barrett

That's my old one. It's well-known in the club. I'd love to buy it back, but apparently Visa values have increased significantly in the last couple of years... I sold it for £1500

I'm having a moment https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114996246882 Sounds incredible in the video:

A 234 is pretty near the top of my list of postwar British cars I actually want to own, or at least drive. It's also the only nice car A-S ever built. As above, the six was actually quite a bit less powerful and slower than the four, but I don't think you can be choosey today as there's something like a dozen left of all types. I have a Michelotti sketch of a re-styled proposal which I think did make it to the prototype stage, but the car-building arm of the company collapsed in part due to poor sales of the model and it was never built. I believe the alloy bits are in aircraft-grade Hiduminium, repairs of which would, I'd guess, make welding aluminium look like a piece of piss. I also love the way they look, but I'm a weirdo

I'm not sure I've noticed any cars going down in value, really. I think there is a much bigger gap between a project car and a nice, solid driver or restored example than there used to be, which I would postulate is something to do with younger enthusiasts perhaps not having the spannering skills or confidence to take on a project, whereas anyone who grew up driving in before, say, 25 years ago, had to learn at least basic skills just to keep even new cars running reliably. Young people, as a rule, want to go out and enjoy an old car and not spend years restoring one. Hence why there are lots of ostensibly 'cheap' Minors and MGBs and things for sale. But it's not like there aren't also really expensive ones for sale, and those ones are usually much, much, much better. It wasn't long ago lots of cooking 1960s and 70s stuff was buttons, but it's all gone through the roof in the last few years. Ten years ago a Dolomite or Allegro or a P6 or whatever could be have for less than a grand on the road, easily. The MoT'd Allegro me and Garycox had in 2013 was £200. You couldn't even buy a scrapper for that today. Vintage stuff is still going up. I remember a few years ago when nice A7 Chummies started going for about £12k people thought it was madness. Today people are asking £20k for exceptional examples. Most of the people I know who drive Vintage cars are confortably under 40, so I don't think there's any danger of interest dying out. The properly great top-end things will always be super-valuable. Prewar stuff has never been valuable, mostly because it's shit. None of the charm of a Vintage car but with all the foibles, and you can't do any events in them. 1930s cars were built for boring people, mostly, and they're still owned by boring people. They're not expensive, but I haven't noticed prices falling particularly. 1950s porridge, again, is rubbish but still has a big following. It'll be a long time before the long-term owners all start dying off. More unusual but still rubbish stuff like early Vanguards seem to have shot up recently - £15k for a nice one, madness! Austins and the like are always cheap because they are still so numerous. A35s and A40 Farinas have shot up because of the hugely popular historic racing series for them. Nice Minors are still loads of money, horrid ones are still cheap. Lots of choice, people can be discerning. 1980s and even 90s stuff is definitely on the rise, but I don't think its at the expense of anything older. The last time things went dramatically downward was the big crash in the 80s, but that taught a lot of people a valuable lesson. Some things will always be 'investments', but just because putting your money in a 50s Ferrari is smart it doesn't mean putting your money in a 50s Austin Cambridge is a good idea just because it's 'old'. Boring stuff is no longer treated as an investment. I suspect things will continue to be worth proper money for another 20 years, and then nobody will be driving petrol-engined cars anymore anyway, so values will plummet as cars become static objects to be viewed, appreciated but not used. I think people are cottoning on to this fact now, and realise they have a finite time left to enjoy motoring, so values will remain bouyant until running a petrol car becomes impossible, or incredibly difficult and expensive. tl:dr - no, I haven't noticed cars going down in value recently

Sup? This 2Cv was in the Sainso's car park when I went in... ...and this lovely (really, really lovely) P5 was parked up when I came out An attractive XJ6 seen in Hampshire en route to Beaulieu the other day And then in the exhibitors' car park, always a good place for tat spotting, this manky Sherpes And this almost equally manky Horse Bollox But star of the show was this fuggin' thing!!!! It's not super obvious in these pics, but it was in beautifuly scruffy condition, just the right amount of worn-in, with a few little dings and scratches and faded paint, plus muddy arches from being actually driven like a real car on the road. These are in the top 10, maybe top 5 most desirable things ever. Just so bloody cool. A close second was... a FLIPPIN' RHD ZAZ TAVRIA!!!111! Alright, I know the guy who owns this and knew of its existence, but it was still cool to just stumble over it in a car park. There was a small crowd of excited men gawping at it when I arrived too. They obviously know what's up. Back to Sussex, another supermarket twofer. This Mini Cooper S actually lives on my street but I've never had a chance to take a photo before. It's owned by a sour-faced couple who are much too fat to drive a Mini, really, and they seem totally... what's the opposite of nonplussed? plussed?... whenever I pass them in an old car. Like, eyes forward, not a hint of acknowledgement or interest or anything. I mean, that's what I do when I see an old car on the road, I don't want people to think I'm a friendly guy or anything, but it's still galling when somebody does it to me. Anyhoooo. It's a nice Mini. This thing was in almost the same space this morning. Looked utterly mint, and made me really pine for an old Volvo (I was in the boring modern) to tool about in on a damp Autumn morning. And then this thing, seen by my colleague the other day. Looks lovely in the pic. Right, that's it. BYE

Really looks like one of those great Gordon Horner drawings to illustrate a 'dangers of Contental tradsmen drivers' article in Autocar circa 1967

That's astonishing. I haven't seen a Mk1 since about 1997. It looks really cheap to me, plus it's local. Would be infinitely improved by fitting the proper early wheels and ditching those spot lamps

It's a bit crinkled, but otherwise this £1000 205 TD looks absolutely GR12 I reckon. Got the nice wheels, big sliding glass sunroof, presumably quite a plush interior (no pics sadly) I haven't looked up the MoT history or owt, and it doesn't have a test at the mo but I dunno, it just gives me a really good 'vibe' for some reason. Reckon you could just drive it home and it would work forever with zero upkeep for the rest of time. Looks so cool too!

Class! I have a long obsession with the gear lever in these (and early 140s) - it just looks so chunky and powerful I always image it to be the most wonderfully direct, mechanical shift on any gearbox. Honestly, I've had long conversations with @Fabergé Greggs about this. Then I drove one, and I spent about 15 minutes trying to find first gear - pulling away (in third) - stalling - trying to find first gear etc etc etc. The only time in my life I've really struggled with any aspect of driving a car. Incredibly embarrassing and it shattered all my dreams in an instant. I'd still love one, though, and the prices are so all over the place I reckon a bargain might still be out there waiting for me

Should have bought this when it was this price last year... Difficult to know what (if any) work has been done to justify the new seller's price. Ho hum.

Wow, that's lovely. They both are, in fact. Would x2

Hey, it's a Prozé (or THE Prozé, I'm not sure if it ever went into production). A Portuguese microcar from the mid-1970s

found another nice pic in the files. This was the National Motor Museum's collection of invalid carriages in the 1970s. Are there any still there?

WHO THE FUCK IS THAT LITTLE GUY????

This is so nice! Unfortunately I messaged the seller earlier and the head gasket has gone, so prbably beyond my abilities/pocket to sort out. I reckon he'd take a low offer though as he wants it shifted...