Classic car values

[SiC]

My mate who is into classic bikes told me that it's pre-70s British stuff (especially pre-60s) that is tanking in value. Stuff that is immaculate and hope on ready to go is doing well. But anything that is remotely a project has people not interested. His theory is that older stuff is not interesting to most and the demographic that loved them is too old to ride. Newer stuff is bought up by the boomer generation, who still have plenty of cash stashed away but don't want to/know how to restore a bike. Plus everyone wants instant satisfaction nowadays. 

[sutty2006]

9 hours ago, Sir Snipes said:

https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1870555

I remember the Manta club way back when happened across a car almost identical to this one and there was a genuine effort to get the seller a good price - I think it was an old boy with terminal illness or some such. It made £2200, when they routinely failed to top £1000.

I know the ex owner of that car and the work he put into it. It’s one of those cars where “you won’t find a better one”. Underneath is just as clean and the pictures don’t do it justice. 
 

is it worth 30k?  It depends really. I wouldn’t pay 30k for one, but if I was heart set on a white GTE coupe, then I would. It’s not worth 30k to a dealer though and that’s where the market stalls. Once a dealer pays 30k, adds commissions and vat, they are already loosing out and there’s no profit for them. 
 

In the club, we were amazed at the increase in values between 2020 and 2024, some folk rubbed their hands together and sold up. Some (like me) were slightly disappointed because we just enjoy the cars because they were affordable. Now, they aren’t. There’s been a decline in club members recently and I think it’s because a fair few cars ended up in the dealer network and got sold for huge sums of money. Are those people that bought them not interested in joining a club? Was the car just a “tick box bucket list” thing for them? It’s a weird time we are living in, but I’ll be glad if values come down to a more reasonable price. You wouldn’t be able to restore that white GTE for less than 30k now. 

[Sir Snipes]

@sutty2006 I should say that ad states it's going to auction so the £30k may or may not be realistic.

Have to say though, this GTE Hatch at £12k doesn't seem so unreasonable. Seems odd they didn't take the opportunity to delete the sunroof. 

https://www.carandclassic.com/make-an-offer/1983-open-manta-b-gte-2l-coupe-8Warmn

[IronStar]

9 hours ago, SiC said:

 

https://auctions.hampsonauctions.com/auction/lot/lot-27---1965-daimler-250-v8/?lot=2309&so=0&st=&sto=0&au=30&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=0&pp=96&pn=1&g=1

£2750 hammer price !!!!

I honestly never thought I'd be able to afford a car from that era, let alone a luxury V8. Certainly not after seeing what happened to the prices of 80s and 90s cars in the past 10 years. Especially after COVID price boom on literally everything interesting/nice, be it car, tech, or anything else.

Oh, how the times are changing.

[MJK 24]

I do some transport for Hampson Auctions.

They had approx 25 cars entered from one local vendor.  Basically all the Alvis, Bentley, Jaguar and Daimler in the sale.  Plus the Fordson tanker.  They had all been stood for over 5 years in damp buildings and were entered quite late into the sale, approx 10 days ago.

Of the 25, only 3 drove in under their own power.  The rest were winch jobs.  And the majority were plagued with dragging brakes.  Made things a lot harder.  They’d been stored poorly, some with handbrakes left on.

They got a good mechanic in who managed to get 8-10 of them running in the short time between them coming in and the sale.  

The Bentley S3 for example was one which they ran out of time with.  The distributor cap is broken and there wasn’t time to get another one sorted by the time it was established why it wasn’t running on Thursday.  Other cars had been left with stale fuel and very many didn’t even have a battery fitted.

If the vendor was more on the ball and had worked through every car to get them in a good running condition prior to entry, some cars may have done more money.

I think values are on the decline for a lot of the old stuff as the target market is departing this world.  The 80’s and 90’s stuff whilst popular, people haven’t got as much spare money as they had 2-3 years ago.  So there’ll be drops there.

[danthecapriman]

15 minutes ago, sutty2006 said:

I know the ex owner of that car and the work he put into it. It’s one of those cars where “you won’t find a better one”. Underneath is just as clean and the pictures don’t do it justice. 
 

is it worth 30k?  It depends really. I wouldn’t pay 30k for one, but if I was heart set on a white GTE coupe, then I would. It’s not worth 30k to a dealer though and that’s where the market stalls. Once a dealer pays 30k, adds commissions and vat, they are already loosing out and there’s no profit for them. 
 

In the club, we were amazed at the increase in values between 2020 and 2024, some folk rubbed their hands together and sold up. Some (like me) were slightly disappointed because we just enjoy the cars because they were affordable. Now, they aren’t. There’s been a decline in club members recently and I think it’s because a fair few cars ended up in the dealer network and got sold for huge sums of money. Are those people that bought them not interested in joining a club? Was the car just a “tick box bucket list” thing for them? It’s a weird time we are living in, but I’ll be glad if values come down to a more reasonable price. You wouldn’t be able to restore that white GTE for less than 30k now. 

I’m lucky I got my Capri before the ‘old skool Ford’ thing started, as I wouldn’t be able to afford to get one now. 
That’s what pisses me off though. It’s the loaded older generation and investors that have spotted a way to generate even more money and they’ve essentially forced values up.

The sad thing is, the real enthusiasts lose out for it and end up going without. Yet those people are the best owners for these cars. People who know the vehicles and look after them and, crucially, use them rather than let them sit wrapped up in one of the garages on their country estate! 
As I said before in this thread, values going down overall is no bad thing as it gets the investor types away from the hobby and allows the genuine enthusiasts to get on with it. 
I know it will affect me btw, with my cars potentially being worth less, but I don’t care. I have them because I love the cars not the money they might net me.

[The_Equalizer]

15 hours ago, HMC said:

Clearly a taste for 80s hot  hatches would be a wise place to but some dosh over the last decade. They say things you yearned after as a teen are where the appreciation is. For most of my colleagues that would be 80s/90s hot hatches. Wierdly for me that was stuff like a rover p4. Blame Practical Classics and Peter Simpson circa 1997.

https://classicsworld.co.uk/opinion/when-projects-go-full-circle/

Which are pretty much the same numerical value now (basically are now worth less in real terms) 

For someone who just wants to drive a nose heavy 50s whale, thats perfect!

Is this your P4? Do love a good P4. There was a couple in the aforementioned SWVA sale. Probably the lesser of the two, but more note worthy. The 'Wheeler Dealers' P4 with the (better looking to my eye) early style front wings:

[sutty2006]

3 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I’m lucky I got my Capri before the ‘old skool Ford’ thing started, as I wouldn’t be able to afford to get one now. 
That’s what pisses me off though. It’s the loaded older generation and investors that have spotted a way to generate even more money and they’ve essentially forced values up.

The sad thing is, the real enthusiasts lose out for it and end up going without. Yet those people are the best owners for these cars. People who know the vehicles and look after them and, crucially, use them rather than let them sit wrapped up in one of the garages on their country estate! 
As I said before in this thread, values going down overall is no bad thing as it gets the investor types away from the hobby and allows the genuine enthusiasts to get on with it. 
I know it will affect me btw, with my cars potentially being worth less, but I don’t care. I have them because I love the cars not the money they might net me.

I couldn’t have put it better myself mate. Well said 👍. and that’s exactly where these cars used to be. Worth a couple of hundred quid and had fun with all day every day. If a £200 car is worth £20,000 are you really gonna send that bad boy sideways round a wet roundabout? Probably not 🤣.

 

I bought my first hatch manta in 2006 for £600 off eBay. A full 1.8GT exclusive. One of the reasons I bought it was because I couldn’t afford £3k for a mk2 escort. And that’s where we are at now lol. My £60 manta coupe is all I need right now, I get more fun driving that than anything 🤣

[The_Equalizer]

26 minutes ago, MJK 24 said:

I do some transport for Hampson Auctions.

They had approx 25 cars entered from one local vendor.  Basically all the Alvis, Bentley, Jaguar and Daimler in the sale.  Plus the Fordson tanker.  They had all been stood for over 5 years in damp buildings and were entered quite late into the sale, approx 10 days ago.

Of the 25, only 3 drove in under their own power.  The rest were winch jobs.  And the majority were plagued with dragging brakes.  Made things a lot harder.  They’d been stored poorly, some with handbrakes left on.

They got a good mechanic in who managed to get 8-10 of them running in the short time between them coming in and the sale.  

The Bentley S3 for example was one which they ran out of time with.  The distributor cap is broken and there wasn’t time to get another one sorted by the time it was established why it wasn’t running on Thursday.  Other cars had been left with stale fuel and very many didn’t even have a battery fitted.

If the vendor was more on the ball and had worked through every car to get them in a good running condition prior to entry, some cars may have done more money.

I think values are on the decline for a lot of the old stuff as the target market is departing this world.  The 80’s and 90’s stuff whilst popular, people haven’t got as much spare money as they had 2-3 years ago.  So there’ll be drops there.

Superb insight. Thank you!

I maintain that you've taken leave of you senses (or have too much money) if you don't go and actually see any car you're going to buy at auction. Oh and view the paperwork.

[Sir Snipes]

[sutty2006]

17 minutes ago, Sir Snipes said:

Ahhh good ole puddle duck ❤️

[Sir Snipes]

I had a quick look around the OMOC forum and I think yours is the only name I recognize, granted I can only see the "open" areas.

Probably way out of my budget but I'd like a bone stock 1.8 Hatch nowadays, especially in an interesting color combination.  Best VFM i think. Funny how your taste changes with age. 

[lesapandre]

Seems change is very much in the air - maybe worth attending a few of these auctions to see what may be now very affordable.

Certainly people may be liquidating assets - given the turmoil on the financial markets etc.

Interesting times we live in indeed.

[tooSavvy]

I've had my 'cheap' Imps [+ breakers parts🔧👍]

Slushhie + VVT 140 smoothie ... All The Way 😋

*must be an age thing

🚙💨

[NorfolkNWeigh]

21 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Seems change is very much in the air - maybe worth attending a few of these auctions to see what may be now very affordable.

Certainly people may be liquidating assets - given the turmoil on the financial markets etc.

Interesting times we live in indeed.

I agree wholeheartedly, I registered with ACA at the last sale a couple of weeks ago. I followed religiously all bloody day. Trouble was I was to scared to bid on anything that was cheap as I assumed people in the hall could see something terrible I wasn’t aware of. I bid a 190e 2.6 with practically every factory option and 275k on it  £2000 then chickened out because the description mentioned a lazy hydraulic tappet when cold, which might be true , but if I was there I’d have known for sure. It only made about £3k  I think, it’ll probably turn up on C&C for £6000.

I did notice the weather had a big effect, Stags, B’s etc all making well over estimate because it was blazing sunshine. 90’s hot hatches also seemed to be way overpriced.

On the plus side even Fords are getting more affordable , 12 months ago there were no Granadas much under £8000, now there often £5/6k ones advertised.

[New POD]

2 hours ago, Sir Snipes said:

Lovely looking mk1 cavalier you got there. 🤔🙊🙉🙈😁😁😁😄

To be honest I'm mega jealous........ apart from the reg plate.  Silver on black?  That would have got old bill crawling all over it back "in the day" 

When I lived in Birmingham a bloke down the road had a 2 door executive. I was very jealous then too. 

 

[barrett]

3 hours ago, MJK 24 said:

I do some transport for Hampson Auctions.

They had approx 25 cars entered from one local vendor.  Basically all the Alvis, Bentley, Jaguar and Daimler in the sale.  Plus the Fordson tanker.  They had all been stood for over 5 years in damp buildings and were entered quite late into the sale, approx 10 days ago.

Of the 25, only 3 drove in under their own power.  The rest were winch jobs.  And the majority were plagued with dragging brakes.  Made things a lot harder.  They’d been stored poorly, some with handbrakes left on.

They got a good mechanic in who managed to get 8-10 of them running in the short time between them coming in and the sale.  

The Bentley S3 for example was one which they ran out of time with.  The distributor cap is broken and there wasn’t time to get another one sorted by the time it was established why it wasn’t running on Thursday.  Other cars had been left with stale fuel and very many didn’t even have a battery fitted.

If the vendor was more on the ball and had worked through every car to get them in a good running condition prior to entry, some cars may have done more money.

I think values are on the decline for a lot of the old stuff as the target market is departing this world.  The 80’s and 90’s stuff whilst popular, people haven’t got as much spare money as they had 2-3 years ago.  So there’ll be drops there.

In fairness to the vendor, I think most of those cars are ex-Jaguar collection, and therefore probably ex-James Hull collection, so most likely haven't been driven or even run for the best part of 20 years

[MJK 24]

2 hours ago, The_Equalizer said:

Superb insight. Thank you!

I maintain that you've taken leave of you senses (or have too much money) if you don't go and actually see any car you're going to buy at auction. Oh and view the paperwork.

Yes, you absolutely 100% need to view the cars in person!

It’s not like buying a 2 year old Golf remotely.  Some of these cars are 60 years old and they’ve had a life or three.  You need to go in with your eyes open.

[MJK 24]

3 minutes ago, barrett said:

In fairness to the vendor, I think most of those cars are ex-Jaguar collection, and therefore probably ex-James Hull collection, so most likely haven't been driven or even run for the best part of 20 years

The ex JLR cars are marked as such in the descriptions.  I think maybe 1/3rd of them might have been.

A lot were bought much more recently (5 years ago) as investments and the values now aren’t what they were then so it might end up being a bit of a blood bath.  Especially when you add on 5 years worth of storage charges.

Entering cars into a sale with flat tyres, no battery fitted and the brakes stuck on isn’t going to maximise your return.  They really needed someone to take a good look at them and get them running to stand a better chance of sucess.

Some of the cars were genuinely really really nice.  Some of them were just heaps that were bought when the prices were sky high with no sense of realisation that prices could one day drop significantly.

[sutty2006]

3 hours ago, Sir Snipes said:

I had a quick look around the OMOC forum and I think yours is the only name I recognize, granted I can only see the "open" areas.

Probably way out of my budget but I'd like a bone stock 1.8 Hatch nowadays, especially in an interesting color combination.  Best VFM i think. Funny how your taste changes with age. 

Good choice, it’s worth keeping your eyes open as 1.8 hatches are by far the cheapest way in now. A guy on there has a silver hatch with a burnt orange interior ❤️. 

[MJK 24]

Here’s the sale prices from yesterdays auction, including the buyers premiums:

https://auctions.hampsonauctions.com/auction/details/-the-bolesworth-castle-may-2025-classic-performance--supercar-auction/?au=30

[lesapandre]

Once you've hired the Castle and all the other on-costs - the likely profit for the auction house does not look immense.

Interesting to see what happens next. There is quite a lot of pressure on the market - dealers with a big stock inventory or folk who borrowed money to buy some expensive crock or other will be under particular pressure.

Coming from the JLR collection does not seem to have added any cachet in the slightest.

The Daimler Double-Six was cheap. Again another badly-stored snotter probably.

[Sir Snipes]

Othe than the obvious high value stuff (etypes, delivery mileage GTRs etc) there are some surprisingly low numbers in there 

[R Lutz]

7 hours ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

I agree wholeheartedly, I registered with ACA at the last sale a couple of weeks ago. I followed religiously all bloody day. Trouble was I was to scared to bid on anything that was cheap as I assumed people in the hall could see something terrible I wasn’t aware of. I bid a 190e 2.6 with practically every factory option and 275k on it  £2000 then chickened out because the description mentioned a lazy hydraulic tappet when cold, which might be true , but if I was there I’d have known for sure. It only made about £3k  I think, it’ll probably turn up on C&C for £6000.

I did notice the weather had a big effect, Stags, B’s etc all making well over estimate because it was blazing sunshine. 90’s hot hatches also seemed to be way overpriced.

On the plus side even Fords are getting more affordable , 12 months ago there were no Granadas much under £8000, now there often £5/6k ones advertised.

As already mentioned, I wouldn't bid on anything blind. Bidding is, believe it or not, a proper job for some people, like being an auctioneer is. The auctioneer works for the house first, the vendor second. You are a distant third. While you should not be scared,  being extremely cautious is prudent. Quite happy to help if you ever find something you have your heart set on. 

[R Lutz]

5 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Coming from the JLR collection does not seem to have added any cachet.

On the one hand, they shouldn't have been messed with, on the other, they've never been used or driven. Which is fatal. 

[MJK 24]

14 minutes ago, R Lutz said:

On the one hand, they shouldn't have been messed with, on the other, they've never been used or driven. Which is fatal. 

I think a lot of them are cars that they’ve bought back / bought in.  There were no delivery mileage cars.  30-50k most had done.

[R Lutz]

2 minutes ago, MJK 24 said:

I think a lot of them are cars that they’ve bought back.  There were no delivery mileage cars.  30-50k most had done.

Thats interesting. 

[MJK 24]

Just now, R Lutz said:

Thats interesting. 

I think that once upon a time, they were decent prospects and JLR bought them for their own collection.  Likely 1 or 2 owner and low miles, always serviced by the main dealer etc.

But that was a looong time ago now.   One of the Bentleys was ex JLR.  They were only determined to be ex JLR because they had an Asset Sticker on them.  

The ones they got running, some even then weren’t running that well.  I can tell you now that an XJ40 power steering pump doesn’t like inactivity.  They were all screaming away with awful juddering at the wheel.