Picture this: a vivid pink toy van with bright yellow and orange plastic surfboards sticking ungainly out its rear. It’s small enough to sit in the palm of your hand—even though the iffy weight balance of this prototype throws both you and the van a little off. Would you believe it was worth US$175,000 (S$236,858)?
The pink Volkswagen Beach Bomb, of which there are only 2 in the whole world, is the rarest Hot Wheels toy ever made. It’s a little absurd that this awkward little piece of metal and plastic could cost a 6-figure sum, but it just goes to show that there’s a lot to understand about what makes a diecast car valuable.
Diecast cars are miniature model cars, and they could be your next hobby as much as your next investment. From rare Hot Wheels chase cars to vintage models that have skyrocketed in price, diecast cars have become a thriving alternative asset for enthusiasts and investors alike.
Today, we’re breaking down 8 essential factors that you need to know about investing in diecast with the help of Jon and Zan Dale, co-founders of Singapore diecast shop Gear Oil Cafe. They have a collection of over 10,000 diecast cars worth over $100,000.
Whether you’re looking to turn a profit or simply collect what you love, this guide will help you navigate the market and spot the hidden gems in the world of diecast cars. Ready? Set? Let’s go.
Guide to Investing in Diecast Cars
- First, what are diecast cars?
- The most popular scale size is 1/64.
- Factor #1—Rarity
- Factor #2—The acquisition process
- Factor #3: Age
- Factor #4: Serial number
- Factor #5: Racing events, movies, and more
- Factor #6: Being unboxed
- Factor #7: Storing it right
- Factor #8: And after all that…it’s random.
- Chase what you like, not the hype
1. First, what are diecast cars?
A diecast car is a miniature model car made using a metal casting process. They come in various sizes, from tiny Hot Wheels (1:64 scale) to larger, highly detailed models (like 1:18 or 1:24 scale). Some have moving parts, like doors that open or wheels that turn, while others are just for display.
Diecast cars are not the same as those model cars you get in a kit for assembly, and neither are they 100% accurate to the real life cars they’re modelled after. For example, consider the Cooper Mini.
“Generally speaking, the Cooper Minis are a small car. If Hot Wheels made a 1/64 scale diecast of the actual Mini, it’d only be the size of a dollar—really small,” Jon explains. In order to fit all of their cars in the same packaging of the same size, smaller cars like the Mini have to be scaled bigger.
“And Hot Wheels is a toy company,” Zan points out. “They gotta make sure their cars are safe and kids are able to play with them.” That said, some brands tend to be more accurate than others—Pop Race, Mini GT, and TrueScale are better bets for this.
2. The most popular scale size is 1/64.
Fun fact: Did you know that the toy brand Matchbox started off by making cars that fit in a matchbox? This was back in the 50s and 60s, but these miniature cars have influenced modern diecast sizes today.
Diecast cars come in a variety of scales, including (from small to large) 1/64, 1/43, and 1/18. What do the scales mean? Taking 1/18 as an example, this means that that diecast car is 18 times smaller than the real life model. In space constrained Singapore homes, the most popular size is the petite 1/64.
Why is 1/64 the most popular? “When people move into an HDB flat, there’s no space to put more than say 10 cars of 1/18 scale on a wall. But if you have 1/64 scale, you can have a thousand pieces that only take up a small wall,” Jon tells me. 1/64 is also the scale of cars that Gear Oil Cafe sells across a variety of brands.
While this doesn’t mean that 1/64 cars are worth more, these models will open up a larger market for you. Take note if you’re looking to buy and resell diecast cars.
Now that we’ve introduced diecast cars and given you a (literal) sense of their scale, let’s go into 8 factors that will affect their value.
3. Factor #1—Rarity
When there are over 6 billion Hot Wheels in the world, it quite literally pays to own a rare one. It’s basic demand and supply—when a particular diecast car is limited in number, that car becomes rare, and prices go up.
Scarcity
Take the Hot Wheels Pink Beach Bomb, for example. This fun-looking pink van with its surfboards sticking out the rear window never actually went to market. It was a 1969 prototype that was ultimately redesigned because of the awkward surfboards. Today, it’s both the rarest and most expensive Hot Wheels toy to exist, with only 2 in the whole world each commanding a value of around US$175,000 (S$236,858). One is owned by collector Bruce Pascal, whose Hot Wheels collection is valued at over US$2 million.
Of course, the Beach Bomb is a pretty extreme example with only 2 in the world. But let’s take Hot Wheel Ferraris as another example to look at how scarcity affects value. Hot Wheels stopped making Ferraris in 2014, so there have been no new Ferraris in the last 10 years—and their value is only going up.
“You would have bought one for $25 at the most at the time,” Jon explains. “Now, those are going to be worth $50 to $100.”
Chase cars
In the world of diecast cars, a chase car is like a golden ticket—it’s a rare, special edition version of a regular diecast model released in limited quantities.
What makes a chase car special? Visually, it usually has unique features like a different paint job, special wheels, or exclusive decals. Hot Wheels chase cars are also considered “extra” in a series—in a series of cars numbered 1/5 to 5/5, chase cars are numbered 0/5.
“For Kaido House, a Chase is about 1 in every 24 cars” Zan tells me. This scarcity makes them more valuable. For example, Jon and Zan show me some cars in a Hot Wheels Porsche series. The regular ones retail for around $20, while the Chase that simply comes in a different colour is worth $120 to $150.
4. Factor #2—The acquisition process
For some limited edition cars, money isn’t enough. Some require you to go to great lengths to get your hands on them. For example, with brands like Kaido House, you need a membership just to have a chance to buy their limited edition cars. You read that right—just for a chance.
“You’ve got to sign up on their Instagram for around $20 a month and pay every single month, whether you buy a car or not,” Jon describes. It turns out that snagging rare cars is a bit like fighting for concert tickets: “And then, when they release a car, you can fight the other 10,000 members for only 300 pieces.”
Other cars that are difficult to attain are convention pieces—cars only sold at certain conventions. Of all the diecast cars that Jon and Zan have ever sold, the one with the biggest return was a yellow Nissan Skyline from a convention in Los Angeles.
“Having a single car worth more than $1,000 was an eye-opening experience,” Jon says. Already a popular casting, this Skyline in particular was high in demand. They bought it for $1,100 and ended up selling it for $1,600—a 45% return.
5. Factor #3: Age
Vintage isn’t just cool—it can also rake you in some serious cash.
Jon and Zan had the first Porsche ever made by Hot Wheels, introduced in Singapore way back in 1974. They sold it in Sep 2024 for a cool $300 to a customer who nonchalantly took out an ultra exclusive black credit card to pay for it. These credit cards are reserved for very high net worth individuals and often don’t even come with a credit limit.
“I’m just like, what did I just see? This doesn’t happen. You can buy Maserati’s or Lamborghini’s with that credit card!” Jon exclaims.
Gear Oil Cafe is also home to a 1969 Ferrari 312 P—the very first Ferrari Red Line Club (RLC) released by Hot Wheels.
“You probably would have bought that car in the sixties for $0.20 or $0.30. Now it’s a $250 car, even unboxed, in poor condition with bad paint,” Jon tells me. “If you have a sealed one, in mint condition, we’re talking $400 or $500.”
6. Factor #4: Serial number
If you’re new to diecast cars, you might now know that every car has a serial number. For example, if there are 5,000 units produced, each car will have a number attached to it from 1 to 5,000. Generally, the lower the number, the more valuable the car.
Take for example the yellow Nissan Skyline we talked about earlier, which saw the highest returns Jon and Zan have ever made on a single car. Their customer wanted one not just in mint condition, but with a low serial number. Finally, they found one that was in mint condition and numbered 202 out of 5,000 pieces.
“That was a good day. We have many other cars that are well into the $2,000, $3,000, or even $4,000 price point. But, until you crack that first $1,000 sale for one car, you don’t know what those big sales are like,” Jon shares. “You have to get past the idea that this piece of plastic and paper is worth over $1,000 to someone, and some have wanted it for 10 or even 20 years.”
7. Factor #5: Racing events, movies, and more
Remember the Barbie craze that pinkwashed the world when the Barbie movie hit cinemas? Demand for Barbie dolls and other merchandise skyrocketed. It just goes to show that films and popular culture can have a huge impact on sales, and diecast cars are no exception.
If you’re trying to make an intelligent guess on car models that might see an appreciation in value, it pays to racing events and films. For example, last September during the F1 Grand Prix in Singapore, Lando Norris took first place in a McLaren Mercedes.
“After a win like that, we can expect people coming in to us asking, do you have Lando’s F1 car?” Zan explains. And if he kept winning more and more titles, everything he touched would turn to gold.
“If you got a signed piece from him, it would be even more valuable,” Jon adds.
As far as movies go, the Fast and Furious film franchise is a good example.
“We were in Japan 4 years ago, and Jon found a set of Fast and Furious cars. He told me, there are 10 sets, and we should buy them all. I said, why?” Zan laughs.
Each set had cost $30 each. The wife won this argument, and the couple walked away with just one set. But since then, the value of the set has more than tripled—Jon estimates it’s worth almost $200 now.
That said, just because a diecast car is associated with a popular movie doesn’t mean the car is going to be popular. As Jon says, “you don’t know what’s going to be popular until after it’s popular”. While you can make an intelligent guess, don’t assume or bank your life savings on a car just because it appeared in a movie.
8. Factor #6: Being unboxed
Diecast cars may be toys at their core, but they’re not meant to be played with like toys if you want to preserve their value. Say you have a diecast car from 2005 worth $50 now. Once you rip open that packaging and release that 2005 air from its blister pack, the value of your car will fall by about 50% to just $25.
“It’s like when you’re at a car dealership. Immediately when you roll that car off and the odometer ticks, you instantly lose 30% of the value,” Jon explains. He almost never unboxes cars that come to him in their original packaging.
“We’re going to LA, and there’s a 1995 Ferrari F40 we’re going to see. It’s priced between $2,000 and $5,000. If I got to hold one that was outside the packaging, I might cry,” Jon tells me. “Because that means someone ripped it out of the packaging. If I had one, I would keep it mint, sealed, perfect. I don’t even want air to touch it—think hyperbolic chamber, no oxygen, you just see it through a little telescope.”
You can of course unbox cars if you simply want to play with or look at them—this is more like Zan, who sits on the other end of the “to open or not to open” conundrum. She likes to get up close and personal with her cars—what better way to appreciate their details?
“But I also appreciate that by not opening it, it lets the future generation be able to see the car in its original packaging,” Zan admits. “That’s why now we get to see cars that were made in the 1960s and 70s exactly as they were.”
Exception: Cars in boxes without a clear blister
While the general rule is that you shouldn’t break the seal on cars if you want to maintain their value, this rule only applies to cars that are visible from the external part of their packaging.
Hot Wheels, for example, has a clear blister. But a brand like Kaido House sells their cars in opaque boxes, and the only way to see the car is to open the packaging. This is especially essential for rare and coveted Chase cars, which you’ll only know you have after you break the seal on the box and look inside it.
“For the most part, it doesn’t devalue the car at all,” Jon assures us. “Since, in order to see the car at all, you have to remove it from the box.”
9. Factor #7: Storing it right
Even cars in boxes need to be stored properly to preserve them over time. Your number one enemy? Humidity.
“In Singapore, the humidity will kill and murder all your dreams,” Canadian-born Jon warns us. He recounts how he’s gone for outdoor events and had the humidity from the rain warp the cardstock of his cars within seconds.
Generally, these are some storage tips:
- Put your cars in protective cases—there are even UV protective cases you can buy
- Use moisture packs to reduce humidity
- Keep them indoors
- Store them in an air-conditioned area or dry box.
10. Factor #8: And after all that…it’s random.
The last ingredient you need to invest in diecast cars is: luck.
Buying valuable diecast cars is a matter of time, patience, and good fortune. Jon and Zan can take months or even years to find a particular car they want at a good price. On the flipside, some people just chance upon rare cars.
“I sent my sister one time to look at the Hot Wheels in Walmart. She didn’t realize that there was a BMW there that, had it been gold instead of yellow BMW, would have been worth $100. People just don’t know!” Jon exclaims.
Other times, it’s not finding the car that’s by chance—it’s the demand for it after you do. Jon and Zan tell me about a time they bought a blue and white Nissan Silvia for $35 in Johor Bahru. At the time, it felt like a higher end price to pay for it, but Jon decided to just buy one for himself and support his buddy’s business.
“The next month, everybody had to have this car. All the suppliers who had them, jacked the price to 2 or 3 times the price!” Jon says. For some reason, the car exploded in value, and is now valued at $100 per piece.
“There’s no reason why that one should be popular and the other colours aren’t. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s odd,” Jon throws up his hands.
11. Chase what you like, not the hype
If you’re thinking about getting into diecast to make a pretty penny, remember our tips—but also remember that no investment is guaranteed. Especially with alternative investments like these, I always advocate for getting into it only if you already have an interest in the hobby. That way, regardless of how much you make from your cars, there will always be value to you in collecting them.
Jon and Zan suggest you go with what naturally draws you instead of simply going for what you think is or will be popular. For Jon, a self-proclaimed gearhead coming from generations of Ford lovers before him, he’s always loved cars. He has a special place in his heart for his white Ford GT90, a 90s prototype that never went into production.
“It is the only car I would tattoo on my body”, Jon tells me. “It’s in my wardrobe at home, right next to my grandma’s ashes. That’s how important it is—I can’t do without grandma, I can’t do without my Hot Wheels. But clothes? I’ll just pick whatever’s available.”
You don’t need to love a car enough to tattoo it onto yourself in order to be a collector. Zan only got into this hobby after meeting Jon, and appreciates cars for their aesthetic value and detail. She began with collecting purple cars simply because that’s her favourite colour, and is now into toon cars with adorably disproportionate bodies simply because they look cute. Let it be said that I agree with her on both counts.
Ladies, don’t be shy.
Cars tend to be a more male-dominated space. “Nobody expects females to be into this hobby,” Jon says. He recounts how he was surprised once when a lady come in to Gear Oil Cafe wearing a pretty pink dress and proclaimed her love for muscle cars.
But that isn’t to say that ladies should shy away from it. As Zan demonstrates, you don’t need to be a gearhead to enjoy cars. Women are no less than men in this space.
“I think women are the most understated class of customers,” Jon shares. “They’re a different class of collector. While guys go, ‘this one’s cool, I want this one now”, women are more methodical about what they want. They’ll save up and put down $1,000 to buy the good stuff, while the guys say ‘I’ll take 10 of the cheap ones now’ instead,” he laughs.
If you need a little moral support to get started, online communities are a fantastic way to meet like-minded people. In the world of diecast enthusiasts, Facebook groups abound. One popular one that Jon and Zan are part of is Hot Wheels Temasek, where hobbyists share their finds and useful tips. And of course, if you want to connect with someone in person, Jon and Zan are always there at Gear Oil Cafe to get you started.
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This article is part of a series called Priced Possessions, where we chat with Singapore’s quirkiest collectors and put a price on their most prized possessions. Know a collector yourself? We’d love to meet them. Email [email protected] to share their story.
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About the author
Vanessa Nah pens articles on the ins and outs of buying your first home, the T&Cs of credit cards, and the ups and downs of alternative investments. A researcher at heart, she gets a kick out of breaking down complex finance concepts for the everyday Singaporean. When Vanessa’s not debunking finance myths, you’ll find her attending dance classes, fingerpicking a guitar, or (most impawtently) fulfilling her life mission to make her one-eyed cat the most spoiled and loved kitty in the world.
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