Dragon on Hemmings find of the day

[montefrazer]

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014/02/18/hemmings-find-of-the-day-1953-kaiser-dragon/?refer=news

[Logan]

I like it.  Looks good.

[dusty]

Printed out all the comments, quite discouraging the price that people are selling their cars for, I have an all vinyl Dragon and when we went the total route, body off etc. the money in exceeded $20,000 . i have an other one in the yard that will go to the scrap recycling in 2 weeks the only thing i will salvage is the drip rail chrome and the gold plated trim in really good condition and the power steering.

[joefrazer]

Should there be more interest in Kaisers? Absolutely. After all, they were, and are, unique in the marketplace and have always been an affordable alternative to the pricey makes like Packard, Cadillac, and Lincoln. But, I believe the bigger issue is the cost to transport, store and restore them. The last of the three isn't nearly as costly as many old cars but the first two are making it impractical to consider ownership. I was made aware of a much better than average 49K Virginian on the west coast that would have cost within $100 of the asking price of the car to transport home. That meant I'd have had well over $5K in the car and I had not yet bought a part to restore it.

There was the day when a good, driver quality Virginian brought $15-$20K which would have made dragging the west coast car home a worthy venture.

And, we are not alone. I'm sort of partial to 38-41 Chevys and Pontiacs. There's a nice, driver quality 38 Chevy in Montana I'd like to own but the transportation costs keep me from pulling the trigger. The seller says he's heard the same thing from many prospective buyers so the car sits unsold.

I attended a Jeep meet last weekend and the same conversation was had under the main tent. So, we're not alone.

Of course, getting younger folks interested in our cars is important. If prospective buyers find our cars appealing it will help to firm up prices, compliments of supply and demand, and when that happens perhaps it will make transportation costs a bit easier to swallow.

Just my thoughts...

[Roadmaster49]

dusty
I hope you were not considering crushing a Dragon, unless it was a rusted out hulk. 

Jim's comments are spot on, of course.  The collector car landscape has changed from restorations to so-called "survivor" cars. Some claim it is because "it's only original once" and that is true, but the other is cost.  Transport is expensive in this day and age of $3.50 + gas.

I am "on" a 1942 Packard Limousine located in Nova Scotia Canada and transport would be $2500.  Based on this I offered $2000 for what would arguably be a $5000 + car down in the states.  If transport would be $1500, I would offer $3000, so transport has effectively altered what I would offer or pay.

Being in Iowa, it is tough.  There is little inventory here, if I go north, I get even worse rust, if I go south, I get no rust, but it costs me $1 a loaded mile to run a car up here from Texas, adding $750 to $1250.  I would rather buy a nicer car.

Anyway, if you Dragon is restorable, I would be interested in it. 

You can't judge the hobby by how much your car is worth.  ALL cars cost more to restore then their market value.  There might be a few exceptions, but the rarer the car, the more it costs to restore.

Take a CCCA full classic, like a 1934 Duesenberg.  That crowd is very particular and to restore one, you almost need to hand it over to one of the few "authentic" restorers and write a blank check.   Then, restored, they are bringing maybe $700,000. 

The issue with the rarer more interesting cars of the 50's is that there will likely always be a buyer, the price won't be the restoration cost, but there will be demand.