It Sure Looks Like the Collector Car Boom Has Subsided

If you’re in the business of selling classic cars, the market has been in your favor recently. Just over a year ago, classic car publication Magneto looked back at the state of the industry in 2023, observing that “the classic and collector car market continued to progress” that year. But according to recently-released data from Hagerty, that boom appears to be over, with a potentially bumpier ride ahead.

As Hagerty’s Adam Wilcox shared in an analysis of the company’s Market Rating, the collector car market isn’t what Hagerty considers “flat,” but it’s also at the lowest level it’s been in several years; specifically, it’s at its lowest mark since November of 2020. At its highest, in the summer of 2022, the Hagerty Market Rating reached 78.22; now, it’s down to 60.39. The market isn’t considered flat until it approaches 50, but it’s currently closer to that than its peak.

Hagerty’s data indicates that 38.9% of cars being sold are doing so for more than their insured value. This is also lower than its peak two and a half years ago. Wilcox also notes that the median sale price of cars sold at auction has been declining for the last 23 months.

Collector car expert Rick Carey cited one example to illustrate shifts in the market. At this year’s Amelia Auction, a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione sold for $9,465,000. Impressive, right? Except that the last time it went to auction in 2017, it sold for nearly $18 million.

“This is a lovely car with a significant racing history, impeccable provenance and no stories,” Carey told Hagerty. “It’s worth top dollar, but in 2025, ‘top dollar’ apparently means 60% of what it meant in 2017.”

The aftermath of this year’s Amelia Auction showcases some of the challenges currently facing the classic and collector car industry. In an article for Magneto, Nathan Chadwick wrote “[t]he year got off to a great start in the U.S. at Scottsdale, but since then some of the positivity has started to drain away.” Chadwick went on to note that plenty of sales took place, but some of the estimates offered before the auction were not met. It’ll be something to keep an eye on as 2025 continues, for buyers and sellers alike.