Used coupes buck market trends as OEMs tap out
As most secondhand values stay flat, a chronic lack of new coupes means old models are enjoying a resurgence
The demise of the coupe has been plain to see for a good while. Models have been discontinued without replacement, projects have been delayed or cancelled, and those that have made production have done so in very limited numbers. One new Honda Prelude doesn’t make up for the amount that have fallen by the wayside.
And now there are stats to support what was previously a gut feeling. Our colleagues at CarGurus have been trawling the new car data and found a 67 per cent decline in the amount of new coupes available to buy in just the past decade. In 2016, there were Nissan Z cars, Lexus RCs, Peugeot RCZs, the VW Scirocco, even Mini Coupes. There’s been a 61 per cent drop since just 2021, they say, from 33 to 12 on offer - that’s how drastic the shift has been. And the reality is even more depressing, because CG includes cars like the BMW i4 and Mercedes CLA in their classification which, with four doors, shouldn’t really qualify as coupes (however much their respective marketing departments would like to think otherwise).
So with a new coupe marketplace that’s basically become BMWs, the Mustang, the 911, some Mercs and that Prelude, you can guess what’s happened to secondhand values. People still want to buy coupes, it would seem, but they can’t get new ones, driving up demand. CG reckons that used coupes have become the UK’s top appreciating car type, up 11 per cent year on year, while the average price of a used car here has increased by less than one per cent. Those figures will be advertised prices rather than sold ones, but the trend is plain for all to see: two doors of all shapes and sizes are really in demand. When even the BMW i4 (an electric five-door fastback, let’s be honest) has enjoyed a nine per cent climb in just the past 90 days, there’s something afoot.
That perennial PH favourite, the Jaguar F-Type, is reckoned to have enjoyed the greatest appreciation of late, with average prices up 16 per cent. Probably no great surprise: for yonks they’ve looked like a heck of a lot of Jag for not much money, and in the maker’s current predicament a clamour for some combustion-engined charm is easy to understand. Especially for so relatively little; we might not be any closer to the £10k F-Type right now (the day will come!), but when £20k buys one of the best-looking sports cars of the century it’s hard to grumble. And if current trends continue, then depreciation won’t be as severe as it might once have been either.
A £30k budget brings some really nice F-Types from the 2016 glory era into play, including this Reims Blue British Design Edition. That multitude of variants offered at the time means plentiful pickings secondhand, too, from four-wheel drive, ceramic-braked SVR track star to caddish P450 charmer. And that’s just the V8. With nothing like it coming from Jag (or anyone else) ever again, the appeal is plain to see. It’s a surprise prices didn’t climb sooner…
No mention of the F-Type would be complete without also talking about the Porsche 911, and it’s another two-door that’s enjoyed a bump of late: a 14 per cent increase in average asking prices year on year. While the usual 911 factors will contribute to that - the rear seats are handy, they’re great to drive, parts support is good - there’s also the small matter of a new 992 being a £100,000 prospect before options. Even with strong residuals, it’s a lot. Because when did a 911 ever leave without options? Opt for a Carrera S instead of a Carrera and it’s £120,000 before one extra bit of Race-Tex.
So, of course, there’s demand for those 992s already out there, particularly with the recent .2 update not transforming the contemporary Carrera experience. A car from 2021 is going to feel a lot like a car from 2026, only now from £75k with 20,000 miles. Which feels a bit more palatable. Back in 2016, it was the second-gen 991 that was on sale, introducing turbocharging to Carreras for the first time; and for a generation that was often derided as too big and techy for a 911, it’s doing well secondhand: this 10-year-old Carrera 4S is still £75,000. Ditto the 8,000rpm screamers that preceded the turbos. So again, as with the Jag, maybe now is not the time for unbelievably cheap 911s, but if values stay strong then it shouldn’t cost much to experience one of the coupe icons.
Here’s something to make you feel old: 2016 saw the introduction of the turbocharged flat fours to the Porsche Boxster and Cayman. Back then, that seemed like a scandal; just 10 years later we’re here with neither on sale as Porsche desperately attempts to figure out a way for new electric and combustion cars to coexist. Oddly, CG doesn’t have a percentage change listed for the mid-engined two-door; interestingly, though, even the 2.0-litre 718s are still worth an incredible three-quarters of their new price. At launch, the 300hp Cayman was from £39,878, the 2.5-litre, 350hp S from £48,834, and yet all bar one on PH is from £30k. So maybe the flat fours weren’t totally hated…
By 2021 the flat-six had returned to the Cayman GTS, and in the process created a modern Porsche legend, so bank on at least £50k. And probably no desire to see what it’s worth next year, or the year after that. Or probably ever, in fact.
Finally, from the treasure trove of conventionally platformed, front-engined cars is the Audi TT, with an average boost of four per cent in asking prices over the past 12 months; nowhere the double digits of the Porsche and Jag, but remember the average used car price hasn’t even climbed one percentage point. So it’s something. And with Audi having totally eliminated its two-door lineup, including the R8 and A5 as well, the TT is being sought out. The final generation wasn’t as good as a Cayman to drive, sure, but it looked great, the interior is still brilliant a decade later, and it’s plenty fast enough. Look at this TT S: five years old but good as new to look at, for the price of an Alpine A290. Or, for more glamour, how about in Viper Green? And get this: the style of the TT, with the very tuneable 2.0-litre turbo and a full main dealer history, is now available for £11k.
Some reasons to be cheerful as a potential coupe buyer, then, even if the stats might make it appear more of a seller’s market right now. Either way, the popularity of those coupes when they were around means an abundance secondhand, and it’s when values stay buoyant that upkeep is maintained. From Ford Capri to Mazda RX-8, history is littered with cool coupes that became neglected when they weren’t worth much, so that’s encouraging for the cars mentioned as they age further.
And if nothing else, the CG study demonstrates that demand definitely still exists for two-door models at something like affordable money. More than just a Prelude, that’s for sure. When even a BMW M4 is basically a £100k car, there’s clearly a gap to fill. That new TT, plus the rejigged 718, and whatever Alpine is conjuring up, surely can’t come soon enough.
Might just have to bite the bullet at get a 4.0 718? GTS or GT4 though? I tend to tour rather than track day.
I'm a big fan of affordable Coupes and have owned a Nissan Silvia and a 300ZX TT in the past. We used to have so much choice in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s..................Porsche 924, 944, 968, 928, 911, and Cayman, Mazda RX7 and RX8, Toyota Celica and Supra, Nissan Silvia, 200SX, and 300ZX, Mitsubishi Starion and 3000, Jaguar XK and F Type, Toyota GT86 and GR86, Subaru BRZ, Audi TT and A5.
Edited to add the original Ford Puma, Cougar, Capri, and Probe, Honda CRX and Del Sol, Peugeot 406 Coupe and RCZ, Renault Megane Coupe
I keep an eye on things at trade and while values of sub 10 year old ones are firm once they get over that and/or approach 80k miles values still plunge off a cliff, so there is hope for bottom feeders like me
As the article pointed out there is very few new coupe's to choose from these days...even less affordable ones.
Some of the now discontinued two door hot hatches which are basically coupe's as well, one of them I previously owned was a Kia Pro'ceed GT which can now be had for pennies, most wanted the fast Fords and overlooked the Kia but it was a very decent car.
I like to have fun driving cars and like the way they look so I would love to see a comeback for coupe's, unfortunately it won't happen as the modern motorist don't seem interested in cars, the amount of SUV's and ugly EV's you see being launched is depressing.
I'm a big fan of affordable Coupes and have owned a Nissan Silvia and a 300ZX TT in the past. We used to have so much choice in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s..................Porsche 924, 944, 968, 928, 911, and Cayman, Mazda RX7 and RX8, Toyota Celica and Supra, Nissan Silvia, 200SX, and 300ZX, Mitsubishi Starion and 3000, Jaguar XK and F Type, Toyota GT86 and GR86, Subaru BRZ, Audi TT and A5.
Edited to add the original Ford Puma, Cougar, Capri, and Probe, Honda CRX and Del Sol, Peugeot 406 Coupe and RCZ, Renault Megane Coupe
Thinking about why she went 128 over 230 last time (and it was a close run thing), was now the kids are not being ferried around she knew her mum couldn't get in and out of the 230.
She's lucky that at least her preference, the 230 is still being made.
However in my last change (because I planned to keep the car for a long time, my children are grown up and the associated family motoring holidays to Southern Europe are over) I bought a coupe.
I think they age so much better than the equivalent saloon or estate.
Hence why the 1 Series Coupé has worked so well for me - plenty of room when it's just me or me and Mrs Bodhi, big boot for clubs and I'm not torturing occasional rear seat passengers when I have to carry them.
Well I am a bit now we're all in our 40s asking them to get in in the first place, but it's quite comfortable back there when you've got in.
My last Coupe purchase was a GR86
Look how their values are holding.
I also think it's partly down to the fact new cars nowadays aren't for everyone.
I move new, and late cars, around for a local dealer.
The nanny aids, bings and bongs, flashing symbols, really drive me nuts, I could never own one.
On mention of fast estates, I do miss one of those and planning to hopefully rectify that soon
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