350i Bargains in PH Classifieds
Discussion
Is it just me or are some of the 350's advertised on PH at the moment absolute bargains ?
A few of them look pretty mint and under 5K for a V8 powered TVR convertible has got to be good value.
I reckon wedges are well underpriced as a whole, styling aside (and I reckon the more we are subjected to new rounded styling - not TVR but in general - the more wedges and the like stand out) a 350 has got to be a great buy at the moment with the 390's and 400's and upwards bargains as well considering what you get.
About time wedge prices went up, after all unless a car has some serious chassis issues then they are a fairly cheap car to run for any length of time especially when you take look at what else is out there with the same performance, no soft top and definitely without the same V8 noise.
A few of them look pretty mint and under 5K for a V8 powered TVR convertible has got to be good value.
I reckon wedges are well underpriced as a whole, styling aside (and I reckon the more we are subjected to new rounded styling - not TVR but in general - the more wedges and the like stand out) a 350 has got to be a great buy at the moment with the 390's and 400's and upwards bargains as well considering what you get.
About time wedge prices went up, after all unless a car has some serious chassis issues then they are a fairly cheap car to run for any length of time especially when you take look at what else is out there with the same performance, no soft top and definitely without the same V8 noise.
I know what you mean.
When I was looking for a second "fun" car last Autumn, I wasn't even looking for a wedge (I'd had two already), but I ended up buying another because they're such excellent value for money.
Look at the alternatives in that price bracket - MX-5,MGB? Not really the same is it!
When I was looking for a second "fun" car last Autumn, I wasn't even looking for a wedge (I'd had two already), but I ended up buying another because they're such excellent value for money.
Look at the alternatives in that price bracket - MX-5,MGB? Not really the same is it!
wedg1e said:
Hmmm... not so sure. If I was selling the 390SE, I doubt if I'd be cheeky enough to ask for much more than £5K.
Why not ?
TVR and wedges in particular must be a bit like the used car market here in WA. It's so limited that for certain models one person can set the price. After all, how do you price a wedge, basically by looking at what others are advertised for and gauging your price accordingly.
For a 390, if there are only one or two for sale at any one time, it only takes one person who needs the cash quick and puts a low price on a car for any other car to be overpriced.
Conversely, if someones brave enough and in no rush to sell, they could stick it on at an inflated figure and hope to influence the market.
450SE for 20 grand anyone !
Seriously though, call a decent 390 8k and tell me what else you can get for the same money that compares.
chunder said:
Hmmm... not so sure. If I was selling the 390SE, I doubt if I'd be cheeky enough to ask for much more than £5K.
Why not ?
TVR and wedges in particular must be a bit like the used car market here in WA. It's so limited that for certain models one person can set the price. After all, how do you price a wedge, basically by looking at what others are advertised for and gauging your price accordingly.
For a 390, if there are only one or two for sale at any one time, it only takes one person who needs the cash quick and puts a low price on a car for any other car to be overpriced.
Conversely, if someones brave enough and in no rush to sell, they could stick it on at an inflated figure and hope to influence the market.
450SE for 20 grand anyone !
Seriously though, call a decent 390 8k and tell me what else you can get for the same money that compares.
For £8K over here you could get a tidy Subaru Impreza that would run rings round a 390SE (and I can say that with some confidence because a mate has one, and it does). OK, so the top doesn't come off and it looks like any other Far Eastern saloon, but if you were to get hard-nosed about so-called 'sports car' performance, you'd be watching a lot of tumbleweed before a buyer appeared.
Don't get me wrong, I like the Wedge, but I think it's down to the owner's personality rather than the car's abilities...
I paid £6500 for my car in 2000; the previous owner did actually offer me it for £4500 but I ended up getting it through a third party who stuck himself a generous cut on top. Even back then £6500 was only a reasonable price for a 390SE, and this one is nothing special.
Tend to agree with Wedg1e on this one. I've had my 350i for about 12 years and paid £12000 for it from a dealer. Being realistic I would not expect to get more than £4K for it now, and would probably get less for it when I put it up for sale (which will have to be soon: plug:: plug: ) But at the end of the day I have run it as my only car so for a grand a year plus running costs it's been cheap motoring, loads of fun and owes me nothing.
Now the SEAC of course is worth £25,000 and is staying
Now the SEAC of course is worth £25,000 and is staying
Yep, that's the one. £8000 spent on body off chassis work, when I had it advertised last year for £8k I had very little genuine interest (lots of tyre kickers and timewasters though), but two offers around £6k which I was not prepared to take at that time. Re-advertised now for £6.5k, and not a single enquiry as yet...
It's not just the price of wedges that affects the market. Just take a look at Chimaera, Griffiths and Cerberas (sorry to mention those words in hear)
You can get a nice 4.3 Chimaera for 10-11k a Griffith for a bit more and a V8 Cerb for 15-16k which I think inevitably pushes wedge prices down
You can get a nice 4.3 Chimaera for 10-11k a Griffith for a bit more and a V8 Cerb for 15-16k which I think inevitably pushes wedge prices down
cuneus said:
It's not just the price of wedges that affects the market. Just take a look at Chimaera, Griffiths and Cerberas (sorry to mention those words in hear)
You can get a nice 4.3 Chimaera for 10-11k a Griffith for a bit more and a V8 Cerb for 15-16k which I think inevitably pushes wedge prices down
Damn right. If I thought I could get £6K for my Wedge (amd a couple of G for the Esprit) I'd be talking to the bank manager for another £5K and hunting down a Griffith.
richa said:
390's and 400's and upwards bargains as well considering what you get.
Nice 390 advertised at the moment for £6.5K (not that I'm biased towards that one or anything).
I think rich, your car is a bargain when you compare it to some of the others for a touch less. I wish I'd had the cash you were asking for last year when buying mine.
selmer said:I've put that down to experience. As said earlier in the thread, how do you put a value on it? All I know is that last year, I was asking to much at £8k.
I think rich, your car is a bargain when you compare it to some of the others for a touch less. I wish I'd had the cash you were asking for last year when buying mine.
richa said:
All I know is that last year, I was asking to much at £8k.
How so - because it didn't sell at that price ?
But then it's not selling at 6.5 either so is it that's too high or the fact that there are probably only 6 people a year who will be looking to buy a 390 and one hasn't come along yet.
I know I'm on a loser here but it's part of a long term plan to push wedge prices up so that when I come back to the UK my cars worth more
Wedgie, must take issue regarding the Imprezza, totally different car, apples for apples etc 8k what else is there ?
Also is it that wedges are going to be priced in the future compared to what you can get a griff/chim/cerb for - I imagine that's inevitable because they are the closest rivals in a way but it should only be to the same extent that the price of a Taimar is affected by the price of wedges.
Wedges are unique - the reaction I have always seen when someone has been "introduced" to a wedge for the first time is that they are somewhat taken aback.
Let's make it the same when they see the price
>> Edited by chunder on Sunday 27th March 03:23
chunder said:It was advertised for months last year with steadily reduced prices, and offers were in the region on £6k.
All I know is that last year, I was asking to much at £8k.
How so - because it didn't sell at that price ?
But then it's not selling at 6.5 either so is it that's too high or the fact that there are probably only 6 people a year who will be looking to buy a 390 and one hasn't come along yet.
In fairness, it has only been advertised this year for 6 days so far, so it's still early days.
chunder said:
But then it's not selling at 6.5 either so is it that's too high or the fact that there are probably only 6 people a year who will be looking to buy a 390 and one hasn't come along yet.
[and]
Wedgie, must take issue regarding the Imprezza, totally different car, apples for apples etc 8k what else is there ?
I think the issue is: firstly someone has to want what they see as a 'performance' car. Then they have a budget, and most people want the fastest thing they can get for that budget. Thus the Impreza scores with (particularly) the younger market (and with family men who need more than two seats).
Next you have the folk who want a drophead: suddenly everyone from Alfa to Vauxhall is doing a convertible version of an existing car; known quantity, reliable parts availability, warranty etc ... and in some cases for around 10 grand. No V8 of course, but then they may want fuel economy as well... and let's not forget that even the average 4-cylinder family saloon can do 120mph these days, not much less than a Wedge.
OK, so you find someone who absolutely HAS to have a 2-seat British 'sports' car and suddenly the list of candidates is shortened... but must still include Lotus, Marcos, Morgan, MG... and all the versions of the Loterham 7 plus most other kit cars back to the beach buggy.
So you narrow it down to a 2-seat, V8 (or V6) fibreglass British car and now the wedge has to not only compete with other TVRs but also, at the expensive end of the market, the (arguably better-handling) Esprit (later ones have a removable glass roof so almost a convertible too
). Factor in the styling (which probably sends most people after a Chimaera) and you have, in my estimation, a VERY short list of buyers, as Richa is finding... in fact the previous owner of my car had the same problem five years ago and slashed the asking price in half just to find a buyer, as he was emigrating.
Finally: let the prospective buyer know some of the supposed Wedge pitfalls (leaks, electrics etc. etc. - we've all heard it) and see how many of them give up and buy an Impreza
There is definitely a 'personality' requirement for long-term Wedge ownership. Plenty of people have owned one, but not many keep them for long. Even fewer of us go for a second or third. How many people out there have the patience, persistence and humour to appreciate (or perhaps tolerate) these cars?
I appreciate what you are saying, chunder, but Wedges always have had, and always will have, a ridiculously small following (were it not so, TVR would have made lots more of them) and with the rosiest-tinted spectacles in the world, we have to accept that ultimately most of them will end up crashed or scrapped. A few may make it to ancient monument status and wind up in museums alongside steam engines and other relics of a bygone age that everyone hankers after but is reluctant to return to...
Sorry, I know it's Easter but I didn't intend this to sound like a sermon. Having spent this long typing, though, I'm not about to delete it....
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