Chimp Prices are they on the Up or Down..
Discussion
Hi All.
I used to own a 4.0 Chimp for about 7 years and sold it 5 years ago. Im thinking of getting another one and was wondering if the prices have gone up , down or just stayed where they are. If I do come back to the fold does anyone think that in 10 years plus they could be worth far more than they are now or less. Ive looked at other makes from the 80's 90's and a few have increased vastly.
With the launch of the NEW TVR how will this affect prices of the other models
Thanks in advance for the answers.
regards
Tim
I used to own a 4.0 Chimp for about 7 years and sold it 5 years ago. Im thinking of getting another one and was wondering if the prices have gone up , down or just stayed where they are. If I do come back to the fold does anyone think that in 10 years plus they could be worth far more than they are now or less. Ive looked at other makes from the 80's 90's and a few have increased vastly.
With the launch of the NEW TVR how will this affect prices of the other models
Thanks in advance for the answers.
regards
Tim
Overall the trend is up Tim, but we're not talking the kind of 60s & early 1970's Porsche 911 increases here.
In the last 8/9 years since I've been following Chimaera values and you can bank on a steady average £700 a year in growth, I use 8/9 years ago as a benchmark because this was when these cars were at their value low point. Eight and a half years ago you could buy a nice 30,000 mile well maintained 4.0HC Chimaera for under £8k from a private seller, I know this because my 4.0HC example was the very the car I bought back in May 2009.
Would I sell it after 8.5 years of TVR ownership? Not on your life
Why?.... Because just like back in 2009 what else could I buy today that comes close for the same money... The answer (just as it was in 2009) is...... there is nothing!
If you're buying as an investor please move on from the Chimaera, there are better horses to back like the much neglected front engined Porsches of the eighties and nineties, avoid the asthmatic VW parts bin 924 but people are already seeing nice returns on 944s and 968s, my advice would be to buy a nice 968 and you'll enjoy a better return than buying a TVR Chimaera over the next three years...assuming making a profit is your thing.
On the other hand, if making money isn't your primary objective and you're looking for a classic British sports car that's been improved for the 90's, a car that also has a good turn of speed and will keep up with fast moving modern stuff on the motorway... then you won't find anything to beat a Chimaera for the money.
In my opinion the nearest competitor would be a Spyder improved Lotus Elan Plus 2, on my advise a mate of mine is about to buy one of these, if you don't know the car it's essentially the excellent and much overlooked early 70's Lotus Elan Plus 2 with all the issues engineered out of it.
http://www.spydercars.co.uk/lotus-elan-2-chassis-r...
With a Spyder you get a better galvanised chassis, a Ford Zetech engine making 180hp, an Emerald engine management system, better brakes, a decent five speed box, better suspension and CV jointed drive shafts ect ect ect. They cost about £35k to build but odly dont hold their value so my mate will be spending roughly £20k on his new super nice and well sorted Spyder Elan Plus 2. It'll be a great value usable improved classic with a good turn of speed, but it still won't beat a Chimaera on value for money!
I'll end by saying.... "In my opinion, you should always buy a car because you like it, not because you are expecting to make money from it".
And some more waffle from me on values and future predicted values here...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=15...
Dave.
In the last 8/9 years since I've been following Chimaera values and you can bank on a steady average £700 a year in growth, I use 8/9 years ago as a benchmark because this was when these cars were at their value low point. Eight and a half years ago you could buy a nice 30,000 mile well maintained 4.0HC Chimaera for under £8k from a private seller, I know this because my 4.0HC example was the very the car I bought back in May 2009.
- Purchase price in 2009 = £7,800
- 8.5 years at £700 a year growth = £5,950
- Purchase price in 2017 = £7,800 + £5,950 = £13,750
Would I sell it after 8.5 years of TVR ownership? Not on your life
Why?.... Because just like back in 2009 what else could I buy today that comes close for the same money... The answer (just as it was in 2009) is...... there is nothing!
If you're buying as an investor please move on from the Chimaera, there are better horses to back like the much neglected front engined Porsches of the eighties and nineties, avoid the asthmatic VW parts bin 924 but people are already seeing nice returns on 944s and 968s, my advice would be to buy a nice 968 and you'll enjoy a better return than buying a TVR Chimaera over the next three years...assuming making a profit is your thing.
On the other hand, if making money isn't your primary objective and you're looking for a classic British sports car that's been improved for the 90's, a car that also has a good turn of speed and will keep up with fast moving modern stuff on the motorway... then you won't find anything to beat a Chimaera for the money.
In my opinion the nearest competitor would be a Spyder improved Lotus Elan Plus 2, on my advise a mate of mine is about to buy one of these, if you don't know the car it's essentially the excellent and much overlooked early 70's Lotus Elan Plus 2 with all the issues engineered out of it.
http://www.spydercars.co.uk/lotus-elan-2-chassis-r...
With a Spyder you get a better galvanised chassis, a Ford Zetech engine making 180hp, an Emerald engine management system, better brakes, a decent five speed box, better suspension and CV jointed drive shafts ect ect ect. They cost about £35k to build but odly dont hold their value so my mate will be spending roughly £20k on his new super nice and well sorted Spyder Elan Plus 2. It'll be a great value usable improved classic with a good turn of speed, but it still won't beat a Chimaera on value for money!
I'll end by saying.... "In my opinion, you should always buy a car because you like it, not because you are expecting to make money from it".
And some more waffle from me on values and future predicted values here...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=15...
Dave.
They have gone up a bit but Chim prices are quite varied and inconsistent compared to Cerbera's,griffiths or T cars.
Yes its supply and demand but just as it seems to get some price consistency someone gives one away with low miles and a new chassis and there's always a couple of other cheapies that are not bad options either.
They are such great cars and theres plenty that have had serious money spent that are well priced which only makes the proposition for a buyer that much more attractive.
Yes its supply and demand but just as it seems to get some price consistency someone gives one away with low miles and a new chassis and there's always a couple of other cheapies that are not bad options either.
They are such great cars and theres plenty that have had serious money spent that are well priced which only makes the proposition for a buyer that much more attractive.
There is a great article on the Chimaera in Classic Car Magazine. Someone has scanned it into the Chimaera group on Facebook and if you like that sort of thing, its worth a read. It represents the brand and the model very well, comparing very favourably against an E Type Jag in lots of ways and the 500 with more exotic company.
All I know is that with my insurance company, I put the value down in the low teens when I bought the car in 2013. Its now has a guaranteed value of £20k based on sorting a couple things and rising prices, which the insurance company acknowledged as fair and agreed without inspection.
All I know is that with my insurance company, I put the value down in the low teens when I bought the car in 2013. Its now has a guaranteed value of £20k based on sorting a couple things and rising prices, which the insurance company acknowledged as fair and agreed without inspection.
There's an old saying...
"If you want to find the real value of anything, put it in an auction"
After careful analysis of what's happened in the past...
Assuming the trend continues, the future looks like this....
All the above figures are realistic and built on solid research, we'd all like to think our cars are worth a fortune, but it's when you come to sell you discover the truth.
The Chimaera is on the rise for sure, the way I see it's very much following the pattern of the Lotus Elan, for many years the classic car world were quite sniffy about the Elan, as other classics went up the fiberglass Elan only rose in value by comparatively small amounts.
The truth is the classic car world has always been a bit sniffy about fiberglass cars, but in the last 10 years the Elan has shot up and these days you'd be lucky to find a decent roadster for less than £35k, when only 10 years ago the same car was £18k. The Elan is fiberglass bodied car with a separate central spine type chassis, the TVR Chimaera is effectively a grown up Elan where the central spine chassis is made from tube instead of sheet steel.
It true the Elan has 60's race pedigree where the Chimaera has none, but they are very similar cars in many respects, so give it another 10 years of slow steady growth and the Chimaera's time will come, just as it did when the Lotus Elan got to roughly 35 years old.
While we're waiting, I'll be driving mine
Because I didn't buy it as an investment, I bought it to enjoy it
"If you want to find the real value of anything, put it in an auction"
After careful analysis of what's happened in the past...
Assuming the trend continues, the future looks like this....
All the above figures are realistic and built on solid research, we'd all like to think our cars are worth a fortune, but it's when you come to sell you discover the truth.
The Chimaera is on the rise for sure, the way I see it's very much following the pattern of the Lotus Elan, for many years the classic car world were quite sniffy about the Elan, as other classics went up the fiberglass Elan only rose in value by comparatively small amounts.
The truth is the classic car world has always been a bit sniffy about fiberglass cars, but in the last 10 years the Elan has shot up and these days you'd be lucky to find a decent roadster for less than £35k, when only 10 years ago the same car was £18k. The Elan is fiberglass bodied car with a separate central spine type chassis, the TVR Chimaera is effectively a grown up Elan where the central spine chassis is made from tube instead of sheet steel.
It true the Elan has 60's race pedigree where the Chimaera has none, but they are very similar cars in many respects, so give it another 10 years of slow steady growth and the Chimaera's time will come, just as it did when the Lotus Elan got to roughly 35 years old.
While we're waiting, I'll be driving mine
Because I didn't buy it as an investment, I bought it to enjoy it
All speculation, but I suspect 'modern' TVR values will follow the classic ones, where condition becomes even more important as time goes on.
Look at this link and select values for Mk II Vixen's http://apps.hagerty.com/ukvaluation/index.html?sho... which shows values varying by £20K. Then, of course, originality becomes more important too as they are more like works of art rather than driving machines.
Look at this link and select values for Mk II Vixen's http://apps.hagerty.com/ukvaluation/index.html?sho... which shows values varying by £20K. Then, of course, originality becomes more important too as they are more like works of art rather than driving machines.
Traditionally as classics gain momentum originality has become the benchmark, this model remains but is actually being challenged by a new breed of classic car buyer who expects more.
More power, better brakes, improved suspension, better reliability and drivability are all sought out by those that have come to realise the truth about classic cars is they are often dynamically challenged to a degree that using one on modern roads amongst modern traffic is a long way off the promised dream a pretty classic car teases you with .
From this realisation was born what the Yanks call the 'Resto Mod' craze and what we here simply call an improved classic, in both cases the limitations of old cars are ironed out with careful consideration given to retain the essential character and aesthetics of the original.
These improved classics are now becoming the benchmark, while the obsessed with originality crowd will always remain the likes of Eagle and Frontline forge a new more savey customer base who actually want to use their classic in a modern way. We're now seeing such cars command strong money as their creators invest heavily in marketing campaigns (singer comes to mind) to give their creations credibility in what was traditionally a very conservative market place that worshiped originality at all costs and shunned modifications as heresy, modifications that actually improved safety, reliability and vehicle dynamics.
A Chimaera is really a very 1960's car under the skin, it's just one with fuel injection, a five speed box, better brakes, improved suspension and enhanced ergonomics so it could be sold to buyers in the 1990's. You could buy an E-Type for £70k and easily spend the same again giving it all the things you got with a Chimaera for free from new, better still a decent Chimaera can still be had for £13k so the car you start with is not only an already improved classic drivers car in the 60's theme it's also a much cheaper one to buy in the first place.
When people interested in buying or creating an improved 60's classic finally start to realise all this the Chimaera will have it's day and it's true value will be reflected in the price it will inevitably command. Until then a Chimaera represents the best value usable classic sports car on the market today, people in the know already appreciate this which (along with the launch of the new TVR) is why we're starting to see all the classic car magazines running features on the Chimaera & Griffs.
Finally nostagia plays a big part in a classic car's values, when I was involved in classic car restoration in the 90's it was all about cars from the 50's and 60's because the buyers were all looking back at when they were a boy/young man in that period when they just couldn't afford such a new car. As these guys saw the kids leave home and their mortgages paid off they took their spare cash and used it to live that dream they never relised in period.
Our customers in the mid 1990's were typically in their mid 50's looking to get into mid 60's classics., if we take that demographic and move it forward to today we should be seeing buyers in their mid 50's looking to get into classics from the mid 80's, so give it 10 more years and the cars from the mid 90's will be the ones the 2027 classic car buyer will be seeking.
And lets not forget TVR was an iconic brand in the mid 1990's, it was part of UK automotive culture at the time as iconic a reference to that period as the rave culture and the rise of New Labour with Tony Blair at the helm. Period cultural icons always demand strong money as nostalgia drives up prices because people will always look back wistfully and say... "Remember when things were simpler".
It's all BS of course, things weren't better or simpler in the 90's.... but at least we had the exciting sound of shiny new Rover V8 powered TVRs thundering down our streets, and that's a memory we should all hold dear
More power, better brakes, improved suspension, better reliability and drivability are all sought out by those that have come to realise the truth about classic cars is they are often dynamically challenged to a degree that using one on modern roads amongst modern traffic is a long way off the promised dream a pretty classic car teases you with .
From this realisation was born what the Yanks call the 'Resto Mod' craze and what we here simply call an improved classic, in both cases the limitations of old cars are ironed out with careful consideration given to retain the essential character and aesthetics of the original.
These improved classics are now becoming the benchmark, while the obsessed with originality crowd will always remain the likes of Eagle and Frontline forge a new more savey customer base who actually want to use their classic in a modern way. We're now seeing such cars command strong money as their creators invest heavily in marketing campaigns (singer comes to mind) to give their creations credibility in what was traditionally a very conservative market place that worshiped originality at all costs and shunned modifications as heresy, modifications that actually improved safety, reliability and vehicle dynamics.
A Chimaera is really a very 1960's car under the skin, it's just one with fuel injection, a five speed box, better brakes, improved suspension and enhanced ergonomics so it could be sold to buyers in the 1990's. You could buy an E-Type for £70k and easily spend the same again giving it all the things you got with a Chimaera for free from new, better still a decent Chimaera can still be had for £13k so the car you start with is not only an already improved classic drivers car in the 60's theme it's also a much cheaper one to buy in the first place.
When people interested in buying or creating an improved 60's classic finally start to realise all this the Chimaera will have it's day and it's true value will be reflected in the price it will inevitably command. Until then a Chimaera represents the best value usable classic sports car on the market today, people in the know already appreciate this which (along with the launch of the new TVR) is why we're starting to see all the classic car magazines running features on the Chimaera & Griffs.
Finally nostagia plays a big part in a classic car's values, when I was involved in classic car restoration in the 90's it was all about cars from the 50's and 60's because the buyers were all looking back at when they were a boy/young man in that period when they just couldn't afford such a new car. As these guys saw the kids leave home and their mortgages paid off they took their spare cash and used it to live that dream they never relised in period.
Our customers in the mid 1990's were typically in their mid 50's looking to get into mid 60's classics., if we take that demographic and move it forward to today we should be seeing buyers in their mid 50's looking to get into classics from the mid 80's, so give it 10 more years and the cars from the mid 90's will be the ones the 2027 classic car buyer will be seeking.
And lets not forget TVR was an iconic brand in the mid 1990's, it was part of UK automotive culture at the time as iconic a reference to that period as the rave culture and the rise of New Labour with Tony Blair at the helm. Period cultural icons always demand strong money as nostalgia drives up prices because people will always look back wistfully and say... "Remember when things were simpler".
It's all BS of course, things weren't better or simpler in the 90's.... but at least we had the exciting sound of shiny new Rover V8 powered TVRs thundering down our streets, and that's a memory we should all hold dear
Edited by ChimpOnGas on Thursday 5th October 12:31
I think todays values are realistic & affordable. I have only had my Chim for a few months. My first post was " first chim first post" i looked at E type Challengers & Sebrings. I have had TVRs in the past & only available cars make a Challenger 3 times the price & a Sebring twice the price. I am a happy bunny & the price may go up, but for value for money what can beat a TVR. A Moggie traveller, TR6, MGB etc can cost more. Hard to say but i am a happy owner & if some one thinks an older BMC car is worth more thats their opinion. Every dog has its day so if you like the look of the dog buy it. The price will go up, but at the moment they are cracking value. The value of any new tin box is downwards, so drive, enjoy & just dont mention outriggers sorry the War.
Like flares, bellbottoms, kipper ties etc TVRs will come back into fashion. Its the sound & untouchable by the EU. Wish i could buy more.
Like flares, bellbottoms, kipper ties etc TVRs will come back into fashion. Its the sound & untouchable by the EU. Wish i could buy more.
fieryfred said:
I think todays values are realistic & affordable. I have only had my Chim for a few months. My first post was " first chim first post" i looked at E type Challengers & Sebrings. I have had TVRs in the past & only available cars make a Challenger 3 times the price & a Sebring twice the price. I am a happy bunny & the price may go up, but for value for money what can beat a TVR. A Moggie traveller, TR6, MGB etc can cost more. Hard to say but i am a happy owner & if some one thinks an older BMC car is worth more thats their opinion. Every dog has its day so if you like the look of the dog buy it. The price will go up, but at the moment they are cracking value. The value of any new tin box is downwards, so drive, enjoy & just dont mention outriggers sorry the War.
Like flares, bellbottoms, kipper ties etc TVRs will come back into fashion. Its the sound & untouchable by the EU. Wish i could buy more.
You're absolutely spot on, Chims are the lesser known bargain BRITISH sports car. There popularity will grow, when the masses realise what they are missing!Like flares, bellbottoms, kipper ties etc TVRs will come back into fashion. Its the sound & untouchable by the EU. Wish i could buy more.
OP they must be increasing in value -
Despite owning my 500 for 12 years, its insured on an agreed value basis which was probably above market value and remained fairly consistent for years, however, the insurer himself contacted me at renewal this year and told me it was very undervalued increasing the agreed value by 5k at his recommendation - now theres a first.
In 12 years it will have appreciated by 10k over my purchase price based on this agreed value. It wasn't bought as an investment and every year i think of a change but what to - then i drive it and decide to keep it another year - says it all really.....
Despite owning my 500 for 12 years, its insured on an agreed value basis which was probably above market value and remained fairly consistent for years, however, the insurer himself contacted me at renewal this year and told me it was very undervalued increasing the agreed value by 5k at his recommendation - now theres a first.
In 12 years it will have appreciated by 10k over my purchase price based on this agreed value. It wasn't bought as an investment and every year i think of a change but what to - then i drive it and decide to keep it another year - says it all really.....
ChimpOnGas said:
There's an old saying...
"If you want to find the real value of anything, put it in an auction"
After careful analysis of what's happened in the past...
Assuming the trend continues, the future looks like this....
All the above figures are realistic and built on solid research, we'd all like to think our cars are worth a fortune, but it's when you come to sell you discover the truth.
The Chimaera is on the rise for sure, the way I see it's very much following the pattern of the Lotus Elan, for many years the classic car world were quite sniffy about the Elan, as other classics went up the fiberglass Elan only rose in value by comparatively small amounts.
The truth is the classic car world has always been a bit sniffy about fiberglass cars, but in the last 10 years the Elan has shot up and these days you'd be lucky to find a decent roadster for less than £35k, when only 10 years ago the same car was £18k. The Elan is fiberglass bodied car with a separate central spine type chassis, the TVR Chimaera is effectively a grown up Elan where the central spine chassis is made from tube instead of sheet steel.
It true the Elan has 60's race pedigree where the Chimaera has none, but they are very similar cars in many respects, so give it another 10 years of slow steady growth and the Chimaera's time will come, just as it did when the Lotus Elan got to roughly 35 years old.
While we're waiting, I'll be driving mine
Because I didn't buy it as an investment, I bought it to enjoy it
This is interesting. What research are the charts based on? I really like the look of a few of the 450s for sale at the moment but can't help thinking they are very pricey (£18,500 one at Neil Garners is right up my street but mega bucks IMO)."If you want to find the real value of anything, put it in an auction"
After careful analysis of what's happened in the past...
Assuming the trend continues, the future looks like this....
All the above figures are realistic and built on solid research, we'd all like to think our cars are worth a fortune, but it's when you come to sell you discover the truth.
The Chimaera is on the rise for sure, the way I see it's very much following the pattern of the Lotus Elan, for many years the classic car world were quite sniffy about the Elan, as other classics went up the fiberglass Elan only rose in value by comparatively small amounts.
The truth is the classic car world has always been a bit sniffy about fiberglass cars, but in the last 10 years the Elan has shot up and these days you'd be lucky to find a decent roadster for less than £35k, when only 10 years ago the same car was £18k. The Elan is fiberglass bodied car with a separate central spine type chassis, the TVR Chimaera is effectively a grown up Elan where the central spine chassis is made from tube instead of sheet steel.
It true the Elan has 60's race pedigree where the Chimaera has none, but they are very similar cars in many respects, so give it another 10 years of slow steady growth and the Chimaera's time will come, just as it did when the Lotus Elan got to roughly 35 years old.
While we're waiting, I'll be driving mine
Because I didn't buy it as an investment, I bought it to enjoy it
combine04 said:
This is interesting. What research are the charts based on? I really like the look of a few of the 450s for sale at the moment but can't help thinking they are very pricey (£18,500 one at Neil Garners is right up my street but mega bucks IMO).
Well, you are looking at dealers marked up prices! What would the £18,000 car cost them to buy, perhaps £12,000 on a bad day.You are far better off looking to buy PRIVATELY like I always try to. It's a lot harder and you can travel a lot of miles, but at least you can see what the car is like prior to a Dealers Buff Up. The other added benefit is that you can see if the car is always garaged and how the owner drivers the car from cold.
I bought my very nice 22,000 mile 1999 mile 450 Chim, albeit Ash Green (I was seeking a nice dark blue car) privately and it was cheaper than Neil Garners. It was a great purchase, but I had to compromise on the colour to get the desired condition and mileage that I wanted.
combine04 said:
ChimpOnGas said:
There's an old saying...
"If you want to find the real value of anything, put it in an auction"
After careful analysis of what's happened in the past...
Assuming the trend continues, the future looks like this....
All the above figures are realistic and built on solid research, we'd all like to think our cars are worth a fortune, but it's when you come to sell you discover the truth.
The Chimaera is on the rise for sure, the way I see it's very much following the pattern of the Lotus Elan, for many years the classic car world were quite sniffy about the Elan, as other classics went up the fiberglass Elan only rose in value by comparatively small amounts.
The truth is the classic car world has always been a bit sniffy about fiberglass cars, but in the last 10 years the Elan has shot up and these days you'd be lucky to find a decent roadster for less than £35k, when only 10 years ago the same car was £18k. The Elan is fiberglass bodied car with a separate central spine type chassis, the TVR Chimaera is effectively a grown up Elan where the central spine chassis is made from tube instead of sheet steel.
It true the Elan has 60's race pedigree where the Chimaera has none, but they are very similar cars in many respects, so give it another 10 years of slow steady growth and the Chimaera's time will come, just as it did when the Lotus Elan got to roughly 35 years old.
While we're waiting, I'll be driving mine
Because I didn't buy it as an investment, I bought it to enjoy it
This is interesting. What research are the charts based on? "If you want to find the real value of anything, put it in an auction"
After careful analysis of what's happened in the past...
Assuming the trend continues, the future looks like this....
All the above figures are realistic and built on solid research, we'd all like to think our cars are worth a fortune, but it's when you come to sell you discover the truth.
The Chimaera is on the rise for sure, the way I see it's very much following the pattern of the Lotus Elan, for many years the classic car world were quite sniffy about the Elan, as other classics went up the fiberglass Elan only rose in value by comparatively small amounts.
The truth is the classic car world has always been a bit sniffy about fiberglass cars, but in the last 10 years the Elan has shot up and these days you'd be lucky to find a decent roadster for less than £35k, when only 10 years ago the same car was £18k. The Elan is fiberglass bodied car with a separate central spine type chassis, the TVR Chimaera is effectively a grown up Elan where the central spine chassis is made from tube instead of sheet steel.
It true the Elan has 60's race pedigree where the Chimaera has none, but they are very similar cars in many respects, so give it another 10 years of slow steady growth and the Chimaera's time will come, just as it did when the Lotus Elan got to roughly 35 years old.
While we're waiting, I'll be driving mine
Because I didn't buy it as an investment, I bought it to enjoy it
Use my tables to establish the true market value of your target car, the 2017 row shows us a 450 in condition 'A' is worth £14,700 and in condition 'B' £13,800, the measurement of condition is not an exact science because quite simply there are too many variables. Condition is also subjective one man's 'A' is another's 'B' condition, then you could refine it further by allocating 'A+', 'A', 'A-', 'B+', 'B', 'B-' ect ect ect.
Be aware it's nearly always the case if you buy the condition 'B' car for £13,800 and then try to bring it up to the same standard of the £14,700 condition 'A' car it'll cost you a lot more than the £900 difference between the two, as always you are far better off saving up the £900 and buying the better condition car. Be aware both the condition 'A' & 'B' cars could still be hiding a big bill that's easy to miss, this is why when buying used cars the best advice is always "caveat emptor" (buyer beware). All this means you could also easily buy a condition 'B' car that ends up costing you a lot less the condition 'A' car if the condition 'A' car needs say a clutch or a cam change or fails the MoT on chassis corrosion in the first two years of ownership. You might say that car wasn't condition 'A' then was it, the thing is these cars hide their problems well, and crafty dealers are highly skilled at hiding certain issues even better
See.... "caveat emptor"
Of course there are other factors influencing price beyond condition, mileage is the obvious one but the biggest influencer will always be the seller's position of negotiation, IE how eager they are to strike a deal. Dealers specifically search for the best condition cars being sold in the winter months by seller who is desperate to sell, the most difficult element of the dealer's job is sourcing the right stock at the lowest possible price, he is simply looking to generate the biggest margin for himself on a car that will never come back for issues to be resolved.
Make no mistake, if you are looking for a bargain 450 you will be directly competing with the professional dealers looking for the exact same car. and they do this for a living so they know all the tricks to get to that car first and know exactly what to do and say to secure it quickly before a private buying with more cash turns up.
If you're serious about buying a a nice 450 try to find an honest private seller, be mindful there are plenty of dealers masquerading as private sellers because this means they are not obliged to take responsibility for rectifying any faults the car may present in the first few months after the sale. The used car world is a mine field of sharks and shysters, but there are honest decent private sellers out there, it's just down to you to find one with the right car in the right condition, when you do expect to pay roughly £14,250 for something that sits between condition A & B.
Now use my table to see your new TVR should be worth roughly £20,000 in four years time, assuming the current trend continues. That means even if you spend £5,750 on repairs and maintenance in the that period it would still have been a cost neutral purchase, essentially a free hobby car that gave you lots of pleasure and gives you all your money back if you choose to sell it four years later. Of course there are no guarantees the car will really be worth £20,000 in four years time, but we can use past history and trends to do our best to predict the future and all this evidence clearly tells us the the £20k value in four years is a reasonable assumption.
Happy hunting but do make sure you know what you're doing and what you're looking at, if not consider a professional inspection with a comprehensive condition report, do your research of the car and especially the seller. In my opinion it helps to take a suspicious and cynical approach, the seller wants to sell you the car so it's down to him to prove to you he and his car are legitimate. Get the process right and you should find it'll be the best used car purchase you've ever made, but be warned TVRs can be a money pit too, get your purchase wrong and it could end up being a big drain on your wallet.
"Caveat Emptor!"
Edited by ChimpOnGas on Friday 20th October 10:18
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