I noticed a used COLT M1. Price was wait for it.......$30,000.
What exactly is a FA "Colt M1"? Obviously not a Garand, since they are not FA and Colt didn't make any. Nor a Carbine. Perhaps a Thompson? Well, not an M1 Thompson, since they were all made by Savage or Auto Ordnance. That leaves an M1921 or M1928 Thompson, from the original batch of 15,000 made by Colt.
$30,000 is a not-unreasonable price for an M1921. Could be even more if it's in excellent condition.
With no new full autos made since 1986 they got real expensive, $30,000 is on the low end.
Well, no. You can still buy a belt-fed Browning for less than $20,000. The guns that run to $30,000 or more are Colt Thompsons, brand-new-in-the-box Colt M16's, M2HB's, and M60's. You can get a FA M16 aftermarket conversion for $18,000 or less.
$30k for a class 3 is a good deal because they're guaranteed to increase in value better than the stock market.
Nothing is guaranteed. FA guns could drop like a rock if
either (a) they get outlawed or (b) the Hughes Amendment is repealed and the artificial scarcity is lifted. Anyone who thinks of FA guns as an "investment" is a fool. Either that, or he's good at justifying his expenditure to his wife. The reason to buy FA guns is because you like them, not because you plan to make a fortune on them.