Here Are The Underpriced Collector Cars The Experts Think Will Grow In Value

Let’s do a fun one today, shall we? Hagerty put out its annual “Bull Market” list of vehicles that are going to be a hoot to own and just might appreciate in value over time. It’s not investment advice, as any decent semiconductor ETF will likely blow most vehicles out of the market from a portfolio perspective. You can’t do a burnout in an ETF, however.

The Morning Dump is an equal opportunity venture, so I’ll also look at what Hagerty UK has to say about the state of the car market. Let’s just say, it’s not great right now for sellers, but maybe it’s good for buyers. While that’s all good and enjoyable, the times are less fun for Ford, which faces a big lawsuit over what it pays dealers to replace batteries.

And, finally, EV concerns have now extended to Uber, which isn’t likely to incentivize EV purchases, which is going to be yet another hit to the EV market.

Hagerty Yet Again Snubs The Aztek

My ongoing joke with our friends at Hagerty is that they’re purposefully trying to suppress the value of the Pontiac Aztek as a way of hoarding them for themselves. And, yet again, the 11 vehicle list (10 vehicles is too internety, I suppose) of vehicles with unrealized value and potential does not include one of GM’s most interesting vehicles.

Don’t worry, GM is well represented, both in the form of the lustworthy GMT 400 Chevrolet 454 SS and the C6 Chevrolet Z06, which will make Griffin happy. The list itself stretches from as early as the 1956 Continental (not Lincoln) Mark II, and as late as the 2010 BMW M5.

1968–1970 Dodge Charger
1999–2005 Mazda MX-5 Miata
1956–1957 Continental Mark II
1990–1993 Chevrolet 454 SS
2006–2013 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
1969–1972 Alfa Romeo GTV
2006–2010 BMW M5
1981–1993 Dodge Ramcharger
1995–1998 Nissan Skyline GT-R
1995–1998 Volkswagen Golf GTI VR6
2004–2007 Porsche Carrera GT

The E60 is a wise choice, although E60 ownership seems to me, as an E39 owner, a potentially ruinous proposition. There’s something for everyone on this list, including the annual oddball SUV that you’re likely never to find in great condition. This year it’s the Ramcharger:

Apart from blue-chip models like Hemi ’Cudas and Challengers, Mopars are often under the collector-car radar. The market—particularly younger buyers—is catching on to the Ramcharger’s charms, though. Whenever we see a spike in interest from younger clients, a model’s value is generally due to increase. According to our Automotive Intelligence team, the share of Ramcharger owners under 50 is two times the Hagerty average. If you want a monster truck for the street and missed out on the Blazer and Bronco craze, the time to buy a Ramcharger is now.

They’re the experts, but if you had given me 300 guesses for what would be on this list, I’d have probably hit on the first 10 before I reached number 100. I think I’d have needed at least 320 guesses before I got to Ramcharger. Bronco spirit without the Bronco premium sure does sound nice, though.

Nearly 80% Of Collector Values Of Dropped Or Held In 2025

After the wild ride of the COVID-19 boom and immediate aftermath, prices have mostly leveled off, according to John Mayhead, Editor of the Hagerty UK Price Guide, who shared that “[B]uyers are being much more careful with their money and, as a consequence, nearly 80 percent of values have either dropped or remained static.” That doesn’t mean there aren’t areas of growth, especially in the UK:

One of the upward hotspots is definitely modern classics. Hagerty UK’s indices show growth in the Hot Hatch market, consisting of mostly 1980s and newer performance hatchbacks and within the RADwood index, which tracks 1980s and 1990s turbo era cars. Standout examples in excellent condition include the 1985-1986 Ford Escort RS Turbo Mk III which has risen in value by 23 percent. Possibly because of the hype over the new electric Renault 5, prices of the 1986-1991 Renault 5 GT Turbo have risen 7.5 percent and values of the iconic hot hatch that started it all, the 1975-1984 Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk 1 1600, have gone up six percent. This exciting segment of the collector car market reflects the popularity of the cars many people obsessed over in their youth and can now afford to buy.

What isn’t working?

The Classic Index (CI), tracking the British enthusiast market segment, and the Best of British (BoB) Index, watching classic British cars like the Aston Martin DB5 and MGB, are both down, the BoB now at its lowest level since it was created in 2018. These two indices tend to have older cars with the mean age of first manufacture being 1962 for BoB and 1971 for CI.

Across the entire 3000 models of the Hagerty Price Guide, the story is similar, with British marques taking nine of the ten places in the list of models that have declined the most, with Bizzarrini the only foreign brand making the list. Jaguar is the brand showing the biggest drop this year, down 21.4 percent, partly due to a significant reduction in the mean value of the XKSS after one failed to sell at RM Sotheby’s London sale in November 2024.

A rough time for Jaaaaaaaags.

Here Come The Battery Repair Lawsuits

The post-COVID bad times have been catching up with dealers, too, and there’s an obvious friction between OEMs and their dealers. When times are bad, automakers squeeze the dealers (although Stellantis is said to have done this when times were good). Some of that is in the service department, which, along with F&I, is an important potential revenue generator for dealers. At the same time, OEMs are plotting ways to sell cars without dealers.

Something has to give, and the most recent sign is a lawsuit from a pair of New York dealerships accusing Ford of underpaying for the actual cost of EV battery replacements, as Automotive News reports:

The complaint, filed by Jericho Turnpike Auto Sales and Patchogue 112 Motors, claims Ford underpaid a Jericho franchised dealership nearly $300,000 and Patchogue by more than $615,000 for multiple EV battery replacements.

Leonard Bellavia, a dealership franchise attorney co-representing the plaintiffs, said via email that Ford is one of many manufacturers falling short with EV battery replacement fees.

“Ford is not the only OEM ignoring warranty reimbursement laws by paying low flat fees for replacement of EV battery packs,” said Bellavia, founder of the Bellavia Cohen P.C. law firm in Mineola, N.Y. “This is the first of many … lawsuits my law firm will be filing in several states over the next few months against various OEMs.”

If this spreads, my guess is that there are a lot of dealers who have done a lot of battery work.

Uber Produces More Emissions Than The Entire Country Of Denmark

Here’s a fun/terrifying little detail from a Bloomberg story on how Uber is backing away from promoting EVs:

Uber needs all the clean miles it can get to reach its green goals and various local regulations. With 38 million daily trips globally, the company’s emissions have nearly doubled in the past three years, and its climate footprint now surpasses the entire country of Denmark. Yet despite the rise in emissions and soaring profits, Uber is scaling back some of its key climate efforts.

In the United States, those goals don’t seem like such a big deal, and, according to that story, Uber is sort of moving in the opposite direction:

Uber officials acknowledge they will likely miss their green targets, but they say the company is committed to cleaner vehicles, and their drivers in Europe and North America are moving into EVs much faster than the public. “We’re proud of our progress overall,” says Rebecca Tinucci, the former global head of electrification and sustainability at Uber, who recently took over as chief executive officer of Uber’s freight business.

Rather than throw incentives at drivers, as it has done in the past, it’ll instead try to market to consumers who might prefer an EV or greener vehicle.

What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD

Speaking of old pals, Neko Case is out with a new album and a new tour. Please enjoy “Rusty Mountain” along with me.

The Big Question

What do you think is the most undervalued collector car right now?

Top photo: Hagerty