Filling a barn with sub £1000 cars.
Discussion
For a while I've been thinking of buying a clean, standard Saxo VTR for less than £1000. Keep it, drive it now and again, and watch it appreciate as they become rarer than rocking horse s
t.
It got me thinking. Say you had a barn, which you could fill with as many cars as you liked. These cars have to be sub £1000, and ones which shall either sit there and appreciate in value (in the medium to long term) OR in years to come shall be really interesting in a 'I remember when these were everywhere, but haven't seen one for yonks' sort of way.
A few ideas.
A MK1 Focus ST. The original version, and arguably - of it's time - the best shape. The ST170 being rarer and more interesting, and sports Fords are always the ones which become most valuable.
A 'Ronnie Pickering' Picasso. Were everywhere, maybe a future point of interest of an early people carrier. And an example of how vanilla a car can truly be. Alternatively, if such a thing exists a sub £1000 Espace, being the 'original'.
An early MX5, no explanation needed.
Something MG, as surely (say) a cheap MG ZT or F would be worth something and of major interest in years to come, being one of the last (proper British) MG's produced.
A cheap nasty Mk2 Discovery, 'of interest' in years to come, showing how agricultural 4x4's once were, when in years to come they'll go from 0-60 in seconds and drive themselves.
A Volvo 940 estate. To show how a box on wheels once constituted an estate. Which was also bomb proof.
An Alfa 147, to show how flawed could also be lovely, when down the line a prestigious badge shall be the reserve of serious money. Plus in decades to come Alfa may no longer exist!
Anyone care to share how they'd fill the said barn?
t.It got me thinking. Say you had a barn, which you could fill with as many cars as you liked. These cars have to be sub £1000, and ones which shall either sit there and appreciate in value (in the medium to long term) OR in years to come shall be really interesting in a 'I remember when these were everywhere, but haven't seen one for yonks' sort of way.
A few ideas.
A MK1 Focus ST. The original version, and arguably - of it's time - the best shape. The ST170 being rarer and more interesting, and sports Fords are always the ones which become most valuable.
A 'Ronnie Pickering' Picasso. Were everywhere, maybe a future point of interest of an early people carrier. And an example of how vanilla a car can truly be. Alternatively, if such a thing exists a sub £1000 Espace, being the 'original'.
An early MX5, no explanation needed.
Something MG, as surely (say) a cheap MG ZT or F would be worth something and of major interest in years to come, being one of the last (proper British) MG's produced.
A cheap nasty Mk2 Discovery, 'of interest' in years to come, showing how agricultural 4x4's once were, when in years to come they'll go from 0-60 in seconds and drive themselves.
A Volvo 940 estate. To show how a box on wheels once constituted an estate. Which was also bomb proof.
An Alfa 147, to show how flawed could also be lovely, when down the line a prestigious badge shall be the reserve of serious money. Plus in decades to come Alfa may no longer exist!
Anyone care to share how they'd fill the said barn?
Edited by Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah on Thursday 23 March 20:56
PistonheadRob said:
A genuinely 'clean' and unmodified saxo for under £1000 good luck with that hunt ..........
They do exist. I've been watching them for a while. A middle aged customer a while back had a 40K Wicked Red one, cost about that, he bought as a toy. Same colour that I had in my early 20's. An EG - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
A few little jobs off my description......
Edited by Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah on Thursday 23 March 21:01
smokeey said:
Why a VTR? Surely a VTS would be the one that would be the desirable ?
I disagree, and shall elaborate.R's must have outsold S's 2/1. R's were insurance friendly (group 7 v 14) so youngsters bought them in their droves. Most were stacked, or modded to an inch of their life, so standard ones are becoming rare. VTR owners, such as once myself, are now 40+, now is their time, people getting nostalgic, getting rare, soon to be middle aged peeps wanting to re-live their youth. VTS's are great, but were in the shadow of the 106gti, which I suspect many VTS owners moved on to, and now pine once again, hence why the ship has sailed on cheap examples.
Many ex VTR owners are going to get misty eyed about their first or second car in years to come.
rallycross said:
Its a nice idea here's what I'd fill it with
Primera GT - find a nice one with no rust, will be worth more in the future
MG ZS180 - currently worth nothing, find a good one and stash it away, V6 180 bhp, terrific handling
Puma 1.7 millenium, find one thats not too rusty, yellow with black recaro's which transform how it feels
Xsara VTS 16v, rare when new and rarer still now, great to drive, worth nothing, must go up in value
Celica 190 - these are far better to drive than given credit for, rare car now, you can still find a decent one for £1k
MR2 GT mk2 - still unloved, still can be found with no rust, future classic
Saxo VTS - unmodified, still can be found for £1k, not many left, prices will go up as per 106 gti
Hyundai Coupe V6, oddball car, lovely engine, nice looks, rare.
Peugeot 406 Coupe V6 or 2.2d, not many left, original cars will go up in value.
Mini Cooper 1.6, first of MINI on 2001 reg, find a low mileage one its a future classic.
Nice selection. I thought of the Puma earlier too! Primera GT - find a nice one with no rust, will be worth more in the future
MG ZS180 - currently worth nothing, find a good one and stash it away, V6 180 bhp, terrific handling
Puma 1.7 millenium, find one thats not too rusty, yellow with black recaro's which transform how it feels
Xsara VTS 16v, rare when new and rarer still now, great to drive, worth nothing, must go up in value
Celica 190 - these are far better to drive than given credit for, rare car now, you can still find a decent one for £1k
MR2 GT mk2 - still unloved, still can be found with no rust, future classic
Saxo VTS - unmodified, still can be found for £1k, not many left, prices will go up as per 106 gti
Hyundai Coupe V6, oddball car, lovely engine, nice looks, rare.
Peugeot 406 Coupe V6 or 2.2d, not many left, original cars will go up in value.
Mini Cooper 1.6, first of MINI on 2001 reg, find a low mileage one its a future classic.
Good call on the 406 Coupe, proper gorgeous, will become a classic.
Levin said:
Do the cars have to be £1000 even with work done to them, or could you buy the cars and then put some money into them to get them to a reasonable standard? That'll shift my answer a little, but not too much.
- EG Civic. The majority of survivors have probably had their original engines replaced with a B- or K-Series, so a vanilla 1.5 LSi would probably draw some attention in the future.
- Fiat Multipla. With cars becoming more intelligent it might be worth showcasing the first with a forehead.
- Mk3 Fiesta. I've seen one non-sporting example in the past year, and it wasn't in good nick. A normal example - think an Azura or something vaguely exciting, like it - might eventually draw some attention for not being an XR2i or an RS Turbo.
- Lexus IS200 Sport. It'll be hard to find a Sport for less than £1000 but if I can then pour some more money into it, I'd add the TTE kit. These are becoming popular in Ireland because they're RWD, affordable and (in the case of the Sport) came with a limited slip diff.
I can think of a few others but am unsure how much room I've got in this barn.
Work allowed. £1000 max buy price to limit to sheds or what sellers deem to be 'end of life' cars- EG Civic. The majority of survivors have probably had their original engines replaced with a B- or K-Series, so a vanilla 1.5 LSi would probably draw some attention in the future.
- Fiat Multipla. With cars becoming more intelligent it might be worth showcasing the first with a forehead.
- Mk3 Fiesta. I've seen one non-sporting example in the past year, and it wasn't in good nick. A normal example - think an Azura or something vaguely exciting, like it - might eventually draw some attention for not being an XR2i or an RS Turbo.
- Lexus IS200 Sport. It'll be hard to find a Sport for less than £1000 but if I can then pour some more money into it, I'd add the TTE kit. These are becoming popular in Ireland because they're RWD, affordable and (in the case of the Sport) came with a limited slip diff.
I can think of a few others but am unsure how much room I've got in this barn.
AdamIndy said:
I would fill it with good puma's. Only 1.7's though. One of each colour.
With them all rotting away and being unloved, they will go up in value in the not too distant future, no doubt about it.
I completely agree RE Puma's. An old dear at the local store has one, rust free too. I've told her to hold on to it as I believe they'll go from shed status to classic at some point. With them all rotting away and being unloved, they will go up in value in the not too distant future, no doubt about it.
leefee said:
This thread is right up my street
I buy undesirable stuff at what i deem the lowest its likely to be and keep them in my shed.
I recently bought a puma 1.7 in black for all the reasons above, about 6 years ago i got a lovely sceicento sporting in red, i have an x19, a couple xjs, a w124 230, an e39 540 manual, an allegro, a z3 2.8, a citroen c6 a nice e36 325 coupe a jeep cherokee 4.0 in green and an audi quattro in pearl white. All of them bought at the right money. The on,y one i am considering selling, but it will ne impossible is my c6 as, well, i dont need it, and i think i could fill the space with something cheaper that would offer as much plessure.
Well done that man! A proper nice retirement pot if nowt else....I buy undesirable stuff at what i deem the lowest its likely to be and keep them in my shed.
I recently bought a puma 1.7 in black for all the reasons above, about 6 years ago i got a lovely sceicento sporting in red, i have an x19, a couple xjs, a w124 230, an e39 540 manual, an allegro, a z3 2.8, a citroen c6 a nice e36 325 coupe a jeep cherokee 4.0 in green and an audi quattro in pearl white. All of them bought at the right money. The on,y one i am considering selling, but it will ne impossible is my c6 as, well, i dont need it, and i think i could fill the space with something cheaper that would offer as much plessure.
I'd keep the C6. Bet they'll be worth a mint in decades to come (old school French, sold in low numbers, will become v rare.)
If you have the light cream leather which becomes a mess I know a man who can sort that
ChrisR99 said:
Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah said:
Like the Mk1 ST170 I suggested in my original post? 
HAHA! Great minds think alike though, I think the original Focus MUST be destined for classic status (as I do the Puma, like others have said)
In my defence the ST170 didn't come out until the facelift, so we should just go ahead and get one of each! HAHA! Great minds think alike though, I think the original Focus MUST be destined for classic status (as I do the Puma, like others have said) 
Yes I hope so, great looking car even now and I'm amazed at how many are still going.
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