Are 4-Doors and Wagons going to become collectible at some point?

I thought about this as I saw a '67 Chevelle heading my direction and when it turned, I saw it was a 4-Door Malibu.

Because of the major desire for Coupes and Convertibles, most of them are skyrocketing in price and are extremely desirable.

However, even though there are still many floating around, when will it come to the point that 4-door and wagons will become desirable?

I ask this, because I see coupes and convertibles all the time, but I rarely see a 4-door or a wagon. When I do see one, it gets my attention, much more than a coupe.

Put it this way, if I saw a '55 Bel-Air Coupe, I'd probably say "Nice car" and keep on truckin'. If I saw a '55 4-Door or Wagon, I would go out of my way to crane my neck to check it out and wonder what it was running for a drivetrain.

Why? Because they are becoming rare, in fact , they are becoming more rare than their Coupe and Convertible counterparts. They were throw-away cars to a lot of people and therefore, there are not that many out there anymore.

What do you guys think?

In a classic I'd choose a wagon 10X over a 4 door any day

Wagons may catch on and have a similar value to coupes. I wouldn't expect four doors to become more expensive than two doors; they're likely to represent the cheaper alternative - but if people will pay more for the two doors, I'd expect this to give some boost to the price of four doors too.

(Owns a Dart sedan myself.)

IIRC the '55 wagon is up there in value with the two doors.

I think wagons will. Partly because they are getting rare and harder to find. Partly because they remind so much of us about our youth, in a good way.

Some sedans will become more valuable, but I don't think they will be as valuable as 2-doors.

In a word, no.

In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid:

While sedans and wagon are indeed becoming relatively "rarer" as less of them are saved, it has to be realized that less were saved for a reason. Most sedans and wagons just don't look as good as coupes or 2-door wagons. You can tell this in collector car pricing by looking at models where there is no substantial difference between the 2 and 4 doors. (For example, in the complicated world of 59 Buicks, the 4-door pillarless hardtops are worth more than 2-door post coupes, but 4-door post sedans are worth the least.)

BoxheadTim wrote: IIRC the '55 wagon is up there in value with the two doors.

You are thinking of a 2-door wagon special called the Nomad. The Nomad wasn't just a 2-door wagon, it also had post-less doors:

The Nomad is not to be confused with the 2-door post wagon:

There was a big controversy involving these back when Home Improvement was on the air. Tim Taylor's wife drove a 55 Nomad and Tim accidentally drops an I-Beam on it. The crushed car was a completely rusted out 2-door wagon, not a Nomad. See the framed doors:

There was also the substantially less cool 4-door post wagon:

MadScientistMatt wrote: but if people will pay more for the two doors, I'd expect this to give some boost to the price of four doors too.

People have been saying this for decades, but it really hasn't ever panned out. On any car where the coupe looked better, it was always worth more. Even when prices go nuts, the more-doors barely see a bump in prices, except as parts cars.

As a wagon owner, I would agree with Jav here. Even during a huge event like the Dream Cruise locally, where there are more coupes and convertibles than you can shake a stick at, most people don't even notice, much less covet, the classic wagons.

If all it took was scarcity to make a car valuable, my Volvo 145 would be worth quite a bit more than, say, a 65 Mustang, especially in Detroit.

Also, even among classic Volvos, coupes are the most valuable by and large. That alone should tell you something.

Javelin wrote: People have been saying this for decades, but it really hasn't ever panned out. On any car where the coupe looked better, it was always worth more. Even when prices go nuts, the more-doors barely see a bump in prices, except as parts cars.

There's something of a price rise going on. My Dart four door was $500 in 1996; we've had threads with beater four door A-bodies being sold for $2000 (although in slightly better condition than mine was when I got it, to be fair).

MadScientistMatt wrote:

Javelin wrote: People have been saying this for decades, but it really hasn't ever panned out. On any car where the coupe looked better, it was always worth more. Even when prices go nuts, the more-doors barely see a bump in prices, except as parts cars.

There's something of a price rise going on. My Dart four door was $500 in 1996; we've had threads with beater four door A-bodies being sold for $2000 (although in slightly better condition than mine was when I got it, to be fair).

You are confusing normal inflation with actual price increases. $500 back in 96 is about $1,000 today, and even worse on cars. Plus asking prices and actual transaction value are vastly different, not to mention varying conditions.

Three doors however, will skyrocket in value and be worth 10 times their original asking price.

Perhaps not.

I hope the values of 4 doors stay low. I love mine.

At least once a month mine gets filled with 4-6 people and taken out on the town. I don't feel the look is particularly spoiled by the extra portholes in the side compared to the 2 door sedan. Comparing it to the hardtop fastback is where it really falls short though.

I did learn that my car has an interesting nickname around town. Folks have been calling it "that sweet crew cab falcon" I kinda like that.

Yes on wagons, no on 4-doors. Most people only covet later in life what they always wanted when they were younger. Not many people dream of owning a 4 door, they are the choice you are stuck with instead.

Wagons are different in that there really isn't a modern version (except SUVs which are really wagons with a higher CG, but that's a different subject).

Personally, I'd love to have one of our old wagons back when I was a kid. We had a '66 Mercury and a '70 Dodge Monaco. I'd take either now!

bastomatic wrote: Also, even among classic Volvos, coupes are the most valuable by and large. That alone should tell you something.

I'm not sure about that. Seems to me a P210 Duett goes for more than a PV544 in the same condition. Amazon wagons can bring as much as a 2-door. The 1800ES "sportwagon" is not worth less than an 1800E. The 142E is certainly the premium priced 140-series, but is a 142S worth more than a 145S? (That actually is a question.)

IMO, wagons more so than 4-doors. Wagons seem to have almost disappeared and combine with being able to include the family and equipment (modern child safety equipment, picnic stuff, etc) on a drive will help make it more collectible. 4-doors to a much lesser degree just because of the availability and rising value of the equivalent 2-doors. But will remain lesser value.

As a side note, I have a friend that restores tri-5 Chevies (55-57). He told me that less sedan deliveries (2-door wagons) were made than Nomads and are rarer than Nomads but the Nomad is more valuable and collectible.

I'm a huge wagon fan, so they will at least be collectible to me...

Four doors? My first thought of the last 20 or so years would be the CTS-V, SHO (stick), SRT 8's,mid 90's Impala SS, Dodge Spirit R/T...the usual AMG/Audi RS-/BMW-M series...etc.

Same goes for the factory hot rod American/Euro wagons. Plus, you can add in the 456 GT Venice, Aston Martin Shooting Brakes/Estates, Bentley Flying Star, Lynx Eventer, Cadillac Vista View and Broadmoor, most 50's wagons, the Woodies will always be popular, high hp factory 60's models (one favorite was a '62 Chevy wagon with a 409 and 4 speed)...and on and on.

ditchdigger wrote: I hope the values of 4 doors stay low. I love mine. At least once a month mine gets filled with 4-6 people and taken out on the town. I don't feel the look is particularly spoiled by the extra portholes in the side compared to the 2 door sedan. Comparing it to the hardtop fastback is where it really falls short though. I did learn that my car has an interesting nickname around town. Folks have been calling it "that sweet crew cab falcon" I kinda like that.

Awesome!

And yeah, I think the nostalgia factor for four-doors and wagons will always be higher than for coupes among the upcoming generation of collectors. Gen-Xers and millennials were raised on irony, anti-heros and the idea that flashy coupes are red flags for midlife crises. Wagons and sedans have the right amount of practicality and goofiness for those buyers.