| svopaul |
06-17-2008 08:42 AM |
Mike, you are preaching to the choir.....I own a restoration shop. While there will ALWAYS be a certain portion of the population that will buy no matter what the general average Joe who dabbles into cars has pretty much stopped. Car collecting and restoration is a luxury and when the economy hits a downturn the luxury items are what go first.
I sell parts as well and I can tell you based on FACT that people have slowed their buying habits considerably.....when you can't give away a $1200 body kit for an '05 Mustang for $300 then there is obviously something wrong in the economy that is causing people to trim their spending habits.
With that said...even though I personally have tightened things up, I am still buying cars but I am buying vintage Mustangs because the prices are good and it's an investment. I've bought 5 Vintage Mustangs in the past 6 weeks...all projects but all cheap and they aren't making them anymore...I picked up a '67 Big Block Coupe, '67 Fastback, '68 GT coupe, '66 GT Coupe and today I am picking up a '69 Mach 1. That is the plus side of the down economy in that people are willing to sell cheaper at times so if you are in the position it becomes a buyers market.....but the general spending habits of the consumer have in fact been affected and people are buying less. Even Ebay has seen a drastic decline in sales for sellers.....I use it as a garage sale and I know a lot of people who sell and the feeling is the same among everyone that nobody is really spending any money.
As far as restoration goes....yes, it quite obviously costs the same to restore almost any car other than the availability of parts which can affect cost. That aspect of the hobby will continue (I still have a long waiting list) but it will slow down as it affects those who are not independently wealthy.
...and restoration costs are going up as well....as paint supplies see price increases and everything else under the sun....a quality paint job is only going to go up unfortunately.
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