Hot Wheels has been around for years and has established itself as a hot (pun intended) brand that is a huge hit with adults and kids alike. Whether you enjoy collecting the cars to place them on display or simply want to gather tons of cars so that you can play with them, getting a rare and unique Hot Wheels car is exciting and enjoyable.
One of the rare series of Hot Wheels is known as the Hot Wheels Mystery Cars line of toys. They were originally released back in 2005 and they were quite a hit with collectors until they were rebranded as Mystery Models in 2011.
The Hot Wheels Mystery Cars will typically sell on the secondary market for $4-$5 currently. In terms of price, the Mystery Cars line of Hot Wheels toys has not risen as much as some of the brand’s other collectibles.
Some Hot Wheel Mystery Cars will be worth a good amount to collectors, as well so make sure that you check the specific models that you own and see what the current prices are for it.
It’s important to know that the values of any collectible will vary greatly from one model to another so any Hot Wheel Mystery Cars that are rare or have a defect that makes them one of a kind will increase their value.
Read on if you are interested in learning more about the value of Hot Wheels Mystery Cars.
How Much Are Hot Wheels Mystery Cars Worth?
The Hot Wheels Mystery Cars line of toys ran from 2005 until 2011 and proved quite popular with fans of the brand, earning it a rebranding as the Mystery Models line which still gets fresh releases to this day.
Judging the value of the original Mystery Cars line is a bit difficult considering they are relatively recent releases. This means that the collector’s value of these items has not increased by a ludicrous amount, though the value of these toys has seen a decent increase in price in the past few years.
Originally retailing for the standard price of a Hot Wheels car, it is not uncommon to see Hot Wheels Mystery Cars for sale online that are going for around four or five times their original market price (or about $4-$5). Of course, these are Mystery Cars that are still complete in their original packaging and in quite a good condition.
Mystery Cars that have been opened and are no longer in their original packaging (being referred to as “loose”), cars that are still contained within their original packaging but the packaging is damaged, and cars that are loose and damaged all impact the overall value of the toy to a collector.
Hot Wheels Mystery Cars are definitely worth something to many collectors, though you will need to take into account the condition of the toy as well as its packaging when you are looking to find a solid price on it.
Things That Can Negatively Impact A Hot Wheels Value
As mentioned previously, the condition of the toy and the packaging that it is contained inside of will determine how much the toy is worth. Most people who are interested in purchasing Mystery Cars nowadays are collectors who prefer to receive the toy inside of its original packaging and in good condition.
This is the first thing that can negatively impact the overall value of the Mystery Car. If the packaging has any form of damage on it most collectors will not pay as much as they would for a Mystery Car that is contained within a mint condition box.
Mystery Cars that are out of their original box are also not worth as much as they would be if they were still packaged. These toys will most often fetch only a little bit higher than their original market price, considering that they have been removed from their box.
What can drag down the value of your Mystery Car, even more, is if it is damaged. Mystery Cars that have damage and are no longer inside of their box oftentimes are not worth a whole lot and may be difficult to sell.
Things That Can Boost the Value of Your Mystery Car
While issues with the packaging of your Mystery Car and the state of the toy itself may negatively impact the value of the toy there are also some circumstances where the worth of the car is actually increased due to differences in the packaging or model.
One such thing that can increase the worth of your Hot Wheels Mystery Cars toy comes in the form of misprints on the box of the toy. If you find that the box of your Mystery Cars toy has been mislabeled or has some other form of printing mishap, then the value of the item will go up drastically.
This is because any Hot Wheels toys that have misprints on their boxes are considered highly collectible and are very sought after in the collector community. Misprints can come in the form of the wrong name of the car on the box or bad or skewed prints.
What can drive the value of your Mystery Car up, even more, is if the toy itself has some form of a misprint or mispaint, missing or extra pieces, or pieces that should not be included at all. Should you find yourself being the owner of a Mystery Cars toy that has any of these factory defects then consider yourself very lucky.
While misprints on the box of the toy can increase the value of the car quite considerably, finding a Mystery Car that has a defect on the toy itself is quite rare and can drive the value of your toy through the roof.
Conclusion
Again, there is no set price when looking at Hot Wheels Mystery Cars, as their value is generally decided upon by collectors. The market can fluctuate and the price for these items may increase or decrease depending on subsequent releases from Mattel and the Hot Wheels brand.
In general, however, as with most collectors’ items the price of Hot Wheels Mystery Cars will most likely continue to rise as the years go by. As the items become rarer the worth of the item will rise alongside the rarity.
So, if you own some Hot Wheels Mystery Cars and are interested in possibly selling them off for a decent sum down the line then you may want to hold onto them for a while longer.
While the price is still relatively close to the original market price you may also want to purchase some Mystery Cars now while they are not too expensive!