Pedal car collecting over the past 15 years has had its ups and downs. The hot years are the pre WWII and they are (what i call fat fendered, running board cars w/sprung suspension). They were made from the late 20's thru the early 40's. When the war started all metal produced items were halted to save the metal for the making of weapons and vehicles so there were no pedal cars made from 1942-46. The beauty of these rather large cars with all the accessories such as electric headlights, horns, music boxes, shifters, ect is that they are minatures of dad's family car. Not like what the kids have today, Pink Barbie Corvette, or a  Bigfoot monster truck all (plastic, plastic, plastic). No realism!  The 50-70's pedal cars have died in price over the last couple years with all the new reproductions of these era cars on the market. Prices very on any pedal car, original condition is the very best you can have, the nicer the condition of the original, the better, ie: original paint, markings, all chrome parts accounted for (ect). Next is a profesional restoration by a professional pedal car restorer with a super nice basecoat/clearcoat finish, all new chrome such as a winshield, hood ornament, bumpers, hubcaps, and headlights (IF EQUIPPED).New rubber is a must as well, tires, pedal rubber. You must remember when restoring one of these cars, the inside needs to be as nice as the outside, not like a full size car where you can just slap some bondo on it, you CAN see the inside of a pedal car.   Next is a car that needs restoring that not all original parts are present.. Some parts might not be availible and some fabrication might be required. The more parts involved in the restoration means more in the total price of the car. Pick a car that you remember or just pick one you like, but remember, If you do this for the money, pre WWII is where it's at, but if you are doing this just because you have always wanted one, pick the one that you like. There are several books  on pedal cars to get you familiar with all the different types and styles called Evolution of the pedal car volume 1-5. For the older cars volume 3 and 5 are the best. For the newer cars 1-2-and 4 are more inline. You can probably find them on Ebay!!!