Ah well – you win some, you lose some
1995 Chevrolet Camaro
Owned by Sam Dawson (sam.dawson@bauermedia.co.uk) Time owned 11 months Miles this month 35 Costs this month £217 (auctioneer’s commission plus sales fee) Previously Test-drove a Midas
You find me in a philosophical mood this month. So often in this magazine we talk about smart buys; undervalued cars that represent safe places for your money. I unwittingly made a ‘smart buy’ a few years ago – my Peugeot 405 SRI, bought for just £1k and selling for twice that. The Camaro was bought with the proceeds after I realised how cheap they were, how the fourth-generation’s 3.4-litre V6 wasn’t such a bad engine, and what an impressive car it seemed for the money. It’s not unlike some TVRS in the way it drives.
Unfortunately, what makes sense on a pre-sale country-lane blast doesn’t always translate well into real life. All I did with it was occasionally substitute it for my dailydriver Honda Civic, but found the Camaro’s left-hand drive, Nile-like length and low nose incompatible with the reality of my narrow cul-de-sac, supermarket parking spaces and the stop-start traffic of the A15.
And then, by chance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, I was reunited with my old karting mate Alex Hall. After graduating to tin-tops only to see his beloved Ford Fiesta XR2 smashed to bits by aspiring BTCC drivers, he bought a cheap Peugeot 306 GTI-6 and hurled himself into the world of hillclimbs and sprints. He was enjoying himself more than ever, spending less, and doing it all in a fun road car that he didn’t care too much about. I could picture myself doing that, but I’d return to my old favourite to do it in: a Toyota MR2.
The Camaro went up for sale for the price I paid for it, but only attracted timewasters. Having consulted a few experts I came to the conclusion that the market for American classics was softening, so I entered it in Anglia Car Auctions’ November sale to salvage what I could before interest dried up.
The £1930 paid by the successful bidder fell £70 short of the low-end estimate, but no matter. I’ve got enough to buy a very nice Toyota MR2 Spyder, and I’ve driven enough cars to know you can’t really beat an MR2 until you can afford a Lotus Elise or Vauxhall VX220. And when I can afford one of these, you’ll know about it.