Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[05omegav6]

Not at all... If I had that stuffed down the back of the sofa, it wouldn't be going on a Ferrari, and certainly not a dark blue one

But different strokes and all that...

Well you haven't, and I have, so your comments are not really relevent.  Still you could always buy your choice of wheels on finance again.

The only cars I have financed have been for work so not sure what you're trying to insinuate

[johnnydog]

[/quote]
However for TRs Pete Buckles managed to obtain almost all of the original TR tooling (with some investment by the TR Register)

The TR Register is continually funding development of high quality repro parts, generally to original specs or better.
[/quote]

TR's and Stags seem to have a strong following and as a result there is a good investment from the TR Register and Stag Owners Club into the remanufactured of good quality parts / panels.
Unfortunately, my Triumphs are probably the least favoured models; I have 2000's, 2.5PI 's and a 2500S, and since the 1980's, I have amassed a great number of now difficult to find new parts so it's very rare I need to 'buy in'; however one club member has recently heavily invested in the remanufacture of unobtainable panels, with good results. Without this, cars don't get restored, the owners loose interest and members leave the clubs and clubs can't continue without members.....
I did buy a Stag in 2000, which was a low mileage good example; the problem was I never used it properly.  Anything I did was with the Triumphs was with the 2000 /2500's, and the Stag just sat in the garage for 10 years, and in that time, I only did 1300 miles in it and that included the drive back from Oxford to Lancashire when I bought it! It now lives in Sydney, Australia!
It makes me wonder what will happen to the Omega as the supply of parts continues to dry up, and considering that it's unlikely that there will be any investment in the remanufacture of parts that are now unobtainable.
Which reiterates the point that it's easy to buy a classic car, but finding the time and use for one, is sometimes not as easy as it seems......

[05omegav6]

A hypothetical £10K does offer some more modern possibilities...

Mercedes Coupes are traditionally strong... The C126 is starting to rise... The C140 is next, and tidy ones can be bought for around £6K... OK, as you get newer, the cars become much more complicated which raises different issues, but given time, even mass produced cars find fortune in scarcity... Austin Allegro anyone?

A clean Mk3 Granada with nice mileage and history might be a sensible choice for investing a bit of time/effort/cash into... They won't be £1-2k for much longer

[2boxerdogs]

A very good choice Ferrari, they all no matter which model seem to appreciate in value, I know when I was looking for a V8 my budget was a mere £8,000 I looked at Monaros which had obviously been thrashed, but stumbled across the E430 which is truly immaculate, and remembered reading "buy the best example" which I did, so all I would say is keep all your options open ,there really are some wonderful vehicles out there some bargains can be had if you have the cash.Good luck with your search, incidentally my Mercedes was priced at £5995 I got it for £5250 & sold the mig for £750 so for £4500 I consider myself very lucky indeed.

[ianu]

Future classic - a lot of 70's & 80's stuff is now catching up and prices are very difficult to predict, and as suggested you could end up with a whole pile of iron oxide on the drive again. Cost to buy + improvements might not actually be worth the total value in the end.
Looking for something that is current(ish), but on the radar potentially.  Japanese coupes - the 350Z, or Toyotas. Go for an unmolested one and try and avoid a grey import if you can.
Personally, the Series 1 Mini Cooper S's I think will start to pick up a  following. Although not a classic Mini (in the original sense), they are great fun to drive, have all the modern trappings, a bucket full of tweaks and I don't think people will want to get rid of them. My son spent £5k on a 55 plate 68k with full history and it's an absolute hoot. Not perfect - but if you want a bit of a project, wouldn't take much to tinker with it it to get it spot on. Keep it mint and I reckon you'd get your money back eventually 

[EMD]

I've probably looked every day now for the last year looking for a classic . I never thought my old 1.6 LS Capri would fetch what they are doing now , sold it for £200 about 12 years ago  I would have bought another but prices are rising very fast even for a bare shell 
For some reason Triumph spitfire's are fetching stupid money at the minute . I did fancy a Moggy minor but was shocked at how small they were up close  Saying that though a Triumph Stag parked up next to me the other day and surprised how small that was 

[Andy B]

.... I did fancy a Moggy minor but was shocked at how small they were up close  Saying that though a Triumph Stag parked up next to me the other day and surprised how small that was 

cos all new cars are huge, cars grow a little each time there's a new model. Take a look at a MKI Golf ..... they're tiny compared with the mot recent model and doesn't weigh much different from my Smart

[Viral_Jim]

Hmm, I think as others have said that most 80's and older stuff is well up ATM.

For capital appreciation I'd look to 90's/early 2000's. For £10k my pick would be a mk1 focus RS. Love em or hate em the focus is an iconic ford car in the UK and I can't see the RS as a bad investment. Plus (some suspension peculiarities aside) I would think they are still home mechanicable.

Something like this maybe? All depends how long you want to hang onto it.

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201602191189114?atmobcid=soc4

In a totally different vein, what about a BMW 6 series? 4.0v8 coupe for £6-8k 

[EMD]

.... I did fancy a Moggy minor but was shocked at how small they were up close  Saying that though a Triumph Stag parked up next to me the other day and surprised how small that was 

cos all new cars are huge, cars grow a little each time there's a new model. Take a look at a MKI Golf ..... they're tiny compared with the mot recent model and doesn't weigh much different from my Smart

Thats right , look at the new Mini compared to the old classic and the Beetle .

Rover P5 would be on my list given a £10k budget 

[Andy B]

...

Rover P5 would be on my list given a £10k budget 

Accordingto the price guide in a recent Practical Classics that's give you a few £grand change if you bought a 'mere' P5 saloon between £1000 & £8000 but a P5B Coupe tops at £15000 ... your £10000 would buy a 'Condition 2' car ie useable & MOTd but needs work 

[05omegav6]

P5 Coupes have always been far stronger money than the saloons...

As further suggestions, a nice 2.0 306 cabriolet in metallic red, blue or grey, the ST sedan or the Gti6 (if you can find a nice unabated one) would all be good potentials. Likewise the V6 406 Coupes...

Considered a very tidy 306 Cabriolet to replace the Omega, but ruled it out due to the distinct lack of MoT... But if looking for a budget keeper project, then at a mere 400 notes, what's not to like

[Sir Tigger KC]

Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9   

[Nick W]

Anything I bought like this would have to be something I like, tidy and usable often - daily if possible. That rules out sportscars, although I'm not a huge fan anyway. Big saloons(that's big for the time) are the way to go for me. £10k on a P5 is the very bottom of that sort of market and will require further cash to keep it going. P6 Rovers are viable, and nice XJ6s should prove a good buy. My favourite would be a 2500 Triumph(manual with overdrive); a nice one would leave a useful amount of change and they've been slowly appreciating for a while. As the blueprint for the modern large saloon(strut front, IRS, 6 cylinder engine in a smart spacious and comfortable body) they still hold up in daily use. Should be cheaper to run than an Omega; similar fuel economy and dirt cheap consumables.


Proper investments would be better around the £5k mark, as they are going to be a risk although I doubt you'd actually lose money on a good example of anything. I think we've seen the rise of XRs, GTIs etc and they'll level off very soon for a number of years. Pre 80s cars will only continue to rise, and the good ones are well past any sort of spur of the moment buy.

[ianu]

Hmm, I think as others have said that most 80's and older stuff is well up ATM.

For capital appreciation I'd look to 90's/early 2000's. For £10k my pick would be a mk1 focus RS. Love em or hate em the focus is an iconic ford car in the UK and I can't see the RS as a bad investment. Plus (some suspension peculiarities aside) I would think they are still home mechanicable.

Something like this maybe? All depends how long you want to hang onto it.

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201602191189114?atmobcid=soc4


In a totally different vein, what about a BMW 6 series? 4.0v8 coupe for £6-8k 

OR earlier 5 series - no idea what E number they are. Mk1 3 series - convertible even....

[Nick W]

Hmm, I think as others have said that most 80's and older stuff is well up ATM.

For capital appreciation I'd look to 90's/early 2000's. For £10k my pick would be a mk1 focus RS. Love em or hate em the focus is an iconic ford car in the UK and I can't see the RS as a bad investment. Plus (some suspension peculiarities aside) I would think they are still home mechanicable.

Something like this maybe? All depends how long you want to hang onto it.

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201602191189114?atmobcid=soc4


In a totally different vein, what about a BMW 6 series? 4.0v8 coupe for £6-8k 

OR earlier 5 series - no idea what E number they are. Mk1 3 series - convertible even....

Rust has killed most of those, and engine failures many of the rest. Fragile trim doesn't help either. Good ones have been collectible for some time as a result. Equivalent Mercedes are also problematic; their bulletproof reputation proved to be an illusion once they fell into budget conscious hands. As soon you skimp on maintenance they become huge money pits.


None of this should be a surprise to anyone as we're talking about cars around their fortieth birthdays which is way past any reasonable life expectancy. Keeping them going should be considered a hobby with all that entails - anoraks, adenoids, welding spatter everywhere and a wife that's forgotten what you look like clean