Vintage RC Car Market Crash Is Coming? Prices Set To Fall End 2023

2019, 2020 and 2021 have been boom years for RC and vintage RC collectors. Prices have rocketed with some eye-watering numbers being given for 80s RC cars. Hell, I have spent £600 on an SWB CAT and £650 on a NIB RC10 RERE Worlds Car this year and sold an X10 for well over £1000! Unfortunately, the good times are coming to an end and prices have started to pull back. Could this be a small dip or will late 2022-2023 be a total crash?
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#Tamiya #RCKicks #RCMarketNews

[@barrycheesemore2928]

I think the big problem now is that most of us do not have the money to blow on 'toys' any more, and this is driving son prices down. Although Associated stuff seems to be going way up....

[@RCsoandso]

I understand the concept of this, but it is just speculation. The high ticket items will have more adjustment, but the cheaper end of the market seems that people are on drugs when pricing. A lot of people want to sell at too high of a price, for example, you can get a Ford Custom on a TT02 for £119 brand spankers, but on eBay (other sites available blah blah blah) people want £150+ for built kits. Obviously kit form is best in my opinion as I like to know how its built, and I am in control of the paint job and so on. My point being that while the base models are asking space prices you may strike it lucky (without Barrymore) and get a high ticket item for a good price, but I don't see a crash on the horizon, especially with the cost of living and so on rising. 😕👍

[@nsj9806]

100%

[@TheSlinky73]

I think you need to consider the percentage change. £500 down to £400 is a 20% change. If you lost even 10% on your house or investment you'd be bricking it. As others have commented the rocketing pricing was okay when people thought they had disposable income and these "toys" went up in value. All those people who hoarded Tamiya boxed Porsches thinking they'd flip and double their money are about to suffer badly. Real rarities will hold some value, the rest will lose all notion of 'value' and the correction will see those who love the hobby get some normality back. Personally will be very pleased to see those who have speculated on the market lose out - and maybe, just maybe, when there's a new release or a vintage car on the market we can get to buy it, instead of some spiv ruining it for us all.

[@jipbutler1157]

Well said that person!!!!!……absolutely spot on!!!!

[@mitsuman5555]

Fun video Gav, I’m a fan of these little chats. I don’t know much about the vintage market but I think we have a perfect storm coming to the new RC market. You’re already seeing some big sales (in the US anyway) and I would expect some incredible bargains during the Christmas shopping season this year.

[@ATARIBOY2]

Their value is as nostalgia purchase. I predict as people get older these will become less collectible to future generations

[@Wotup72]

Bingo

[@Renegade67868]

Whatever happens, i'll NEVER gonna sell my collection!! I've spend many years (30 years) on search, buy, build and collect vintage parts and cars..

[@angelounson2175]

I agree with Michael. With the cost of living rising, demand for higher end collectibles could fall. I also agree the less expensive brands will rise. We are finding that the less expensive brands are almost as good.

[@acemcgraw1]

I think this is understandable, and pretty obvious in many ways. The RC collectors market boomed in 2020, with prices going up massively. What happened then? In the UK at least, people were sent home from work with, in some cases, no change to their income, but less to spend it on. Petrol prices went down to £1 a litre. So everyone used their spare time and (depending on their circumstances) spare money to do something like buy RC cars - prices sky rocketed. Now look at it - everyone is back at work and probably doing more work than they used to as everyone seems really busy at the moment, inflation will be well into double figures soon, petrol prices spiked at over double what they were and gas prices, come October, will mean that my bill will have gone from roughly £80 a month to about £250-300 a month in the space of a year. I can guarantee you that my (and most others!) pay packet has matched that increase... So basically we've gone from lots of spare time and some spare cash, through to working all hours and not much spare cash - it's not rocket science that something like vintage RCs aren't as popular as they could be at the moment. I can remember over the last few years, people would post pictures on the RC Facebook groups of stacks of 10s of NiB Avantes, Egress', etc etc, boasting "whoops I bought anouther 5 of these", and some even commenting that it would be their little retirement nest egg! I mean that never made sense at teh best of times - buying something for £500 that might, one day in about 20 years, be worth £700 isn't exactly a great return on investment (unless you've bought 200 of them...).

[@devlinbyng9267]

I think your right and everything you have said makes good sense. It's a plus for buyers who have the money but for those that want to or have to sell, not so good . As bad as it gets my collection will stay put as its not about how much it's worth in monetary terms . Great video with real content 👌

[@thegreattreon0177]

Good. Now hopefully I'll be able to buy some of these newer and vintage models without having to go on a crime spree

[@madmanjustice]

I just found your channel after getting a WLtoys 124019 from a local auction ( i pick it up tomorrow) and have not run an RC car in decades. (fly drones now) but watching some of your videos got me thinking about two of the cars I have stored somewhere that i need to dig out. I have a 1st gen Tamiya Astute and a 1st gen Avante. I'm not a collector and both cars have been run but should be in pretty good shape. I started wondering if I should get them running again or maybe just go ahead and sell them if the older 1st gens cars are in demand. I should still have my old Grasshopper (first car ever) and a Tamyia Fox as well.

[@RCKickschannel]

100% get them out and running again.

[@tomellingham8627]

Grasshoppers are Ace!

[@madmanjustice]

@@RCKickschannel just picked up the 124019 from the auction. It was used but only $30. hooked it up and started zooming around the house, but it would stop sometimes and no go into reverse. Found the issue pretty quick when the motor started smoking! lol was fun for a minute. Since the rest of the buggy is fine I going to just toss another 550 motor ($12) in it and have some fun. When I find the Tamiyas i'll have to go through them and will probably need new batteries and electronics for them.

[@takayatakeuchi3685]

I like this video. Nothing escapes the macro trends of the economy. The flip side of this is that next year is very likely to a good time to buy some if you have extra money sitting around.

[@RCKickschannel]

If you have deep pockets it’s always a good time.

[@SniffersRcGarage]

Great video thanks for the Intel I will finish watching later have to go back to work thanks for the great content as always

[@paulwilkinson4501]

I got so fed up with ridiculous prices on ebay, I've been and bought an Xray Xt2 to go and try club racing. Great vid tho Gavin, keep up the brill channel mate 👍👍😎

[@ATARIBOY2]

The decal prices are also effected by less and less original vintage body shells for sale. Original decals are less of a must have if the body is aftermarket.

[@jcshobbiesandrecreation5873]

I agree with what you're seeing. I have been watching the market on the 959 for a while now as I have a few of them I'd like to sell at some point and I have seen the market dropping here in the US for about the last 18 months or so. I'm hoping that things return to a better place once the current political issues in this country get back to normal and we're not paying $5, $6, $7 a gallon for gas.

[@steved4738]

I like this kind of video a lot, it’s a good and interesting debate. I agree too as I think the cost of living will inevitably swing towards a market with more sellers and less buyers. Btw I bought the £122 Falcon and it’s a peach 😊

[@RCKickschannel]

That is a total bargain, you did really well. I paid that money back in 2019 and it was a basket case.

[@craigh79]

Good im sick of seeing crap vintage gear for god money id rather a repo at least you know the history.

[@RCKickschannel]

Hopefully we will keep seeing more and more rere cars from Manufactures in 2023 and on.

[@martinhsrc6699]

This is interesting however within the RC community a lot of cars change hands off the market. I’ve bought and sold cars without them being advertised.

[@RCKickschannel]

Yes these are only eBay figures and eBay tends to be a bit more than Facebook marketplace and sales groups.

[@pumpkin91ful]

Yep, in my country (Italy) this hobby Is mostly ended, only two big shop of RC models in the entire city of Rome, i remember during 90,00 there were circuit made with garden hose on large parking place mostly on Suday

[@darrengrimmer8541]

Sorry if bring the mood down I really don’t mean to.. the problem is quite a lot of us still live in the real world.. we have to get up in the morning and go to work.. we get our little bit of money and have to spend it on bills and food and looking after our kids etc.. Maybe every now and again we may spend a bit on our hobbies and the like.. but now people will feel the pinch and the hobby stuff will go.. so I guess prices for these things will come down.. of course there is always exceptions.. some people don’t have to go work and can still whatever they want on hobbies and things..

[@alphawlff]

Some of us are single with no kids. So we can still whatever we want on hobbies and things.

[@MikeNineteen76]

Would always pay 30-40% more for new inbox over built, as the building is half the fun, isnt it? (Maybe just some of us).

[@jameslovell863]

Next schumacher 4wd re release will be a procat ordinary edition as its the lazy easy most profitable option.

[@RCKickschannel]

Procat SE? I must admit I was thinking the same thing. That’s fine but what I don’t get is why it would take the best part of two years to go from an XLS to a ProCat product.

[@coolcycles]

In August prices on eBay are lower every year, than during late fall and winter, just because of the weather and summer vacations. With the current high inflation in mind and more to come, it's probably better to buy RC cars now, than sell'em. Same as real estate... 😎

[@RCKickschannel]

You make a good point. This is another factor that plays a part.

[@RCACTIONAUSTRALIA]

I’ve Definitely seen sales decrease, but people are still listing at ridiculous prices, and I noticed they just sit and don’t sell versus a yr ago

[@leehurst6922]

Gav I reckon alot of this maybe the wealth of 3d parts available to restore these cars. Alot of people dont mind if it's not original as long as it looks the part. This means people may be reluctant to pay high money

[@jonthomas8487]

I still don’t get everyone’s fascination with the Falcon. It was a horrible design and at least in the US they were not popular and certainly not as popular as the Hornet or even the Kyosho Icarus. I get it that they are no longer made but out of all the cars no longer made it’s on the bottom for me

[@RCKickschannel]

It was a reasonably low cost Tamiya kit so popular with the kids in the UK back in the day.

[@SEAN-fx5dm]

I agree with everything you have said! Difficult times are coming Gav 🙁.

[@RCKickschannel]

Feels that way. It’s getting tougher for us as we are basically almost a wage down on income.

[@michaeldorich4485]

Thanks for all of research. I think demand will go down for the higher end collectibles. I think the less expensive brands will sell more, especially if they are durable and can take a beating offload and at the skateparks. I think it wold be interesting if Tamiya, Kyosho, and Schumacher tried to get into the basher market with Traxxas and Arrma. The lesser known brands with durable bashers will offer an attractive alternative to the bigger brands. It's probably impossible to tell, but it would be interesting to determine the age groups buying Tamiya, Kyosho and Schumacher collectables.

[@alphawlff]

The Kyosho Inferno buggies are tanks and can take a beating.

[@michaeldorich4485]

@@alphawlff I am sure that's true. But, there is a price to pay for one. It may be well worth it some people.

[@alphawlff]

@@michaeldorich4485 There is a price to everything. What are you willing to spend?

[@michaeldorich4485]

@@alphawlff I agree. That's a good question. For Tamiya, Kyosho and Schumacher collectors the answer would be different than other people looking at the same rc car. Some collectors looking at an old rare Tamiya car for sale would say that's a bargain. While others looking at the same car would say that's just an old expensive rc car.

[@Bloggingidiot]

This all happened with the classic car market during the 2008 credit crunch. People will be stupid to start selling all their RC stuff off to make some money mainly because in a few years when it all starts to stabilise then prices will start to increase again. It happened with the classic car market

[@markmerrin1606]

I think your ban on the money and your predictions are pretty much on point.. hopefully on that note I can find a king cab or monster racing at a bargain...👍🇬🇧😎

[@RCKickschannel]

Don’t know about a bargain but a little less if things continue.

[@curbscrape8343]

I guess the RC car market beats the real car market this time. First things preceding a monumental crash? Car sales slump. Love ya vids as I used to dribble over the Tamiya catalogues when I was ten year old, furthest I got was £5 in A Christmas club fir a Hornet bundle lol. I'm seeing this drop happening on most Rc's. I run an XMaxx and used to run 1/5 petrol. Seeing prices drop by around 20% on used Xmaxx's, so not just the prestige vintage.

[@markhinkle3234]

I think the entire hobby both vintage and new will get hit hard in the next year. Simply put, people will not be buying. So pricing is going to reflect that trend.

[@jecoboost1440]

I'm not in the hobby to buy and sell. But I do think it's going to get bad before it gets good.

[@RCKickschannel]

Same for me. lol never make money from buying and selling RC cars lol. I always say, you can invest money in much better things than vintage RC. That said it’s nice to chat about the market and try and understand it’s current movements.

[@duncanmarriott2052]

A little market correction is good , i really don't collect as a investment - it's my hobby / passion . Really hoping Tamiya / Kyosho has some more Re-Re coming soon. I want to build & run so paying 1K north is getting over my good value limit . 959 , Monster Racer , Hotshot II , Striker , Turbo Ultima , Double Dare ....... Marui & Associated Worlds , don't get me started Thanks again for your hard work !

[@duncanmarriott2052]

Had to build CC-02 Bronco as I've been waiting 8 month for my real 2021 2 door Orange Bronco . Real cars are even more of a mess here in the states

[@philmoffett366]

Definitely agree with you on the cat xls! I would definitely get a built one any day over a mint in boxed👍

[@RCKickschannel]

We could see a ProCat from Schumacher so you might still get your chance

[@dsoupashis]

Great information Gavin, totally agree with everything you are predicting 👍🏻

[@garywilson3582]

2 of those falcons where mine and one of the optima mid turbos..

[@pattyofurniture5674]

I knew you made the titanic sink.lol

[@RCKickschannel]

LOL

[@vinc.G.moucRC]

Thanks Gavin for your insights. I hate speculation. Please RC manufacturers, take example with kyosho and the legendary serie ! Correct the issues and re re ! Price of vintage will certainly stay high because of collectors. These high end toys are not books ! Not to be put on a shelf !!!

[@RCKickschannel]

I do agree Kyosho has the best rere strategy with its quality, improving on vintage kits. The only downside is the number of kits it can bring out each year is only 1-2 max. Kyosho also needs to work on part availability as well as upgrade parts OMG, these can be almost impossible to get.

[@CornholioMcGeeRC]

Love your channel!! I like the info and all the work you put in. So what happened to the gig you had where you were going to watch other RC channels and let us know what’s new? I liked that idea but maybe I was in the minority?

[@RCKickschannel]

I have a list when I find good RC videos and channels. When I get enough for another video I will release it

[@alfredyost7972]

I have been selling my Tamiya Porsche 959 parts on eBay. I am able to sell but for less and less money. I am also seeing fewer people interested in what I am selling as well. It would seem that what you are sayings seems to already be happening. Thoughts?

[@alphawlff]

Hopefully it will get rid of the speculators.

[@Pablo668]

Not sure where you found your prices for the 959. I don't know exactly how Ebay works, but my ebay is obviously not your ebay. I can't find much other than hugely expensive 959's when I look. I am searching from Aus, prices in AUD, there may have been one at 500gbp but the rest were in the 1000-~3000gbp, and very few to choose from. The 959 is a bucket list car for me, but not at current prices, I just can't justify it. I am patient though, I just hope it doesn't take till I'm in my 90's.

[@RCKickschannel]

This is UK sold prices.

[@yellomello71]

“Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.” - Yoda ☝

[@brendancox916]

I recon your video alone just reduced the value of all vintage cars by 30%. Lol

[@RCKickschannel]

LOL

[@sgrichardson]

I see your plan Gav... Tell everyone to sell there cars now and you can get some bargins! Personally from what I have seen most of the down turn is just supply and demand on the Tamiya front. Someone is waiting for a certain and is willing to pay good money for it. Someone has seen that happen and lists theirs, often will achieve a lower price becasue the demand drop, you only need to people desperate to have something.... Jun Watanabe Hornets recently prime example first 2 went for over £1k then the third went for £700 and a 4 one asking £899 is not getting a bite is seems... So supply now is outwaying demand... Same with the Falcon, too many good ones about and everyone who was desperate for them have got now... Thats my take... If everyone is being told it will go down and they all believe it and list things lower or take low offers then it creates the down turn...

[@RCKickschannel]

Yes I did see the Jun Watanabe hornets sell, I forgot as I should have put them in the video as that was extremely strong numbers for NIB and it will be interesting to see how these go over the next year. I do think you are over estimating a small RC channels reach to actually affect the market. I also talk with people who own RC businesses and I find out what’s selling well, what’s not selling.

[@CarminesRCTipsandTricks]

IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!!! The average working person CAN'T afford anything RC, except spare parts. 😲😞🇺🇸🇬🇧

[@CarminesRCTipsandTricks]

RC is NOT a commodities market!

[@homeboyrc]

What about team losi

[@RCKickschannel]

Not much in the UK from vintage Losi. The JRX2 was a nice tipping of the hat to its vintage days but as it wasn’t 1/10th it’s just a shelf queen toy. I do hope Losi change this approach to its vintage offerings and produces some rere cars in 1/10th as it will be substantially more popular.

[@chrischris6399]

Vintage RC , 2nd hand RC, old RC is useless and garbage, I wouldn't consider those even it's on deep discount of retail official price with condition of sealed box/brand new....not to mention assembled/played/tortured/wore out. Just my personal opinion.

[@alphawlff]

Thanks. I will have more to pick and choose.

[@Lander76]

I don't mean to be a doomer but all the arrows are flashing red and pointing towards a global economic depression and if that happens the price of all rc's will crash through the floor.

[@RCKickschannel]

It’s looking that way for sure.