Re:Economy - I was told my Classic Car would sell for $10K MORE in Japan! Inflation Here or There?

[symbolman]

I'm in the process of selling my second wife, a '68 Chevy Impala I've had for years. Not in the worst of shape, very restorable, though rusty in spots. So my wife throws it up there on Craig's List, and within minutes a guy calls from California (I'm in Hawaii for Christ's sakes!), and demands that he buy it, virtually sight unseen..

Said there's a huge market for restored oldies like mine, but here's the kicker, he let on that if I shipped it to Japan, they'd pay what I'm asking, PLUS another Ten Thousand Bucks! Not only that, he said that some older cars, like a Chevy SS Supersport, 64 or so, once restored were selling for OVER 60 THOUSAND DOLLARS!

So my question is, is this because Bush and Co have so devalued the dollar, that the Japanese can spend like drunken Sailors, or am I lucky enough to have fallen into a piece of the market that just keeps appreciating worldwide?

I can see them wanting "Yank Tanks" as we called them in England, when I was stationed there, but who's got that kind of money?

It just sounds nuts, but the guy said, like the Levi Craze, the Japanese crave all the Classic stuff from America.

Weep with me, I REALLY do not want to sell my baby, I make SO MANY Friends with that car, folks stop me just to talk about it, "Oh yeah man, THAT's when they MADE CARS!", etc. I feel like a Rock Star when I go out for a cruise, everyone's staring :)

Can't afford the carbon credits though :)

[Donnachaidh]

1. This has been going on for at least a decade

Had neighbors in LA who would offer muscle car owners 10K for their cars (as an example), and then re-sell them for upwards of 30K (the norm was 40K) to buyers in Japan. They were making bucketloads of money with this.

[symbolman]

3. So America IS Number One then, at least in some regards :)

Or do they just purchase them with their "Mad Money" so they can sit around in their garage and Laugh at the american engineering? :)

A friend of mine in the 80's (we both majored in Art in College together), said that we would just have to admit that the Japanese had better ARTISTS than we did, when it came to the Japanese car explosion in our country. I had to agree, they sure knew now to make them Cheap, and waaay better on fuel consumption..

But back then, they'd have had to pry my Challanger from my cold, dead fingers :)

Thanks for the info and Tip.. maybe I'm in the wrong business, esp since I was Born In Japan.. might be time to visit the country of my birth!

And yes, the guy was calling from LA..

[Donnachaidh]

10. the Japanese buyers LOVE musclecars -- that's what I was told

They want the cars for the same reason Americans wanted them -- the power under the hood. I'm not sure they were using them to race ala Fast and Furious, but I do think it was considered a *prestige* item. The only person who really made out in the deal was the middleman, if you think solely in terms of the amounts involved.

Now if you can make the connections to *become* a middle man - go for it.

[kurth]

2. Classic Americana is very popular in Japan

Old Harleys, old Chevys, old Levis, you name it.

So, don't throw away your old stuff.

[symbolman]

5. Well

that DOES sound like the kind of RECYCLING that I LIKE :)

If only they'd pay you that much at the curb for recycling bottles, and plastic, eh?

Damn, it may just be time to make a radical Move to the LEFT, Japan IS to the Left of Hawaii :)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. It's all scarcity and desirability.

Just like everything else.

[dweller]

6. beware, this sounds like a scam

you should do a bit of research on this matter before you do anything more.

i'm on a VW forum, and have seen emails such as this that are bogus.

dp

[symbolman]

8. The guy says he's flying into Oahu next friday

and said he'd offer me only $200 less than my asking price.. all I want is the Long Green in my hand, after that he can do whatever he wants..

My wife said the same thing as you, that there are folks using phony Certified Checks, then cruising off with your vehicle..

We're even going to give any Cash a Good Look.

Thanks for the tip.

[dweller]

9. check your pm, nt

dp

[slampoet]

7. It is the exchange rate. If you are buying in Yen/Euros/Pounds collectables are cheaper from the USA

It has been happening in my sale of Vintage Musical Instruments, Audiophile gear, and Mid Century Modern items.

If an item is mint it can sell for more to a British or Japanese collector.

From their point of view it is cheaper than it was 10 years ago. And it is certainly cheaper than buying the same item in their own countries. The shipping cost while it is rising, is not a dissuading factor for these type of buyers who already are saving in two different ways.

[symbolman]

11. Appreciate the info

and PMs, one and all..

Amazing, might be time to become an Exporter in this day and age, and in a way it IS Recycling :)

Just realized that there's a DUr here who Lives in Japan - maybe he can find a buyer, we'll ship it and give him a percentage of the deal, keep it in the family..

Now if I can only remember his DU moniker..

[Buns_of_Fire]

12. WOW! That would make my '84 Olds Cutlass worth...

oh, about $10,050 dollars..... I'M RICH!:bounce:

(And no extra charge for the duct tape holding it together. :-) )

[symbolman]

16. Hey

SAVE that Duct Tape.. remember when Homeland Security said that Duct Tape and Visquine sheets would save our lives? :)

From what I heard you might be surprised at what your car could bring..

[KittyWampus]

13. Is there a Japanese equivalent of Ebay? Find someone who speaks Japanese and ask them to list

your car.

And have fun investigating what new car you''ll buy. It may help take the sting out of saying goodbye to your old friend.

Think of it this way, she'll find someone who will restore her to her former glory! ;)

[symbolman]

15. Good idea

actually, there's not a new car involved, we're paying the Electric Bill, expensive where I live, people would not belive it.. should make a movie about energy costs here in Hawaii!

But I am glad that someone will restore her to her former glory, no use letting it sit around and rot, been a great car for so long. Drove one like it up the ALCAN to Alaska in 1976 from Chicago, paid $75 for it, and sold it with no title in Fairbanks (during the Pipeline construction days) for $300!

In those days in Fairbanks, it was considered a two bed MOTEL..

Now if I could get the Electric company to restore their bills to their former glory :)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. The yen shot up against the dollar over the past couple of days

(I watch the exchange rate, because most of my clients are in Japan and pay me so many yen per word. A strong yen is good for me.)

[symbolman]

17. So hey

maybe we could work a deal, you find the buyer, I'll ship the car, and then we pay you for every word you spoke to swing the deal?

Then, we can donate a percentage to the DU :)

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

18. Japan is also the reason...

That vintage and art guitars cost so much.

Bruce Kunkel(google) is a good friend of mine and has been since my youth. He is largely responsible for the series of Gibson "Art Guitars". Most, if not all of those guitars sold to extremely rich Japanese collectors at prices that would make your eyes bleed.

Vintage Les Pauls, Strats and Teles have gone to Japan by the container-load, where they mostly just sit in collections, never being played.

[slampoet]

19. The same is happening with all the vintage Synthesizers.

All the American nameplates like Moog and ARP or Hammond organs are going for big bucks and even the japanese made Synths are getting more expensive just by virtue of the exchange.

[symbolman]

23. That's a goddam crying shame

I'm a guitarist as well, and that sounds awful, man, I wondered where all the collectables had gone when I hit NY City the last time - used to be tons of them there..

Thanks for the heads up

[CANDO]

20. My father sold his Harley Davidson to someone in Japan.

Did it on ebay. Shipping company came to his home and packed it into a shipping container. It was an '83 FLH dresser. He got $8900 for it and that was around three years ago.

[Subdivisions]

21. Hmmm...Wonder how much I could get for our

'76 Corvette Stingray T-Top Convertable?

Might be worth looking into.

[symbolman]

22. Then you

Could go biodiesel, leave less of a carbon footprint, etc - but the ladies won't be looking at you the same way :)