Ford Escort prices are now officially ****ing nuts!!

[smileymikey]

I'm not bitter about passing on a mint Mk1 Escort RS for £600 quid back in the day!.....Can I suggest the market has now gone feckin bonkers

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1976-FORD-ESCORT-1100-L-...

[Axionknight]

My Dad, who is now 57 years old, told me that him and his mates used to cut up old Fords for fun back in their day, and are frankly aghast at the price these things command these days, even a little bit sick,

[J4CKO]

If it has a Log Book, then that maybe the answer.

[Fleckers]

I have owned 8 mk1 escorts and everyone went to the scrap yard as they got rusty or blew up and were cheap back then

DOH !!!!

[anonymous-user]

Minis are the same now. My brother used to race minis in the early 90's and it makes me sick to think of how many we were given for free and just scrapped for parts....

[DrDoofenshmirtz]

People go mad for old Fords...I've had people almost begging me to sell them my Fiesta RS.

[aeropilot]

J4CKO said:

If it has a Log Book, then that maybe the answer.

Yup, that's cheap for a set of build/data plates and a logbook, especially for a 2 door.

I've seen worse go for more

[icepop]

They're only going mental cos people are, for some bizzare reason, paying top dollar for them. They were not very good originally, and are certainly incredibly bad, now. Had two of the MK 1's and they were OK, but a Nissan Micra was better all round, as a car. For example, not the same mark, but someone on PH, I think, posted a 1996 Escort Cosworth, mint mind you, selling for £30k. Now I had a 1996 Prodrive Impreza, Mk1, that would probably fetch £3k tops. Far and away a better car, faster, better made, handling, the lot.......but not a Cossie. That's why Escorts are going mad, it's their time.......Cavalier SRI, etc next ??

[B.J.W]

icepop said:

They're only going mental cos people are, for some bizzare reason, paying top dollar for them. They were not very good originally, and are certainly incredibly bad, now. Had two of the MK 1's and they were OK, but a Nissan Micra was better all round, as a car. For example, not the same mark, but someone on PH, I think, posted a 1996 Escort Cosworth, mint mind you, selling for £30k. Now I had a 1996 Prodrive Impreza, Mk1, that would probably fetch £3k tops. Far and away a better car, faster, better made, handling, the lot.......but not a Cossie. That's why Escorts are going mad, it's their time.......Cavalier SRI, etc next ??

Surely all older/retro/classic cars compare unfavourably to 2015 metal - but that's missing the point? Fast Fords (and Fords in general) are more than 'just cars' to a lot of people who grew up in the 60's/70's and 80's. From a motoring perspective, Fords are likely to occupy a significant number of important motoring memories - the very first time I made a car move was in my Mum's D plate Fiesta on the drive. Unlike the Nissan Micra - Ford was so much more than a means of getting from A-B - it could be argued that they are actually part of our social fabric/history. Combine this with the racing pedigree and it is not surprising that these cars are now rapidly increasing in value. The 80's generation are now hitting their 40's, and they have some spare change to invest in a car that they identify with as part of growing up. I speak from personal experience here, and whilst there may well be a degree of 'rose tinting' in regard to my E21, I don't really care that the current generation 3 series is better in every respect (even in poverty spec with the entry level engine). I actually appreciate my car in other areas, and for the same memories it offers when compared to seeing my Uncle's brand new 323i all the way back in 1981.

To be frank, Classic/Retro Ford prices are in a bubble at the moment, but the old adage "a car is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it" applies. Speculation aside, if a Escort RS2000 is selling at a £25,000 price point, then it is priced correctly (and according to market conditions), irrespective of whether the majority consider the valuation to be 'nuts' or not. As with the classic car market as a whole, values fluctuate and we may well see prices settle - but the fact remains that Fords from this era will continue to remain highly desirable. I see the same thing happening with other 80's marques as well that are on the cusp of big price hikes....

[aeropilot]

icepop said:

They're only going mental cos people are, for some bizzare reason, paying top dollar for them. They were not very good originally, and are certainly incredibly bad, now. Had two of the MK 1's and they were OK, but a Nissan Micra was better all round, as a car. For example, not the same mark, but someone on PH, I think, posted a 1996 Escort Cosworth, mint mind you, selling for £30k. Now I had a 1996 Prodrive Impreza, Mk1, that would probably fetch £3k tops. Far and away a better car, faster, better made, handling, the lot.......but not a Cossie. That's why Escorts are going mad, it's their time.......Cavalier SRI, etc next ??

Nothing to do with that at all.....you've missed the point completely.

The value is an identity for Historic rallying and FiA Historic paperwork. The fact that a more modern Imprezza etc., or even a Micra is a better road car is totally irrelevant.

Edited by aeropilot on Thursday 5th February 09:55

[Justin Case]

Surely just another example of the 'sheep effect' (see also BMW 320D) Back in the late 70s early 80s I had a Mark 1 Escort followed by a Saab 96V4. The Saab was a better car in every way, and had a great deal of international rally success in the hands of some of the top drivers of the day but they are virtually forgotten today and values are only a fraction of Escorts.
By the same logic, no-one would pick a Capri over an Opel Manta, but......

[aeropilot]

Justin Case said:

Surely just another example of the 'sheep effect' (see also BMW 320D) Back in the late 70s early 80s I had a Mark 1 Escort followed by a Saab 96V4. The Saab was a better car in every way, and had a great deal of international rally success in the hands of some of the top drivers of the day but they are virtually forgotten today and values are only a fraction of Escorts.

96V4 is a great car and did have rally success......but only on snowy events, where horsepower (or rather lack of it) wasn't such an issue.
The simple fact is a BDA Escort was and therefore still is THE car to have (other than maybe a 911) if you want to win.
There's also the parts availability issue in the Escort's favour compared to many other makes.
It really is a simple equation, as to why Escort values are what they are and bordering on the blindingly obvious, so I still struggle to see why people struggle with it...??

Justin Case said:

By the same logic, no-one would pick a Capri over an Opel Manta, but......

I would (with the exception of a Manta 400 of course)

[blade7]

aeropilot said:

I would (with the exception of a Manta 400 of course)

I had loads of Capris back in the day but I'd have a Manta GTE Coupe over a 2.0S Capri every time.

[aeropilot]

blade7 said:

aeropilot said:

I would (with the exception of a Manta 400 of course)

I had loads of Capris back in the day but I'd have a Manta GTE Coupe over a 2.0S Capri every time.

Again, you're mistaking road car preferences for competition car preferences.

No one uses a Manta GT/E or a Capri 2.0S for competition, so the comparison is again irrelevant.

I don't get what's so hard to grasp about this?

[Tony427]

Would it be worthwhile importing an old but rust free Ford Escort Mk1 or Mk2 from Australia and selling it over here for conversion to a competition car?

Whats the going price for a roadgoing, registered, legal basic M1 or Mk2 car in good condition in the UK?

Cheers,

Tony

[aeropilot]

Tony427 said:

Would it be worthwhile importing an old but rust free Ford Escort Mk1 or Mk2 from Australia and selling it over here for conversion to a competition car?

Yes, and people are already doing so. Ten+ years ago, there were lots available in Malta, which all got snapped up within a few years.

Tony427 said:

Whats the going price for a roadgoing, registered, legal basic M1 or Mk2 car in good condition in the UK?

Difficult to say, it's a name your price, who wants one most pricing structure. I've seen non-running rust bucket Mk1's sell on the bay of evil for approaching £2k.

[blade7]

aeropilot said:

blade7 said:

aeropilot said:

I would (with the exception of a Manta 400 of course)

I had loads of Capris back in the day but I'd have a Manta GTE Coupe over a 2.0S Capri every time.

Again, you're mistaking road car preferences for competition car preferences.

No one uses a Manta GT/E or a Capri 2.0S for competition, so the comparison is again irrelevant.

I don't get what's so hard to grasp about this?

I don't recall many MK11 1100 Escorts being used in competition, is that hard for you to grasp ?

[aeropilot]

blade7 said:

aeropilot said:

blade7 said:

aeropilot said:

I would (with the exception of a Manta 400 of course)

I had loads of Capris back in the day but I'd have a Manta GTE Coupe over a 2.0S Capri every time.

Again, you're mistaking road car preferences for competition car preferences.

No one uses a Manta GT/E or a Capri 2.0S for competition, so the comparison is again irrelevant.

I don't get what's so hard to grasp about this?

I don't recall many MK11 1100 Escorts being used in competition, is that hard for you to grasp ?

Well that's proof enough you don't have a clue about this subject

[blade7]

Really ?

[soad]

DrDoofenshmirtz said:

People go mad for old Fords...I've had people almost begging me to sell them my Fiesta RS.

Sell it to me. Go on, you know you want to.