Car value bell curve

[chaseracer]

The secret is this - cars don't need to be particularly brilliant, but had to be evocative of a certain era and lusted after. The seventies and eighties were great days for motoring, the nineties and 2000's were not. Driving increasingly became a pain in the arse and people fell out of love with cars.

 

Mark 3 Cortinas were really not that good, but they were stylish, well marketed and sold in big numbers. That fact that it's worth 3 times as much as the FE Vauxhall Victor - a much better car really - is neither here nor there.

 

Ebay is littered with 20-50 year old cars which are still worth fuck all. These are the ones that interest me.

+ 1000000

 

[CIH]

I can't see ST170 Focus being considered all that special. RS, maybe, but they will all have rusted away before they hit 20 years old IMO....

[Alexg]

Vectra B SRI

Alfa 147 (these book at nothing, I mean NOTHING!)

Proton Satria GTI

Saxo VTR

[Albert Ross]

Sierras are already on the rise.... MIne's a mingebag spec Sapphire, early type with coloured lights. I paid £70. I have already turned down offers of £500 for it..............

[Cavcraft]

Decent, unchaved Vauxhall Novas.

[Felly Magic]

Novas have been on the up for a while, especially stuff like the 2 door cabrio, and quite a few unmolested early Novas keep popping out of the woodwork.

 

I don't think Talbot Sambas will ever do owt, but they weren't bad cars to drive, were very nippy, good on juice, but rusted like an absolute sod. Even the 1.4 cabrios seem to still be stuck down in the doldrums.

 

Alfa 156's might eventually do something, but it is rare for any old Italian car to be worth any more than about 5p, due to the fragility of them

[TagoraSX]

Peugeot 205 GTIs are getting more valuable aren't they?

 

Yes, mint unmolested 1.9's are starting to fetch strong money, 6k+

[Pete-M]

Some Mk2 Golfs have hovered in the mental money area since they were new. Try finding an Oak Green 3dr 16v with black leather Recaros and Aircon for less than £6k, I've never seen one.

 

The 205 GTi 1.9 is a much more fun thing to drive (although for £6k I'd be going for the Oak Green Golf), so it's nice to see them coming up in value.

 

XR3is, RS Turbos and Capri Lasers should never get near the values of the Mk2 Escort or V6 Capri - simply because they're nowhere near as good.

 

I think the 306 Rallye / GTi-6 will be ones to watch for. I keep spotting nice cheap GTi-6s and being far too tempted.

[dieselnutjob]

Just buy a 309 GTI instead. In some ways they are a better car.

[Cavcraft]

Mk2s are sure to rise in value once most Mk1s have finally rotten away, but six grand for a Mk2 Golf is ridiculous.

[daverapid]

Kia Magentis!

[Pete-M]

Just buy a 309 GTI instead. In some ways they are a better car.

 

I had a 309 GTi back to back with a 205 GTi 1.9. The 309 was better to drive, but the 205 was a lot better looking.

[mk2_craig]

I can't see ST170 Focus being considered all that special. RS, maybe, but they will all have rusted away before they hit 20 years old IMO....

 

I think the 3 door ST might eventually start to become sought after, but then again that probably goes for all 3 door fwd Escorts/Focii. There's a certain halo effect of the works motorsport cars that trickles down to the more basic models sooner or later - even if it is largely confined to the Max Power brigade who prefer to steer clear of modding up a 5 door.

 

In fact, thinking about it, there's probably a proportionate relationship between how likely something is to get the boy racer treatment at 5-15 years of age, and how quickly its value rises once the last few remaining examples reach 20-25 years of age.

[AnthonyG]

I didn't think Focus's were all that prone to rust, no more than any other car of that era and a lot better than Kas. I think Pumas are Ford to do well in the future.

[John F]

Well, if good looks, rarity and sporting pedigree equal pound signs, perhaps that's why there's a Hillman Avenger Tiger Mk 1 on eBay at the moment for £14,500...

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Decent, unchaved Vauxhall Novas.

 

You could be right there - a mint SR or GTE could be worth MILLYUNZ.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 

XR3is, RS Turbos and Capri Lasers should never get near the values of the Mk2 Escort or V6 Capri - simply because they're nowhere near as good.

 

 

Mint Series 1 Turbos are already at Mark 2 RS2000 money, and are a much better car. Much faster, much more grip, nice and lairy to drive, heroic in most departments and from an era that more enthusiasts can remember as opposed to their Dad telling them how good they were. I'm 44 and went through the Mark 2 Escort phase 1000 years ago. They were okay but the RS1600i and XR3i I had were much nicer. However, I'll qualify that by saying that only the original Mark 111 versions are worth having - the Mark 1V cars were off the pace. However, a mint 90 spec RST will be a 10-15 grand car in not too many years time.

 

Capri Lasers are crap though - it's only the V6's that are really worth having.

[fiatdaft]

And i do reckon that there are a few old italian cars that are worth more than 5p !

[Pete-M]

 

XR3is, RS Turbos and Capri Lasers should never get near the values of the Mk2 Escort or V6 Capri - simply because they're nowhere near as good.

 

 

Mint Series 1 Turbos are already at Mark 2 RS2000 money, and are a much better car. Much faster, much more grip, nice and lairy to drive, heroic in most departments and from an era that more enthusiasts can remember as opposed to their Dad telling them how good they were. I'm 44 and went through the Mark 2 Escort phase 1000 years ago. They were okay but the RS1600i and XR3i I had were much nicer. However, I'll qualify that by saying that only the original Mark 111 versions are worth having - the Mark 1V cars were off the pace. However, a mint 90 spec RST will be a 10-15 grand car in not too many years time.

 

I have to disagree. I had a couple of S1 Turbos and an RS1600i. Hated them. Didn't handle, didn't steer that well, didn't go that well. Admittedly the RS1600i interior was lovely, and they rode slightly better than an uprated Mk2 RS, but at the end of the day the Mk3 is FWD and not very well sorted FWD. Nasty handling hunks of junk. The Mk2 was basic but it worked one hell of a lot better than the Mk3 ever did.

 

The XR3i was a piece of shit. Still is. I had a mint 40k mile A plate one in '92. Didn't keep it for long as it wasn't very good.

 

I'm 41 and owned close to 20 RS2000 Mk2s back when they were cheap and unfashionable. I had the RS1600i and S1 Turbos at around the same time. Could never bond with the FWD Escorts until the Mk5 RS2000. Just don't like them at all. Only ended up with them because at the time they were cheap and I always buy cars at the unfashionable end of the price curve.

 

90 Spec RSTs are probably more relevant now than they were when they were new. Great looking but no fun to drive. I was offered a '90 H plate 15,000 miler as a straight swap in '92 for my immaculate '78 Mk2 RS Custom (which I declined) because the chap with the RST really wanted another Mk2. The RST was nicely trimmed and looked really nice in Mercury grey, but it was just nasty to drive. He eventually managed to find someone with a tidy RS2000 who'd do the deal, and he still has the RS2000 to this day.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 

XR3is, RS Turbos and Capri Lasers should never get near the values of the Mk2 Escort or V6 Capri - simply because they're nowhere near as good.

 

 

Mint Series 1 Turbos are already at Mark 2 RS2000 money, and are a much better car. Much faster, much more grip, nice and lairy to drive, heroic in most departments and from an era that more enthusiasts can remember as opposed to their Dad telling them how good they were. I'm 44 and went through the Mark 2 Escort phase 1000 years ago. They were okay but the RS1600i and XR3i I had were much nicer. However, I'll qualify that by saying that only the original Mark 111 versions are worth having - the Mark 1V cars were off the pace. However, a mint 90 spec RST will be a 10-15 grand car in not too many years time.

 

I have to disagree. I had a couple of S1 Turbos and an RS1600i. Hated them. Didn't handle, didn't steer that well, didn't go that well. Admittedly the RS1600i interior was lovely, and they rode slightly better than an uprated Mk2 RS, but at the end of the day the Mk3 is FWD and not very well sorted FWD. Nasty handling hunks of junk. The Mk2 was basic but it worked one hell of a lot better than the Mk3 ever did.

 

Mine were great!

 

My Mark 2 remains the most disappointing car I ever had. I rebuilt it from scratch and sooo wanted to like it. Harsh Pinto that went okay, handling that despite the Capri Bilsteins (bought new) and single leafs was a bit crap - understeer, oversteer, live axle skipping over bad roads - I dread to think how bad a standard one must be.

Bloody noisy and harsh - two hours of that was enough.

 

It did look nice, and the seats were good. But it was just shit to drive, and even 20 years ago it was like something from the Ark. I'm not interested in oversteer heroics, just getting from A to B as fast as possible -the FWD Escorts were just a more effective way of doing just that without histrionics -even if the RS1600i was a bit nervous on the limit.

[dollywobbler]

May I respectfully point out that handling has nothing to do with a car's value! Vee Dubs prove that point, as do Fiat 500s.

 

The FWD hot Fords will lack the following of the Mk2 purely because they didn't have the race/rally pedigree. This also explains why Sierra Cosworths are so much more valuable than XR4is.

 

Therefore, I reckon hot Cavalier Mk3s might develop a following based on their BTCC exploits. Not guaranteed though - the Triumph Dolomite took two saloon car championship wins and while they're pricier than other Dolomites, they're still stupendous value.

[trigger]

Cavalier 2000 GSi's will be worth a bit of coin soon as will stuff like Renault Clio 16v's and maybe even the R19 16v's.

[gtd2000]

[

I'm 41 and owned close to 20 RS2000 Mk2s back when they were cheap and unfashionable.

 

I'm 46 and always remember them being sought after/desirable cars...?

 

Then again, I was usually drooling after Jap stuff

[cort16]

Cavalier 2000 GSi's will be worth a bit of coin soon as will stuff like Renault Clio 16v's and maybe even the R19 16v's.

 

Just spotted this on pistonheads.

[marcello-gandini]

NONE OF THESE CARS WILL EVER BE CLASSICS.

[Pete-M]

NONE OF THESE CARS WILL EVER BE CLASSICS.

 

Yet an MGB allegedly is. What a cruel world we live in.

 

PS. Your CAPS LOCK appears to be broken.

[Autoplas]

 

XR3is, RS Turbos and Capri Lasers should never get near the values of the Mk2 Escort or V6 Capri - simply because they're nowhere near as good.

 

 

Mint Series 1 Turbos are already at Mark 2 RS2000 money, and are a much better car. Much faster, much more grip, nice and lairy to drive, heroic in most departments and from an era that more enthusiasts can remember as opposed to their Dad telling them how good they were. I'm 44 and went through the Mark 2 Escort phase 1000 years ago. They were okay but the RS1600i and XR3i I had were much nicer. However, I'll qualify that by saying that only the original Mark 111 versions are worth having - the Mark 1V cars were off the pace. However, a mint 90 spec RST will be a 10-15 grand car in not too many years time.

 

I have to disagree. I had a couple of S1 Turbos and an RS1600i. Hated them. Didn't handle, didn't steer that well, didn't go that well. Admittedly the RS1600i interior was lovely, and they rode slightly better than an uprated Mk2 RS, but at the end of the day the Mk3 is FWD and not very well sorted FWD. Nasty handling hunks of junk. The Mk2 was basic but it worked one hell of a lot better than the Mk3 ever did.

 

The XR3i was a piece of shit. Still is. I had a mint 40k mile A plate one in '92. Didn't keep it for long as it wasn't very good.

 

I'm 41 and owned close to 20 RS2000 Mk2s back when they were cheap and unfashionable. I had the RS1600i and S1 Turbos at around the same time. Could never bond with the FWD Escorts until the Mk5 RS2000. Just don't like them at all. Only ended up with them because at the time they were cheap and I always buy cars at the unfashionable end of the price curve.

 

90 Spec RSTs are probably more relevant now than they were when they were new. Great looking but no fun to drive. I was offered a '90 H plate 15,000 miler as a straight swap in '92 for my immaculate '78 Mk2 RS Custom (which I declined) because the chap with the RST really wanted another Mk2. The RST was nicely trimmed and looked really nice in Mercury grey, but it was just nasty to drive. He eventually managed to find someone with a tidy RS2000 who'd do the deal, and he still has the RS2000 to this day.

 

I'd agree with the fact that the Mk2 Escorts were much better driving cars, and that is why the Mk3 feels slightly disappointing in comparison. The Mk1 & Mk2 RS Escorts were epic in the handling department which a FWD car could not hope to match.

 

I will disagree with going over the top on the Mk3's and 4s though (the RS ones), to a degree even the XR3 & XR3i, which were affordable sports performance cars with no pretensions and did what they said on the tin.

 

Coming back to the RS Mk3s, I owned a concours RS1600i a few years ago now in Sunburst Red which prior to my purchase had been the subject of a full nut and bolt, bare metal restoration at Trimoco's in Chelmsford where the owner worked as a mechanic. It was literally like a new car. What I did find handling wise was that it was VERY particular as to the choice of tyre in relation to handling, by this it handled quite poorly on some premium brands and great on others sometimes even in different conditions (on some brands it understeered like a bastard in the wet). The guy I used as my mechanic on the stuff I couldnt be arsed/wasn't skilled enough to do had a concours Series 1 RS Turbo and that was the same with tyres.

 

I hope my car chewed up the C*** who stole it and introduced his face to a tree.

[dollywobbler]

Apparently, the MGOC sprang up because the MGCC (I may have got that the wrong way around, but it still makes the point) wouldn't cover that new fangled upstart the MGB! Check out the classic mags of the 1980s and they're full of angry letters from people saying "The Triumph Stag and MGB will never be classics." Narrow mindedness is nothing new. I don't think they had problems with their Caps Lock button though.

[CIH]

I'm old enough to recall RWD Escorts being old junkersw nobody cared about anymore. Cortinas, too. Every dog has it's day, sooner or later.

[John F]

NONE OF THESE CARS WILL EVER BE CLASSICS.

 

Hm, that's a sweeping statement. Care to share your thinking with us?