How much would all the used cars in Cuba be worth to collectors in America?
That is a very difficult question given the lack of information that comes out of Cuba for these things. The relatively few private cars they have are mostly 50’s era and savvy Cubans have managed to keep them running all these years by any means they can come up with. Most are in terrible shape. Plus, Cuba is an island and that harsh on the body and other car components. There are plenty of 50’s cars in crappy shape sitting in back yards and junk yards here in the U.S. that aren’t worth much money either. The only variable would be the novelty and ingenuity that Cubans used to keep an individual car running and I have never heard of that being a niche market. The only chance at significant value would be an ultra-rare care that is in decent condition that someone managed to keep running for the past 50+ years.
They’d probably be worth more in Cuba. After all, it’s the very scarcity that’s kept those 50s cars going. And added to what Shagnasty said, if you brought the whole lot over, supply and demand would do bad things to the price in the US collectors’ market. Maybe now Fidel’s gone, we could do swaps - a running 50s classic in poor shape for a running Japanese 1990-ish 4cyl econobox in reasonable shape?
In addition to what others have said about crappy condition and lots of non OEM parts (like Lauda motors), keep in mind that a lot of the cars are “base model” at best, and may even have been lower than the base models in the US. That is, Ford and GM might have had more sparten models for export. There are a few Caddilacs and nice Buicks, but they are rare, and the people that have them know what they’ve got.
I’ve read that the Cuban government took up some of the really good stuff in the interest of preservation a while back and gave the owners new Skodas or something of the like in exchange.
It’s not like the people in Cuba keep maintaining those cars because the embargo prevents them from buying new cars. They could buy Japanese or Korean or German or French cars, but there’s only two problems. The first is that Cubans have a hard time getting ahold of hard currency, so buying any imported goods would be a problem. Thee second is that it is against the law for Cubans to purchase cars. If you had a car at the time of the Revolution you could keep the car, but no one could buy a new one.
And that means that if you have a car, you’ve got to keep it running by any means neccesary, because once that private car bites the dust you will never be able to get a new one. And it takes a lot of effort and ingenuity to keep those rustbuckets running.
So if the law were changed such that Cubans could buy new cars, all those classic cars would end up being junked in short order, for the same reason old cars in the US get junked…it’s cheaper to buy a new car than to refurbish an old crappy car. Sure, collectors will buy old cars, but most cars simply aren’t collectable, head down to the nearest junkyard for proof. If you want a functioning older car you can go down to the junkyard and pull out one of those rustbuckets and put in the time and money to get it running again, and it would cost you less than it would cost to ship one of those cars from Cuba.
The old cars in Cuba run the gamut from rolling rust buckets to amazingly restored beauties. Due to lack of replacement parts, many are kept running with parts that have been cobbled from whatever was available.
There are few restored cars anywhere (not just Cuba) that truly resemble a stock car of the day. Most have upgrades in fit and finish that make them look far better than they did when new. The cars in Cuba that look great would probably have some value to a subset of collectors that wanted to get their hands on an authentic Cuban restoration. A few of the junkers may have some value if they are particularly rare or kept running in a unique fashion.
Otherwise, most would probably have little value beyond scrap due to their condition and the poor quality of parts that have been substituted to keep them running.
The '57 Chevys, Studebakers, and other classic cars in Cuba are, as the OP asked, heavily used. They are not in mint condition. Some of the classic cars may look sharp, but a collector has to be aware of:
- Authentic cars are going to be 40 years old.
- And have been in a tropical climate during that time.
- And have been used heavily.
- And have been refurbished with whatever the owners or mechanics could find.
- Not all the classic cars are authentic; many (I don’t have the numbers) are modern bodies fashioned after the classics.
nitpick: that’s Lada motors.
I think this last part is particularly important, almost all body parts on the old cars is Cuba has been built locally, the original long since rusted away. Many mechanics in Cuba are artists with sheet metal and a couple of hammers.
Uh, a lot of Cubans have cars with race motors built by the three time World Champion himself. Yeah that’s it. :smack:
I must be misunderstanding this. If that is true, then cars must be so uncommon there that I must wonder where the people who do have cars buy their gasoline.
I can’t answer your question directly but their very old crappy cars are legal and it is legal to sell gas for them. All kinds of government vehicles need gas anyway so you don’t have to sneak it into the country. When you own a '55 sedan that uses panty hose for belts then sending a couple of kids to lug 5 gallons of gas back by foot a couple of miles may seem like a good option. It isn’t like they tour the country with those cars. They use them strictly for utility.
You have to look at it in relative terms. Keeping a very old car in a Cuban family running by any means possible is an extreme luxury for them. The lack of Texaco stations on every corner is hardly a deterrent when you have to make repairs out of bare metal and a hammer. Some Cubans decide that it is a grand idea to take a raft and swim 90 miles to Florida to get away. The communist utopia didn’t turn out as advertised but the human will to survive still caries on.
Havana doesn’t have as many cars as like-sized American cities, but it’s not just old beaters. They have lots of modern taxis, and no shortage of government and party officials who have OK cars. I think Doctors and other important people can get newer cars too.
Now I don’t know what the rules are as to who is allowed to buy gas and at what price, but there are certainly gas stations.
Wow. Another bit of ignorance eradicated. Thanks!
If you owned a car prior to the revolution you were allowed to keep it. As soon as the U.S. embargo started, no more U.S. built cars were brought into Cuba. All cars that have come into Cuba since are technically government property. Depending on who they have been designated for they will have different color license plates. Athletes and high government officials have been the beneficiaries of many of the cars but they don’t “own” them.
There aren’t a lot of cars in Cuba but there are cars. The U.S. built cars are all from 1959 and earlier. A lot of the later cars are from Russia.
Gasoline, like just about anything else in Cuba is rationed. If you own a car you receive a book of coupons, I don’t know for what amounts but very small a few liters a month, which allows you to buy gasoline. Some people who have cars that are undriveable sell those coupons to others, and you can also get gasoline in the black market at much higher prices.
As a tourist with a rental car, getting gasoline isn’t a problem. But it’s not going to be cheap.
You’re correct, I referred to cars owned by Cubans. Tourists rentals are all government owned.