End of the road for the classic car boom?

[ChasW]

coppice said:

I'm the man who failed - just - to get the £1200 together to buy a mint Elan Sprint yonks ago. Now worth north of £40k and still an itch I want to scratch . So a crash in prices would see me breaking out the Bolly to celebrate.

But the real tragedy is great cars of the past which have never been used - the 6000mile 1988 F40 - what is the point? Probably 3-5k per annum expense so as not to drive it . Utterly beyond me - but there again I have no interest in money for its own sake but lots in cars ...

I deliberated over a Elan Sprint in 1981. From memory it was £1800 from a local trader. The point being I never viewed it as an investment or depreciation proof. I just wanted a decent uncommon fast car. I would have put 10k pa on it easily.

[MDMA .]

TrackerMan. said:

This car would have been under £8k a couple of years ago...

http://www.fast-classics.com/cars/vw-corrado-vr6-2...

Well you wouldnt buy from there unless you liked being bummed, would you. It's a 6k car. Not as nice as my old vr6, intake isn't even clean. No thanks.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

CABC said:

Impasse said:

One of the plus sides to the current boom is that poor condition basket cases are now financially viable to restore which should mean fewer classics heading for the crusher.

a very good point and one that should soothe the pain of true enthusiasts. Good things come to those who wait.

Some will, but rest assured a very large amount of "classics" sold by very "reputable" dealers are absolute snotters under a very cheap cosmetic blow over. The market is flooded with utter ste at high prices.

I honestly thought I'd be in a GT3rs or 360CS by now & I'd have been busy ragging one across europe's finest all summer, sadly with the way prices have gone it's just not worth it.

I can't complain, as propriety is still deflated up here so we've invested in that instead.

[Mercky]

I do hope it goes tits up. The world has gone mad. Mk1 Escorts of which I had a few when I couldn't afford anything better in my youth are horrible cars. It's all a bit Emperors new clothes, at some point someone's going to say "but this car is crap, why would I want to pay more than a few hundred quid for it?"

[WJNB]

moebiusuk said:

I hope so. I want to buy an S2000 but not at current prices. Great car but not worth the money they're currently on sale for.

Buy NOW. For many they are a grown-up MX-5 & they WILL & are going up in value. Few stay for sale for long unless they are early models that have been run ragged or 'messed' with.
2006 onwards ARE a pain road tax-wise though.

[s m]

Mercky said:

I do hope it goes tits up. The world has gone mad. Mk1 Escorts of which I had a few when I couldn't afford anything better in my youth are horrible cars. It's all a bit Emperors new clothes, at some point someone's going to say "but this car is crap, why would I want to pay more than a few hundred quid for it?"

It amuses me how wound up people get though about the price of things they have no desire to buy.
If I thought car x,y,z was rubbish I wouldn't really be bothered about how much they were for sale at.
Good luck to the buyers and sellers of such stuff I say

I'd just buy the cheaper stuff that I thought was better

[Mercky]

s m said:

Mercky said:

I do hope it goes tits up. The world has gone mad. Mk1 Escorts of which I had a few when I couldn't afford anything better in my youth are horrible cars. It's all a bit Emperors new clothes, at some point someone's going to say "but this car is crap, why would I want to pay more than a few hundred quid for it?"

It amuses me how wound up people get though about the price of things they have no desire to buy.
If I thought car x,y,z was rubbish I wouldn't really be bothered about how much they were for sale at.
Good luck to the buyers and sellers of such stuff I say

I'd just buy the cheaper stuff that I thought was better

It doesn't wind me up at all, but I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would want such a crap car.

I have no desire to buy a Ferrari, but I can understand why someone might want to.

[ambuletz]

moebiusuk said:

I hope so. I want to buy an S2000 but not at current prices. Great car but not worth the money they're currently on sale for.

same, or a rover mini. i dont fancy forking 5k for an average one of the latter.

[anonymous-user]

Some of the prices are ridiculous and the bubble will form when people think they are on the raising effect of it and will make money. Prices have risen but cannot for ever, but I think with the economy as it is people have put money into cars and not really taken it out, so will keep going for a while. Maybe the British exit may trigger issues but I think the bubble is still growing.

I notice a 93 viggan for sale for 10k, that price is just ridiculous

[gizlaroc]

I think people are just starting to realise things may not be as rosie as first thought after the recession.

If you think about it, people who can afford £100-150k cars generally earn their money from performance results or because they run the company, and just about everyone I speak to in every industry says the last few weeks has been pretty poor business wise. Retailers, removal companies, design and engineering companies, farmers etc. etc.
I have had so many people say how bad business has been in Many are saying it feels worse than 2008/9, time will tell I guess. But I have been shocked the amount of people moaning, saying they haven't taken a wage for the last couple of months etc.


I think in a few months time this will filter down to those on the payroll too, it usually takes a good 6-12 months for it to do so.

[Mercky]

gizlaroc said:

I think people are just starting to realise things may not be as rosie as first thought after the recession.

If you think about it, people who can afford £100-150k cars generally earn their money from performance results or because they run the company, and just about everyone I speak to in every industry says the last few weeks has been pretty poor business wise. Retailers, removal companies, design and engineering companies, farmers etc. etc.
I have had so many people say how bad business has been in Many are saying it feels worse than 2008/9, time will tell I guess. But I have been shocked the amount of people moaning, saying they haven't taken a wage for the last couple of months etc.


I think in a few months time this will filter down to those on the payroll too, it usually takes a good 6-12 months for it to do so.

I know what you mean, although this time of year is traditionally slow for many businesses the referendum is destabilising things and the money men don't like that.

[INWB]

SteveO220 said:

Prices are way too high, I agree...however, they will remain way too high while
(a) cheap money is abundant - which does not seem to be changing
(b) there are few alternative stores of value

While I agree with the sentiment and have my own regrets, sadly, I don't see classic cars getting much cheaper any time soon.

This. Factor in pension money having much more flexibility and anyone hoping for most true classics out there to drop are way off the mark.

The economy is very very shaky right now - caused mainly by the Euro Referendum imo. Once that is over, assuming the public aren't suicidal, then we may even experience a mini boom.

However people with money will just ride out the storm if it does come as they are the most insulated.

So when the next crash does come (whenever that is) ony expect "classics" that really aren't falling in value and the utter crap that is on the market being adjusted to realistic prices by dealers that need some cash in the bank.

Taking one marque as an example - I don't think we will ever see a 996 turbo at £30K again or a GT3 at £75K. Just too few decent ones out there

[Simes205]

A 205GTI sold at auction for 24k last month!

[gizlaroc]

Mercky said:

I know what you mean, although this time of year is traditionally slow for many businesses the referendum is destabilising things and the money men don't like that.

That's what I am hoping it is.

[CS Garth]

I'm of the view that we are currently pausing for breath - Brexit is causing massive uncertainty. As some of the "vote with your heart not with your head" crowd actually realise that the only people to gain from Brexit are the politicians seeking to further their careers by it (Gove and boz) Brexit looks less likely. Post June 23 pent up demand will be released and things will continue until they move from bonkers to unbelievable.

After 12 months or so and the ftse getting to late 6000/s we'll see a 25 basis point interest rate rise which will start the level off/slight deflation but it will take a black swan event to burst it

[SimonTheSailor]

TrackerMan. said:

This car would have been under £8k a couple of years ago...

http://www.fast-classics.com/cars/vw-corrado-vr6-2...

That really is crazy - who in their right mind would pay 25K for a VW like that ? If they did they would probably never drive it and it would just be a garage queen.

Why not buy 2 Lotus Elises, one to thrash about, track, and generally ruin for fun, and the other to be left as a garage queen.

Nuts.

[hoppo4.2]

It's not just classics either. About 5years ago I bought an 03 e46m3 in imola red 75k full history really nice car for £7850.

Today the same car is up for up 10k.
I don't get it its not rare it's old and yet in some cases they have gone up in price

About the same time I bought an 89 xjs convertible. 49k on the clock been sat for years. I spent a small fortune new paint hood interior etc. It was immaculate. Took me ages to sell it eventually exported to Australia for £5k.

Today probably worth 3 times that.

[k-ink]

I turned my back on many interesting older cars as the market is well beyond stupid and into LaLa land of insanity. So vote with your feet. Once the investors realise they are not making any money they will all bugger off.

[Gary C]

EarlOfHazard said:

Can't wait - I'd like an old 911. This is the problem when investors/speculators buy cars: it puts them out of reach for car enthusiasts who want to actually drive them!

Not me, I drive mine,

Hard.

[SEE YA]

The market will level out not by much.
Many people for some reason, look at top end of the market as a guide.Which is wrong,if cars do not sell and price starts dropping is must be a crash in the market.
Most of us deal, in the middle market car wise.
If you wait, like many people have the car you wanted is now put of your reach price wise.
The great thing about classic cars there is one for everybody's taste and pocket.Just find one that puts a smile on your face and enjoy the car for what it is.

EVERY MILE IS A SMILE