How Old Does A “Collector Car” Have to Be?

When I first "officially" got into the collector car hobby in 1972, in New York City, I bought a 1954 Chevy sedan and started going to car shows. One day I took the car to a show at the Brooklyn Museum and they said I could not enter my car because it wasn't old enough. I clearly rememberthe "gatekeeper" pointing to a 1948 Lincoln Continental that had once been owned by radio announcer Arthur Godfrey. "Come back when you have a car like that young man," he said. Of course, I knew I'd never have a car like that, so I was almost ready to give up on the old-car hobby. I'm glad I didn't.

The truth is, a car doesn't have to be 20, or 25 or 50 years old to be collectible. Most trends in collecting begin when a new generation gets into the hobby and starts collecting affordable cars that veteran collectors haven't priced out of the market, yet. So if you want to see your collecting pay off on a buy-low/sell-high basis, just check to see what "newer" models the younger collectors are going for and start putting that type of vehicle away for a rainy day. -- Gunner

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