5 Things That May Decrease The Value Of Your Classic Car

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Classic cars can be worth quite a bit as the years go on, especially if you’re keeping them properly restored. However, you want to make sure you don’t go overboard and change too much about the car or you run the risk of its value dropping. Not everybody fixes up an old car with the intention of selling it, so if that sounds like it’s describing you there’s not a lot to worry about as you make the changes you want.

There’s a big difference between restoring a car to something that becomes a daily driver versus something that gets shown off at car shows. Getting something road ready could require swapping out components like the brakes, transmission, brakes, and other things of that nature. While that could be necessary to get it running again, it can cause the vehicle to lose a lot of its initial charm and sink its value at the same time. That’s not guaranteed to be the case, but there are many things you’ll want to leave alone if you want a classic car to retain its value.

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It should go without saying that if an iconic muscle car engine is what’s special, swapping it out for something else would drive the cost down significantly. The Oldsmobile 88 is one of the first muscle cars ever made, and a lot of what makes it so well remembered is the powerful V8 engine under the hood. While the exterior of the car could still look the same, much of the value would be lost by a change like this. 

For classic cars, you want to keep things as close as they were to the original parts as swapping parts like the engine, transmission, and parts of that nature out could result in a Ship of Theseus type of situation where you still have the car but with none of the original parts that made it special in the first place. Don’t go and make drastic changes like this unless you don’t care about the car’s value.

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Some cars are known best for their look, and a good example of this is the red and white Gran Torino featured in the «Starsky & Hutch» TV series. Now, imagine if somebody took that car and gave it a completely paint job. Doing so would result in people perceiving it as a totally different car, and as a result we’d see the value drop significantly. That might be an extreme case, but for something that’s recognizable just from the paint job, it’s tough to imagine it holding the same value if it was painted over.

It’s not the end of the world if you simply don’t like the color and have no intentions of selling your project classic car, however. You’ll just need to understand painting over a classic car is likely to turn heads if you ever show up at a car show, and not in a good way.

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Getting your hands on the rare car might be the hard part, but keeping it in good condition is a big part of keeping its value. If it’s dented or filled with scratches, there’s a good chance the value would go down. Rust is another big factor that can come into the play, so the big thing here is keeping the car out of the elements and avoid beating it up too much.

Ways you can maximize the value of the vehicle is by washing it regularly and keeping it indoors to prevent rust from building up. Restoration projects can often save a car, but that requires sinking a lot of money into it that might not be worthwhile for everybody. You’ll also want to make sure you keep as much of the original car as possible while restoring it or else you’ll lose value, as we previously mentioned. That’s not always going to be the case if something’s damaged beyond repair, however. 

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Authenticity is a big part of making sure your car has value because if it doesn’t come as advertised, you’ve wasted quite a bit of cash. There are a few paths you can go down to ensure this doesn’t happen to you. The easiest way would be to find the vehicle identification number (VIN). If you can’t locate that, a date code, RPO code, or casting number are all viable alternatives.

If you’re planning on going into a car show or selling your classic car, you’ll typically need a way to verify it is what you say it is, so this in an important part of the process that can’t be skipped. The same goes for buying classic cars as it does selling them as you don’t want to be on the other end of a scam. If you’re buying a car worth thousands of dollars, check for verification before exchanging the money just to be safe.

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Having what you deem to be a rare car is one thing, but the market trends are another. Even if you have something that had a limited run, it might not be worth anything. The reasons your car might not have the value you think it has come down to a number of factors. Some model years are more sought after than others, an example of this is the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air being worth more than others.

This is another example of why it’s important to know what the car is before you buy it because the same car model could be worth far less due to the way the market is. This shows the age of the car doesn’t automatically make it worth more. On the other hand, picking up a limited-run car model and sitting on it for years to come won’t mean anything if the market doesn’t ever trend in that direction. Doing that is a gamble, so if you’re somebody looking to make some cash, it’s best to do the market research beforehand.