Well Bought

Why this TR3A went home below its auction estimate

Triumph TR3A

Lockdown played a part in keeping the price down.

Historics’ TR3A was a charming example of an evergreen model but punters were being more careful with their cash with Christmas not far off and the UK at a delicate stage in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, the winning bidder went home with a decent buy.

The condition stood out.

Bodywork – painted in Primrose Yellow – helped it to stand out and it appeared to be in very good order. Panel fit and shutlines were good, while the limited amount of chrome (including hub caps) was as good as the panelwork. The black soft top and sidescreens were smart and fitted well and the plastic windows showed no signs of fading or cracking.

The cabin was in good nick, too.

Inside it was a symphony of blue and the result was pleasing, different and looked just as good as the exterior. Seat facings showed light signs of use but were by no means worn, the dashboard – trimmed in blue leather – remained in fine order and the door panels were in extremely good fettle.

This was a great example – but at ‘usable’ money.

TR3s and ‘3As aren’t a rarity in auctions, but good cars with history are becoming increasingly difficult to come by. There are still plenty of buyers for these cars and today’s intending owner invariably wants one that has had all the hard work already done. In other words, ones you can get in and drive are the most desirable by a long way – and that pushes the prices of these cars up, invariably into the £25k and upwards bracket which reflected the upper end of Historics’ premium for this example. As a result, this particular example, which sneaked in at £2k beneath its lower estimate, was a savvy purchase; we reckon someone went home happy.