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Why are Classic Cars so expensive?


sierraman

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I love mk2 escorts - always have. I admired them as a 10 year old in 1990 when they were cheap disposable wheels for new drivers.  hence this isn’t a dig at mk2 escorts. It’s more frustration as someone who would have several if he could.
 

Why are they so expensive now? Obv it’s an “old ford” but what’s the reason/ reasons? Is it simply motorsport?

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4 hours ago, taranaki said:

Can you still buy a 1990 Skyline GT-R in the UK? Guy is trying to sell one  here in NZ, from the blurb, it's a bit of a shitebox... He wants just under 28 thousand quid for it. It's due for the equivalent of a MOT in January.

 

Pretty much still factory has had radiator replaced due to a blockage in the previous one and air-con has been removed. Drivers side door has small gap doesn't quite close flush. Interior is still pretty tidy for its age. Had oils and fluids replaced not long ago along with fuel filter.

Just in the last week started having an issue where revs will fluctuate and will sometimes cause it to stall. Its currently being looked at and will update when I get it back. Seems to be missing every so often so potentially something like a dodgy coil.

If you want any more pictures or info just ask. Had a few requests for more pictures so will try get as much as I can. Sorry its a little dirty right now.

 

Probably not, tradecarview or whatever it's called these days will ship you one from Japan for about £1000. How much is import duty and registration?

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11 minutes ago, willswitchengage said:

Probably not, tradecarview or whatever it's called these days will ship you one from Japan for about £1000. How much is import duty and registration?

all the good skylines have been snapped up, now that they are old enough to be imported to america the price has gone daft.

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5 hours ago, taranaki said:

Can you still buy a 1990 Skyline GT-R in the UK? Guy is trying to sell one  here in NZ, from the blurb, it's a bit of a shitebox... He wants just under 28 thousand quid for it. It's due for the equivalent of a MOT in January.

 

Pretty much still factory has had radiator replaced due to a blockage in the previous one and air-con has been removed. Drivers side door has small gap doesn't quite close flush. Interior is still pretty tidy for its age. Had oils and fluids replaced not long ago along with fuel filter.

Just in the last week started having an issue where revs will fluctuate and will sometimes cause it to stall. Its currently being looked at and will update when I get it back. Seems to be missing every so often so potentially something like a dodgy coil.

If you want any more pictures or info just ask. Had a few requests for more pictures so will try get as much as I can. Sorry its a little dirty right now.

 

For the age of them and the fact that they were never available new, there’s always a few for sale here. Prices have gone up pretty steeply, but 28 grand would get a pretty good one 
 

 

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3 hours ago, HMC said:

I love mk2 escorts - always have. I admired them as a 10 year old in 1990 when they were cheap disposable wheels for new drivers.  hence this isn’t a dig at mk2 escorts. It’s more frustration as someone who would have several if he could.
 

Why are they so expensive now? Obv it’s an “old ford” but what’s the reason/ reasons? Is it simply motorsport?

Around 15 years ago I had a 4 door Mk2 1.1L. It was my daily driver but I squirrelled it away in a lock up. The lock up got broken into a couple of times so decided to flog the escort for £250 as I needed it gone before it got burnt out or stolen. 2 Doors were making good money back then but a 4 door base model was still pretty undesirable. A couple of years later and the values began to skyrocket. Ah well, that's life I suppose. 

BTW, the Escort was bought by a rally school in south Wales and AFAIK is still around.

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9 minutes ago, Lankytim said:

Around 15 years ago I had a 4 door Mk2 1.1L. It was my daily driver but I squirrelled it away in a lock up. The lock up got broken into a couple of times so decided to flog the escort for £250 as I needed it gone before it got burnt out or stolen. 2 Doors were making good money back then but a 4 door base model was still pretty undesirable. A couple of years later and the values began to skyrocket. Ah well, that's life I suppose. 

BTW, the Escort was bought by a rally school in south Wales and AFAIK is still around.

my first car back in 1995 was a 1975 2 door mk2 Escort and my second car in 1998 was a 1969 mk1 Escort 2 door.  I always promised myself I would have one again but boat well and truly missed :(

 

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I would be interested to know what happens to values/prices when petrol/diesel start becoming harder to find 2035 onwards. 
I know the petrol retailing industry is placing its hopes on hydrogen but realistically I think that’s only for HGV equivalents. 

Someone mentioned methanol, that’s all well and good as far as the chemistry goes but will the govt allow it?  It’s just replacing one carbon emitting fuel with another. 

Whatever happens  anyone wanting to run an ICE vehicle beyond around 2045 will need to put considerable thought/planning into it - at this point a lot of ‘investments’ may need re-appraising. 

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I agree, I think it will be seen as quite antisocial unless the vehicle is obviously ‘historic’.  And I suspect such vehicles will only be allowed out on certain days/times or for certain purposes. 

The alternative is electric conversion and I note that GM will soon offer a ‘crate electric conversion’ that fits in the equivalent space of the original engine & box and uses the existing propshaft etc. 
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1130129_chevy-makes-all-electric-classic-blazer-suv-to-show-off-upcoming-ecrate-package

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I bought this in 2007 for £200

B050C50C-E81C-487D-AC88-9D6FF9AA9077.thumb.jpeg.781de73ad3b5efba1cec9adda3b8a802.jpeg
 

This year I insured it for 12k! 
it’s a genuine 16v 90 spec, and the colour is factory special order. It’s not all great though, I bought it with significant damage, and it’s probably the world record holder for most times engine red lined or most thrashed car.

Thing is, it’s actually great at everything, motorways, back roads, stuff in boot, good heater etc. I think most 12 year old plus modern cars are so undervalued, it distorts what we value some of the slightly older stuff at.
 

my daily is this

19CE7106-47E8-4973-A82E-AD9DD46FC8A0.thumb.jpeg.c8d408d404a6aebba9778f1de04f58f8.jpegIt’s a 2007.

In 2007, this must have been 25-30 grand. It has better spec than most brand new stuff.

3 months ago I paid 700 quid. I’m not sure which has had the maddest value change in the 13 years.

Also, as I won’t sell it, the Golf must be worth it to me. 

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Four pages in and I believe we’ve actually got to the crux of the matter. 

12 minutes ago, rickvw72 said:

 I think most 12 year old plus modern cars are so undervalued, it distorts what we value some of the slightly older stuff at.

The fact you can buy a taxed and tested car in the UK for a day or two’s pay is almost scandalous. I guess it’s driven by the fact we have zero interest rates, a RHD market and are an island - but nonetheless something that cost twenty grand new should probably never fall to two hundred quid; it wouldn’t in other parts of the world. 

Mk2 escorts are the ones that kill me too. They were shit bangers when I was 16; my mate had a dog shit brown one and was very publicly embarrassed about it. He was given it for free by his Grandad; probably because selling it for £200 wasn’t worth the hassle. I always coveted one, but will never cough up on one unless I have a lottery win. 

I don’t believe they’re a great long term investment these cars. My son’s generation has zero interest in Ford Cosworths or whatever - they couldn’t give a flying fuck. Will cozzehs change hands at £100k in thirty years time? I’d be amazed... 

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11 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I don’t believe they’re a great long term investment these cars. My son’s generation has zero interest in Ford Cosworths or whatever - they couldn’t give a flying fuck. Will cozzehs change hands at £100k in thirty years time? I’d be amazed... 

I would tend to agree. That said, I do remember Martin Buckley writing a long article on why things like Jensens would be worth the square root of nothing because who would be interested in them. Absolutely spot on I thought and it pleased me greatly that I could continue to buy such metal. That was about 15 years ago.

Still, for the time being there are cars from the 2000-2007 period that are eye wateringly cheap. I recently bottled a W220 S320 Merc (pez version) with 60K, two owners and garaged since new for £2K. Must have been £60K new in real terms.

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What are values like of (say) 50s cars? Have they dropped?

As 80s cars are at the age that the people driving them in their twenties are now in their fifties, mortgage paid off etc, demand and so prices have risen. Whether this will happen with future models depends on a number of factors not least the financial issues facing most people under 40!

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11 minutes ago, N19 said:

demand and so prices have risen

Possibly, but only for certain models/makes. Yes, pristine Mercedes W123 or Lancia Delta Integrale can fetch a serious bag of dough, but I would not be that sure about, say, pristine Opel Kadett GSI or Manta.

Sell the sizzle, not the steak.

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11 hours ago, HMC said:

I love mk2 escorts - always have. I admired them as a 10 year old in 1990 when they were cheap disposable wheels for new drivers.  hence this isn’t a dig at mk2 escorts. It’s more frustration as someone who would have several if he could.
 

Why are they so expensive now? Obv it’s an “old ford” but what’s the reason/ reasons? Is it simply motorsport?

The same reason you want one, nostalgia.

Loads of people remember them growing up, more people would like a Mk2 'Scrote than there are surviving cars so pricing gets competitive. Fords in particular have a particular draw to the misty eyed middle aged man, probably due to Ford's massive pushes in terms of motorsport, product placement and advertising.

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2 hours ago, rickvw72 said:

I bought this in 2007 for £200

B050C50C-E81C-487D-AC88-9D6FF9AA9077.thumb.jpeg.781de73ad3b5efba1cec9adda3b8a802.jpeg
 

This year I insured it for 12k! 
it’s a genuine 16v 90 spec, and the colour is factory special order. It’s not all great though, I bought it with significant damage, and it’s probably the world record holder for most times engine red lined or most thrashed car.

Thing is, it’s actually great at everything, motorways, back roads, stuff in boot, good heater etc. I think most 12 year old plus modern cars are so undervalued, it distorts what we value some of the slightly older stuff at.
 

my daily is this

19CE7106-47E8-4973-A82E-AD9DD46FC8A0.thumb.jpeg.c8d408d404a6aebba9778f1de04f58f8.jpegIt’s a 2007.

In 2007, this must have been 25-30 grand. It has better spec than most brand new stuff.

3 months ago I paid 700 quid. I’m not sure which has had the maddest value change in the 13 years.

Also, as I won’t sell it, the Golf must be worth it to me. 

Both those cars are in that sweet spot - say 85-2005 ish. Well made, excellent dynamics, useful equipment and quite a bit of style.  Buy now while stocks last!

I had quite a lot of established desirable 'classics' over my younger years - Humber, Jaguar, Sunbeam, Singer, Hillman, Austin, Rover etc. Am I nostalgic now some are worth 1000's and tens of 1000's - do I wish I kept them?

Nope, they mostly terrible - to drive, rusty, awful to work on and so needy (bit like a few people I dated as well).

A 1990 Citroen AX Memphis or a Mk2 Jag....I'll take the AX and have fun and not go broke.😁

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There are lots of various reasons mixed in the pot that contribute to overpriced tat;

• Nostalgia

• People seeing the opportunity to make money on nostalgia/up coming "classics".

• The market prices being artificially forced upwards by people who'll continually advertise the same vehicle for months/years on end until fool is found to be parted with his money

• A bigger audience thanks to open and easily accessible market places like eBay etc...

• There also seems to be a lot of 'new money' types floating about willing to pay over the odds to have something "rare = cool" (see also: a fool and his money)

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Lots of it is nostalgia. Want a Raleigh Burner like the ones we used to buy for £5 off your mates? Hundreds. And they are actually quite shit. Probably the cycling equivalent of a MK2 Escort I suppose (I've had several of both).

Want something a bit better like a GT Pro Performer - even more hundreds. There are BMXs on eBay now for many thousands of pounds. Mental.

 

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As stated previously - nostalgia. I saw a 1969 Raleigh chopper on ebay - £2350 .

The rona has probably made many people re evaluate their lives - lots if uncertainty. Savings making nothing? Spunk it all on the cars of your youth and hope to re live the good times.

The most I ever paid for an SD1 was £800. Those days are gone.

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3 hours ago, N19 said:

What are values like of (say) 50s cars? Have they dropped?

I'm not sure if they've dropped as such, but they're definitely not going up as fast as prices for '70s / '80s stuff.

4 hours ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I don’t believe they’re a great long term investment these cars. My son’s generation has zero interest in Ford Cosworths or whatever - they couldn’t give a flying fuck. Will cozzehs change hands at £100k in thirty years time? I’d be amazed... 

I doubt it.  My investor's nouse is telling me that the next big thing will be mid-'90s grey import JDM day vans.

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This is all about nostalgia. Those of us born in the 50's, our dad's had things like Vauxhall Victors, Cortinas, Morris Oxfords. People born in the 70's, well we are looking at Golf's, Astra's Escorts and Sierras. It was also the rise in the Japanese imports. Nissan Sunny or Bluebird anyone?

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16 hours ago, Bitzer said:

Prices of second hand cars in the UK are often funny compared to the continental Europe (limited possibilities of export).

For comparison, use e.g. autoscout24.de

my Mrs is from Rep Ireland and she and her family are genuinely shocked how I can bring home a tidy MOTd car for sub £500

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Another moot point is whether some vehicles/bikes/other "vintage" stuff stays, fluctuates or drops on price as the march of time goes on.

It's not all 2-door Mk2 Escorts where demand outstrips supply or where Fords have such a strong following, it effects the prices to such an extent.

Sometimes stuff can drop like a brick when demand is more or less met. When something becomes the "in" thing to have. Once that market of (and I hate this word) "influencers" (and no, I don't mean those dweebs who sit behind a desk pretending they are the most "in" person on the planet by posting a load of selfies with "in" products) which is more or less a movement, like 'Hipsters' rather than a few people pretending to be "in fashion" has had their bite out of the market, because demand naturally lowers, so do prices as sellers find it harder to move their gear on.

Its much the same as new stuff, except for older/recycled stuff.

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4 minutes ago, Lord Sterling said:

Another moot point is whether some vehicles/bikes/other "vintage" stuff stays, fluctuates or drops on price as the march of time goes on.

It's not all 2-door Mk2 Escorts where demand outstrips supply or where Fords have such a strong following, it effects the prices to such an extent.

Sometimes stuff can drop like a brick when demand is more or less met. When something becomes the "in" thing to have. Once that market of (and I hate this word) "influencers" (and no, I don't mean those dweebs who sit behind a desk pretending they are the most "in" person on the planet by posting a load of selfies with "in" products) which is more or less a movement, like 'Hipsters' rather than a few people pretending to be "in fashion" has had their bite out of the market, because demand naturally lowers, so do prices as sellers find it harder to move their gear on.

Its much the same as new stuff, except for older/recycled stuff.

Think Elvis memorabilia or antique 'brown wood' furniture,  the latter being a bit absurdly cheap these days. 

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49 minutes ago, The_Equalizer said:

Think Elvis memorabilia or antique 'brown wood' furniture,  the latter being a bit absurdly cheap these days. 

Suits me. I like granny furniture, it's better than chipboard crap that is assembled once then not breathed on too hard for fear of breaking it. I have several bits from my mate's granddad's place and I'll get more if I need it - no way it was going in the crusher at the tip.

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