Hot Wheels in Australia: Treasure Hunts, Super Treasure Hunts and What They're Worth

MV Guides · Hot Wheels & diecast

Most Hot Wheels cars are worth about what they cost at the supermarket. A few hidden among them are worth far more, and collectors hunt the pegs for them. Here's how to tell.

1. Treasure Hunts

A Treasure Hunt is a regular car made in smaller numbers. Look for a small, low-key flame logo in a circle printed on the car itself, and the same symbol on the card behind the car. They're worth more than the normal mainline car, but not hugely.

2. Super Treasure Hunts

The big ones. A Super Treasure Hunt is a special version of a mainline car, with:

• Spectraflame paint: a deep, shiny metallic finish, unlike the normal paint.
• Real Riders tyres: rubber tyres, instead of the usual plastic wheels.
• A "TH" logo printed on the car.
• A gold flame logo on the card behind the car.

A Super Treasure Hunt can sell for many times the price of the normal version, so check all four before you buy or sell one.

3. Premium, Red Line Club and exclusives

• Premium and Car Culture cars have metal bases, rubber tyres and more detail, and cost more new.
• Red Line Club (RLC) cars are sold only to paying club members, in limited numbers, and are among the most collected.
• Store and convention exclusives, and genuine factory errors or variations, can also carry a premium.

On MVCollect, pick the variant from the list (Mainline, Treasure Hunt, Super Treasure Hunt, RLC, Premium, exclusive or error) so it's compared with the same version.

4. Carded or loose

For carded cars, the card is part of the value: sharp corners, no creases, and a clear blister that isn't cracked or crushed. Soft corners and a dented blister knock the price down. Collectors keep their best cars in plastic protector cases. A loose car, out of its packet, is usually worth much less than the same car carded.

5. Price and post it

Look up what the same car and the same version actually sold for, and ignore asking prices. To post, put the carded car in a protector or between stiff cardboard, inside a small box so the card can't bend. Diecast posts as a parcel on MVCollect, priced from the weight and size you enter.