Dealer Pricing

Gad, I love it. I was only 3 years old in 1928 however, I was well aware of automobiles and other machinery. My dad did a bit of automobile and motorcycle racing so there were frequently dissembled vehicles. At age 3 I was not aware of finances however. I did get my first airplane ride when age 4 in his Eaglerock biplane. I wonder what that plane cost; a dollar ninety-five?

Hey, I paid a whole $25 for my first car; it was a Chevy.

Enjoy,
JimB
 
Even taking into account inflation, those are pretty good prices. The $5.00 fender would be roughly equivalent to a $68.00 fender today.
 
Average annual income in 1928 was around $6,000

In 2013 - the measuring stick is ENTIRELY DIFFERENT - but comparatively - somewhere around $50,000

in 1928 - probably one family member working
in 2013 - probably two family members and we squeeze the kids, the dogs and cats - and work on the side, too.

Sorry guys but my head is all numbers ---------------------

In 1928 the $25 is about .004 of the annual income or about 1/2 a percent
In 2013 the same .004 would be $208.

I hardly believe any mechanic in the USA is even going to THINK about an entire engine overhaul for $208.

It may cost TWICE the $208 JUST for a diagnosis then cost at least $1500 - LABOR ONLY for the overhaul
So - my guess at labor cost for the overhaul is 1,708 - JUST labor - compared to the 1928 labor of $25.
It's probably worst than that.

So - 2013 - percentage comparison - = .034 or about 3-1/2 percent

Either our wages have gone down (yes) - or auto repairs cost more (yes).

Again - sorry for being so numerically anal
 
Yeah like a Falcon with a Maple Leaf emblem on the grill (?), hub caps, and steering wheel. Also only auto transmission, IIRC only the Falcon came with a standard tranny (again maybe only in Canada?).

We had a '62 or '63 Falcon convertible with a 4-speed. I remember being impressed that dad could leave rubber upshifting into 2nd and 3rd gears. It was purchased for my sisters to drive, but was replaced with a '67 Mustang not too much later.
 
In the mid seventies I had a delivery job @ $3.25/hr (6500/yr) so I'll guess that '28 figure is out by a factor of 10ish. ;)

The U.S. Census Bureau currently publishes median household income data ... 1967 60,813,000 households $6,140

Yes I agree that 6,000 sounds too high - but that is a number I see in several places.
It's not just off the top of my head.

This is before the depression and wages were higher.

I also see some numbers of $1200 - $900 annual income.

At lunchtime - I don't have much time for research so I could well be out to lunch

Never-the-less I am still sure the story will still be at least similar.
 
Top