7 Luxury 1970s Cars Now Sell for $9,230 to $50,000 After Once Costing Up to $424,850
Updated
Updated · Jalopnik · Aug 15
7 Luxury 1970s Cars Now Sell for $9,230 to $50,000 After Once Costing Up to $424,850
3 articles · Updated · Jalopnik · Aug 15
Summary
$424,850-to-$33,500 depreciation tops the list, with the Rolls-Royce Camargue falling from the world's priciest new car in 1975 to an estimated $33,500 in good condition today.
Seven 1970s luxury models now look like bargains because depreciation, shifting tastes and punishing upkeep kept values low long after their inflation-adjusted new prices soared into six figures.
The steepest drops include the Stutz Blackhawk at about $28,200 from roughly $379,000, the Aston Martin Lagonda S2 at $50,000 from $365,700, and the Maserati Merak SS at $46,000 from $253,500.
Even mainstream luxury survivors have slumped: the Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 is valued around $30,200-$33,900 versus about $212,100 new in today's dollars, while the Bentley T2 sits near $13,500 from roughly $220,000.
At the low end, Chrysler's 1978 New Yorker Brougham averages $9,230 against an inflation-adjusted $40,100, showing how some 1970s flagships never regained classic-car pricing despite rarity.