.
Several cars from the last Bottom 25 list are still stuck there this time around, like the first-generation Oldsmobile Toronado, a strikingly beautiful and uniquely styled personal luxury coupe that looks like a concept car. There’s also the Mercedes-Benz 350SL, with its elegant roadster lines. Both cars have held their value well for several years, with the SL actually surging just a few years ago, but both have seen a decline over the past year. Similar to the 350SL, the Ferrari Testarossa saw a big jump in value about four years ago, held steady for several years, and has recently started to drop off. It’s still a bit shocking to think that such a hallmark Ferrari can be had for well under $100,000 in #3 (Good) condition.
Three other standouts in the Bottom 25 are the Porsche 930 Turbo, Shelby GT350, and Shelby GT500, even though they all still command premium prices. In the case of the Shelby Mustangs, the drop into value-outlook purgatory is due almost entirely to nonexistent insurance quoting activity. That could be an indication that there aren’t a lot of serious buyers. Perhaps everyone who wants one that badly already has one. Or maybe the newest batch of continuation GT350s has potential buyers looking for a factory-fresh-feeling car they can enjoy on the track.
While the HVR Top 25 is packed with classic trucks and SUVs, no such body styles found their way into the Bottom 25.
There are two ways to look at the ratings. First, the practical takeaway from these numbers is that the cars on the bottom of the list might not make for the best investments. At least not in the short term. That’s no fun. The other side of the coin (our opinion), is many of the Bottom 25 vehicles can be had at a bargain price, and since cars are meant to be driven, plenty of them make for affordable buys and are perfect for racking up miles.
If any of these vehicles are dream cars, or maybe just on your shortlist, consider it a good excuse to pick one up. Not that you’d need an excuse.
