Classic Car Price boom??

[vincereynard]

I picked up a copy of "Miller's Collectors Cars Price Guide 1991 - 1992" on the weekend in a book shop.

Average "value" in thousands.

Sprint 17 > 18

+2S 9 > 10
+2S 130 10 > 12
+2 JPS 12 > 15

Devaluation from 1992 to 2012 is almost exactly 50 %. Therefore double those figures would be the current
value at 1992 prices. +2 s are cheaper now than then!

Same applied to most of the other cars shown.
MGB GT 70 / 72 about 5 - 6, there are loads of them available now for about the same figure. Therefore half the "value" of 20 years ago.

I also seem to recall that there was a pretty major price crash about 1990. So they would have been even dearer a year earlier than my guide shows. I do remember that there was much chat, back then, of 100K Jag E Types, a price they have just about recovered to. So, with devaluation are, in effect, still only half of the 1992 price.

Same for most Triumphs.

Bizarrely enough most of the sporty Fords seem to have done well.

Well I found it interesting anyway.

[el-saturn]

i was hoping to read comments on these 70 to 80 grand baby elans, you see every now and then?!?! sandy from the alps

[dunclentdr]

I found it interesting too!

Look at it from a slightly different perspective - ignoring inflation, the cash value of Sprints has doubled but of Plus 2s only increased by 30-50% and many are worth not much more than the sum of their parts - must be potential for growth!!

David

[elansprint71]

I'm putting my Sprint back on the road (after a period of "rest") and have the dilemma of how much to insure it for; I'm guessing around GBP 30k but would that buy a replacement in the event of total loss?

[alexblack13]

You might struggle to get a good sprint for 30k now.

My one is insured for 45K but not parting with it.


Good hunting guys and good health too.

Al',,,,

[Maulden7]

I am the "insurance official" for a UK Lotus owners' car club (not Elan related) & for agreed insured values you should always insure for an amount that is at least 25% more than the current private sales market price PLUS whatever price growth you expect / estimate will be achieved on the next 12 months (this can only be a guestimate but say 10% at the moment)
If the worst happens i.e. a total loss, on the day before your next renewal is due, you might find that the only replacement car available is from a trader, who will price in profit / overheads / guarantee costs etc.
Agreed value insurance is relatively cheap for limited mileage policies, so better to be over insured than under, & a lot of insurance companies are now quite happily accepting owners' valuations (supported by a full description & lots of photographs) Others will require an official Club valuation - especially at the top end of the particular market value - but ime these are never queried.
For a Sprint DHC in top condition even ?45k might not be enough for a renewal right now imo.

[jono]

Never understood the whole 'sprint' thing - some hotter cams, upped CR and stickers = silly prices

45k is huge money for a plastic car with no competition pedigree, I just don't get it.

That would buy a very nice 1071 Cooper S

[peterexpart]

Never understood the whole 'sprint' thing - some hotter cams, upped CR and stickers = silly prices

45k is huge money for a plastic car with no competition pedigree, I just don't get it.

That would buy a very nice 1071 Cooper S

Jono
Very true considering the S4SE with the HC Head had the same Cams as the Sprint was as fast if not faster.
But as they only made the Sprint because they could not sell enough of the S4 at the Model run out it does make you wonder why they have such a premium !!

[nebogipfel]

Never understood the whole 'sprint' thing - some hotter cams, upped CR and stickers = silly prices

45k is huge money for a plastic car with no competition pedigree, I just don't get it.

That would buy a very nice 1071 Cooper S

Never understood the whole "1071 Cooper S" thing basically an overbored Mini with disc brakes = silly prices?

45K is huge money for a poxy old Mini.

That would buy a very nice MG TC, Healey, etc.

[elansprint71]

Never understood the whole MG TC Healey thing... that kind of money could buy a fair Gordon Keeble

[jono]

mmm yes Gordon Keeble,... shares it's windscreen with another fine, but sensibly priced, sporting vehicle I can think of

Austin Healey - a fine truck chassis in a sports car body

[vincereynard]

There is little point expecting logic in classic car values.

Ever driven a Merc 280SL pagoda? Lumbering lump with all the finesse of Dumbo on rollerskates.
Approaching ?100 K these days.

Or an Escort RS2000? ?30K? For a leaf sprung rust bucket powered by a transit engine?
More a case of chaps finding they can now afford motors they lusted after as yoofs. I have to declare a bias here as the worst car I owned was an Escort 1300E. And that is against some serious competition.

I also worked at Fords throughout the late 60's and drove loads of their "classics" when new.

[TroonSprint]

Just reading this thread and I see that Alex's Sprint drophead is valued at ?45,000. My Sprint fixed head coupe has just been valued by Club Lotus at ?42,000. To say I was gobsmacked is to understate the case! They say that's what I could reasonably expect to get for it if I sold it now. Amazing.

Mike

[elansprint71]

...but do any cars actually change hands at those prices?

lotus-elan-f19/sprints-sell-this-sort-price-47k-t33698.html

[Elanintheforest]

I really don't think these prices are at all amazing. ?45k for a Sprint? Well you could start off with a project car for ?15k if you were lucky, and then spend ?50k with one of the specialists to turn it into a mint Sprint worth ?45k. But don't use it as it will devalue rapidly with stone chips, gel coat cracks and micro-blisters.

An Escort RS2000 for ?30k? You'll be very lucky to find a good one for that. A mint car sold last month for ?55k, and project cars are ?15k plus. But restoration costs are very high, with a body restoration and re-paint heading up around ?25k nowadays...yes, they did rust a lot. Add in the cost of restoring the engine, gearbox, suspension, steering, brakes, interior and all the other bits and pieces, and you're up to ?50k quite easily.

Nobody has mentioned E Types yet! Restoration costs for those START at ?120k, and ?170k plus is not unheard of, and that's for a standard car, not an Eagle E type with all the modern bells and whistles.

Al of this is a lot of money for, essentially, a toy, and one which, when restored, hardly gets used. Hagerty recently did a survey which reveled that 10% of classic cars get used less than 100 miles a year, 80% get used less than 1000 miles a year, and 10% get used for more than 1000 miles per year.

On the other hand, you could spend ?80k - ?100k on a mid to top of the range Jag, Audi, Mercedes, BMW or Range Rover, and lose ?25k as you drive out of the forecourt with your brand new car. Within 3 years you will have lost ?50k in depreciation...the price of a really interesting classic car toy!

Or you could spend ?50k on a new Range Rover Evoque, and get a car with a Transit van engine, and with the same rate of depreciation as it's bigger and older stable mate.

You pays your money and takes your choice.

Mark