What value is the Hagerty pricing guide?

If you own a car in the latest Hagerty snapshot, stop reading now.

If any of you are Hagerty customers, you undoubtedly receive a series of emails with different content themes. Content is the heartbeat of engagement these days, and great content undoubtedly brings customers deeper into the relationship with a company or product.

However, it's evident many organizations can't crack the content matrix. Every online auction company is hoping to find the silver bullet of content that helps sellers get over the lack of in-person connection that the likes of Barrett-Jackson and Russo & Steele still have working in their favor. However, I've yet to see evidence of any online marketplace building a content library that makes enthusiasts want to pledge blind loyalty to their brand, and it seems based on the emails I get from Hagerty, there's an emphasis on quantity over quality.

Take this recent article from Hagerty talking about cars that have experienced a dip in values. On the surface, this is interesting content - who wouldn't want to know which cars and trucks are trailing off value-wise? However, the cars in question are so limited in production and access that the fact the prices are dipping impacts a very small portion of the collector car marketplace. And even then, if you happen to own a BMW E9 "Batmobile," you are of a wealth class that isn't much concerned that "...#2 values have sunk by 27 percent."

Oh, and breaking news: the Alfa Romeo Tubolare Zagato (TZ) has lost $150,000 in value and now sells reliably under $1M. Please, make plans now to unload your collection. With 112 made, one of you surely has a TZ squirreled away.

As someone who understands that good content is the pathway to great relationships, I take no issue with companies like Hagerty trying to crack the code. However, at least start with valuations that speak to the bulk of car enthusiasts, which means assembling lists of 90s-era JDM cars or 80s turbocharged hot hatches and tracking sale results quarter to quarter. But that takes a good amount of work and number-crunching; far harder to do than waiting to see what an Aston Martin DB4 GT will pull at the next gathering of blue bloods.

If you want a more predictable way of tracking and gauging value, consider using The Common Gear to upload your maintenance records and receipts, so you can share a digital portfolio with the next owner to drive a higher sale price - regardless of what the markets say your car should be selling for.