Eastern classic cars are experiencing a remarkable increase in value: GDR vehicles, once viewed as worthless, are enjoying increasing popularity and rising market values. An evaluation shows that the average value has doubled in the last ten years.
Average values have doubled over the last ten years
In the years following reunification in 1990, Trabant, Wartburg and other GDR cars were often considered worthless and largely scrapped. But today, a good three decades later, the tide has turned: the remaining vehicles from the former GDR are now considered classic cars and their market value is continuously increasing. An evaluation by the MDR magazine “Umschau”, based on data from “Classic Data”, shows that the value of Eastern classic cars has doubled on average in the last ten years.
GDR vehicles that were once unloved due to their poor condition and lack of demand are now experiencing a remarkable increase in value, the evaluation shows. Models that are particularly in need of repair and show significant signs of wear (condition class 4) record an average increase in value of around 150 percent. Cars in used condition (class 3) increase on average by a good 90 percent, while cars in good condition (class 2) increase on average by around 70 percent. Marius Brune from “Classic Data” explains to MDR that this phenomenon is particularly pronounced in Eastern vehicles. Here, even relatively small amounts in euros lead to high percentage increases because the starting values are often low.
Worth up to 105,000 euros
Some of the most impressive increases in value were recorded in East German automobiles. The Czechoslovakian luxury sedan “Tatra T613” from the 1970s achieved a percentage increase of over 350 percent in a condition in need of repair and is currently valued at 14,000 euros. The “Wartburg 311”, the Soviet off-road vehicle “Lada Niva” and the station wagon variant of the “Trabant 601” were able to show similarly impressive increases of around 340 percent.
According to “Classic Data”, enthusiasts particularly value the oldest models in the sample, including the coupé and the convertible from the Thuringian BMW successor Eisenacher Motorenwerke (EMW) with the model number “327-3” from the 1950s. Defect-free models with slight signs of wear are valued at 105,000 euros, while vehicles in slightly worse condition are still worth 80,000 euros.
Inventory numbers are growing
According to MDR, the exact inventory numbers of GDR cars are difficult to determine because many of the classic cars do not have manufacturer or type codes in their documents. Nevertheless, there is a growing number of Eastern classic cars on the market. Models of the Soviet brand “Zaporoshets” are very rare today, as are pre-turned “Dacia“-Vehicles, Soviet cars “Moskvich”, “Polski Fiat”, “Skoda” and “Lada” cars from Soviet times.
Editorial team finanzen.net