The sub-$50K crowd kept things moving in the first half of 2025. Even with fewer cars on offer, nearly 28,000 changed hands for a combined $547M – just ahead of last year. Average prices held just under $20K, but this segment isn’t about chasing big returns. It’s steady, reliable, and still the beating heart of the collector car market.
Buyers are favoring classics that mix period character with everyday usability, especially late-analog cars from the ’60s to the ’80s. These vehicles hit the nostalgia sweet spot for Gen-X and Millennial collectors and are still fun to drive without breaking the bank. Strength is concentrated in two sweet spots:
- 1960s driver-grade sports coupés and sedans, and
- 1980s analog performance cars and hot hatches.
However, thin supply means that just one or two strong results can meaningfully reset values. On the flip side, models with high maintenance costs, aging demand bases, or excessive supply (like complex track cars, modern muscle variants, or pre-war sedans) are seeing weaker performance and often struggle to meet reserves.
Looking ahead, expect analog, driver-focused classics to stay in demand as they remain the natural entry point for new collectors. But with such thin trading in many segments, values will remain sensitive to individual sales—creating both opportunity and volatility.
Using our CLASSIC.COM Market Benchmark (CMB)*, we’ve analyzed over 5,000 individual markets** to pinpoint the top Growing and Slowing Markets so far in 2025. To qualify for this list, a market must have more than five sold listings between January-June 2025.
Note: CMB is an indicator of how recent market activity has impacted typical market values. It does not guarantee individual vehicle appreciation.
Top 10 Growing MarketsUnder $50K
Featured Listings for Sale
Looking to get into the market? Check out these featured listings that are available now!
Top 10 Slowing MarketsUnder $50K
Auction Stats
More money changed hands, more cars found new homes, and sellers got more deals done – up three points to a 68% Sell-Through Rate. Prices dipped just a touch, down 1.8%, which tells us this isn’t about rising values. It’s about more cars moving, and the market making room for them.
Online auctions kept pulling most of the weight in the sub-$50K bracket. They handled nearly two-thirds of all sales and still managed to move more money and more metal, despite listing fewer cars. That’s a sign that solid pricing and easy bidding are keeping buyers engaged. Regional in-person auctions also held their own, selling a few more cars for a bit more money, though rising reserves shaved their Sell-Through Rate down slightly.
Kissimmee had a tougher go. More cars were offered, but demand – especially for affordable muscle – didn’t quite keep up. Sell-through dipped, and total dollars stayed flat. Scottsdale took the opposite approach, trimming the low-end entries and getting nearly everything sold. Amelia & Miami played only a minor role in this tier, and what did run there didn’t do well – fewer cars, fewer sales, and one of the lowest strike rates in the segment.
Bottom line? The sub-$50K market is where the most deals are happening, especially online and at lean, focused live sales. Venues trying to move weaker cars at outdated prices are finding it tougher to close the deal.
Looking ahead, this tier should keep humming – it’s affordable, liquid, and doing exactly what a healthy market should.
At CLASSIC.COM, we track specialty and enthusiast cars for sale from auctions, dealers, and private sellers to help you find your dream car, and know what it’s worth.
Search Cars For Sale
Find classic and exotic cars for sale from auctions, dealers, and private sellers all in one place.
Get Listing Alerts
Get notified when we detect new listings and/or sale prices for your favorite makes and models.
Sell Your Car
Collectors and enthusiasts are searching for cars like yours. We’ll help you price it right and showcase it to the right audience.
Auctions & Dealers: Include your inventory on CLASSIC.COM
*The CLASSIC.COM Market Benchmark (CMB) is a benchmark value for vehicles in a given Market based on data accumulated by CLASSIC.COM and calculated by a proprietary algorithm that takes into account volume and recency of each data point. CMB can be used to assess the performance of a market over a given time period. However, it does not represent the value of a specific vehicle.
** A Market on CLASSIC.COM is a grouping of comparable vehicles that have, at a minimum, the same Make, Model, and Model Generation. When relevant for purposes of valuation, a Market may be further segmented by Model Variant, Trim, Transmission Type, Body Style, and other factors.
