(This is a post that was originally part of a post on answering the cost of what Chase ‘Stickers’ McQueen future value will be but it was hard to find and search for so split up & moved here).

Basically, every CARS limited item has increased in value and held steady for long periods of time. This price compilation was done by “BMW” a few months back but should be still current and accurate, thanks, “BMW.”

(Original “retail” price shown in parentheses).

INTENTIONAL LIMITED-EXCLUSIVES (in release order)

Blu-Ray McQueen
Production: 15,000
($3.79)
Current selling range $55 to $80
You also had to buy a $20-$25 Blu Ray DVD but that is a disc you either wanted anyway or can be sold – for the most part – the Blu Ray CARS DVD can still be re-sold for $18-$20 so the Blu Ray disc price is not factored into the price.

2006 Factory Set
Production: 500
($161)
Current selling price $500-$600
With shipping costs but not including Red Line Club membership costs. This set contains two CARS on the 16-CAR Desert Art cards available nowhere else – Dirt Track McQueen & Rollin’ Bowlin’ Mater … recently the Rollin’ Bowlin’ Mater sold for over $400 just by itself.

* Rollin’ Bowling Mater was originally available in stores as part of two other sets, the limited production BJ warehouse Set of 2006 ($19.99) and the not-rare then but now difficult to find Mater’s Rollin‘ Bowling Game ($14.99). While both are difficult to find now, pricing also tends to run in the $50-$75 range for both items.

Motor Speedway of South set
Production: 1,000
($313)
Current selling price $1,000 to $1,500
With shipping costs but not including Red Line Club membership costs.

Lightning Storm McQueen
Production: 7,000
($22)
Current selling price $40 to $50
Includes MattyCollector shipping costs. Pricing has stabilized but undoubtly will eventually rise a little more as the selling supply diminishes and new collectors come on board.

Chase Singles – ‘Stickers’ McQueen, ‘Stickers’ Fred, Impound McQueen, Impound Boost
Production: 20,000
($3.49)
These will of course show the greatest pricing flucuation. Right now, as of today, you can find ‘Stickers” McQueen for @5 not including shipping on the secondary market as most everyone RIGHT NOW who wants Lightning McQueen with Bumper Stickers has one or has decided they are not willing to pay more than store retail (including shipping). This will undoubtly change in time as Mattel has promised that Lightning McQueen with Bumper Stickers will never return as a “regular” mainline singles CAR**. And this is true for the other ‘CHASE” CARS which undoubtly will follow every CARS pricing pattern – sky high for the early, scant availability days, tapering downward as supplies meets immediate demand down to around retail pricing … then inch back up as supplies (and listings) drop – eventually returning to a plateau that stays consistent … it will be interesting to see when this happens to ‘Stickers” as I believe there are still some boxes in the warehouse …

** Of course, no regular mainline regular re-release is NOT the same as ‘never will you see this CAR again’ …

UNINTENDED LIMITED (official)

Sarge
Still in Market: <100,000 (estimated)
($2.97)
Current selling range $30-$60
The numbers of Sarge’s are harder to guess since it was during the early periods of CARS production plus while Mattel announced a recall number, how many were actually returned? Also affecting pricing is that Sarge is a main “townie,” with more collectors interested in making sure he is in their collection.

Wal-Mart 8 set
Initial Production: @548,000 (estimated)
($2.97 or @$24 for the full set of 8 )
Current selling range for set $100-$160
The 548,000 is presuming all 3,800 WM’s got a full pallet drop of 144 CARS (on each display cube). The actual number might be a little lower as some stores may not have gotten the pallet drop but probably not off by more than a few thousand. Cactus McQueen was reported to have been 50% of the pallet drop so presuming that’s correct, that means @274,000 were Cactus McQueen’s & @274,000 of the other 7 CARS or @39,000 each of the other 7 CARS (and flying craft).

In other words, there are approximately and/or no more than 39,000 full sets available.

To further drill down, only 4 of the 8 WM CARS were re-stocked, leaving Brusier Bukowski, Barney Stormin’, the Pace Car (not named Charlie Checker yet) and Kori Turbowski with no additional production above 47,000 and prices reflect that: Bruiser individually sells for $15-$20, Barney Stormin’ from $15-$30 & Kori from $6-$15. Since the Pace Car was re-released twice (on WOC card and in the three pack), only true set completists are interested … he only fetches @$8.

To complicate matters, there are also full sets that are “NEW” and full sets of 8 that are ‘blank.’ What is that percentage? 50-50? So, if you’re collecting a set of just the WM 8 with the words NEW on the snipe, maybe there are only 20,000 full sets?

To complete the scenario, 4 of the WM8 were re-stocked (Cactus McQ, Al Oft the Blimp, TJ & Chostlight Ramone) so there are definitely thousands more of these 4 but complete sets? Still 35,000 to 39,000 since the other 4 were NOT re-stocked. ADD, then you add in that there are full sets of NEW and full sets of ‘no – new’ snipes? Maybe only 18,000 to 20,000 of each full & complete sets?

The next test will be that within a few weeks or at most a month from, Barney & Bruiser will be available (separately) again – leaving onto Kori & TJ un-re-released so we should soon see if pricing holds up for the set based solely on its cards and how much of the pricing is merely the interest in the 8 CARS.

SETS:

As we progress further into this line, the question is how complete do you want to be, complete, a completist or an ultra completist?

Of course, there are not definite dictionary definitions for any of these and it’s all perspective and entirely your call. Some people believe that only CARS that actually appear in the film itself can be counted in a collection so no to Rollin’ Bowlin’ Mater or Blu Ray Lightning McQueen … (we have to update this post on the subject). And at other extreme, they must own anything from Mattel that is part of the 1:55 line. It’s your call how complete is complete – so here are some set packages that should hold its value at the current rate of interest:

Original 12 Desert Art cards + 4 Movie Moments
Production: (unknown)
(@2.97 to @7.99 for Movie Moments or @$68 for the full set in 2006)
Current selling price $144-228
Production began in 2005 so it’s impossible to say with any real accuracy how many total were produced. There are several many factors to consider in weighing the ultimate future value of this set:

No one could have forecasted the longevity and interest in this series so many early buyers simply opened everything and tossed the cards.

The subsequent re-release (16-CAR back desert art cards) looked essentially the same to 85% of CARS buyers so at that time, there was not much interest in separating the two since most CARS were hard to come by and people were content to finally own the one(s) they were missing.

However, also keep in mind that subsequent releases of the CARS themselves are essentially indistinguishable from the first 12+ MM releases and no car has been retired.

The more philosophical and larger question is more unknown because there are so few lines to compare it against except maybe Star Wars that has essentially kept the 3 3/4″ as its main scale & line (other long term lines such as Star Trek has changed not just the size of the main line but its manufacturer so Star Wars even though it changed from Kenner to Hasbro is the same scale as it was in 1977-1978).

The big question is – does the sheer scope of the line, 130+ CARS if you collect just one of everything to 400+ already if you collect nearly every release after only 2 YEARS … hurt or help the early “sets.” Will it be like the Star Wars holy grail to own the original 1978 set? BUT unlike the original Star Wars holy grail set of 1978, for CARS, there are virtually NO variants and no design changes to the figures/CARS even to today – 3 card designs later? That’s one key difference. That’s not to say there isn’t going to be always interest in owning the original 12 + MM’s but perhaps not to the extreme of the Star Wars holy grail original … to own most of those in relatively mint condition would cost you over 6 figures for each one?

Also note of course, in 1978, people definitely did not think to buy one to open and one to save mint so there are definitely fewer full sets in mint condition on cards … and on the other end of the scale, there are just a few Star Wars fans …

“First Appearance Set”
Production: (unknown)

One other way to collect and present a complete set is of course to collect a full set from when they first appeared as a Mattel diecast … so it would be a mix of 12-card Desert Art, 16-card Desert Art , Supercharged, & WOC – so no repeats (no need to buy McQ as a SC & as a WOC) and of course, this too is a moving number … currently over 130+ …

But ultimately, this is NOT an investment guide nor financial advice – this is for entertainment and toy play value ONLY … because when all else fails, you still have a fun things with wheels to roll around and play with … I know, a radical concept but toys=fun 🙂

However, with the stock, bond and other investment markets dropping like a rock, that Speedway of the South set has held steady since 2 weeks after its release (even if you missed out on its initial cazy run-up) … how many stocks or funds are down 50-95% this year 🙁