2 minute read
Hagerty. “Tracking Big Buck Cars. ” John Mayhead. July 2022.
TOP SPECIMENS DEMAND TOP DOLLAR
When the market was overheating in certain segments, we saw a number of lower-quality examples flooding in from sellers hoping to capitalise on a red-hot market. In this more rational market, these vehicles are some of the first to stop receiving bids. And it makes sense. Inflation is hitting us all in the wallet while uncertainty in the stock market is hitting us all in the investment portfolio. Although classic cars, like many tangible assets, can be a hedge against such bad news, they are also, like other discretionary purchases, subject to pressures on consumers of average means.
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Inflation and rising interest rates
are removing some of the more price conscious buyers from the market who typically target relatively attainable vehicles and the lower-quality examples. But the buyers that remain are less price sensitive and are more concerned about the best example of a car – even if it is a pricing tier down. In other words, provenance matters. Good news for us! 1,23 11 years old and only has 11,000kms. Further, 70% of Fund cars have less than 10,000kms and 50% have less than 5,000kms on their odometer (while still having an average age of seven). And we preserve this provenance by ensuring vehicles get scheduled for their regular maintenance and get enough exercise to stay healthy (without running up the odometer). We, like many experts, believe the best of the best will stay valuable. And we know that if it’s a great car, it’s almost certainly going to sell. 1,23
Meaningful cars will always have a place in the pantheon — it just might take a little more time and effort to place the right car with the right buyer. But, there’s some promise on that end too, read on about how the universe of "right" buyers is expanding for the Fund's vehicles.
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WE ARE LIVING IN AN ANALOGUE WORLD
We here at CTi are firm believers in this. It is why we conduct thorough due diligence into the car’s physical, mechanical and provenance condition before we bring it into the Fund. This includes vetting previous ownership to ensure we are buying from owners that kept the service books current and who treated the car as a collectible from the onset (e.g we bought from collectors not speculators). These concerted efforts are why we end up with best specimens of each vehicle we bring into the Fund, and why the average car in the Fund’s fleet is Top-dollar and top-quality cars go hand in hand, but the most significant group of rising stars are the modern classic supercars. Analogue supercars (from the 1980s, 1990s, early 2000s, especially limited-edition to later Ferraris) are seeing lots of action. They have emerged as favourites at online auctions, but also perform well at in-person auctions. And they make up the fastest moving collectible car segment: modern sports cars. In August’s Monterey auctions (home to the big dollar auctions), the modern analogue sports cars sold except-
