ASK QUENTIN
Barn Find Aston
In 1985 I was working in the Middle East and bought a lightly damaged but repairable 1983 Aston V8 Volante that I had fixed. It’s left-hand drive with 16,000km and has one previous royal owner. I shipped it to the UK intending to put it back on the road but it was pushed back to a retirement project. Despite retiring I’ve still not found time to start, and now I’m at a loss with how to proceed.
John Anderson
Don’t despair.
Your Aston is still very saleable.
Buyers like barn-find condition supercars and yours will catch someone’s eye. I’d at least get it running and ask Brightwells, H&H, Mathewsons or Anglia to collect it for their next appropriate auction. You’ll get the fairest price from a wide range of bidders. Good luck. Quentin Willson
Devalued Elan?
I have a 1972 Lotus Elan S130 which has had the big-valve engine replaced with an older twin cam engine which I believe is the earlier S/E twin cam. How much less is this car now worth? Frazer Thompson.
With Lotus engines changed more in period than most so I don’t think a non-matching engine would bother most buyers. Not having the bigvalve head will put off the purists though. The price difference could be between £7k and £10k so it would be worth sourcing a correct-age big-valve engine for maximum return. Quentin Willson
GT dilemma
My uncle loved his cars and said he’d leave £30k inheritance to me as long as I invested it in a decent car. I’m torn between an Audi RS4 cabrio, Jaguar XKR, Porsche 911 996 or Aston Vantage. Primarily it should be the best car to drive to the south of France, then spend a weekend on mountain passes, though reliability, running costs and investment factor are worth considering. Matt Cooper
What a delightful dilemma. Audi RS4 Cabrios can get expensive to fix and they’re not going to collectible for a while yet. The 911 would keep me awake at night with scary engine issues and I’m not convinced Aston Vantages will hold their value well. For simplicity, predictability, lowish running costs, sheer value for money and a brilliant drive I’d go for the XKR. Enjoy your trip! Quentin Willson