Classic car values

[alcyonecorporation]

17 hours ago, lesapandre said:

Add in the spare parts position for a lot of models. Take 'cooking' Rootes cars for example - both RJ Grimes and Speedy Spares catered for parts 'off the shelf' - as OE and NOS stock has dried up so has what's available. Both businesses are gone.

Previously a lot of cars coasted-on with the supply of NOS and second-hand spares which buoyed values. But that can't go on for ever. Where for example would you easily find a rear light cluster for facelift Avenger say these days?

Arrow 5

[SiC]

Anglia Car Auctions has just started

£6200 for the Riley is a strong start. 

 

[SiC]

£6800 with fees this nice looking midget went for. Cheap but reassures me that mine isn't completely worthless and I should be able to get some of my money back if I ever decide to sell. 😂

 

HOWEVER this pre-war Morris didn't even fetch reserve. Iirc £2600 the hammer fell at.

Are pre-war vehicles that undesirable now?

Poses the question, Autoshite has often been about owning and running cars that are undesirables and now rare. Usually stuff that is cheap and usually means 20-30yrs old.

But does that mean pre-war vehicles could be the new Autoshite? 😀

 

[captain_70s]

Pre war Morris nobody wanted, Moggy drop top seemed cheap as well.

Singer Vogue for £3k not a bad deal

[MiniMinorMk3]

The Moke only got to £9,000 provisional. This is a very low price for a UK built original. These retail for anywhere between £15,000 and £25,000. The body on this one looks Okish, but it does not have the original 848cc engine. It has a replacement 998cc engine, which means it is probably more fun to drive. If the provisional bidder gets that for £9,000 they will have got what looks to be a bargain.

 

[lesapandre]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

£6800 with fees this nice looking midget went for. Cheap but reassures me that mine isn't completely worthless and I should be able to get some of my money back if I ever decide to sell. 😂

 

HOWEVER this pre-war Morris didn't even fetch reserve. Iirc £2600 the hammer fell at.

Are pre-war vehicles that undesirable now?

Poses the question, Autoshite has often been about owning and running cars that are undesirables and now rare. Usually stuff that is cheap and usually means 20-30yrs old.

But does that mean pre-war vehicles could be the new Autoshite? 😀

 

Do you know what the reserve was on the Morris?

Morris were meticulously engineered cars for their era and it probably has hydraulic brakes and syncromesh.

Lovely old thing indeed.

[SiC]

31 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Do you know what the reserve was on the Morris?

Morris were meticulously engineered cars for their era and it probably has hydraulic brakes and syncromesh.

Lovely old thing indeed.

No they didn't say. Estimate was 3k to 5k so presumably 3k was the reserve maybe. 

[Yoss]

On 03/04/2025 at 16:16, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Good to see that stuff is coming back down to more realistic values, however, there seems to be a lot of blown over paint jobs hiding horrors on offer as well. I went to W&B the other day to look at something and most of the classics looked nice and shiney from 30 foot away, but up close some look like they have been painted on drive ways and in sand pits.

Twas always the way. I've been driving 35 years and I found that out the hard way a couple of times. But you learn from it and move on. And it was certainly going on long before that. People like shiny. 

[robt100]

8 hours ago, MJK 24 said:

Are you able to elaborate?

That depends on why you're asking🤣

[sofarsogood]

On 04/04/2025 at 18:23, lesapandre said:

And rust never sleeps

I have an mx5, this quote sent shivers down my spine.

[MJK 24]

32 minutes ago, robt100 said:

That depends on why you're asking🤣

Just curiosity as to what (possibly!) went wrong!

[robt100]

Lots of false promises and timewasting @MJK 24 ended up going somewhere else.

[2flags]

On 04/04/2025 at 18:59, lesapandre said:

Add in the spare parts position for a lot of models. Take 'cooking' Rootes cars for example - both RJ Grimes and Speedy Spares catered for parts 'off the shelf' - as OE and NOS stock has dried up so has what's available. Both businesses are gone.

Previously a lot of cars coasted-on with the supply of NOS and second-hand spares which buoyed values. But that can't go on for ever. Where for example would you easily find a rear light cluster for facelift Avenger say these days?

If I remember rightly, didn't they export the rights to these to Iran? Now how you would get parts from there without getting utterly bogged down in paperwork, and possibly visits from men in long dark raincoats, I have no idea. 

[tooSavvy]

@PaykanHunter.. to the Beige phone ^ ^ ^

🚙💨

[lesapandre]

29 minutes ago, 2flags said:

If I remember rightly, didn't they export the rights to these to Iran? Now how you would get parts from there without getting utterly bogged down in paperwork, and possibly visits from men in long dark raincoats, I have no idea. 

Only the Arrow range was licensed to Iran I believe. I think there were a lot of subsequent engineering alterations - so there was probably little 'Rootes' left at the end.

Any car would have been worked very hard there.

Government website gives advice on trade with Iran.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/exporting-to-iran/doing-business-in-iran-trade-and-export-guide

[SiC]

A big Healey with a small prang on its arse ended earlier with no bids at £24k.

It's stuff like this that I can see falling much further. Maybe at some point even hitting a level where I could squeeze it into my budget. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335884698338

 

[barrett]

2 hours ago, SiC said:

A big Healey with a small prang on its arse ended earlier with no bids at £24k.

It's stuff like this that I can see falling much further. Maybe at some point even hitting a level where I could squeeze it into my budget. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335884698338

 

 

I don't think BN4s have ever been particularly valuable. This similar but much nicer one sold for £21,000 15 years ago. Personally I'd rather walk than drive an Austin-Healey. Well, I'd rather drive an Austin Atlantic, anyway...

https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/18418/lot/335/1957-austin-healey-100-6-bn4-22-roadster-chassis-no-bn4l-s-49611/

[SiC]

2 hours ago, barrett said:

Personally I'd rather walk than drive an Austin-Healey.

What do you not like about them?

Apart from maybe some of the owners.

[Bren]

Stuff from the 80's and early 90's seem to be what people are looking for.

[SiC]

14 minutes ago, Bren said:

Stuff from the 80's and early 90's seem to be what people are looking for.

Even that isn't doing great. 

E.g. this at the weekend:

https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/auctions/2694-05-Apr-2025/9062~2-1998-subaru-impreza-turbo-2000-awd 

£7k inc fees for a one owner car with only 61.5k on the clock.

[Fabergé Greggs]

Anyone care to speculate on values of early VW T25 campers?  I wonder if the “camper dream” thing isolates them a little from the more volatile market of classics as investments? 

I may or may not be pulling the trigger on one and I’d prefer it not to plunge.. 

[lesapandre]

45 minutes ago, Fabergé Greggs said:

Anyone care to speculate on values of early VW T25 campers?  I wonder if the “camper dream” thing isolates them a little from the more volatile market of classics as investments? 

I may or may not be pulling the trigger on one and I’d prefer it not to plunge.. 

I'd speculate that lack of rust and a well-fitted interior without damage would be the biggest influence. There will be a lot of ragged liabilities out there. 

But any compact camper in good condition should always find a market. So the old adage will apply - look at lots and buy the best you can afford.

[lesapandre]

4 hours ago, barrett said:

I don't think BN4s have ever been particularly valuable. This similar but much nicer one sold for £21,000 15 years ago. Personally I'd rather walk than drive an Austin-Healey. Well, I'd rather drive an Austin Atlantic, anyway...

https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/18418/lot/335/1957-austin-healey-100-6-bn4-22-roadster-chassis-no-bn4l-s-49611/

These can also get very very rusty and have led very hard lives. Any car will have been restored - probably several times and all depends on the quality of the work.

As @barrett says - drive any of this era before you buy. The driver control experience is an acquired taste in a lot of these cars.

I kind of pity the buyers of cars at auction who aquire them because they look nice and then get in behind the wheel...oh.

I've owned an Atlantic too - not too keen on that either. Rushed into production and not particularly well put together bodywise IMHO.  The Hampshire on which it was based always seemed nicer.

[barrett]

3 hours ago, SiC said:

What do you not like about them?

Apart from maybe some of the owners.

Handling, ride quality, steering feel, looks, image... I've never understood the 'hairy-chested' sports car thing where you have to constantly fight the thing to make it go where you want, in utter discomfort. A Jag XK of the same period (as boring as I think they are) proves that you could make a low-priced sports car with none of the negatives listed above, but I guess that's why they're twice as expensive (or three or four times depending on the model) as a Healey is today.

[SiC]

5 minutes ago, barrett said:

Handling, ride quality, steering feel, looks, image... I've never understood the 'hairy-chested' sports car thing where you have to constantly fight the thing to make it go where you want, in utter discomfort. A Jag XK of the same period (as boring as I think they are) proves that you could make a low-priced sports car with none of the negatives listed above, but I guess that's why they're twice as expensive (or three or four times depending on the model) as a Healey is today.

I'd love an XK but suspect they'll be out my price range for a long time. 

The problem with that Healey is that with the bonnet open, I can't help but think a MGC is the same but a lot cheaper to buy and run (in parts)

[lesapandre]

20 minutes ago, SiC said:

I'd love an XK but suspect they'll be out my price range for a long time. 

The problem with that Healey is that with the bonnet open, I can't help but think a MGC is the same but a lot cheaper to buy and run (in parts)

XKs are fantastic and can be made to go very fast - and there are brake and many other upgrades to be had too.

Boxes of bits like this are expensive but not mad money. This jigsaw puzzle is £15,000.

Most of the cheap ones come back from the USA where most were sold. Worth looking there too.

Parts are easyish to come by.

The MGC is awful - the 7-bearing 'new' BMC engine a turkey - it's not as good as the original C-series engine which was a Nuffield design for BMC. Should never have entered production.

Much better is the V8 - or maybe make your own.

[SiC]

1 minute ago, lesapandre said:

XKs are fantastic and can be made to go very fast - and there are brake and many other upgrades to be had too.

Boxes of bits like this are expensive but not mad money. This jigsaw puzzle is £15,000.

Most of the cheap ones come back from the USA where most were sold. Worth looking there too.

Parts are easyish to come by.

The MGC is awful - the 7-bearing 'new' BMC engine a turkey - it's not as good as the original C-series engine which was a Nuffield design for BMC. Should never have entered production.

Much better is the V8 - or maybe make your own.

I've done the MGB thing, not sure I'd want to revisit it when so many other cars to choose from!

In one of the storage bays where I stash my car has some old boy who collects XKs but never seems to do much with them. Last time I was in there he had 4 XKs in differing states of decay. I've not met him but spoke to someone who has and he would be surprised if he ever gets enough time in life to finish them all ...

I can't imagine XKs holding their value that well in the coming decade. Again another old car where the demographic that loved them is dying off. I guess might have a renaissance if Jag comes back for a new generation and people look back at the old fondly. 

[lesapandre]

With the XK I would say they will hold their value. They have steadily gone up over the years - and are repairable being chassis built.

They did not make that many - they are absolutely beautiful and up there with Bugatti for sheer presence when in good condition.

You can race them and they are rally eligible for a lot of events.

They drive fantastically - and remain blisteringly quick and fun to drive. I really loved mine.

They belong to the golden era of Jag' with the three consecutive wins at Le Mans.

Easier and cheaper to keep than an E-Type which can go very wrong indeed.

140 Coupe. 

[Yoss]

13 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

 

The MGC is awful - the 7-bearing 'new' BMC engine a turkey - it's not as good as the original C-series engine which was a Nuffield design for BMC. Should never have entered production.

Much better is the V8 - or maybe make your own.

That engine was better in the Austin 3-litre. Still underpowered but far more suitable where it was only expected to waft and not have any sporting pretensions. Far too many 3-litres died to give their engines to MGCs (and the rest were banger raced) when it really should have been the other way round. 

[HMC]

I quite like “big” healeys but would insist on a sound system constantly piping through tears  for fears as I drove (although im more of a saloon man, and im not sure why its in the music video tbh)