I don’t want to know how many Hot Wheels cars I went through growing up. Out of what probably tallied up in the near-thousand range, only a tiny handful (maybe ten) survive to this day, and only one, the silver C4 Corvette with the red interior, was saved on purpose (it’s the first Hot Wheels anyone can remember being given to me, back when I was still crawling on the floor). What’s the total value of what I’ve got? Maybe ten bucks, possibly fifteen if you count the rare bare metal 1971 Road Runner and it’s chrome-green twin that was a holiday package special. Had I saved all of the cars? Well, I’d rather not think about how much…one car I do remember, a black 1950s Thunderbird with rubber tires, is worth about a thousand bucks if it was still in it’s original packaging. Um…yeah. Mine did not stay in the packaging, but instead did lap after lap of the drag strip that was the upper railing of Grandpa Ken’s balcony.
So what makes this car so special, other than it’s one of the OG Hot Wheels? Well, that’s the thing…this is more original than the original cars of the 1967 run. The white enamel paint identifies this car as a prototype model that was used to check for body imperfections. Translation: when a guy named Joel Magee located this exact Hot Wheels car out of a pile of toys, he scored a win to the tune of about $100,000 in value. This car is considered the #3 rarest Hot Wheels to exist, behind the prototype Oldsmobile 442 and the rear-loaded Beach Bomb VW Bus.
And to think that my moronic little brother flushed some of my cars down the toilet.
For a 100 large, I’m sorry, but I will have a very nice real one.
I have about a dozen of the original hot wheels first year cars ( including the beatnik bandit with the more rare pink paint ) that my grandmother and I bought at a local thrift store nearly 20 years ago and I dare say that they are worth much they are in good shape for the year I am happy to have them wish I was lucky as this guy
I am old enough to have a few of the original Hot Wheels run with the removable redline tires. I had four or five of them, including the Bug, the El Camino and this Camaro in a different color. Like most kids, I used mine up pretty good. They all went to my little cousin who preceded to destroy them further.
I was, what I thought, a pretty severe collector of HW @ one time. Shopping all the spots & searching one @ a time for that special car. Retail stores, thrift stores, antique stores, etc.. As time went on I learned that there where “collectors” out there who pre-bought cases @ a time before they ever hit store shelves. Most of the exclusive cars never made it past the stock room. Pretty much took the joy out of that hobby for me. I still have storage totes & car cases, in packages & loose, full of 60’s 70’s, 80’s, 90’s & a few earlier 2000’s HW cars taking up more space & finance than I generally care to think about.
@ this point too me, six figures can either buy you one or two “premier” real cars or several real cars you can drive & enjoy.
I suppose the drawback is, there’s a significant amount of difference in the amount of storage space required.
Collectors have a disease
This is proof of that ( and the show American Pickers)
Every old American will die with a sock drawer full of silver coins–the coin dealers are not motivated to tell you which one is worth big bucks so the kids sell them as a lot for half the worth and then the cycle repeats itself–nobody really gains except the dealers
Same on the Hot Wheels –all motivated by the Holy Grail find Yea one guy out of a thousand will make a score the rest are just feeding the disease
I like my odds in Vegas better
100K for 2 cents worth of pot metal– only in Merica
There are many ways to make money, but if you can’t find the seeds that make money, you can’t be a business