Increasing car values & the $20k Maverick in Car Craft Mag

I received my Car Craft magazine today, and they have a couple of interesting write ups on the continued increase of prices in the musclecar market. Even the the $20,000 Maverick Grabber got a quick mention, saying "While hardly a prized musclecar, this car went for $20,100 on eBay." The discussion of what is going on in the market is interesting, and I know Wes and a few others have discussed it here. Just thought I would share . . .

 

Read it last night. I think that was more a case of two egos rather than a market value indicator, as they discussed in the eBay section.

 

It's the fault of Ford Motor Company that the Maverick/Comet is "hardly a prized musclecar". It easily could have been. I'm pissed at Ford for that...

 

Ford may think that our cars are " hardly prized musclecars", but as the old saying goes, 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.' I think we ' behold' our cars very much. I was always under the impression that the only reason Ford even made the Grabbers, Sprints and Stallions was for the sole purpose of increasing sales. I agree that they could have done more with the Mavericks and Comets, but I think they still had thier hearts set on the Mustangs to be the proformence cars in thier lineup. Who knows, maybe if the Maverick had been introduced in the mid 60's instead of the late 60's, maybe then Ford might have seen the potential the cars had to be a candidate for muscle car status.

 

1970 was the benchmark of the hp race. 1971 was a very very different year and the end was really in 1972. I think we are lucky to have cars that had late 60's styling. Now we can do anything we want to them. We have the freedom to do anything we want to our cars, alot of other car enthusiasts suffer from purist problems. We dont seem to have that. So it was not in the cards for our cars to be a shelby, boss 302 or of mach 1 status. Maybe status is not a good term for what I am trying to convey. But, to me it just does not matter what initial thoughts our cars had, or what status they have today. I am an original owner, a Maverick from the begininng, I dont give a rats A$$ what anyone thinks of my car. Though I must admit, I do enjoy positive feedback.
Dan

ps I still say the ebay 20 grand maverick is a scam

 

I'd like to be able to say that I "don't give a rat's ass what anyone thinks of my car", but in actuallity, I am sick of the disrespect that Mavericks get. As soon as people hear the word "Maverick", without even seeing the car, they are immediately UNimpressed. They only time they are impressed is when they see one up close that is in pristine condition inside & out with a kick-ass engine. I shouldn't care what other people think, but it does bother me that my car has that stigma and is looked down upon just because it's a "Maverick"...

 

Tim, you see, that is the very reason I bought my first maverick in 74. We are Mavericks, and Comets,,, not the ordinary. The stigma was actually annoying at times to me but I held steadfast. These cars are cool, and the rest of the world is catching up. I have seen pics of you car, it has cool factor!!!! Man, you just have to experience a Roundup, someday I am gonna meet you live and in person..you are a maverick!!!
Dan

 

Hey T.L. for what it's worth I think you have one heck of a nice Maverick.

 

I guess you could say I still feel the same way about the Maverick if not more so today as I did when I had one when I was 18 back in the 80's. I thought the car had a lot of potential, and I didn't ever see what one really could look like fixed up except in my mind's eye. I remember going through car magazines, and never really being able to see much about these cars, but I knew in my mind that they could be one heck of car fixed up "my way". I didn't know at the time about the racing heritage of this cars etc. I just knew the car had nice lines! A lot of people scouffed then, but I didn't care (sounds like you guys). That's what makes this board great, not only the input and support, but being able to see other Mavericks/Comets and seeing the potential that these cars have.
I bet 100:1 that if this board had been around back then, I would have never traded my Maverick, I would still have it today!

T.L., as far as people today having to see a Maverick as you described to appreciate it, I can only tell you my 69.5' has the sunburn blues where the paint is blistered, and the surface rust has shown up, and when I drive it, I have had people stopped me to talk about it, ask me questions about it, and tell me their Maverick story. One day I decided to go pick up pizza, and I took the 69.5' and when I pulled up, some guy working at the store next door met me in the parking lot, when he seen me coming! Would that have happened 10 years ago? No way!!!! Times are a changing!!!

Don't get me wrong, there will always be some critics, and I realize that, but hey if hey have a problem with my car being a Maverick, and not a camaro, or a mustang etc. etc., well all I can say is it's their problem not mine! :bananaman :bananaman

 

LOL T.L.

The Pinto people are saying the same thing about you.......

 

funny i told jeff who wrote that artical about the maverick that went on e-bay for 20k when i was walking back from lunch. about a month or two ago.

he was like no way 20k!

its funny how he looked it up to see for himself and then wrote about it.

 

They can say whatever they want but there's no comparison. The Maverick is so similar to the Mustang, and came with a V-8. Pintos are little econno-boxes with 4-cylinders and they're ugly. They're also way too small. It's like riding around in a sardine can. Pinto's make fine race cars, but "Musclecars" they ain't...

 

I read the article also. The one thing they didn't hit on was the fact that investors have been artifically jacking the market up by using classics and collectibles as an investment vehicle (no pun intended). The auction houses have been seizing on this after they realized that people with money to invest wanted to put their jing in tangible items after the stock market went into the crapper after 9-11. There have been radio commercials about doing this here last year when a large swap meet and car corral was scheduled in the spring.

Obviously, the ripple effect went all the way into the parts market, which we also have felt, and the article's author really didn't get into much, but should have. I know, from a dealer's standpoint, it's gotten much harder for those of us with low bucks to invest as the prices we pay have gone through the roof as of late. Ebay has become almost a necessary evil to help move inventory when direct sales slow or stop. From an owner's standpoint, it's gotten ridiculous. I started marketing emergency vehicle accessories since I got into the restored police car end of things and if you think general car parts have gotten outrageous, try to put together a replica of Adam-12 or your local sheriff's car and see what you'd pay for the car much less what you'd need to make it into an era correct patrol car. Fire truck enthuiasts are going through the same thing. Can I get deals since I'm a legitimate dealer? Hell, no!!

Is there an end to this as the article's author suggests? Personally, I wouldn't count on it anytime soon.

 

I read a few months ago in one of the car magazines (Car Craft, Hot Rod or PHR--can't remember which) that these days, anything old and American is now considered "collectable", not just the Musclecars or performance versions of the base models. That's cool for people like us who own Mavericks & Comets but it sure makes it harder (more expensive) to aquire some of these cars, especially the Musclecars, as they seem to have doubled & trippled in price...

 

i dont know about anyone else, but i do know that i have only had my car a little under two months. and only ONE person has ever had a bad thing to say about it. and that was the guy i wouldnt sell it to. He was mad bout that for some reason. i just told him " Why would i sell it if i have only had it for a month?" but i digress. Since it is my daily driver it gets seen by a lot of people at my work. ( i work at an oil change shop) Almost everyone who recognizes it wants to share their maverick story. and those who dont jsut want o know about it. the most common comment to date is "i like the lines on the body. its jsut cool looking" i do not know why anyone would not like it. or maybe its just that where i work. people appreciate cars. just my 2 cents.