IT’S TAKEN A WHILE, BUT the change was always inevitable. Japanese cars are now being accepted as classics, and becoming increasingly desirable.
Subaru and Mitsubishi are just two Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) marques creating growing interest and changing buying decisions at classic car auctions.
Gary Dunne of CCA (UK), says, “We’re often asked: ‘How is the car market doing at the moment?’ A simple answer is that changing trends and economic fluctuations mean some things naturally plateau or come down in value, whereas others will rise. No one could have predicted the rise in the Japanese Domestic Market but for a generation who grew up watching Fast and Furious, playing Gran Turismo and Need for Speed these JDM halo cars have fond memories and becoming increasingly desirable.”
The Japanese collectable story is very similar to what happened with ‘Fast Fords’ – when car values dropped many cars were ragged about, crashed, scrapped, rusted away, or broken for parts. So the good surviving/restored examples nowadays rightfully command a premium. The upward trend in popularity and desirability of these JDM cars continues to grow with the cars becoming rarer, which has led to increasing sales results.
Gary adds, “The growing demand for collectable Japanese vehicles is pushing up prices. Based on our own experience, plus recent sales by our sister company Silverstone Auctions, the trend in value for these Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) vehicles is continuing upwards and we don’t believe they have plateaued yet! So, whilst we can’t offer investment advice, now does seem to be the time to buy before prices peak.”