Seven Of The Hottest Collector Cars Under $25,000

If you haven’t noticed, the classic car market is hot right now. The formerly quiet entry level of the market is fully awake, and cars that formerly sailed under the radar are now commanding attention. Here are seven of our favorite new Ford Focus-priced classics that won’t be affordable for long:

1. 1987 Buick Regal Grand National: Darth Vader’s official car (most were black), the turbo V-6 Regal was one of the few non-V-8 cars that the primarily baby-boomer muscle-car crowd took an immediate shine to. They’ve never been cheap, but that’s how current prices will seem in a few years when the Gen-Xers who wanted them new start pumping money into the collector car world.

2. 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am: Black-and-gold Malaise Era Trans Ams, particularly those from the “Smokey and the Bandit” years, are among the hottest things in American collector cars right now. Barrett-Jackson had about 15 of them on sale this past January in Scottsdale, Ariz., and all brought good money. In five years, $25,000 for a nice one may seem like a gift.

3. 1978-83 Porsche 911SC: The window on affordable classic (read air-cooled) 911s is closing fast. The early pre-safety bumper cars (1964-73) are now in the $50,000 to $350,000 range, and the dirty little secret is that while they may have more vintage charm, they’re not nearly as good as the later 1978-83 cars. With excellent rust-proofing and 300,000-mile engines, these are the last bastion of affordable classic 911s. Cars that were $15,000 two years ago are now pushing $25,000. Act now.