I have to say that I am fairly impressed at the $33,500 selling price of a 41K mile 1991 All-Trac on Bring A Trailer the other day. I recently purchased a 1992 JDM GT-Four with 42K miles for $23,000 (tax, tags, and registration included), and I found myself comparing and contrasting the two, and thinking about the factors that came into play.
The selling price certainly places it in the upper tiers of Celicas that have been purveyed on BAT--all of the others above $30,000 have been either, well, a SUPRA (that sold twice), or 1970s-era Celicas of exquisite build or quality or sentimental attraction (check the story on the 77 that sold for $62K: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1976-toyota-celica-4/ ).
Perhaps one factor is good marketing--the ST185 can do a fair job of selling itself because of its looks (tastes vary) and rarity, and it was well portrayed in the professional-looking photographs in the BAT listing. Or, as someone said (here or elsewhere), BAT tends to attract millionaires fleshing out their collections. Maybe FOMO, deep wallets, and auction fever played their parts.
But the condition did seem excellent--the leather interior is amazing for a vehicle of this age. And though condition trumps mileage, 41K miles is low. And a new coat of paint is a nice touch. However, the new owner is still going to have some shakedown costs--the deep services were done in 2014 and 2016, and it can be hard to know whether to trust things as they are. I know that by the time I'm done with all of the refurbishments on mine, I'll be close to $33K into it--but I'll have added some quality parts and the previous owner had already added about $5000 in reasonably tasteful adds.
It's worth reflecting that a rust-free southwest 1990 All-Trac with 140K miles and a fresh timing belt went for $5900 in 2016. Since then, it seems that 5th Gen All-Tracs/GT-Fours went for around $10,000--A 1990 All-Trac with twice the mileage and a leather interior in pretty decent shape went for $9700 in 2019. Later that year, a JDM 1994 ST205 with 70K miles and some mods went for $16,150. And a tastefully molested previously Canadian 1994 GT-Four with 120K miles, some repairs from a deer strike, and a little oil seepage went for $11,250 in 2020.
And now we have this. Why? I can't say, exactly, but it does serve as a reminder that all kinda things can happen, and each car and each sale can play out differently. Is depreciation done, and provided the upkeep is done, values will continue to rise? Or, alternately, are we in a bubble caused by stimulus cash, and people of a certain age giving free rein to nostalgia? Growing awareness might be a factor as well--of both the quality of these and their rarity. They've been overlooked long enough. I was at boy scouts with my son last night and the dads were standing about shooting the shit about what we've been up to. I mentioned I bought a JDM car, and one of the eleven year old boys who was hanging around said "A Mark IV Supra?" I said "No, a Celica GT-Four." And he knew what I was talking about. Video games.
Maybe car values are like this: “Fugayzi, fugazi. It’s a whazy. It’s a woozie. It’s fairy dust. It doesn’t exist. It’s never landed. It is no matter. It’s not on the elemental chart. It’s not f—–g real.”
What do you think?
The selling price certainly places it in the upper tiers of Celicas that have been purveyed on BAT--all of the others above $30,000 have been either, well, a SUPRA (that sold twice), or 1970s-era Celicas of exquisite build or quality or sentimental attraction (check the story on the 77 that sold for $62K: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1976-toyota-celica-4/ ).
Perhaps one factor is good marketing--the ST185 can do a fair job of selling itself because of its looks (tastes vary) and rarity, and it was well portrayed in the professional-looking photographs in the BAT listing. Or, as someone said (here or elsewhere), BAT tends to attract millionaires fleshing out their collections. Maybe FOMO, deep wallets, and auction fever played their parts.
But the condition did seem excellent--the leather interior is amazing for a vehicle of this age. And though condition trumps mileage, 41K miles is low. And a new coat of paint is a nice touch. However, the new owner is still going to have some shakedown costs--the deep services were done in 2014 and 2016, and it can be hard to know whether to trust things as they are. I know that by the time I'm done with all of the refurbishments on mine, I'll be close to $33K into it--but I'll have added some quality parts and the previous owner had already added about $5000 in reasonably tasteful adds.
It's worth reflecting that a rust-free southwest 1990 All-Trac with 140K miles and a fresh timing belt went for $5900 in 2016. Since then, it seems that 5th Gen All-Tracs/GT-Fours went for around $10,000--A 1990 All-Trac with twice the mileage and a leather interior in pretty decent shape went for $9700 in 2019. Later that year, a JDM 1994 ST205 with 70K miles and some mods went for $16,150. And a tastefully molested previously Canadian 1994 GT-Four with 120K miles, some repairs from a deer strike, and a little oil seepage went for $11,250 in 2020.
And now we have this. Why? I can't say, exactly, but it does serve as a reminder that all kinda things can happen, and each car and each sale can play out differently. Is depreciation done, and provided the upkeep is done, values will continue to rise? Or, alternately, are we in a bubble caused by stimulus cash, and people of a certain age giving free rein to nostalgia? Growing awareness might be a factor as well--of both the quality of these and their rarity. They've been overlooked long enough. I was at boy scouts with my son last night and the dads were standing about shooting the shit about what we've been up to. I mentioned I bought a JDM car, and one of the eleven year old boys who was hanging around said "A Mark IV Supra?" I said "No, a Celica GT-Four." And he knew what I was talking about. Video games.
Maybe car values are like this: “Fugayzi, fugazi. It’s a whazy. It’s a woozie. It’s fairy dust. It doesn’t exist. It’s never landed. It is no matter. It’s not on the elemental chart. It’s not f—–g real.”
What do you think?