Classic values & essential buying advice
FANCY A PUNT?
Though the classic car market in general remains remarkably buoyant, the squeeze on finances does appear to be affecting it. For a start people are taking more rational looks at those projects awaiting attention. The effect being that auctions and classified ads are now stuffed with them. If you are looking for a project, it’s now a target-rich environment – as a Top Gun once said.
Also, more cars are being offered at auction with no reserve, which can – and now increasing does – lead to bargains. Try this recent selection. A ’68 Jaguar S-type, usable, presentable, possibly low mileage, £5724. An ’87 Jag XJ40 3.6, FSH, 81k, £4-6k estimate, £3132. How about an ’01 Merc CL500, 83k, fresh
MOT with no scary advisories, refurbed alloys, £2700. A now rare ’95 Saab 9000CSE Turbo, one family from near new, 162k but fresh MOT, £1360. Just a snapshot from the recent Anglia Car Auctions sale, and very typical of what’s out there.
The thing that connects them all is something I’ve written in the past: their size. This is old-smoker class stuff possessing both size and some degree of thirst. But the recent fall in fuel prices has yet to make them more palatable.
Coming back to my opening disclaimer, the right stuff is still fetching some air-sucking prices. Impressionist Jon Culshaw’s Granada made a way over estimate £17,280, and a fairly shabby Lotus Cortina II was just shy of £20k. Also, how about just over £10k for a 64,000-mile ’85 Vauxhall Cavalier SRi? Rare, I know, but who saw that coming?
Even after 25 years of monitoring it, this market still regularly manages to surprise me.
Russ Smith has been following the classic car market for a quarter of a century and contributes to Practical Classics, Classic Car Weekly and Classic Cars.
Mixed-up market shows
Brightwells’ first sale of 2023 was a timed online affair – no gavel banging for entertainment. There were some 69 classics on offer, which is quite light compared to other sales at present, but enough gems in there to attract attention. And bidders.
Top result has to be the £11,761 needed to win the 1973 MGB GT on offer. That’s all the money for one of these – the estimate of £9750- £10,750 looked correct. With the same owner since 1991, who spent the first decade restoring it, the car has covered just 20,694 miles since and in many areas the resto still looked pretty fresh. This was a very nice MGB and on the day two people really wanted it.
At the other end of the scale was our nomination for bargain of the month. Most Volvo brick fans want an estate model, and always have, so the rarer saloons are passed over. Which was the case with this 940S. It was
