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.......a DM 1:24, fully operational (hood, doors, trunk, with motor and spare tire and top if convertible, etc.) would cost today? I never post new topics, but this has been bugging me for a long time. As I recall, the last two cars that DM made were the Mustang fastback and the 1935 Ford Coupe.That was around 2012-2014? I think they were each $249. I don't know the answer myself, but I'm just curious. Depending on the price, I wonder if I would still be buying them today.
I can say that most the NEOs I started buying around 2013 through American Excellence cost about $65. Some wee as high as in the $90, but not many. Today, one of the main 1:43 brands, GLM, typically offers new items for $119. Let's forget about new import duties from China.
Look forward to your thoughts on this. Thanks, John
Part of the cost of the Mints was the liberal return or replacement policies they provided, which requires people power to handle that. My guess would be a price between $450 and $500 assuming production around 750 units since demand today would be a fraction of what it was in the heyday. High detail 1:18 cars from GMP and Acme are running $179 but they're being reproduced off old tooling from 15 years ago that's been paid off. That also assumes traditional diecast, but they might be less if the AutoArt composite approach is used that relies on high quality plastics and diecast parts. Even those are in the $210 - $250 range. My $.05 worth (since the penny is going away. )
Minimum of $299, likely more in the $350-375 range. Recent GLM 1/43 is up to $129 for a curbside resin. But, they produce gem like models that I can't seem to stop buying.
I'm sure the price would be a bit more than Automodello, since those are curbside models. The lowest priced Automodello curbsides are $250 on their website right now. For a different color, they quickly jump to $300.
On top of that, China absconded with 1:24 tooling that DM (and probably FM, too) paid for, because under their laws they do not recognize such ownership rights. So all the models a company might begin producing in 1:24 would require completely new tooling and that would need to be amortized in the unit prices.
I don't really remember the price of the last diecast that came from the Mints. But given the normal inflation rate that has been experience in the US since 2008, I'd say figure 2X or 2.5X those prices would be a starting point estimate.
I think the last diecast I got from DM was the 1948 Chevrolet, but I forget what I paid for it. Myron's write-up here in JSS for that model says $149 plus $9 shipping. Using those figures, I get $316 to $391 as a range I'd expect.
That's too rich for me and my fixed income pension, and the reason I've switched to collecting 1:24/1:25 styrene model kits from Round2, Moebius and Revell.
Thanks guys, I was thinking that it had to be in the $450-500 range, just by the amount of time gone by and inflation and now tariffs. The is without taking new molds into consideration or a change in production down from what used to be the norm of 5000 cars. Presume if they ever did start to remake cars of this quality, they would not be made in China, but some other place where labor is also cheap.
When you see some of the DM and even FM cars on Ebay, it is surprising that they don't sell for more $. And when they are the nicer cars, there is usually a flaw in them that is sometimes mentioned by the seller and other times not.
How much do you think.....
Posted - 02/12/2025 : 10:02:07
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