The Most Valuable Automobilia

From vintage tool kits to retro petrol pumps, automobilia is collected all over the world by motor enthusiasts and traders. Today, bidding website Ebay has become an easy way to buy and sell collectibles and in turn has been home to millions of automobilia auctions.

Artifacts included within automobilia varied in nature, ranging from those linked with motoring in a general sense to those intrinsically linked with a specific vehicle or event, like formula 1. Prices for rare items can climb into the thousands… and there's almost always someone willing to pay.

We analysed the automobilia category on ebay to discover every sale that took place in the last three months. We found out the most popular car makes sold across the collectibles and which ones rake in the most revenue for sellers.

Most automobilia collectors limit themselves to an isolated area of automobilia, commonly linked by a unifying theme, such as a motor racing driver, or objects of a specific type, such as radiator mascots. Many also choose to collect a specific motoring company – and some of them are a lot more popular than others.

The most popular brand of automobilia is Ford, with a whopping 609 sales in the last three months. The motor company was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford in Michigan, United States. HIstorically, it’s perhaps best known as the first auto manufacturer to automate production with an assembly line, pay workers a so-called fair daily wage, and produce a vehicle for the mass-market everyday consumer.

The items sold on Ebay brought in £7.5k in revenue. This includes a Vintage Ford l T Green Wheel that was advertised as being used for wall art banking £200 for the seller. Another valuable item included a 1964 Ford Mustang model car, which was described as being number 897 from a limited run of 1111 models.

There's also several Ford collectables that sell for lower end prices, such as tax discs and badges. The sheer amount of Ford automobilia available makes it one of the easiest brands to collect and trade.

At the upper end of the market, major auction houses such as Bonhams regularly hold specialist automobilia sales. Most collectors limit themselves to an isolated area of automobilia, commonly linked by a unifying theme, such as a motor racing driver, or objects of a specific type, such as radiator mascots. 

Automobilia varies in value depending on its rarity. The iconic Barrett-Jackson Vegas auction has shown us vintage automobiles being sold over one million dollars – the 2021 show bringing in $48 million dollars total. In short, there is a lot of money among car enthusiasts, and bidding wars on ebay can drive prices into 5 figures. 

In the last three months, the most expensive sale we found was £2.8k. The item was a Pirelli Gordon Vintage Tyre.

The highest value on average is Mercedes-Benz, where each item sells at approximately £54.30. We found a W165 “The Tripoli” Pewter Sculpture that was sold for £725 in September. 

Mercedes-Benz is the world’s oldest car manufacturer. Today the brand is best known for its wide range of luxury cars and its high-performance car division called AMG – as well as its participation in Formula 1, having won the Constructors Championship every year from 2014 to 2020. So there’s no doubt they hold a lot of value in the memorabilia world.

Luxury car brand Ferrari is second from the top of our table, averaging at £46.33. Ferrari is an Italian company which has produced sports cars since 1947, but traces its roots back to 1929 when Enzo Ferrari formed the Scuderia Ferrari racing team.

Their automobilia is more popular than Mercedes-Benz on Ebay, having sold over 100 items in the last three months and bringing in a £5k revenue.

We analyse the Automobilia category on e-commerce website Ebay to gather data on every sale from 14/07/21 to 12/10/21. We then categorised each of these sale in to motor company and adding together items sold and revenue. 

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