Also, the '75 Ford link I posted was just an example. I’ve seen this phenomenon with other makes and models, over a wide range of model years. Many of them with nothing “unique” about them (like, there are scads of trucks just like them around town). Some of them quite beat up.
I think those two examples you’ve chosen are kind of cherry picking on either end of the spectrum.
The '02 F-150 has 220k miles one it, which means it’s pretty much approaching the end of its useful life so reduced utility appeal and obviously no real collectors value either.
I think with the '74, it’s at an age in which the trucks could go either way in terms of being bought for utility or collector’s value. I’m sure you can still buy a pretty beat-up but still functional '74 2wd F100 for sub-$2k and use it to haul gravel or whatever, but the one you linked to only has about 100k, which is amazing for the age and the body appears to be in unusually good shape so there’s definitively some collector value there. $4.2k is probably a little high, but I don’t think by as much as you’re thinking.
It’s a 1974 Ford pickup in nice condition. How many of those do you suppose there are? practically all of them have rusted away to dust by now.
It’s not about this specific truck. The examples I linked were simply currently-running ads that I could link to for illustration purposes. The '74 Ford link was just the first one I spotted as I scanned the list.
I’ve noticed that a running four wheel drive vehicle (trucks, and especially jeeps) tends to have a floor on the minimum price. I’d say that buyers put a value on the functionality of the trucks.
Well, can you post some better examples then? Just skimming the Wenatchee cars and trucks by owner section, the pickup truck prices all look pretty reasonable to me.
I think it’s this. Cars tend to lose value as they get older and less attractive, but that’s not as much of an issue for a truck. If they run, trucks are useful for work, hauling, hunting, etc. And older trucks are potentially cheaper and easier to work on than newer trucks.
True to some extent, but I’ve seen 2WD trucks with rusted out beds and tires with no tread left being sold for ridiculous prices because the owner says the engine is still good. It’s going to cost up to a grand or more just for tires installed, and a lot of the old ones need front end work also.
the other thing to consider is that trucks are the last bastion of body-on-frame vehicles. if the bed rots away, you can either find another one or bolt on a flatbed. If the cab is toast, you can maybe find another.
This is the reason that trucks loose their value more slowly than a car, and why the prices bottom out at a higher value. Trucks can be the key to having a particular job. Even the most beat-to-death truck can haul stuff to and from the job site provided you can keep it running and legal. You can’t haul much in a Mustang, no matter how nice it is.