David,
There’s an old saying: “Pull up the ladder, I’m aboard,†that illustrates a certain self-centered perspective relevant to the discussion of market value here.
Those who already own a 311 may wish to see market prices skyrocket to help validate the money they may have spent restoring. They don’t care that such prices could dissuade others from buying into an example of our car.
I would like to be able to continue bringing my friends into 311 ownership as a friendly, welcoming place without a lot of ego, judgment or the need to impress through great expenditure.
These cars exist on their own merit. Prices will continue to rise as they get discovered through all the means we have cited in this thread.
Look at some of the other car clubs and their membership and you can see a continuum. At one end, big-money cars trailered to shows, with snobby investment-grade owners holding the keys.
Somewhere toward the other end of that continuum, we are at a preferable spot. Our cars carry a lot of worth, pretty much all of us would agree, and the worth is not measured, necessarily, by a dollar sign on transactions.
Bob failed to establish that there is a deficit of advocacy among owners of our car, yet has repeatedly called for more of such advocacy. We challenged his premise, multiple times, and when backed into a corner he simply declined to respond.
He since has tried to tidy up the un-met questions we have raised by saying that’s what he intended to do, thanks for playing. oh, look, there’s the door. I find that a bit specious, and clearly he has lost control of his thread since our conversation now continues after he has left the room.
You opened your post with a faulty construct similar to Bob’s -- the “If we don’t do this, then this could happen.†We are doing that which you propose. Is it not true that the value-added cost of repairing, restoring and maintaining our cars counts as paying high dollar? When we spend a lot of money here, we are more committed to our cars before they achieve parity in the marketplace than if we could rely on being able to make our money back with a sale.
There’s a Big Picture that Bob, yourself, and all of us are part of. We play an influential role, but it is not the only factor at play in market valuation.
Many of us can cite years of doing just what you suggest, and it has had a measurable impact on market valuation. Other substantial factors are well beyond our control.
Regards
Datsun.David wrote:Bob -
I am with you. Obviously Roadster ownership is a visceral thing that makes us owners act irrationally - Foglights are not and never were worth $1600...- Doesn't mean I don't want them.
Ironically, I think Bob's point is exemplified by the consternation this thread has generated. I don't think Bob is saying anything other than - if we the owners and enthusiasts don't back up the enthusiasm we have for these cars with a willingness to pay high dollar for them, the rest of the market isn't going to pay high dollar for them either, as we, the enthusiasts, represent the bulk of both the supply and demand side of the supply vs demand equation. This obviously creates a bit of a conundrum, because while we would like our cars to appreciate (whether we intend to sell them or not) we don't want them to appreciate because we don't want to have to pay for it.
Bob's timing is interesting because examples of record setting pricing on roadster sales is coinciding with sort of a new "renaissance" for the roadster - swappers and purists living in harmony - and a broader awareness of our cars in general. Scott's Roadster Roadtrip, the Amelia Island Sale, the Re-intro of Datsun as a brand (even if not in North America) are all things which raise the public awareness and create new enthusiasts, and ultimately will likely put further upward pressure on price. Upward pressure is going to come from outside the circle of existing enthusiasts as the new purchasers look at the roadsters relative to the other vehicles in our peer group - everything from Alfas to Z's. (Like how I did that?) We as enthusiasts on the other hand base our perception of value on the last deal scored by one of our buddies on 311's.
The great part of this is that with the upward pressure on price, we get additional interest from vendors and more great jewelry to personalize our roadsters.
And if you don't love both Petite girls and Big girls, each for their own merits - perhaps you are missing out on more that life has to offer...
