A brief look at the market situation
It is now six years since we wrote a story entitled “Buy pre-war classics!”, which you can read here. And no, the market has not recovered since then, quite the contrary. And why do we still recommend that people buy pre-war cars now? Quite simply because wonderful cultural assets are on the market – probably more cheaply than ever before. For investors and speculators, the cars are not an issue, but for enthusiasts they are.
If you look at the list of offers at RM Sotheby’s auction in Monterey in mid-August, the 10 Mercedes-Benz 500 and 540 K that come under the hammer naturally stand out first (see also: here). Among them is the 540 K that once belonged to the King of Afghanistan – and with a lower estimate of $9 million, it is of course no bargain. But there is also a 500 K Cabriolet, which is valued at “only” 600’000 to 800’000 dollars – it has been decades since such a supercharged Benz was on the market for less than a million.
But two other cars caught our eye, let’s take first a wonderful Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Drophead Coupé with a body by Freestone & Webb from 1934. As a Continental, this Rolls-Royce has the shortened wheelbase of 3.66 metres, of course the well-known 7.7-litre in-line six-cylinder with about 120 hp – and a body that only exists once in this form. This Rolls-Royce is a beautiful car in good condition – and with an estimated price of 175’000 to 225’000 dollars it seems to us a very good offer.
Even more affordable is a 1920 Packard 3-35 Twin Six, which is listed at $75’000 to $125’000. As the name makes clear, it is a twelve-cylinder engine with a capacity of 6.8 litres and about 90 hp. The car shown here is a Transformable Town Car with a semi-open body by Fleetwood, the coachbuilder later taken over by Cadillac. The car has a wonderful history, was probably exhibited at the New York Salon, then came to Philadelphia where it understandably caused quite a stir. Packard built over 30,000 of this first series of the Twin Six between 1916 and 1923, they are considered very reliable.
The expensive maintenance is considered one of the reasons why pre-war classics find fewer and fewer enthusiasts. But this does not have to be the case with both vehicles shown here, as already mentioned, there were plenty of them, so there is still a market for spare parts. Besides, such cars are rarely driven, and then not at racing speed, so they don’t break down all the time. Moreover, they are mechanically quite simple – and reliable. Which is only partly true of all the Ferraris, Maseratis and Porsches whose prices continue to go through the roof.
No, you can’t make big money with such cars, you have to see them as a long-term project, more like: Family members. And even if they have to stand coyly in a corner in beauty contests – the inclined observer will notice many more beautiful details than on a Porsche 356 B, for example, which is offered in Monterey for about the same money as the twelve-cylinder Packard. Besides, cars like the Phantom II and the Twin Six usually have a much more exciting story.
We have more nice stories in our archive.
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