New car vs. Restored classic?, What are the possibilities? Options

[JeffBowlsby]

In another post it was said. ‘Wife bought a new Bronco in 2022. We sold it a few months ago and bought a 1972 Bronco to replace it.’

Been pondering the same dilemma. Not talking about sports cars in this thread.

New cars are expensive to buy, maintain, repair and insure. Loaded with tech, and numerous features they can be very complicated. Even lower cost new cars can fit this description. A recent article says new cars average $50K now, even an F150 pickup is reportedly $65K. The new cars we really want can be over six figures. New cars depreciate like rocks whereas vintage car values are much more stable. I’m thinking fully restored cars that would pass a thorough PPI. No project cars. No complicated cars. No “they only made X of these” with an inflated cost. No 40 Ford restorods or Model As. Nothing particularly ostentatious.

I think the possibilities, risks, rewards of a good quality vintage car instead of new could be advantageous. We need to consider at least reliability, availability of shops that can provide service, parts availability. Certainly reasonable safety is important which most older cars are not well equipped. Collector insurance may help reduce costs if that fits the situation.

Which specific vehicles would you consider as good candidates for a family car be it a sedan, SUV or minivan? Both domestic and imports, low mileage, well cared for. Condition is more important than collectibility. Probably A/C is a must but could be retrofitted. Want to focus on vehicles that would be reliable as daily drivers.

I am thinking of 60s-70s Chevys, Fords, 2000s Hondas and Toyotas. 1975 and earlier would be beneficial to those of us in CA. Valued at something less than $50K. What are your ideas?

[mepstein]

Classic car insurance only really works if you have a daily driver and don’t put many miles on the car.
Older Hondas and Toyotas without a ton of mileage might work but unless you live in CA, most cars 20 years or older are rusty.
A restored car from the 70’s is a niche / enthusiast product. It’s not a daily driver for 99%.
It’s also very hard to finance an older car.
But I do agree, new car prices are obscenely high right now. It doesn’t seem sustainable in the current economy. I imagine prices will explode once the full effect of tariffs kick in.

[JeffBowlsby]

Classic car insurance only really works if you have a daily driver and don’t put many miles on the car.

Wifes car is a newer Honda, daily driver. Car #2 is an older Honda for the grunt work and it qualifies us for a multicar insurance discount, so its basically a free car.

The other cars in our stable are on collector insurance (JC Taylor), no mileage limitations, but with 3-4 cars to choose from we dont drive any of them much.