A Mini adventure

Why the Issigonis wonder does so well at auction

How many car sales are you holding this year, and where will you be holding them?

Our first auction of the year is on Sunday 11 February at The Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet. We will be holding six specialist classic and vintage car auctions this year, all are at The Royal Bath & West Showground, with the exception of our July sale at Sherborne Castle.

How do you see the market faring in 2018?

I think the £5-10k market will always be good as it is not a life-changing sum to many people. There is so much variety, especially if you roll your sleeves up, have a tool kit and are willing to give it a go. There are plenty of daily drivers in this price bracket, making classic car ownership a sensible decision for many. In the £10-20k sector pressure ramps with the conversation divided between having a classic car, new kitchen or extended holiday being discussed by many!

Do you detect strengthening interest in any particular cars?

At the risk of being controversial, the market for some MGs and Morris Minors has struggled sometimes when I have been on the rostrum. I guess it is the simple economic principle of supply and demand – you only have to look through auction catalogues up and down the country where you will see them in reasonable supply. On the other hand I am a Triumph fan and therefore have blinkered vision on these marques! Mercedes-Benz SLs seem to be on the move, and as usual I am probably two years too late to buy one. The larger-engined V8s maybe not quite so hot to trot as a V6 due to their enthusiasm to drink fuel but we have seen strong bidding for all nice, honest and original SLs with sensible miles and good service history.

You tend to do well with older, BMC and BL Minis – why do you think that is?

We have done very well with all sorts of Minis. Many years ago we sold a Mini Cooper from a deceased estate in Leicester. A low ownership car, it was far from being mint, but absolutely staggered us all when it sold for over £30,000 – huge money in its day. After that, we received instructions to sell a lot of Minis, along with instructions to sell lots of other classic cars, too!

‘The £500010,000 market will always be good’