stockhatch

iTrader: (12)

I see what you are saying, but "classic" is just a term used to classify year ranges. To most people, the fact that the car is considered "classic" just means that an already "old" car is now "really old". I guess we will see what happens to the values, but I don't anticipate any significant appreciation.

I compare these cars to the rarest "classic" Mustangs of the 80s. The SVO, GT Turbos, and Capri Turbos. These cars are hard to find, had relatively low build numbers, and a huge following. Even so, they don't bring big numbers because for some reason, they just aren't desirable from a collectors standpoint. I don't even think anyone really knows why. They just aren't.

Look at the Galant VR4. They imported 3000 of them to the US, and they still go for less than 5k unless they are pristine and have 20k dumped into them.

Some cars are worth money and some are not. Thankfully, ours are not. If they were, I wouldn't be able to afford one. Maybe they will eventually become desirable and we can all sell our cars and retire early. I guess we just have to wait and see what happens.

kln552

I'm on my 2nd SC400, a '97. It's value lies in being a beautiful, solid, reliable luxury GT (or cruiser, or whatever - it isn't what I would call a "sports car") that I purchased a few years ago for about what I would have had to pay for a used compact. The point about relative numbers produced and scarcity is right on point - it's supply and demand. And Supras did get a lot of pub, particularly because the turbo was such a beast, and starred in a few movies. And even if the SC had been scarce enough to become "collectible," modding any classic car pretty much screws that up. I don't expect my SC to ever be worth in resale what I paid for it, but in terms of use value - i.e. driving enjoyment, and $$$ per mile driven, it's the best auto investment I ever made - it will probably outlast me unless for some reason I tire of driving it.

megamax

iTrader: (9)

these cars are the "poor mans supras" they won't appeal to anyone other than enthusiuasts. other buys will fork over stupid amounts of coin for audis and the like.

which makes the real car guy more seen. these arent fan boy status cars like the sti and evo was.

but then again the sc was a victim of the u.s. trade agreements,and smog codes back then. iam sure if there were usdm soarers then this car would be up there with the supra(a grudge match like evo vs. sti). but they came n/a and slow. not attracting the young important bracket like the z32,fd rx7,and the sled gto did.

SpecialK47

Poor man's supra, even though they sold for more back when new.

n/a =/= slow. These are quick cars stock for what they are.

leonsup

iTrader: (2)

Good point......the 1996 Supra Turbo's were only available with an automatic and were 50k. When the '97's came out , you could once again get the 6 speed manual and the price was dropped 10 grand to 39,900.

uras300

iTrader: (2)

Oh, no. Not this again. Can of warms..

MIGS

iTrader: (15)

i freaking hate when people say that. it's so false when you get int the technical aspects of things.

Considering the 92' SC's were released in '91, two years before the '93 TT Supra(which was based on the SC300 platform) and Toyota just improved on the platform with a [Supped] up version of the SC's 2J motor/tranny and other mechanical parts to make it more 'sporty' rather than luxurious.


but anyway, yeah SC's will never be "collectibles" for various reasons stated. it's purely an enthusiasts car.

1JZPWRD

iTrader: (59)

Man, this is getting deep. I didnt think I would get so many variations on this car. I think to me this will always be a great car, even after the uncountly dollars spent and hours turning a wrench on it.

All I wanted was some opinons on the 92 SC's and to see if these cars are finally going up in the prices, from such drastic downfall through the years. There have been some really good points, I wanted this thread to stay on track and not be comparing the SC to the Supra in terms of performance. Just the actual turnaround of the value of the SC as they get older, like the big brother Supra.


Keep the comments and thoughts coming...

MooJohn

I can't wait till I can put an antique tag on my 92. In GA, that's 5 more years

I don't call these cars "poor man's" anything, because if you want to go fast you'll still spend some coin to do it. For these cars to have the following of the Supra, all they needed would be to have a turbo powertrain from the factory. Had the 1JZ come in any of the US cars they'd command top dollar today.

I have bought a car brand new for $30k and put another $10k under the hood. It's not something I want to do again but it's not like I had to settle for the SC. I got a good deal on it and bought without ever having even ridden in one. If I had known how good they were I would have bought one years ago!

FWIW, I owned a Galant VR4 (746/2000) and an 89 Mirage turbo at the same time -- the two rarest Mitsus ever made. I wish I could have kept them but I was between jobs too long and couldn't keep up with the maintenance they required.

Specaiist

iTrader: (3)

This has been a great read so far... However, the facts are that our SC's WILL go up in value.... Reason being that we, current sc owners, are creating our own market for them. Collectible cars are generational... For example, the fox body 5.0 mustang has the following of people who wanted one back in those days but couldn't get one for one reason or another... So not only does "dad" want one, but his son who sits and watches him work on it will want one later on in life... The same is true for our cars... Our cars have all The trappings of a great collectible... Soon enough our peers and the next generation will want one with all the luxury and all the speed but we, the current owners, will have them in our garages locked down and we won't dare sell them until we get a dollar amount that is more than what we've put in... And POW! The demand will be greater than the supply.....

So to all my fellow SC owners, have no fear, our cars will stand the test of time....

chashiubow

iTrader: (9)

I doubt if I can get the NADA retail pricing for my '92 SC4 in Northern CA...

LunaVyohr

Your logic is incredibly flawed, and you really don't understand how car depreciation works. Nor do you understand supply and demand. Why would anyone pay marked up, inflated prices that we try to create when they could just as easily go on Craigslist and get one for much, much cheaper?

The only people that want an SC these days are enthusiasts who actually know, and care about the car and its history. Or, there's the people that see a beat up SC advertised for $4000 or less, and buy it thinking it's a 'poor man's Supra', or whatever, which only serves to drive the value of the SC even further downward. Besides that, nobody wants a 20 year old, outdated, luxury car that's just going to eat away their money as they try to keep it running.

Then there's the issue of production numbers. Your logic MIGHT work if the SC had much lower production numbers, but as it stands, there's plenty of SCs out there. I admit that the number of CLEAN SCs is becoming fewer and farther between, but most people simply don't care about having a clean SC anymore.

SpecialK47

Then there is the average buyer looking for a cheaper used car, who will see Lexus, think luxury and reliability, will do a check on a book prices, see what the book says for it, and will pay a little under book.

eliteskill

iTrader: (8)

Our cars value decreased because we all choosed to sell it for CHEAP! If everyone kept their prices at a good level, we wouldnt be where the cars are selling for now.

Look at the AE86 I wouldnt pay over $500 for one.. but there still around 4k. If i wanted to badly enuff I would buy one @ 4k. Civic EG and EKs are the same as well. A clean one stock will be still around 4-5k. Why are our stock SCs selling at 2-3k?

Everyone kept undercutting each other or needed money badly and started to sell it for lower and lower and lower in this hurt economy. Stop selling our cars for 2k.. thats why they are known for being cheap cars, but they are EXPENSIVE to mod. When the kid that thought he bought a DEAL! 2k SC! started to figure out it took another 10k to make it RESTORED, FAST or look like SEX. He turned it around and sold it for 1k at a lost because he needed money FAST because he knew he picked up the wrong car and wanted something cheap to mod.

3-4 years ago stock SCs were all around 6-9k.

I sold my SC last month for $20k.. I stuck with my pricing.. just saying....

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

who really cares.... never understood why people would buy a car, spend thousands modifying it with hopes and dreams of making some kind of return... those guys need to buy stocks, not an sc if they want to have any chance at a gain.