Experts Say These Are The Collector Cars To Buy In 2023, And I Have Some Thoughts

Hagerty Says: Not long ago, ‘serious’ collectors considered the later Countach, with its scoops and cladding, to be a bastardization of an iconic design. But the children of the 1980s and ’90s think otherwise. Although 1970s examples are still worth the most, the final-year Silver Anniversary edition is gaining ground.

My Take: This is an iconic design that has elder millennials like myself in a stranglehold. It looks like a damn space ship, and sounds even better. What’s not to love? Oh right, they’re friggin’ expensive!

Over the last two years or so, the Countach 25th Anniversary has already more than doubled in value from $300-ish grand to nearly $800,000 for a perfect-condition example. If you bought one of these a couple years ago, you’re doing pretty well for yourself. Will it continue to go up in value? Yeah, I think so. This is a slam dunk of a car, if you can afford it.

Hagerty Says: There’s a theory that young enthusiasts only want newer cars. Our data show that’s dead wrong. The best older classics, like the T&C, will endure. But find a good one, as restoring a 70-year-old wood-bodied car can be costly.

My Take: Chrome and wood is a gorgeous look. In my former life as a museum director, we had a pair of these on display, and I could have sat staring at them for hours. A perfectly restored Chrysler woody, particularly the convertible, is a beautiful thing. Unfortunately they are incredibly difficult to restore properly, and aren’t particularly inspiring to drive when they are.

Once a quarter-million dollar proposition, a perfect Town & Country has now deflated down to about $150,000. I don’t personally think they’re heading anywhere but a slow continued downward slope. There might be some Gen Xers who still want these, but for most Millennials and Gen Z, a museum might be the best place for them.

Hagerty Says: Interest from young enthusiasts is a factor for all Bull Market cars but is absolutely the factor favoring this M3. The ‘kids’ are not only shopping for the car but are also consistently willing to pay more for it than older folks. Meanwhile, the aftermarket has come up with fixes for many of the mechanical/durability issues.

My Take: I will say from the beginning here that I just don’t get the E9x-generation of M3. I think it looks frumpy, it’s hideously unreliable, and it doesn’t drive as well as its E46 and E36 forebears. Maybe it’s just looking better because the subsequent generations of M got even more horrible looking? I wouldn’t be caught dead driving one of these. If you love them, why?

Hagerty Says: Japanese Domestic Market cars were once unobtainable for all but the most determined enthusiasts due to the logistics of importing them. In recent years, though, as more millennials look to make their video game dreams reality, a cottage industry has cropped up to bring JDM cars stateside.

My Take: The first time I saw one of these pull in to a Radwood event, it was at a particularly gloomy Radwood Boston in 2019, and it was hauling a Lancer Evolution rally car on a trailer. It was like the clouds parted and the angels started singing specifically for this Evo duo. I’ll never forget that moment, as it’s permanently burned into my prefrontal cortex.

Much like the Countach, the Pajero Evo takes a fairly sleek looking vehicle and totally overdoes it. This truck doesn’t look like anything else on the road, and you’ll instantly know it’s an Evo. If you’ve always wanted one, the best time to buy was ten years ago. The second best time to buy is right now. Recent auctions on Bring a Trailer seem to indicate you can still get one for less than $40,000 if you buy right.

Hagerty Says: Two of the most striking changes in the classic car market in the past decade have been an influx of younger buyers and a shift in preference toward ‘usable’ vehicles. The FF, with its youthful demographics and practicality, checks both boxes. The fact that it’s a Ferrari (a relatively rare one at that) certainly doesn’t hurt.

My Take: As cars get more modern, they become more useable for regular driving. Thirty years ago if you’d suggested you were going to buy a Ferrari for occasional daily driver use, you’d be laughed out of the place. At least since 2000, the Italians have been working on improving the character of their grand tourers, and the FF might have perfected it. It’s big and comfortable without being horrifying to look at (that means you, Purosangue). It’s a little futzy around the rear hatch area, but still cool enough to turn heads.

If you have 200 grand burning a hole in your pocket, there are worse cars to spend it on, I suppose. I wouldn’t, but it’s your choice. It’s a relatively rare Ferrari, so you can bet on it continuing to appreciate.

Hagerty Says: The most important data points here are pretty simple: power and price. Enthusiasts of all ages love performance, and there aren’t many cars that offer more of it for less money. Cost of maintenance and repair must always be a consideration with Jaguars, but the XKR — relatively speaking — has proven reliable.

My Take: No.

Hagerty Says: Young enthusiasts love American muscle as much as their parents do but generally don’t have the cash for the most famous models. That leads them to alternatives, including this Impala.

My Take: There are tons of alternatives to traditional muscle cars. During the boom of the early 2000s, I was a big muscle car head, and I couldn’t afford a pony car or whatever. I was dreaming about digging out some four-door muscle, or building a muscle truck. If you want to drive an old American car with a big V8, you could do a lot worse than an Impala.

It’ll be thirsty and it’ll drive like a truck, but if you have to have that 1969 style, this is how you get it. You can get a 327-powered car for under 20 grand. The 427 engine is going to run you another $30 to 40,000. Worth it? Not in my mind.

Hagerty Says: Off-roaders have been some of the hottest vehicles on the market in recent years. The Scrambler, given its distinctive configuration and rarity relative to regular Jeeps, has room to continue growing.

My Take: The kind of people who want to buy a CJ-8 to drive around in on the weekends are the kind of people who have never driven a CJ-8. They ride worse than a new Wrangler, and that’s saying something. Ronald Reagan had one; how cool could it be?

If you’re going to buy one, absolutely avoid the early Iron Duke-powered units at all cost. Get the six-cylinder if you can, and settle for the AMC 2.5-liter if you can’t. They’re all kinda shitty and slow, but at least those can get out of their own way. A little over 3,000 pounds with 82 horsepower sucks.

Hagerty Says: Thunderbirds from this era have long lived in the shadow of two contemporary icons from Ford Motor Company — the Mustang and the Lincoln Continental. But as those cars have climbed out of reach, younger collectors have rediscovered the charm of midcentury luxury.

My Take: The Thunderbird started out as a Corvette competitor, and I wish every day that it had continued along that same path. Ford made it a large luxury cruiser, however, by the third generation, and it only got worse from here. If these are your thing, you can still get one for under $20,000, so give it a try. There are certainly worse things to spend your money on. Like the next car on this list...

Hagerty Says: So-called restomods (old cars with modern guts) are big business these days — customizers regularly charge six figures to fit a fuel-injected engine, disc brakes, etc., into an old rig. It’s only a matter of time before enthusiasts discover the Prowler, which is essentially a factory-built restomod offered at a bargain price.

My Take: The problems the Prowler faces as a collector car are the same it faced when it was brand new. No V8. No stick. The Prowler isn’t cool, it’s pseudo-cool. Pass.