Rarely does a day go by when an antique car owner isn't asked "How much is the car really worth?" Most owners then ask, "For a potential purchase?" "Do you want to sell?" "Or is it a simple curiosity?"

My favorite is the person who looks around at a car show and wonders how do you ever figure a price on an old car. There are old car price guides in abundance that are frequent unreliable due to fast-changing markets, inflations, and regional price differences. The simple fact is, there is seldom a car in the catalog like the one you're lookin at.

Can someone decide on a fair price without looking at everybook that you can get your hands on. I offer the following hints to help people decide if they are getting thier money's worth from an old car purchase. For an old car to be an antique it should be over twenty five years old.

Here I need to list the five different conditions, of older cars.

If you're looking at an antique car thats a no. 1 then ask yourself how much it would cost to buy a brand new car of the same make. If you can purchase the antique car for that price or less it is a fair value. If you're looking at a no. 2 car, compare it to a two year old car the same make and condition. If you're looking at a no.3 car, compare it to a three year old car the same make and condition, and so on.

If a car is handmade or is obviously handcrafted, such as a street rod, try to determine what it could cost to have someone build it. If your cousin, Jim wouldn't build a 34 coupe for less than $ 20,000, it's pretty safe bet a 34 coupe in good condition for less than $ 20,000 is a good buy.

Most any older car will increase in value simply because the supply is fast depleting. It doesn't take a computer to figure out these supplies will be depleded in the not too distant future. Antique cars will become increasingly rare and valuble to our childern, who may never own such cars unless inherited.

Does this mean that every old car is extremely valuable? Not in the short-term. But it does mean good antique cars have intrinsic value, even in a society accustomed to disposables.

As true of any antique - Cars, Furniture, Jewelry, or what-have you, when price exceeds the estimate of replacement cost, then you have to know something more. That "something more" is what makes the antique car hobby interesting and challenging.