High prices are all well and good if you are an existing owner and have one eye on selling at some point. Or like to bask in the glory of your own foresight. But they lead to a car becoming an asset rather than something to be enjoyed and also vastly decrease the base of potential owners. It’s becoming exclusionary. You end up with a ownership class consisting of well-off Boomers and Gen-X, while accessibility for younger, and/or less cash-rich enthusiasts turns to dust. It is already happening. While they revere S30s in the JDM scene, few will afford them and they become elitist items. The Z up until relatively recently was an “everyman’s” sportscar - a niche, semi-secret delight that most enthusiasts could get hold of if inclined. Not so anymore.
When I got my FairladyZ, I was in my 20s. It was an affordable £5750 for a running, driving, presentable RHD car. Very few 20-somethings have the money or interest to commit to something like an S30 now, and if they do, it’ll be at the rough end to restore or they will go for something more modern.
Even now in my 40s, there’s no way I’d be buying a 30-50k Z. I don’t have the cash and the wife and kids would shoot me. If financing that size of purchase, it’s more likely to get past the “boss” for something with practical family utility - which is why I’m nurturing the plan to get a 5.0 V8 Mustang in the next year or two! 4 seats!
Bottom-line: IMO ever higher prices ruins the hobby and related community and will actually shrink it rather than grow it. People should be looking for a balance and common sense, where good cars get good money, and the shit doesn’t. And projects remain sensible.