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October 2007 Market Report by David Swig
Market opinions in italics by David Swig |
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The MJS Market Report is back… and with good news to report! The market is strong and as predicted, interest in vintage Japanese cars is growing. With The New York Times and other major media outlets reporting on the scene semi-regularly these days, it’s no surprise prices of the 60s/70s/80s cars are creeping up. Witness the $12,000+ paid for a street modified Mazda RX2 this month, and a stock 150,000 mile AE86 bid to almost $6,000… with the seller rejecting the bid! It’s happening… and we’re here to cover it!
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| eBay # 150163740578 – 1985 Toyota Corolla GT-S. Number of Bids: 1. 24 photos. Location: Riverdale, MD. Manual Transmission. Mileage: 263,400. Red & black two tone/red interior. An OG GT-S with original high miles,sprayed in an eye-catching two tone for resale. Description somewhat vague on specific modifications, no word on how solid the body is. Being that this was an East Coast car, I would have wanted to know. Typical cracked dash, ugly seat covers. Clean engine bay. SOLD EARLY WITH BUY IT NOW: $4,800. Date: 9/26/07.
This is proof that clean-looking hachis, regardless of miles, are worth decent money. This one was basically a stocker with a flashy paint job. Hatchbacks continue to be worth a premium over coupes. |
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| eBay # 200154835409 – 1972 Datsun 240Z. Number of Bids: 8. 14 photos. Location: West Nyack, NY. Manual Transmission. Mileage: 99,100. Orange/black interior. Another East Coast car, this one a cool California-look Z with rear fender flares, mag wheels, and foglights. Claimed 1-owner car, seller thinks 99k miles could be original. Needs passenger floor, otherwise stated to be solid body-wise. Old paint, overall needing some work to be a reliable driver. SOLD AT: $3,350. Date: 9/27/07.
This car was a buy. Good looking, “easy resto” Z projects will continue to escalate in value as supply outpaces demand. This car will be $5000 soon, if not already. |
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| eBay # 300157888932 – 1973 Toyota Land Cruiser. Number of Bids: 12. 24 photos. Location: Clifton, CO. Manual Transmission. Mileage: 153,000. Orange/grey. A turn-key, very appealing FJ40. This was a meticulous restoration of a well-preserved original example, finished in its bright original orange color. Essentially presented as new. SOLD AT: $15,800. Date: 10/10/07.
Interest in old Land Cruisers is especially strong, and well presented examples like this will continue to fetch strong prices. Look for more meticulously restored examples like this one to come on the market. |
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| eBay # 330181606779– 1971 Mazda R100. Number of Bids: 18. 24 photos. Location: Des Moines, WA. Manual Transmission. Mileage: 72,000. White/black interior. A complete, non-running project car waiting to be restored. Came from original California owner, so rust is limited. Basically needs everything, and has some parking lot dings and dents. Comes with original hubcaps. SOLD AT: $6,100. Date: 11/4/07.
Sold on its second run thru eBay; it died the first time at $3,700. This car looked about as good as the R100 that sold in April for $4,850, which we covered here. If that’s any indication, these cars are going up! |
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| eBay # 300154187839– 1977 Toyota Corolla SR-5 Liftback. Number of Bids: 35. 20 photos. Location: Los Angeles, CA. Manual Transmission. Mileage: 54,722. Blue/blue. A 54k mile survivor. Everything original. Factory tach, working a/c, original CA blue plates, 2nd owner. SOLD AT: $5,200. Date: 9/29/07.
We bought this car, drove to LA in a Fiat we sold on eBay to pick it up, and drove it back to SF with no problems. Many of these cars were produced, but today they’re quite rare. Low mileage straight cars with original paint are always worth a premium, and this car commanded it. |
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| eBay # 180160778676 – 1969 Datsun Roadster. Number of Bids: 13. 69 photos. Location: Nanuet, NY. Manual Transmission. Mileage: 62,000. Red/black. A solid, low-mileage car that has fallen victim to the notorious “resale red” treatment. Has had recent mechanical and cosmetic overhaul, apparently a sound driver. Body is solid. Bumpers need rechroming. SOLD AT: $6,910. Date: 9/29/07.
This car made a good result, probably because the extensive photos in the listing gave potential buyers the confidence they needed to bid. A good running & driving roadster starts at $6,000 these days, and will follow the value trends of MGB Convertibles. |
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| eBay # 160160958305 – 1981 Toyota Supra. Number of Bids: 18. 70+ photos. Location: Ramsey, NJ. Automatic. Mileage: 8,750. Burgundy/burgundy. As new. A true sub-9000 mile car in a very desirable color combination. Perfectly preserved, everything original. SOLD AT: $15,000. Date: 9/30/07.
A Pebble Beach quality example. Worth the price paid for such a primo car. |
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| eBay # 220153346282 – 1991 Mazda Miata. Number of Bids: 17. 24 photos. Location: Carteret, NJ. Manual transmission. Mileage: 25,900. BRG/tan. As new. A very low mileage ’91 Limited Edition in the coveted British Racing Green, with Nardi shift knob and attractive tan leather. This is the best of the 1st-gen Miatas, from a collector’s standpoint. Car came with both hardtop and softtop. A well cared for original. NOT SOLD AT: $7,050. BUY IT NOW: $9,900 Date: 9/30/07.
Seller lowered the reserve to $7,051.00. Car presumably traded hands post-auction. Sounds like a deal to me. A new one is 18 grand, for a stripper model with no options. For less than half of that, you get this much rarer and equally usable car…with a hardtop thrown in! |
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| eBay # 170151787922 – 1969 Datsun 510. Number of Bids: 17. 56 photos. Location: Atlanta, GA. Manual transmission. Mileage: 10. A wild, totally custom built, Turbo 13B-powered rotary 510. Every system rebuilt and upgraded to a meticulous level. Essentially, a brand new 510 hot rod. Interestingly, this car’s early life included time spent as an IMSA RS racer. Boy, has it come a long way… NOT SOLD AT: $28,300. Date: 10/107.
As with hot rods, building a car like this is an intensely personal thing. It reflects the personality of the builder – in other words, this is one man’s “ultimate 510”. Unfortunately, since we are all unique, one man’s vision of greatness isn’t what others would do given unlimited time and budget. Therefore, it’s very hard to recoup the cost of a car like this when the owner/builder chooses to sell. This car was meticulously built and the attention to detail was superb. For me, it was a little too much. I think the $28k offered was a strong bid, but clearly the owner thinks it’s worth more. This is the type of car with well over $100k invested figuring in time and materials. Getting near that figure, though, will take one very determined buyer. |
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| eBay # 280168555316 – 1987 Honda Civic Wagon 4x4. Number of Bids: 40. 24 photos. Location: Morton Grove, IL. Manual transmission. Mileage: 86,000. Blue/blue. I’m including this because I previously was unaware Honda offered a 4x4, 6-speed “Wagovan” in the States this early. This was a clean, well-preserved car that didn’t have 200k on the clock. Seller says it has “minor rust bubbles”. SOLD AT: $2,750. Date: 11/7/07.
A collector car, it isn’t. But for this money, someone got an infinitely usable old Honda that is, if nothing else, an oddball on the road. Well bought, well sold! |
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| eBay # 270182712809 – 1972 Mazda RX-2. Number of Bids: 22. 20 photos. Location: Los Angeles, CA. Manual transmission. Mileage: unknown. Blue/black. Modified 2-door RX2 with a 13B Bridgeport motor, 15x7 Autobahn mesh wheels, Mazdaspeed leather seats, and more. SOLD AT: $12,100. Date: 11/8/07.
A very strong result for this car. I liked the Autobahn 15x7s, but for me the details on this car weren’t right. The Mazdaspeed seats are very attractive, but more at home in an RX-8 than in this classic. Though it wasn’t period, it certainly was an attention getter, and the eBay crowd went crazy for it. |
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| eBay # 200166360664– 1985 Toyota Corolla GT-S. Number of Bids: 46. 20 photos. Location: Waukesha, WI. Manual transmission. Mileage: 154,000. Silver/grey. A clean looking, stock AE86 coupe. Recent repaint. Later door decals from the 86-87 cars. We like the big ’85 “GT-S Twin Cam 16” decals much better. Obligatory crack in dash. NOT SOLD AT: $5,599. Date: 11/11/07.
Again, clean cars attract serious bidders. This was a high bid for an old stocker. Five years ago a car like this was $2000-2500. Remember, they’re only original once. |
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| eBay # 180176912410 – 1976 Mazda RX-4 Coupe. Number of Bids: 26. 16 photos. Location: Pataskala, OH. Manual transmission. Mileage: 58,000. Grey/black. Mileage claimed original. Basically clean, very rust free. New paint (admittedly not the greatest), later 12A motor, good interior, fuel cell replaces original gas tank NOT SOLD AT: $2,735. BUY IT NOW: $3,700 Date: 11/11/07.
We so wanted to buy this car for the Motoring J Style fleet. We even called the seller…he was willing to let the car go for $3,300. However, good sense got the better of this when we remembered we’d still have to smog it. When a ’75 comes around, I’ll be on it! I wonder why the prices on these are so soft, in contrast to the strong prices realized for the RX-2 and the R100? |
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| eBay # 330184206613 – 1973 Toyota Corolla 2-door Wagon. Number of Bids: 21. 9 photos. Location: Circleville, OH. Manual transmission. Mileage: 67,065. Lime green/brown. 2nd-owner original car needing some mechanical and cosmetic help to bring it back. It looks like a car that’s never really been hurt, and the mileage could be original. Too bad you’d have to go all the way to Ohio to get it! SOLD AT: $1,826.01. Date: 11/9/07.
Well bought – a solid car that will look great after another $2,000 of sympathetic help. |
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For more information call us at 415.479.9930 or send us an email at info@motoringjstyle.com |