Is classic car ownership becoming overly 'elitist'...?!

[grifterkid]

Hello folks...

This is a question I've been pondering for a while now as the prices of certain classic cars seem to be rocketing out of control... Prices that some cars achieve are nothing short of insane in this day and age!!!

Now, I know that we're not overly worried about having enough pennies to buy the finest bit of exotica ever created (well, maybe some of us are!) but it seems that certain 'run-of-the-mill' classics are just too expensive for me to even contemplate now... That Ford Capri 3-litre S I always wanted will never grace my driveway for example!!!

Now, this is a general question I know as it's an opinionated one but are classics just becoming too expensive now they're being touted as investment pieces rather than something to use and enjoy?!

I know there is value out there to be had but it seems that the 'bigger boys' are setting prices so high that many other things seem to be following that pattern and getting so expensive it's bordering on ridiculous!

I appreciate there is no definitive answer to my quandry but I'd like to know what you good people of this parish think...!!!

[Ryannn]

It's never been a cheap hobby, I think what you might be noticing is that the cars you want are going up in value! Lol

A car which is a classic now, will have been at its lowest value at one point, we've just got future classics lying around at their lowest value now lol.

[keithyboy]

It seems bizarre that a little over 20 years ago I was offered a tidy Mk1 RS2000 for £1500, I had to pass at the time because I was but a sprog and couldn't insure it. Looking now, one in similar condition is £15,0000. Put £1,500 into an inflation calculator and apparently £1500 in 1990 is equivalent to £2378 now so it could have been a fair investment (though when I was 20 that wasn't really on my mind).

I don't think it's elitist as such, it's just that a lot of the guys who lusted after an Escort or whatever 30 years ago have made some money, want to spend it, and that drives prices up.

[carledo]

I sold a Running, MOTd Split screen VW camper for £200 numerous 2 door MkI and II Escorts for £300ish and bought a 64 Volvo 122S Estate (LHD French export model) Taxed and tested for £100. All this was in the late 70s and early 80swhen such cars were not classics but bangers. I've also owned any number of Mk2 and 3 Zephyrs and Zodiacs including 2 super rare Mk2 Abbot Estate Zodie Autos, loads of Heralds and Vitesses, a couple of GT6s, a Mk1 Humber Scepter and a ZA Magnette.
As cars get thinner on the ground, the price goes up and this seems to work for just about anything, who, in the 70s, would have imagined that Escorts or Moggy minors would command the prices they do today?
The trick is to decide what is going to go up best and buy now while they are cheap! Anyone for a Cavalier or 2 or a Saab 9-3 copnvertible?

Steve

[andyborris]

Available cash, a lack of more traditional investment opportunity (house buying) added to something that's became very fashionable (every TV advert features a classic!) add in a limited supply and prices will rise.

And those mega million pound cars do push the prices of lesser cars, can't afford a Ferrari now? Buy a top end classic Fiat instead, (well almost)!

More fashionable events for classics also pushes prices, a car that'll get you into the classic parking at Goodwood, will fetch more than a similar car that's too young.

There's plenty of cheap cars around now, that will become the RS2000/Capri 3.0S equivalent in 20 years time. But that's not what you want, guessing your 40ish and that was a car you lusted after as a youth?

Unfortunately, it's the free market system.

And thanks for the Pinn, loved that car since it was new! And unfortunately, even a big Lotto win won't get me into the driving seat of that car.......

[Woofwoof]

It's not elitist as such, it's simply that classics have become more expensive thanks mainly to a limited supply which becomes even less over time, there's a larger market than ever and no doubt poor returns on savings all have aided price rises. Also too more and more classics are becoming eligible for historic racing, this has an effect on values too.

[Mercdan68]

Ive Owned so many cars that are now no longer in my budget, it hurts!!! That's one reason I bought my 12 year old boy a rover r8,,, scoff at your peril we haven't seen another on the road and my lad will make a few quid on it when he's 17.. Unless of course he keeps it.....that mint mk1 Mexico I sold in 1990 for £1500 must be worth around 15,000 to 20,000 grand now

[ratchart]

Obviously the difference between now and 15 years ago (when you could still find driveable starter classics for under a grand) is that the whole world is a market place. Now everyone know what everybody else is selling and for how much.
"Barn finds" seem to be everywhere too. I don't remember when people started putting their old car in to barns and forgetting about them for a few decades on the chance they might be suddenly worth a mint but that what happened or so we're supposed to believe. 

On the other hand the types of cars considered classics and the people who drive them is much more diverse than it used to be. Retro Rides is surely proof of that? The sort of attitudes you might read in the glossy classic magazines (the ones that are half adverts with no prices, 'cause if you have to ask you can't afford it) and the high end concourse shows may still persist, but in general there seems to be much more emphasis on driving classics and an acceptance of modifying.

Also depends on your (and the sellers) definition of classic. There are a whole bunch of cars that we now consider desirable now that nobody would have given a second glance to in the olden days. Hence- ££££££.

[pistonpopper]

I remember trying to save for a 57 Chevy two door, they were selling for about £3000 for a fairly good one at the time. A workmates offered to lend me the money but I turned him down saying that I preferred to save for it myself. By the time I'd saved £3000 up they were selling for £10,000, I could never save enough as every time I reached the target, the price would've jumped on, I was just chasing rainbows! Sadly I remember when I was 19, before the classic car thing really took off I got offered a Daimler Dart SP250 it was in great shape, MOTd, taxed and ready to go for just £400!! Of course being an ignorant idiot I turned it down, why would I want some old banger! I kick myself every time I see one now!

[dodgerover]

In the early 90's one of my mates bought a Mk2 Escort for his first car at 17 because it was cheap and looked like a rally car - it was a RS1800, logged as a 1300, it was written off shortly afterwards..Todays unloved Mk4 Escort cab's etc will be worth good money in a few years

[colnerov]

Hi, The type of cars at their peak now, the likes of Escorts and their contemporaries, are by and large people buying cars from their teens and 20s who now have the mortgage paid off, kids left home and so have the disposable income. 20 years ago cars from the 50s were being sought, 20 years from now cars from the 80s and 90s will be in vogue, but I don't think there will be many left because of our willingness to break them for the engines and throw the rest away. The barn finds turning up now come from a time when the cars had some value to the owner and didn't want to scrap it because the price was low and frankly we weren't in a throwaway society then so much. they were stashed with the best of intentions, that came to nothing. Cars from the 30s are held by a narrow band of specialist followers, in a few years cars from the 40s and 50s will fall into that grouping.

Colin

[MK2VR6]

It's like buying and selling antiques, tbh - supply and demand. My mother specialised in sourcing and selling antique dolls since the mid 80's, and has steadily seen the UK demand dwindle, to the point that it's not particularly cost-effective to even bother with the market any more. The reason? The generation which had the money and interest are dying. The generation coming through aren't as interested in the particular product, simple as that. She's since diversified into other areas to keep her head above water.
I'm pretty sure that Morris Minors are cheaper now than they were 25 years ago. Again, the generation which mainly had the interest are no longer with us, or on the way out (got to be careful what I say as I had a '69 Moggie as my second car, and still have a soft spot for them - I'm only 39!).
I wouldn't bother crying into your beer over missed opportunities; I would buy something which you like, and can just about afford right now. I'd love a mk1 Escort, and could afford one, but just can't justify the spend. Instead my mk2 Golf Gti fills the hole, is cheap in contrast, and makes me smile when it works.

[colnerov]

Hi, that's it the market drive comes from nostalgia, which is what I was hamfistedly trying to say.

Colin

[dunning123]

There is a special type of security you get when investing in Classic Cars, trends have slight effects on the newer classics but big ticket classics will always keep there value.

[bmcnut]

in the first 10 years of me driving (96>) i could pretty much buy whatever classic took my fancy. Thankfully ive never had an expensive taste in cars, but there seemed to be plenty of 1 owner low mileage cars popping up that fitted the bill, at reasonable prices, or sometimes downright cheap. Whilst that hasnt totaly dried up, buying that sort of car is few and far between, and most seem to end up in the hands of dealers, who push the prices up. Also a higher majority of clean/mint cars from say, the 70's will have been restored, adding costs, and also making the mint unrestored examples rarer and more desirable. Fashion also dictates that more people want certain cars, celebrities want to be fashionable etc etc, as said nostalga is all over the tv at the moment so that will add to it.
As well as classic cars ive liked old furniture since i was a kid, used to pick it up for nothing, but now the very same 'nostalga tax' means everyone wants to make money out of it.

[slackerTHEpinstriper]

Jul 11, 2015 16:03:41 GMT colnerov said:

Hi, The type of cars at their peak now, the likes of Escorts and their contemporaries, are by and large people buying cars from their teens and 20s who now have the mortgage paid off, kids left home and so have the disposable income.

Over the last 10 years this has been the same in the scooter scene. We call them 'born agains' as they are trying to re-live the youth that they more than likely didn't have.
60 year olds playing dress up as mods for the weekend.
You can now see this at car shows, makes me cringe!!!

[retroade]

Expensive - yes, elitist? No.

But it doesn't have to be that way, there's still loads of cars out there that can be had for very little money and maintained on a shoestring if you do what you can yourself and source good used parts where you can. Helps too if you have a few trade contacts for mates rates or even bartering a deal for services exchanged.

Look at the for sale section on here, there's still good useable cars for under £2k, even under £1k. If you really must have that 3.0S Capri be prepared to pay the price but if you simply want to drive something retro it can be done for peanuts.

[sonus]

Have a look at the Triumph 1800 Roadster (? - Bergerac car) and how that soared in price at the last financial boom and then fell to almost a tenth of the highest price afterwards. To me it looks like classic cars are deamed an investment when anything else to invest in will most likely loose you money. I am just waiti g for the Bugatti T35s to flat line in price

[m3gtdave]

the biggest and maddest boom in recent years is the mk1 and 2 escorts to say in 2000 I bought one taxed and tested in good condition for £500 and sold it in 02 for same

[The Jackeria]

Depends entirely on the car, there are still plenty of cars about to be had cheap, I bought a triumph Toledo with a years MOT in reasonably good shape for £600~ only two years ago, same car now would be over a grand. The cars that are cheap right now are golf mk2's and cars of that era, as the young guys buy them and modify them (myself included) in a few years there will be hardly any decent standard ones left, which will command money. 30-40 years seems to be the age at which cars values turn.