2022 Aussie Family Car Market Review

By: Cliff Chambers

Date: 23.11.2022

What's been happening to the market for the cars we grew up in? Uncle Cliff reveals all

Sometime in the recent past someone was heard to say; "I don’t need to know how much my car is worth, I’m never going to sell it."

Loyalty is admirable, but all of our good intentions go up in smoke (literally) in the seconds after a circuit shorts or when some nong ploughs into the back of your classic.

When putting a value on specific models, Unique Cars avoids being influenced by the extremities of the market, especially a market that remains so volatile.

The forces that drive meat and grocery prices higher while bringing real estate values down also influence the cost of our special interest motor vehicles. Today they can even affect the decision to buy a car at all, but things are not so bad.

Interest rate rises and inflation will certainly knock the froth off a churning market and limit sales prospects for overpriced vehicles. As a seller though, if you paid sensible money a year or two back and need to now sell, there is every chance that your car will hand back all of that outlay, and maybe a bit more.

If buying into a specialised car now, check a few examples to compare condition against price and try to secure a deal on the best one and on a car you will enjoy.

Nothing feeds the condition known as ‘buyer remorse’ more relentlessly than needing to house and maintain an asset you can’t sell while wishing you never had bought it.

Then we need to consider the future.

Of the cars still available and affordable, which ones are most likely to remain viable as the second half of this bewildering Century looms? That, in specific terms, is hard to answer.

To survive 20-50 years into the future, a car will need an ongoing supply of consumable parts plus, probably, a full suite of electronic gizmos – sensors, switches and spark generators. The older a vehicle is, the fewer items are needed to keep it running, but start accumulating them now. Those online parts providers or the old geezers at swap meets with trays full of weird parts won’t be there forever.

When buying a car to keep, look past your immediate needs and capabilities to the you of 2050. Will those ancient knees still bend far enough for you to slip aboard that low-slung Monaro or Charger? And how compatible will ancient drum brakes be with a world full of electric vehicles that accelerate and stop instantaneously?

If petrol prices are a concern now, then rest assured there is worse to come, and finding fuel for your weekend cruise could be difficult. The V8 Holden or Falcon that sounds so fine today could by mid-Century be punching big holes in the household budget, so perhaps a six-cylinder Torana, four-pot Escort RS2000 or even a locally built Mini could be preferable.

Finally, look for a car you genuinely like and which fits the family dynamic. Even though the one you choose might not grow immensely in value that won’t matter when out for a Sunday drive and you find it surrounded by admiring oldsters saying, "Haven’t seen one of those in a long time."

Cliff Chambers
August 2022

From Unique Cars #469 Aug/Sep 2022

Unique Cars magazine Value Guides

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