Classic Car Purchase

[davidbht]

After years of buying new metal,im considering a purchase of a classic or future classic car,it needs to have the following

Reliable
low depreciation if any
affordable maintenance
choice of garages to service
budget £10K -£18,K
sports car

any thoughts welcome

[bebee]

TVR Griffith 500, ticking value time bomb!

[vixen1700]

bebee said:

TVR Griffith 500, ticking value time bomb!

I'd go along with that but say a 4.3 Griffith.

[vixen1700]

Would also have said a Morgan Plus 8, but look at the prices of them these days: http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/list/83/plus+8/?pag...

[Meths]

Another +1 for the TVR


Anything British an iconic seems to hold value well.

[HustleRussell]

This thread says Caterham all over it. Don't get me wrong, I love TVR- but reliability and cheapness of maintenence were mentioned in the original post...

[sawman]

vixen1700 said:

Would also have said a Morgan Plus 8, but look at the prices of them these days: http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/list/83/plus+8/?pag...

but the 4 cylinder morgans are within budget, with options around tuning for a bit more performance if you need it

[brianb]

I'd go with a lovely mk1/2 escort

[itz_baseline]

Clio V6 - either MK1 or MK2....though I prefer the MK2 (and used to have one - had it for 5 years with little depreciation at all).

[HustleRussell]

escort, clio- sports cars?

[TKH]

R107 SL

Either a 300 or a 500 depending on your taste

Cheap to insure as classic
Going up gradually and deservedly
Cheap to maintain
Parts readily available
Hard and soft top so very versatile
Drive quite modernish

A solid one is a great car to enjoy and own

[brianb]

HustleRussell said:

escort, clio- sports cars?

Yep, More sideways than your average mx5

[Leins]

Depends on what sort you're looking for, what many have aleady suggested which are open sports cars, or something more practical. I love late 80s/early 90s "super saloons", and as such I'm not sure if they've really had their day yet. Stuff like the Lotus Carlton, Audi RS2, Merc E500E and Alpina B10 Bi-turbo & M5 3.8 E34s

Now I've sort of taken a bit of a chance on one of these myself (M5), and the running costs aren't for the faint-hearted, but I love them all the same. And they should provide ownership that's pretty much free from the dreaded depreciation, fingers crossed!

Edited by Leins on Wednesday 27th March 18:01

[jonah35]

Sierra 3door cosworth

See here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...

[scotty_d]

HustleRussell said:

This thread says Caterham all over it. Don't get me wrong, I love TVR- but reliability and cheapness of maintenence were mentioned in the original post...

Having owned a chim same as the Griff it is one tvr that does all of the above. Griff is a great future classic for sure, prices have firmed right up in the last 5 years.

[Gad-Westy]

Few ideas, some more classic than others. Some more reliable than others.

Bmw z3m coupe
Porsche 968 club sport
Porsche 996
Tvr griff/chimera
Lotus Elise
Lotus Europa
Vauxhall vx220
Lotus esprit
Aston db7
Maserati 3200gt
15 MX5's

[C8LNJ]

996 C4S

[Republik1980]

For the low depreciation and cheap running costs I'd say Elise or Exige.. alternatively perhaps a nice example of a 986 Boxster S or an early Cayman (won't be as cheap to run as a Lotus though)?

S2000 perhaps? Can't seen good older ones dropping a whole lot in value.

[Grey Ghost]

HustleRussell said:

This thread says Caterham all over it. Don't get me wrong, I love TVR- but reliability and cheapness of maintenence were mentioned in the original post...

I have had my TVR since March 2010 and it has never missed a beat or let me down

These cars need to be driven regularly and looked after by someone who knows what they are doing. I drive from south Essex to Coventry each year so TVR Power can do the service, MOT and any necessary fettling. Parts are generally cheap with consumables easily available from specialists or main stream suppliers. With the main cost of a service being the labour charges (it is a 5-6 hour job to do the work as per original spec and requirements) savings against modern cars and the cost of running a glass and steel dealership are easy to make.

Any "classic" will have reasonable running costs compared to "new" tin, e.g. TVR Power labour rates are c£60-65 per hour whereas BMW, Audi, Porsche etc are all well over £100 per hour. The classic scene has loads of specialists who can do all you require and are usually trained fully on their cars as opposed to relying on a computer patched into the dashboard to give fault code and indicate which parts or series of parts needs to be replaced at considerable cost.

For the budget the OP has he could appoach someone like TVR Power to locate a V8 TVR for him, replace the outriggers (common area of rust and issues), rebuild the engine with warranty, tweak a few bits and pieces on brakes, suspension etc and be left with a stunning car that would be reliable and have excellent resale value.