Hagerty Experts Say These Are The Collector Cars To Buy In 2025, I Have Some Thoughts

The annual Hagerty Bull Market List is out, and there are still several days before Christmas to run out and grab one of these incredible vehicles for someone you love. Or for yourself. After all, why shouldn't you treat yourself to a Lamborghini Gallardo to end 2024? If the big vintage car insurance company says these cars are safe(ish) bets, then it's not like you're going to lose a bunch of money in the process, are you?

This is, of course, not financial advice. If you're going to go out and buy yourself a collectible car, it should be one you really love, because the car market is about as volatile a market as any other collectible. Everyone bases prices on vibes, and people get excited and overpay for things at auction. If the car isn't good, you'll inevitably hate it and it will have been a waste of money, right? Buy stuff you actually want to drive and if it inflates in value, it's just a bonus.

With that in mind, let's dig into this year's list and give it a little bit of analysis. Why not?

Hagerty Says: Strapping into this time machine that smells of aging leather and wool, wrapping your fingers around the spaghetti-thin rim of the wood steering wheel, and taking in the view over the long, bulging hood is exactly why people still pine for E-Types. The 3.8 doesn't have the torque of the later, faster 4.2 but it spins more eagerly and snarls more aggressively. Even so, the E-Type presents as a long-legged and gently loping touring machine, relatively relaxed by the standards of today and even against the Italian machinery it once called its rivals. But alas, the E-Type really has no rivals.

My Take: The coupes look terrible. Why bother?

Hagerty Says: Purveyors of today's robotic warp machines will argue rightly that turbos, paddle shifters, and electronic aids produce lower lap times. But stack a whole pile of these silicon rockets on one side of the scale and a Gallardo with its bellowing V-10 winding out in one long and linear burst of thrust before the shift ball under your palm click-click-clicks in the next ratio, and it's easy to predict how the scale tips.

My Take: It's astonishing how modern supercar manufacturers completely ignore the fact that their decades-old manual transmission models are commanding a huge premium. Gallardos never got properly inexpensive, and they're currently hovering in the low six-figures. If you can spend that kind of money on an old Lambo, I guess why wouldn't you?

Hagerty Says: Millennials are the fastest-growing ownership group, followed by Gen Z, although the cult is still headed by baby boomers, who currently own 46 percent of them. The average age of a Bronco II owner is continuing to drop, which is not the case for most vintage trucks of the era. These young collectors might be on to something.

My Take: Absolutely not.

Hagerty Says: The dads of the world have, in recent years, been heavily focused on the 240Z, in the process driving up their prices to the point that early Zs are all but unobtainable to younger enthusiasts. A nice example can easily go for more than $50K. We can't argue with that—they're all-time great cars. But for the next generation of enthusiasts, it is now the 280ZX that best fulfills Datsun/Nissan's original mission of providing performance and surprising sophistication at an attainable price.

My Take: There may be a nostalgiagasm driving these early-80s heroes upward in value, but they are worse cars than the Zs that came before them and afterward. If you really want 80s heroism you're getting a 300. If you want the original ethos of the Z brand, you're better off ponying up for a 240/260/280Z.

Hagerty Says: The P1800 has long been a cult classic—popular with the quirky coastal types who were traditionally Volvo's core market. Recently, however, we note more people are cluing in to the Volvo's merits. Millennials in particular are showing interest in the P1800 and tend to be willing to pay more for them than older collectors, according to our insurance data.

My Take: These are gorgeous cars with robust mechanicals. Even if they're a little on the slow side, they're tremendous to drive. I get why these have transcended generational desires.

Hagerty Says: ...In stock form, the Magnum SRT-8 was an excellent driver for its huge 120.0-inch wheelbase and 4400-pound curb weight. Basically, NASCAR on the Nordschleife. No doubt that's why this wildly successful platform, which lived on in the Dodge Charger and Challenger, only just went out of production nearly 20 years later.

My Take: Fuck yeah! The Magnum SRT-8 is the ultimate cool dad car. If you need to haul a bunch of stuff in addition to hauling ass, this is one of the best ways to do it. Nice examples are extremely hard to find, and when you do, they're already priced pretty high. Fuel economy sucks.

Hagerty Says: The best way to experience the car is behind the wheel. The V-12 makes fantastic sounds, but our test car was fitted with the automatic transmission, making the car more of a highway cruiser. The syrupy glissando of its shifts leaves the driver wishing for the manual's staccato shifts and the two extra gears to run through. The Hagerty Price Guide cites a premium of 50 percent for manual-equipped cars due to their rarity and desirability.

My Take: Still the cheapest way to get a Ferrari V12, but on the rise, these cars are extremely 1980s cool. Make sure you know what you're looking at, however, because of their deflated values a lot of these cars spent time in the hands of people who couldn't afford the maintenance. Good luck.

Hagerty Says: This car isn't a consolation prize for price-conscious youths. It's a blast to drive just about anywhere, says owner Ben Chester. It's up there with the Ford GT as one of the most gracefully aging retro designs of all time. And besides, don't you want a fun hatch that doesn't say GTI on the back?

My Take: It's going to be tough to find one that isn't completely shot. Reliability and parts availability might bite you in the ass at this point, but they certainly are fun to drive. A really nice example will probably start carrying a pretty big premium, but the bad ones will always be cheap. Make sure you know what you're looking for before buying.

Hagerty Says: To the uninitiated, the Honda Prelude was never more than a sexy Accord, but those who knew better appreciated it as a sharp handler that punched way above its price point. The latter view is, increasingly, holding sway today.

My Take: It's possible that Honda reviving the Prelude name for a new sporty hybrid coupe will bring some more attention to these older machines. I always liked how they looked, and by all accounts they drive well. Sure, why not? 2.2, yeah? Fast as fuck, bruv.

Hagerty Says: Long before the Mercedes G-Class began assaulting the mean streets of Beverly Hills and Brooklyn, it was a tool of the military. Introduced in 1979 as the "Gelände-wagen"—German for "off-road vehicle"—the G-wagen was a no-frills, go-anywhere vehicle with sturdy body-on-frame construction. A part-time four-wheel-drive setup offered locking front, center, and rear differentials for maximum traction.

My Take: These are extremely cool, but rarely get driven in the way they were designed to. The G-wagen is basically a trail-rated Jeep with German attention to quality and gorgeous interiors. One caveat: These have been collectible since they were new, and have never been inexpensive.

Hagerty Says: More than 40 years on, the brushed stainless-steel body and gullwing doors still look like a futuristic spaceship that made its way to Earth.

My Take: This is an utter failure of a car from a failed company. This car is defined by the "Back To The Future" film series and will never escape the shadow that Robert Zemeckis created. Everywhere you go in this car you'll be inundated by Doc Brown and McFly references, and you won't even be rewarded with a compelling driving experience. I guess if you're into that kind of thing, go buy one. Otherwise, steer clear.

A lot of the cars on this list are there because they have reached the bottom of their depreciation curve and good examples are starting to reach beyond the ironically cool part of the cycle. Some of the cars listed here are only going up in value because their better siblings have exploded in value beyond the means of many collectors. And the third category of cars were never really inexpensive to buy or keep nice in the first place.

Once more, it bears mentioning that you should really only buy a car if you love it and enjoy the driving experience.