As far as exotic cars go, 2015 was a good year. The auction season turned out some impressive sales and revealed a trend in the collector auto marketplace – exotic car values are rising. In fact, several of the top auction houses reported record years with such stellar sales as a 1956 Ferrari 290 MM Spider going for a breathtaking $28 million at RM Sotheby’s.
Ferrari made their list of highest sales for the year, actually dominating it with a 1964 250 LM going for $17 million as well as others. Aston Martin did show up though with a 1962 DB4 GT Zagato Coupe fetching $14 million. McLaren’s 1998 F1 LM came in just behind Aston Martin at $13.7.
According to Hagerty, classic and exotic car auctions in North America had a record year, up an incredible 11 percent from last year, totaling $1.45 billion. What makes this so extraordinary is that the sales volume actually dropped 9 percent, but the average car prices shot up 21 percent – some even higher.
For instance, Ferrari Testarossas shot up 98 percent while Aston Martin DB9s from 2004 through 2009 went up 141 percent. However, Porsche impressed us all with their classic 1974 through 1977 Porsche 911s which saw an increase of 154 percent.
It seems that the more “old school” classics took a hit in value decline. The biggest hits include the 1950s Hudson Commodore which dropped 36 percent and BMWs from the early 1970s went down 33 percent. Studebaker Golden Hawks from the late 1950s also declined by 30 percent.
The trend seems to be the newer, sportier cars, the exotics and cars with a little sass. This is attributed to a shift in the buyer population who fell in love with these cars when they were young and are only now at a point where they can actually purchase and enjoy them.
A great classic or exotic can be a very good investment. When you decide to catch the wave, you’ll want to make sure that you have the best financing available. At Woodside Credit we specialize in classics, exotics, and collector cars – it’s all we do. Visit our site and fill out a Quick Quote. Go ahead and take the plunge.