Older Hudsons and Terraplanes holding value.

[Deleted User]

Just an observation that I made recently.



The last year or so has caused some fairly traumatic changes in my life. Some health problems with my elderly inlaws, I saw a need to help my grown children with some of their financial woes in this tough economy, and my wife and I seeing a need to relocate to a home that we saw as a bit more friendly toward our older lifestyle.

All of this had me reluctanly putting a couple of my classic cars on the market.

My many years of collecting them had me owning more than I could keep up with.

I decided to put a 37 Ford coupe and the 36 Terraplane coupe up for sale. Both of these cars were in close to the same shape--driver condition, fairly original, needing some overdue TLC with no real mechanical issues. After researching the market as closly as I could, I put the Terraplane up for sale for 16K and the Ford for close to twice that at more than 30K.

The Ford sold in less than a week bringing the asking price, and with two backup offers, I tried to be fair to all and sold to the first offer that I asked for.

I received probably 30 emails and phone calls on the Terraplane, all wanting specific pictures of the car more descriptions, several low-ball offers at not much more than half of asking price. I must admit, I had a hard time keeping up with the requests. No asking price offers. Several folks showed some interest, but with no where the urgency the Ford stirred. A local fellow had me drive it to a so-called Hudson expert for an inspection. This fellow recommended that he offer somewhat less than I was asking (to make some minor fixes for problems that I had revealed myself) which I promply refused.

Long story short, I decided to keep the Terraplane, a car that I love, and is in every way a better built car than the Ford ever was. I found storage for it and will make the upgrades and repairs when time and $$ allows.

I'm not complaining here, just making an observation that is obvious. The old Fords hold their value much better, although the Terraplane is a better car,--better suspension, brakes, running gear, etc.

My only explanation is that the Fords were more popular in the day, causing people to have more memories, which is, of course, a large reason we own these cars.

Any ideas?...slim

oldhudsons

I concur with your analysis. I've gone to various car events over the years & will have on a t-shirt, cap, or whatever with "Terraplane" or "Terraplane 8" & will be asked "who made that" or something similar whereas anyone who knows anything about any car has heard of Fraud, OOPS, meant to type Ford (LOL).

Now, if the person is less than 50, probably never heard of Hudsons either.

Jon B

Yup, I concur, and the perceived difference in value has been to our advantage. Back in '71 when I was looking for a 1930's convertible, the Fords and Chevvies were priced through the roof, because potential buyers had great memories of their daddy's (or granddaddy's) old Ford Tudor, but of course they didn't want a measly old Tudor, they wanted a convertible version!



I looked at a '37 Terraplane for sale, but the only other guy who was seriously interested was a fellow who wanted to cannibalize it to fix up his '37 coupe! No interest at all! So, I got it for a song and have EASILY gotten my $500 worth out of it over the last 38 years. So what, if a '37 Ford convertible brings twice as much when it comes my time to sell? I wasn't in it for the money, I wanted something to drive and have fun with. I got a car that was of equal (probably better!) quality for less money, found that the parts weren't that hard to find (with a good club), and met a lot of swell people in the process.

Richard E.

Pete, I always quote you, "Fords are like belly buttons, everybody has one!" Hang on the '36T Denver Slim, that is a great body style and a really classy car. I would have listed it closer to $20K!

oldhudsons

to pursue this further, where are the Fraud boattails, dual cowl phaetons, etc.? Ain't none because they never built any. Try and buy a restored one of those in the Hudson line and you're looking at a 6 figure price - in other words one shouldn't get the impression all Hudsons are cheap.

I don't really follow prices or auction sales much but don't stepdown Hudson converts bring a lot more than a Fraud or Chevy convert. of the same year?

[Deleted User]

Oh, probably, but I don't have a stepdown vert. I have a Ford convertible which I love. The only cars that don't resale are the ones I bought. Lol.

I guess you're right Richard, I might have well asked 30k. It would have not sold just as fast. Lol...slim

[Deleted User]

I've got my '37 Brougham listed at $15,500. That's what it takes to buy the car, and not a dime less. Thing is, the so-called "price guides" have NO reference; so far as sales go, to gauge most Hudsons and Terraplanes...YOu do not see these go through the major car auctions at all. Seldom are they advertised for sale. When one sells, the buyer and seller tend not to discuss the final price, as any gentleman will refrain from doing. Might have to bump mine up to $20K or more, who knows!



Good for you on standing firm on your price!

[Deleted User]

We have 3 Model A F___'s for sale. So we can have more room for Hudsons.

One tudor, one homemade speedster, one roadster. A friend of ours wife listed his roadster as a "roaster" in their advertisement and it sold. Thanks for listening, Hudsonly, Bob.

Ol racer

FYI

I think the Ford sold easier because everyone around today with purchasing power grew up around Fords & the other more popular cars. Young people back in the mid '50's when Hudson was merging out of Business are now in their 70's ....



Consequently, I find the average person today never heard of a Terraplane, some never heard of Hudson either,aluding to your number of inquiries and requests for pictures. Being an unknown Brand does not make the vehicle less valuable though, on the contrary it makes our Hudson's rarer and more in demand to the right person.



Each Brand of car enthuiaists has their own favorite car primarily because of their parents, relative, neighbor, or friend had that Brand whole growing up.



Hudson (and other Orphan cars) perhaps need to be marketed a little differently than main stream to attract their Brand of enthusiast, either in Old Cars Wkly, EBay, or Club Classified. In hindsight perhaps pricing them more equally so people didnt think something was wrong with the Terraplane advertised near 50% less than the Ford, but the current Economy didnt help either....

Just my opinion.

Hudsonrules

:pSome people try to act as though they arte very knowledgable about old cars. Once I had my '37 Terraplane sedan on the car trailer and stopped at a restaurant for a rest. I coukd watch the car from where I sat. Listened to the man in the booth behind me, telling the woman he was with, "what a nice old Chevy" that is out on the trailer. So I asked the man where this old Chevie was and he pointed to the Terraplane. I told him that it was a '37 Hudson Terraplane, his reply, "never heard of them". About then another gentleman came up and asked if that was my old Terraplane and we had a good talk. I am sure we all have come accross "experts" when it comes to older cars and trucks. Arnie in Nevada

Aaron D. IL

Hudson's and some other old orphan makes of cars have historically not kept up value with big 3 old cars (even though year for year they were better made cars.). Part of the reason many of us are into them. In the '60's and '70s you couldn't give a Hudson away and it was just an old used car from a failed company it was probably thought you couldn't get parts for. People probably just thought of them as loosers. Plenty of the veteran guys in the club have told me stories of picking up cars for $50 in the junkyard that were road ready cheap transportation. That is no longer really the case. The sheer number of Big 3 production and the fact that they are basically still nameplates in use in this generation assures them a following if at least not recognition today.

Denverslim you also might consider that part of your experience is due to "percieved value". Weird as it might sound, at another price point it might've gotten more potential buyers and that's not necesarily the lowest price. How it's marketed might play into it too. The economy is bad sure, and most hobbyists are maybe less likely to take a chance on an orphan make but they also really don't know what they should pay for one. I've even read in one priceguide article the author stated "Hudson people are not like other car hobbyists, they're free spirits, many are fiercely marque loyal and only really care about Hudson's." In the end though I say it's really your gain and their loss. Just like if you never tasted a real Chicago-style pizza you have no idea what you're missin. heheheh

[Deleted User]

Slim: Glad to hear that your old car investments were useable to aid those for whom you care. The value of a car or anything is in the eyes of the beholder. I know that there are many who will argure from sunrise to sunset about what automobile makes existed or what they should be valued at... in the end the exchanges are what the giver and taker will agree to.

Last evening I had the best conversations while sitting in front of my 53 Wasp at a church sponsored cruise in. One of the best was with a lady whose age was not discussed but guessed to be 75. She and her husband parked thier restored 72 Chevy PU next to my car. The ladies husband came over and stuck out his hand introducing himself and his wife. He said that his wife was anxious to talk to me about THE HUDSON. Seems she has had a secret love of Stepdowns since her teens and to coin her words... tickled to death to see one!

She sat in the drivers seat and exclaimed it was the first time she had ever been allowed to sit in a Hudson. We chatted on for over 30 minutes... She and her husband and now considering the acquistion of a Hudson as thier next project.

Last nite I could have sold that Hudson for lots more than it would sell to another Hudson owner. But then again not many of us hold the type of torch this lady has held for Hudson stepdowns.

Aaron D. IL

Heart_Of_Texas wrote:

Last nite I could have sold that Hudson for lots more than it would sell to another Hudson owner. But then again not many of us hold the type of torch this lady has held for Hudson stepdowns.

Good point Ken, I don't think anyone who's been into Hudson's a long time would be willing to pay much for one either with the exception of certain models.

[Deleted User]

I greatly appreciate your opinion, fellows. I am taking notes.

If my reluctance to drop the price and dump the car prevented it from being painted purple with flames, cut up and powered with a 350, then I'm happy.:D

I am planning on making the list of to-do things smaller and maybe trying again (or maybe not) in the future. Who knows--maybe Hudson buyers are more conservative and discretionary, eh?

BTW, hang in there Patrick...slim

[Deleted User]

My two cents- Many people who like Hudsons and want to buy Hudsons are in the HET club.... and as mentioned earlier, this older group are used to buying these cars for nothing. I don't think many are willing to step up (no pun intended) to price increases. I think stepdowns have done well considering the economy and as we all know, done especially well since the movie "Cars" came out. Same happened to popularity of chopped Mercs after "Rebel without a cause".

I also think many Hudsons are not restored to the same levels of more mainstream cars.

One of the most important factors is that it is also much less expensive AND easier to restore a big three car. Lot of reproduction parts available and lots of old parts. Case in point, I just spent $94 a yard to get the correct Brown / Gold stripe seat material for my 52 Hornet. In contrast, a yard of correct material for most popular cars is one third that amount.



My last observation is lack of marketing and advertising skills. My family once had a big beautiful Labrador retreiver. He was pure bred, huge and powerful and professional trained as a hunting dog. He sired a litter of pure bred puppies and we just wanted them to go to good homes. I was only in High School and placed an ad in the newspaper for $250 each. We only had one interested party. When they showed up and saw the the quality of the puppies and then saw the Father and mother, they were estatic. They told me that these puppies should go for over $500. I changed the ad and sold every puppy within two weeks for over $500. My lesson was that people will pay for quality and rarity if presented well.

Browniepetersen

As a business I have been doing appraisals on old cars for more than 30 years. For a long time I did most of these for free because people would not pay for them. Over the years I have learned that passion drives the bigest part of what a car sells for. That passion is most often driven by what someone drive as their first car--or often what they would have wanted to drive. This is best represented by what muscle cars are doing today. Those who drove or wanted to drive them in the late 60's and early 70's can now afford them and the prices have shown their interest. I remember back in the late 60's and early 70's the price started to climb on Model A's. A bunch of us old car folks were shocked when a friend sold his 31 Roadster for 10K. Simply put, supply and demand dictate what a car will sell for. We have seen a few Hudson's (i.e. 8 cyl 50 coupe and any stepdown broughm) sell as soon as they were listed. And yet, we have seen a bunch of coupes and sedans that were good buys not sell. What has been said in this thread is true. People buy what they had a passion for as a teenager. Have you noticed that Hudson convertibles are coming out of the barns and farms in greater numbers than I can remember and I am thinking there are now more Hudson Twin H cars that were on the road when I was a teen? Supply and Demand.



Brownie Petersen

Petersen Historical Automobile Appraisals

Aaron D. IL

LOL I think all surviving stepdowns might oneday sport Twin H.

I was having this discussion yesterday with my dad dad about why 1958 Impala's are so expensive... even a lot of project cars are barely below $10K. AACA calls it a "milestone car" whatever that means. It was the first year Impala and those were some of Chevy's best selling years so they're not rare really and the engineering is not that exotic....so why ??? Market has just decided they like that car I guess. Maybe you'd pay for a good example because you might be hard pressed to find all the chrome and trim on it if it were missing, and I do like the looks of the car, but it's not exactly part of the muscle car era that dominates the hobby now. Go figure. With original sales volume though everyone probably has an uncle that had one.