Why are Fairlanes cheaper than Falcons?

[jstanovic]

The missus has agreed with me that I need a new toy. Looking at XA/XB/XC Falcons, V8, neat condition, prefer close to standard/not modified. Not looking for immaculate or show ponies, just an average cruiser. Probably 12 months away from getting serious about it but have been keeping an eye on Carsales to see what is out there.

One thing I have noticed is that 1970's Fairlanes are much cheaper than equivalent Falcons. Some one-owner or low km Fairlanes with matching number V8s are going for $11-14k where as Falcons were quite a bit more than that.

I would have thought that any 40 year old matching number Fairlane/Falcon in good condition would be similar value seeing as they share the same DNA.

Any reasons that I seem to be missing? Why would Falcons be in more demand than Fairlanes in that era? I really like the ZGs and they look fairly close to the XB unlike the ZH/XCs.

(I haven't checked any cars in person so only going by the ads and pictures. Also the expensive ones may not be selling, just going off face value in the ad.)

[LTDHO]

It's a case of demand, simply people want an old falcon than a bigger heavier Fairlane.

So many Fairlanes are wrecked recently.

[Stefan]

Because falcons are more popular, due to the fact GTs were falcons.

Popularity creates demand, demand jacks up prices.

[cs123]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Because falcons are more popular, due to the fact GTs were falcons.

Popularity creates demand, demand jacks up prices.

Pretty much this.

I like mine, it's a fun car.

[superyob]

Aussie Fairlanes did not take out Bathurst or have a performance variant marketed as a race car. Personally, I prefer Fairlanes, especially ZD or ZH models...

[Chopped]

There are only so many grandpas who want one....

I personally think they look great dumped down low as a nice weekend cruiser

[jstanovic]

Originally Posted by Chopped

I personally think they look great dumped down low as a nice weekend cruiser

That is another reason I like them, seen a few on here that look really ft and low, just look mean and tough!!

[BFXR8]

My father has a zh fairlane with a 351 it was 2nd owner with 140k with all the books and a folder full of receipts , such a awesome cruiser and to honest I had never really considered one but after his one my appreciation for them has grown lot .
We have lowered it and put a set of wheels on it and it looks great and always getting complements on it I think people are starting to enjoy seeing something different .

[PepeLePew]

What is the weight difference in general?

[cs123]

Originally Posted by PepeLePew

What is the weight difference in general?

Not much actually, The only extra sheet metal is about 6 inches in the dog leg and the extra length in the boot.

Like for like there is probably less then 50Kg in it for equivalent XA/XB . Fairlanes generally had more options though like air and steer.

Mine weighs in around 1700KG with me in it.

The ZH's I think would be a bit beefier than XCs

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by PepeLePew

What is the weight difference in general?

According to the specs on Unique Cars.

Fairlane 1651kg (Marquis 1768kg)
Falcon 1475kg

Fairlane... http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...ifications.htm
Falcon... http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...ifications.htm

[Elks]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

According to the specs on Unique Cars.

Fairlane 1651kg (Marquis 1768kg)
Falcon 1475kg

Fairlane... http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...ifications.htm
Falcon... http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au...ifications.htm

I think you will find the weight difference is less than that, something like 70 to 100 kg if you compare a Fairlane with a V8 falcon.

[ebv8]

same with my dads old holden 1 tonner, old man spec, new 308 all the GTS goodies and can't interest anyone at $7k, if it was a sedan it would be $15k everyday.

about 15 years ago you couldn't give away fairlanes, i turned down a marque 302 for $150 because i didn't like the colour....kicking myself

[Hally]

Ebv8,

Send me some details or pics on your old mans tonner. Let me know if you want me to inbox you my mobile number or email address

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Originally Posted by ebv8

same with my dads old holden 1 tonner, old man spec, new 308 all the GTS goodies and can't interest anyone at $7k, if it was a sedan it would be $15k everyday.

This seems to be common around my area with the Holden/Ford thing, a Holden ute, matching numbers 308 4 speed, needs work but running and driving may sell for 2-3K around here, have seen it plenty of times, a Falcon XA-XB ute in similar condition and spec will be asking 12-15K.

I say XA-XB as there seems to be a district price drop when you go to XC.

A mate of mine recently picked up a VK Brock Commodore complete running car out of a farm shed, just missing front seats (obviously needs some work) for $100 plus a case of XXXX, he spend a day giving it a good wash and detail, then put it on a car trailer and took it to Sydney and sold it for 15K in a week, then used to money to fund his SLR Torana project.

[damo76]

Certain fairlanes had a lot of issues with electrics.

[mik]

Stefan got it in one i think , falcons have always been a fav because of the GT.
i like all the fairlanes , but the zd and zh are couple of my favourites, zd was the last of the hydraulic ram style power steering models too i think ?

[66FAIRLANE]

Originally Posted by jstanovic

Why are Fairlanes cheaper than Falcons?

Sssshhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

[nstg8a]

I had my au 5.0 fairlane advertised at 2k... Not one serious inquiry.

I've since sold enough parts of it to cover that amount, and I still have a lot left to sell.

Modern fairlanes in particular are next to worthless. Especially v8s. When your rego costs 50% of your cars value it gets hard to justify sometimes.
That's why so many get used as donors.

[Express]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

I had my au 5.0 fairlane advertised at 2k... Not one serious inquiry.

I've since sold enough parts of it to cover that amount, and I still have a lot left to sell.

Modern fairlanes in particular are next to worthless. Especially v8s. When your rego costs 50% of your cars value it gets hard to justify sometimes.
That's why so many get used as donors.

Stories like this make me want to cry.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

I had my au 5.0 fairlane advertised at 2k... Not one serious inquiry.

I've since sold enough parts of it to cover that amount, and I still have a lot left to sell.

Modern fairlanes in particular are next to worthless. Especially v8s. When your rego costs 50% of your cars value it gets hard to justify sometimes.
That's why so many get used as donors.

I think their day will come, but yeah cars of The AU era are currently cheap as chips.

[SSD-85]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

I had my au 5.0 fairlane advertised at 2k... Not one serious inquiry.

I've since sold enough parts of it to cover that amount, and I still have a lot left to sell.

Modern fairlanes in particular are next to worthless. Especially v8s. When your rego costs 50% of your cars value it gets hard to justify sometimes.
That's why so many get used as donors.
image

I need this cars IRS. And possibly its bonnet for my AU Fairlane

Yes, I am restoring an AU Fairlane....

[Ford17]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

I had my au 5.0 fairlane advertised at 2k... Not one serious inquiry.

I've since sold enough parts of it to cover that amount, and I still have a lot left to sell.

Modern fairlanes in particular are next to worthless. Especially v8s. When your rego costs 50% of your cars value it gets hard to justify sometimes.
That's why so many get used as donors.
image

Sorry to hear that - your car looks great, particularly with the FG wheels fitted.

Interesting fact regarding Wallengarra station in the background. It's built right across the NSW/QLD boarder; and because they couldn't agree on one complete style, the LHS ended up with the rounded QLD style varandah, while the RHS got the flatter NSW style verandah.

My thoughts on the Fairlane's lower resale value are they generally appeal less to private buyers, and were more favoured by fleet buyers. This seemed to be the case during the XF era.

[JR.]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

I had my au 5.0 fairlane advertised at 2k... Not one serious inquiry.

I've since sold enough parts of it to cover that amount, and I still have a lot left to sell.

Modern fairlanes in particular are next to worthless. Especially v8s. When your rego costs 50% of your cars value it gets hard to justify sometimes.
That's why so many get used as donors.
image

A sad result. The AU Fairlanes especially have aged into looking good and I think will be a bit of a sleeper classic in the future. Also, they're rare due to the low build numbers.

Of course I will soon be sharing your pain as I'm about to put mine up for sale and am not looking forward to the process. I hate the thought of having to part it out...

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by JR.

A sad result. The AU Fairlanes especially have aged into looking good and I think will be a bit of a sleeper classic in the future. Also, they're rare due to the low build numbers.

Of course I will soon be sharing your pain as I'm about to put mine up for sale and am not looking forward to the process. I hate the thought of having to part it out...

Gotta be honest, IMHO the NL was the last attractive Fairlane.

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

Gotta be honest, IMHO the NL was the last attractive Fairlane.

I really didn't like the nl/nf's. They looked way to falcon for me.

Having said that, I never really liked the au fairlanes either, but it grew on me,

Originally Posted by JR.

A sad result. The AU Fairlanes especially have aged into looking good and I think will be a bit of a sleeper classic in the future. Also, they're rare due to the low build numbers.

Of course I will soon be sharing your pain as I'm about to put mine up for sale and am not looking forward to the process. I hate the thought of having to part it out...

Yeah it's really not much fun at all.

[2011G6E]

WHo knows what things will be worth in the future? It's a mystery that even the best pundits have got badly wrong over the years.

For your consideration, I present this perfect example of how we all got things horribly wrong many years ago:

The VH-onwards Valiant Hardtop.
When I started driving in 1982, these things were still around in fairly big numbers. However, people...even real Valiant nuts (myself included) at the time...would crawl over a dozen pristine desirably-equipped versions to get to one Charger, or even a four door Val with popular options. They were seen as "too long in the bum", "too big and heavy looking", etc. Everyone wanted Chargers which were cheap (I paid $1800 for mine in 1983), and passed over the hardtops.

Now they're worth an absolute fortune and exist in only fairly small numbers, with people lining up to try and buy them at any price.

Same with Fairlanes...we used to see them as "Grandads car" and "big and wallowy and heavy". Only a few were ever modified, and even less people under 40 wanted one...certainly no young guys wanted them back in the eighties.
Even now, while I have a real love of the ZA to ZD Fairlanes and especially like the ZH Marquis, I see the ZF and ZG as nothing but big heavy-looking lard-asses that I wouldn't even consider buying at any price.

But who knows what will be worth good money in years to come?

[jstanovic]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Even now, while I have a real love of the ZA to ZD Fairlanes and especially like the ZH Marquis, I see the ZF and ZG as nothing but big heavy-looking lard-asses that I wouldn't even consider buying at any price.

Seems quite common, I think it is because the ZF/ZG looked too similar to the XA/XB just longer, ZA-ZD & ZH had a very distinct look about them.

That is the reason I like the ZF/ZG! Still trying to work out the differences between the ZF and ZG though...

[The Yeti]

Because there are more people with no class buying 70's fords ��....

[Crazy Dazz]

Like anything, its supply & demand that determines prices.

I suspect that proportionately more Fairlanes have survived because they tended to be better looked after, less likely to be used as hacks, etc. So say they originally made up 5% of sales compared to Falcons, they would now be 10% of the cars still on the road.

There is intrinsic bias in the buyers market. People around my age want to buy either the car their Dad had, or the car they dreamt of owning as a kid. For most, that is a Falcon. The irony here is that people would rather buy a Falcon that started life as a 6 and convert it to a V8, than buy a Fairlane or Ltd that had a V8 from the factory.

For many of us, Fairlanes and esp LTDs were the limos of our generation. They were the wedding cars, the government cars, and yes the FUNERAL cars of their day.
Now or in the near future, who wants to restore a stretch-limo?

At the end of the day, many people buying and modding these cars are,, well let's just call them "performance orientated." If you're going to spend a packet on your engine, chasing the best quarter mile time, why saddle it with an extra 200kg of sheetmetal?