Spotted: Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32)
A superb Skyline has Monkey pondering the meaning of a car's value
For newer cars there are trade guides outlining suggested prices, but even these are frequently wrong and fall into the trap of reflecting recent tendencies as opposed to what they should be doing: defining them in advance of any transactions.
The best-known guides during the period at the end of 2008 and early 2009 made hilarious reading (OK, to me they did). Everything lumpy or exotic fell of a cliff, and then as stocks ran dry and demand rose in January 2009, they rocketed upwards again. The guides were months behind and you mostly had to ignore them.
But the fact is, a car – any car – is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it at the moment they transact. And this is why I often have to count to 100 when I’m trying to strike a deal and my opponent says, “it’s worth more than that.”
Because it isn’t. If the assertion was “I think it’s worth more than that”, then I wouldn’t take any issue, because everyone has a right to an opinion. Forget what any guide, expert or journalist says, the machinery is only worth the amount the potential buyer is willing to pay for it. It goes without saying that the vendor always can always reserve the right not to sell for that price.
I think the cleverest people always buy cars according to this rule. They work out what they would be happy paying. More often than not they are the ones people feel have overpaid for something, and five years later draw large profits having spotted a sleeper before the rest of us.
Where is this going? No idea. Well, rather sadly (and seeing as we're talking about GT-Rs today) it brings me back to an R32 Skyline I was admiring in the classifieds last night. I really must buy one or stop stalking them. Anyways, this one is quite expensive for a 20-year-old Datsun – £11,395.
Initially this had me tutting and telling myself “it’s never worth that much”. This rank hypocrisy on my part I will need to excuse through tiredness, because if it checks out in the flesh and produces the claimed power, this car is easily worth the money.
I’ve been banging on about these for a while now, but the R32 is one of the most significant Japanese performance cars. It created a legacy that has outshone and outlasted the NSX. In fact take a look at the template for modern fast cars and despite Mr Trent’s excellent thesis on how Audi is responsible for the recipe, he was in fact wrong because Nissan was doing it 10 years earlier.
So it’s iconic, it appears to be beautifully modified, it has a power-to-weight ratio that could trouble many a modern, and to my strange aesthetic senses, it looks perfectly Japanese.
So the question I have to ask myself is: would it be worth £11.5K to me? Compared to other cars I’ve owned for similar money, absolutely. The only real unknown is how these modified GT-Rs will fare over time compared to the very few unaltered cars out there. Experience tells you that tampering reduces long-term value, but the R32’s legend is based almost entirely on it being boosted at every possible opportunity. So to me it’s one of the few cars that, assuming the mods are good, can sustain them in the marketplace.
Next week: the £27,000 E39 M5, and why it’s good value. That’s a joke, by the way. I think.
NISSAN SKYLINE GT-R (R32)
Engine: 2,568cc 6-cyl turbo
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Power (hp): 280
Torque(lb ft): 271
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1994
Recorded mileage: 39,091
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £11,395
(or to another classic performance car, E36 M3 maybe? Maybe just compare them both! "cheapish" fast new BMW vs fast old BMW vs Godzilla!)
You'd think that a car that was designged in the '80's would look dated, but quite the opposite; it has more pressence than anything currently being produced, barring say a C63 Black. It's relative light weight and mild modifications would still give a lot of newer performance cars a run for their money.
(or to another classic performance car, E36 M3 maybe? Maybe just compare them both! "cheapish" fast new BMW vs fast old BMW vs Godzilla!)
I was chatting with a bloke at work who has been trying to sell his Manual BMW 330d Msport. By rights it should be an easy car to sell except that he is valuing it based on how much he paid from a main dealer 1 year ago. He just doesn't get that as a private sale it isn't worth that much.
However I still think a mint, unmolested and original R32 V-spec II will be the better long term investment. I know these cars beg to be modded but this always has an effect on future values. I think the best bet for a decent return might be to buy a modded one to use but keep the original parts in storage so that you can sell off the parts and return it to factory spec come resale time.
Oh and R34 prices have also been rock solid for ages and I think well looked after ones will start to creep up too, late Nur or V-Spec II's are already worth more than their newer R35 siblings.
Otherwise you get into the general question of prices for a model, e.g. 'NSXs are overpriced'. Which generally means 'I want an NSX, but I can't afford one / don't want to pay as much as other people are willing to pay'.
I guess Monkey has it spot on, its only worth what someone is willing to pay, but in this day and age i think that statement is broad as it is long.
The cash buyer seems a rare thing, if ever i have advertised anything in the last couple of years the vast percentage of enquiries have been, part ex for this/that or whatever, low ball offers of "x" in cash collect tomorrow, as if there are are other ways of paying a private buyer (ok there is paypal but most people these days require a buyer to "cover the fees"), what are people expecting to pay in, bottle tops perhaps! I guess there are people who accept the cash offer either as they are in need or would just prefer the money in their pocket to do the same on their up and coming purchase, rather than submit to possible months worth of advertising and replying to the will you take my fantastic car at knock down price that i have also had advertised for months or some random enquiries and offers of all sort of things, boats, jet skis, motorbikes, caravans etc etc, i have had them all.
I am in the market for a particular car at the moment, the difference in price on the same model, year, spec (relatively) is staggering, up to and beyond 75%.
The Japanese performance market is flat on its back. Cars with great spec (similar to the above) will usually end up being broken for spares as the return is often better than the car as a whole. A friend of mine recently had a single turbo Rx7 for sale, couldnt get the 10k, 9k then 8k wanted so broke and returned 12k!!
The question on everyones lips as per Monkey, is, when will car such as these demand their value again?
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