If you’ve been paying attention over the last five years, you’ll have noticed that life has gotten more expensive—specifically the products we rely on daily. From the price of eggs to the cost of lumber, everything is up. Heck, even Hot Wheels, a formerly one-dollar staple, are $1.19 now. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that inflation is up 23% from January 2020 to January 2025, which means that something that cost $1 in 2020 now costs $1.23.
Not everything is keeping pace with that rate, however, including the above Hot Wheels—along with more than half of the cars listed in the Hagerty Price Guide, as noted by the Hagerty Valuation Team. Of those cars, many have seen their values climb quite a bit in this five-year period, just not enough to tread water relative to their pre-pandemic pricing. Values for others have simply fallen, while others have risen sharply, then dropped off a bit from their peak. Hopefully, most owners of said cars don’t care, and they’re out there cruising in them right now. For buyers, however, the down values present an opportunity to get more bang for your buck than you would have five years ago.
Here’s a spread of #3 (good) condition cars—solid drivers top to bottom—and their respective average valuation changes since 2020 (accounting for all body styles and trim levels for a model), which haven’t kept up with the changing value of the dollar. Are you in the market?
+20%
Classy exterior touches set apart the new-for-’72 Mk IV coupe: the oval opera window, the faux Continental kit, and that tall upright grille at the end of a never-ending hood. Output from the 460-cubic-inch big-block V-8 was originally rated at 224 horsepower, though it declined steadily over the years of production, to 202 hp by the end.
The Continentals of this era are perhaps best well known for the available Designer Series models that arrived for ’76: Pucci, Givenchy, Cartier, and Bill Blass, each of which offered special exterior colors and matching interior appointments. They carry a slight premium over a standard Mk IV, but none of them has outpaced inflation, either. Expect to pay anywhere from $9000 to $11,000 for a #3 Continental Mk IV.
+15%
Chevy offered the first-generation Chevelle in a whole host of body styles and trim levels, with several engine options. There were two- and four-door sedans, two-door coupes, convertibles, and wagons, in base 300, Malibu, and SS configurations that were powered by everything from the 195-hp 283 V-8 to the 325-hp 396 big-block.
Such variety, along with its great looks, helped account for the car’s huge appeal, so it’s no wonder the Chevelle did so well, with 1.6 million sales before the second-gen car dropped. Today, values are as broad as the range itself, with a #3 condition 327/275 Malibu sport coupe priced around $21,000 and a top-dog SS 396 convertible at $114,000, while a four-door with the 283 is just $6700.
+10%
The M1 marked a turning point in the BMW story, when the German company pivoted from a maker of “mere” sport sedans to one that could build supercars. The fruit of BMW’s new Motorsport division, the Giugiaro-designed mid-engine M1 was a homologation special for Group 4 and Group 5 racing. Delays kept it from those series, but the 399 road cars built (plus 56 race cars for the forgettable single-make Procar series) today remain some of BMW’s most sought-after collectibles.
Its 277-hp 3.5-liter straight-six was good for a top speed of 162 mph, with 0–60 mph coming in 5.6 seconds. These days, a #3 driver will set you back about $485,000.
+5%
With a platform shared by the lovely Aston Martin DB7, Jaguar’s XK8 already had great bones by the time the company decided to step things up a notch. Introduced for the 2000 model year as a coupe and convertible, the sporting XKR benefited from a 370-hp supercharged 4.0-liter V-8 that propelled it to an electronically limited 155 mph. In 2003, displacement grew to 4.2 liters and output with it, to 390 hp. As a poised, mature grand tourer trimmed in rich leather and burled wood, the XKR was a joy to drive at high speeds, with fast, precise shifts delivered first from a Mercedes-sourced five-speed automatic and later ZF six-speed.
Like their Aston counterparts, and like their tamer XK8 stablemates, these cars have aged gracefully, and given they haven’t appreciated much over the last five years, today they represent great value. A #3 XKR coupe is around $14,000, with droptops priced about $4000 more.
0%
Among the storied list of Italian-American hybrids, few cars outshine the Pantera, whose cool factor is still off the charts. The product of Alejandro DeTomaso’s fledgling company and Ford, the mid-engine Pantera wore a handsome body drawn up by American Tom Tjaarda at Ghia, and power came from Ford’s tried-and-true 351-cubic-inch “Cleveland” V-8.
The initial plan to sell 10,000 a year through Lincoln-Mercury dealerships foundered quickly, and Ford ended the relationship in 1974, after 6000 Panteras had sold. DeTomaso continued production in Europe through 1992, with another thousand or so built, a few of which have since made it to enthusiasts stateside. Today, a Pantera in good condition is about $70,000 at the low end and nearly 100 grand at the high end for more desirable models. But this is right about where they were five years ago, so, technically, they’ve lost value when you account for inflation.
-50%
These tiny, economical 13-hp sedans helped get Italy back on the road after WWII. Today, they are out of place on all but the most sedate roadways. Since values of the lovable “little mouse” peaked in late 2019, however, they have defied wider trends in the market by falling and continuing to fall. A #3 car, at $11,700, is roughly half price now. The Topolino is the biggest victim to inflation of them all in the Hagerty Price Guide.
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