Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon prices are out of control, but you'd be a fool to buy a used one for nearly $100,000 | Opinion

Would you pay almost $100,000 for a Holden Commodore?

Joni Mitchell was right; You don't know what you have until it's gone.

It's been a big year for big-money Australian-made cars - a pair of HSV GTSR W1 Maloos sold for $2.2 million - but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Lasting Auto Trader Recently, I was amazed at the stunning prices at which the latest batches of locally produced cars are being sold.

All prices for used cars have risen during this period of supply restrictions caused by the pandemic, but the prices of Australian-made Holden and Ford models are worth looking into. But to be clear, there is a big difference between asking the price and the figure at which the car will be sold, so please do not look at this as a price guide for Holdens and Fords.

Of course, in the later years of the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon, I knew that people were buying these cars with the intention of using them as an investment opportunity - keeping mileage low and hoping to cash in on people's nostalgia and lack thereof. new production.

As any art collector will tell you, the works of deceased artists are more valuable because the art can no longer be created. And the same seems to apply to cars. Holden's death and the Falcon's demise seem to have led to a skyrocketing market for used models.

Looking at Auto TraderI was amazed at the asking price for the last of the Australian made Holdens. Want VF Series II SS-V Redline? I hope you saved your money. At the time of writing, there were 290 SS-Vs on sale, with 14 VF SS-V Redline advertised for over $80,000, with the highest price being $99,990.

This is an impressive valuation level in just five years compared to the original asking price of $58,690 before travel expenses.

Interested in HSV? Hold on to your wallets because you'll need over $200k to get a sample of the final low mileage GTSR. While the W1s are making huge money at auctions due to the extra performance and limited numbers, the GTSR is still in high demand.

An example with low mileage, just 47 km on the odometer, costs $299,999, but even with more than 50,000 km you will need $239,000. By comparison, the new BMW M5 Competition – a similarly sized sports sedan – starts at $246,900 (plus travel expenses).

It's not just about Holden. Auto Trader advertised the 2014 FPV GT F 351 for $179,888. That's enough to buy you almost two and a half Falcons when it was new (starting at $77,990K).

The FPV GT-P also jumped in price, with six owners attempting to sell their units for more than their original price ($75,990 in 2008). The upper limit is the 89,500 GT-P asking $13,510, which is $13 more for a XNUMX year old car.

Even the latest Ford Falcon XR8 is selling for close to its original price, in the low $60k range on Autotrader.

What does all of this mean? Well, Australia's love for locally made muscle cars remains strong even years after they've gone.

The Holden's price, in particular, speaks to the strength of the brand with its locally developed Commodore, and points out why the nameplate change to an imported model was doomed from the start.

Ultimately, these prices seem unsustainable in the long run, given the sheer number of examples available with relatively low mileage.

Exclusivity is the key to sustainable valuation, so thinking you can buy an SS-V Redline for $80K in 2021 and it will cost $100K or more in 2031 is, at best, a high-value investment. risk.

Maybe if more people were willing to pay a higher price for Australian made cars when they were new we would still have a car industry?