Current Car Prices

Nayf

Member
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2,734
Of course you do have a different angle and a very good reason to support this activity of course :D
I’m ambivalent about it, really. Is it slightly sad I’m unlikely to ever afford an Alfa SZ? Of course it is - the days of £25k minters only five years ago are long gone. But it was always going to, given it’s provenance. And if I really wanted one I should have bit the bullet and taken out a loan.
Of course, life’s not as simple as that, but no one has a divine right to their dream car. That’s why I struck for my GTA when I did - it wasn’t the perfect example but it was the best I could afford, and though its owner history is enigmatic, the very last owner is a high up In AROC and an Alfa dealer principal, and invested heavily. Honestly, can I really afford to run it as I’d ideally like to? Not really - I concentrate on the mechanicals. But I knew that if I didn’t strike when I did, it’s likely I’d never be able to afford one. Cars similar condition to mine are already nudging £10k. Minters £15k+.

If the Euromillions email turns up tomorrow, would I buy the SZ at £50k+ - yes because I want the car. A Shamal is slower and arguably worse built than a 3200, yet up to seven times the price; perhaps more; I’d still have the square one. Not everything is about making profit - if it was, nothing would get restored other than Ferraris and Astons. Would I if I was a self-made businessman? Probably.

Rising prices mean more cars are saved - a good thing, no? Is it really preferable to see Interesting cars rot away on (well meaning, if not well funded) people’s drives rather than be restored?

You were wondering why a 325i E30 was worth £40k; it is simple supply and demand. What makes the E30 particularly hot has nothing to do with journalistic hype; it actually happened away from that and has only caught on in print relatively recently.
  1. Straight six, naturally aspirated
  2. Manual gearbox
  3. Sharp, angular styling
  4. RWD
  5. A bit of a hairy chested thing to drive
  6. Cult of BMW
  7. Straight six 80s Beemers were always relatively exclusive back in the day; BMWs might be everywhere now but back then they were truly expensive, prestige cars
  8. And they’re even rarer now, thanks to rust, crashing, the cheap RWD BMW phase where they were modified to death. Truly beautiful low mileage examples can be counted in the dozens.
Older gents love them for the nostalgia; or it’s the car they always wanted. Millennials love them because they look, sound, drive and steer as the antidote to boring modern cars. It all adds up to big prices. There’s an MTech E30 325i at CCA tomorrow; I’m expecting big things from that; put this way it broke all shares/likes records on our social media.

You can see similar love for the 190E, and in Italy the Alfa 75. Arguably the Saab 900 too, though perhaps to a lesser degree. My top tip would be to start collecting straight six E36s. Just lob #E36 into Instagram and you’ll see why.
 
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Nayf

Member
Messages
2,734
I agree to a point but not at £40k. I bought a 306 GTi-6 because I had one when they were knew. I didn't pay £40k even though it was a very nice pretty low mile original example! I paid £1350!!

Nuts IMHO ;)
Ah but you see in that particular example, the mintiest 306 will still only cost you five grand, because only one of the two major food groups is willing to put big money into 306s - the older, nostalgia-minded people. I guarantee if millennials were after the same car, you would see massive rises, especially seeing as there are less than 500 left, and half of those are probably *******.
As it happens, millennials aren’t - the hot hatchback template is something that has continued to evolve, so each generation has its heroes. For some an RS Clio will trump the 306; others the EP3 Civic, Focus RS. Perhaps aside from Golf GTIs, maybe 205s and Fast Fords, the FWD hot hatch will always have something after it that will divide the appeal.
That’s very definitely not the case with cars like the E30 - nothing else looks like them, sounds like them, drives like them, which is what makes them so appealing. There will be no new E30s, but there will be new FWD hot hatches.

Perhaps we will see the growth in appeal in small coupes and roadsters. With the TT being killed off, the 90s becoming fashionable in new fashion world and coupes in general not being made, perhaps that’s the next cult in modern classic circles, offering people something they can’t have new? Few truly mint survivors, relatively cheap to buy, shapes you never see now. The £40k Corrado VR6 the other week was an anomaly (it was a very special car), but it does swing the dial around to where things will eventually head. You can already see it with nicer GTV V6s, Integra Type Rs, the best TTs... The question remains, do these cars have the appeal outside of pure nostalgia?
 
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Nayf

Member
Messages
2,734
Phew, a lot of typing on a banana-shaped, barely responsive mobile phone there. Would like to point out I’m no E30 fanboy (unless it’s an Alpina B6 3.5 S...) - I’d much rather an Alfa 75 Cloverleaf V6. Alas decent ones of those start at £12k... :(
 

Andyk

Member
Messages
61,038
Wonder if the market is changing. Maybe the exotic big engine stuff will not be what the classic collectors want but more run of the mill stuff. Cars that made a difference....stuff like the E30 BMW which for me was a great car that changed their fortunes. I yearned for a 325i Sport in the 80's and finally got one in 1993 and it didn't disappoint. The handling, the engine....I was as excited getting that little car as any of the more sporty ones I bought latter in life. Perhaps that's what pushing prices up. Buyers are the age they can collect what they had back in the 80's/90's......Look at other stuff from back then....RS Escorts seem to be going up in value....Early Golf GTi's.....205 GTi's....Perhaps this type of fun car will be more collectable......Ones that don't cost a fortune to run and enjoy. Just a thought but who can tell.
 
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rockits

Member
Messages
9,167
If only we had a crystal ball Andy.

With things like petrol running out we don't know what will happen. We know petrol will run out at some point and be non existent or scarce and silly expensive.

Will that mean ICE cars will be worthless or worth more. Who knows. It is anyone's guess. I think less but I'm not a naturally lucky person at all.

I never rely on luck for this reason. I have to graft and make good solid educated informed decisions. A bit of gut feeling of course but this isn't luck either as takes years of experiences to become useful.
 

FIFTY

Member
Messages
3,100
With things like petrol running out we don't know what will happen. We know petrol will run out at some point and be non existent or scarce and silly expensive..

Haven't heard that one for a little while

You know biofuel bas been around for a while? When crude oil runs out there certainly will be some form of "petrol" available to us

Also I am a millennial and I have little to no interest in any hatchbacks... So it turns out that we are all different
 

Nayf

Member
Messages
2,734
Wonder if the market is changing. Maybe the exotic big engine stuff will not be what the classic collectors want but more run of the mill stuff. Cars that made a difference....stuff like the E30 BMW which for me was a great car that changed their fortunes. I yearned for a 325i Sport in the 80's and finally got one in 1993 and it didn't disappoint. The handling, the engine....I was as excited getting that little car as any of the more sporty ones I bought latter in life. Perhaps that's what pushing prices up. Buyers are the age they can collect what they had back in the 80's/90's......Look at other stuff from back then....RS Escorts seem to be going up in value....Early Golf GTi's.....205 GTi's....Perhaps this type of fun car will be more collectable......Ones that don't cost a fortune to run and enjoy. Just a thought but who can tell.
It’s certainly the case at the moment; Stuff north of £50k is struggling. Below that is still doing well
 

Vampyrebat

Member
Messages
3,117
Yes some crazy prices!
How can a BMW 325i convertible be worth over £40k even with the low mileage?
My thoughts exactly when I saw that one!! I wouldn't even look twice if I walked past it in the street (OK maybe a quick double take)....
 
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zagatoes30

Member
Messages
20,759
As you all know I have an SZ bought back in 2003 for 22k, for years the price was flat at around 20k despite me putting miles on it 9k to 50k over that time. The last few years have seen the price rise although I think is has softened recently, either that or only poor cars are up for sale.

I never bought it as an investment just to drive, hence the miles and besides it is unlikely I will sell it but there was always a good chance values would improve, a rare Italian coupe with a styling house badge on it (even though Zagato did little on the design).
 

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
Messages
9,033
The generation thing does play a large part.
My Stag was a car when new when I was in Junior School, and I bought it when I was 19.
A 19 year old today would be looking a car made in 2007 in the same situation and wouldn't be interested in an old 70's Triumph.
The E30 would therefore fall in the age category of someone 30+ in comparison.
A do agree regarding the appeal of the straight six though, one reason why I bought my M140i as a daily, rear wheel drive with a manual gearbox. Only yesterday I had a spirited last leg drive back home over the hills after travelling back up the country on the M1. Pulled onto the drive and opened the door for a few minutes just to listen to the straight six purring away. You never get that with a 4 or an electric car.
 

lifes2short

Member
Messages
5,821
If the Euromillions email turns up tomorrow, would I buy the SZ at £50k+ - yes because I want the car

raid your piggy bank, this might sell for less than 50k, had a look at the biturbo spyder and 222sr and both a tad rough

 

lifes2short

Member
Messages
5,821
any one direction fans on here;)

 

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
Messages
9,033
raid your piggy bank, this might sell for less than 50k, had a look at the biturbo spyder and 222sr and both a tad rough


The SZ has always been my type of car from the launch.
Alas I do feel I am too late to be able to afford one, plus there is a limit to the number of cars I can accommodate and afford to run and maintain. I've definitely reached the one in/one out stage and cheeted last year when buying the Pinin (instead of winter wheels & tyres for the BMW, similar cost!)
 

whereskeith

Member
Messages
821
I’m ambivalent about it, really. Is it slightly sad I’m unlikely to ever afford an Alfa SZ? Of course it is - the days of £25k minters only five years ago are long gone. But it was always going to, given it’s provenance. And if I really wanted one I should have bit the bullet and taken out a loan.
Of course, life’s not as simple as that, but no one has a divine right to their dream car. That’s why I struck for my GTA when I did - it wasn’t the perfect example but it was the best I could afford, and though its owner history is enigmatic, the very last owner is a high up In AROC and an Alfa dealer principal, and invested heavily. Honestly, can I really afford to run it as I’d ideally like to? Not really - I concentrate on the mechanicals. But I knew that if I didn’t strike when I did, it’s likely I’d never be able to afford one. Cars similar condition to mine are already nudging £10k. Minters £15k+.

If the Euromillions email turns up tomorrow, would I buy the SZ at £50k+ - yes because I want the car. A Shamal is slower and arguably worse built than a 3200, yet up to seven times the price; perhaps more; I’d still have the square one. Not everything is about making profit - if it was, nothing would get restored other than Ferraris and Astons. Would I if I was a self-made businessman? Probably.

Rising prices mean more cars are saved - a good thing, no? Is it really preferable to see Interesting cars rot away on (well meaning, if not well funded) people’s drives rather than be restored?

You were wondering why a 325i E30 was worth £40k; it is simple supply and demand. What makes the E30 particularly hot has nothing to do with journalistic hype; it actually happened away from that and has only caught on in print relatively recently.
  1. Straight six, naturally aspirated
  2. Manual gearbox
  3. Sharp, angular styling
  4. RWD
  5. A bit of a hairy chested thing to drive
  6. Cult of BMW
  7. Straight six 80s Beemers were always relatively exclusive back in the day; BMWs might be everywhere now but back then they were truly expensive, prestige cars
  8. And they’re even rarer now, thanks to rust, crashing, the cheap RWD BMW phase where they were modified to death. Truly beautiful low mileage examples can be counted in the dozens.
Older gents love them for the nostalgia; or it’s the car they always wanted. Millennials love them because they look, sound, drive and steer as the antidote to boring modern cars. It all adds up to big prices. There’s an MTech E30 325i at CCA tomorrow; I’m expecting big things from that; put this way it broke all shares/likes records on our social media.

You can see similar love for the 190E, and in Italy the Alfa 75. Arguably the Saab 900 too, though perhaps to a lesser degree. My top tip would be to start collecting straight six E36s. Just lob #E36 into Instagram and you’ll see why.

There is an R34GTR in that auction that I will be watching with interest, a guy who is interested in mine has gone up to the auction but I think he wants to steal it, which I think will definitely not happen. Some nice cars there though
 

Ewan

Member
Messages
6,757
I’m currently thinking of changing my GC-MC for a Bentley Azure (the convertible version of the Continental R shown above). Though the hard toppped coupe is also v stylish.
 

Phil H

Member
Messages
4,107
Oh that's nice Mark, although my son would say it's an old man's car. I've been watching Bentleys of late and on the face of it they look to be good value for money, but the service/repair costs can apparently make Maseratis look cheap!

PH
 

lifes2short

Member
Messages
5,821
There is an R34GTR in that auction that I will be watching with interest, a guy who is interested in mine has gone up to the auction but I think he wants to steal it, which I think will definitely not happen. Some nice cars there though

CCA are a funny lot, they wouldn't allow anyone to start the cars due to a bullcrap excuse of elf and safety, so how the fook is any buyer supposed to know if engine sounds fine and no unusual smoking, I certainly wouldn't buy any motor, especially if high performance, unless I could crank it up, some of those cars have very dubious descriptions and of course all from the "vendors" ;)
 

ChrisQP09

Member
Messages
2,994
Maseratis rarely do well at auction.
Look at it this way - would you buy a car without a three month statutory warranty, which is what you’re essentially doing? Make that a Maserati, and all connotations that has - some deserved, some undeserved - and you can see why Masers struggle at auction. At least with a private sale you might not get the warranty, but you can review the owner and the car’s surroundings before you buy.

I bought my next QP without a warranty but after some credible advice I decided it was a 'safe' enough buy. Besides the warranty on a 10 year old maser doesn't actually cover the stuff you would want covered! So in the war chest the cash goes.
 

zagatoes30

Member
Messages
20,759

I have a review of this car from last year when it failed to sell, it needs a fair bit of recommissioning apparently