Cars from 1990s have soared in value by up to 78%, new report shows trends now
Used cars from the '90s are enjoying a remarkable uptick in value, automotive insiders have revealed - with vintage models from America and Japan being among the most sought-after models.
Values for the collectible cars have rocketed an average of 78 percent over the past three years, according to Brian Rabold, vice president of automotive intelligence at Hagerty, a firm that closely monitors the collector car market.
Rabold's team found that as millennials get older and pine for the cars of their youth, 30-year-old models from manufacturers like Toyota, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen have seen their values soar.
Culprits include more rare options like the iconic Nissan GTR Skyline - released only in Japan - and the infamous Ford Bronco, which achieved notoriety as the preferred getaway vehicle for 90s NFL star and then- murder-suspect OJ Simpson.
Other vehicles seeing increased desirability include other Japanese sports cars like Nissan 300ZXs and Mazda Miatas.
Culprits include more rare options like the iconic Nissan GTR Skyline - a car released only in Japan at the time that has since enjoyed mythical status thanks to appearance in various films
Those cars have ballooned in popularity - and price - over the years, due to the stunning array of appealing sports cars pumped out by the country in the 90s.
That's thanks to an economic boom the country saw in the 1980s - which Rabold says is now spurring the recent surge in demand and subsequent price hikes.
Values for seemingly less impressive, but somehow desirable 90s models have also swelled, such as the recognizable Buick Roadmaster, a wood-paneled, long bodied station wagon once a popular with vacationing families.
While practical family cars are not generally considered collectible, cars' character can also be blamed for their resent rise, Rabold says, as millennials brought up during the decade snap up models they associate with their child, with newfound disposable income.
Also enjoying a pronounced uptick was the infamous Ford Bronco, which achieved notoriety as the preferred getaway vehicle for 90s NFL star and then- murder-suspect OJ Simpson
That said, price tags for well-worn Roadmaster wagons have increased 48 percent since 2019, Rabold's Hagerty found, while other, more impressive options have experienced increases even more pronounced.
'Values, for the last three years, for cars and vehicles from the 1990s have increased the most out of any decade,' Rabold told Yuma, Arizona, CBS affiliate KYMA in an interview Monday.
The car expert added how values for 1990s-era collectible cars have risen by nearly 80 percent over the past three years along - an increase he called 'huge,' and caused by several factors.
Values for seemingly less impressive, but somehow desirable 90s models have also swelled, such as the recognizable Buick Roadmaster, a wood-paneled, long bodied station wagon once a popular with vacationing families
The first influencer driving up used car costs, Rabold said, is the passage of time.
After three decades, the automotive tracker explained, cars that were considered special during their time - like the lauded 1996 Nissan Skyline GT-R, a a rarely seen model hailed as almost mythical in the United States - are considered collectible, causing quick appreciations in price even with depreciations in condition.
Thus, Rabold said, as the cars have gotten older, so have the people who were teenagers or maybe even in their early twenties when they first came out.
Perhaps not having the means to purchase the then new cars then, now, an fast growing demographic of drivers now have the funds to buy options that rose to prominence during the decade, from the Mitsubishi 3000GT to the Ford Bronco.
Experts said the increases from models from the decade can be attributed to several of the cars' iconic looks, which may have captivated now grown millennials upon their release
What's more, Rabold added, even inexpensive Japanese cars of that era hold up to today's standards, and boasted quality that took years for American automakers to match.
This, the expert said, has seen values for still-common models such as the early ’90s Mitsubishi Eclipse to rise as much as 40 in the past two years alone.
Prices for the closely related Eagle Talon, a product from a mid-90s collaboration betweeen Mitsubishi and Chrysler, have similarly risen nearly 45 percent in that same period, Hagerty said.
Values for previously affordable models such as the Nissan 300ZX and ’90s Mazda Miatas are also on the rise, data shows.
Other vehicles seeing increased desirability include other Japanese sports cars like the Nissan 300ZXs. Experts said thee rising popularity of Japanese cars is because vehicles that era still hold up to today, and boasted quality that took years for American automakers to match
That said, they they remain fairly affordable when compared to the exceedingly rare Skyline GTR - better know in the US as simply the GT-R - which was not available in the US upon its release in
