OH, I WISH I’D NEVER SOLD THAT CAR …
Obviously, classic cars are frequent subjects of conversation in our office here. We bemoan the fact that ‘good’ cars we once owned were disposed of earlier in life — and, of course, long before we realized what they might be worth one day. At other times, we regret selling these cars simply because they were so much fun to drive.
Among some of those cars that have been owned by the team here are a very-low-mileage one-owner as-new ’39 Ford V8 Deluxe, a BMW 2002 Ti, an Alfasud Sprint, and even cars such as Mk1 Cortinas and similar. A number of years ago, my wife drove a Triumph Herald that could have been the very car that featured on the cover of this magazine a couple of years back.
All those cars were sold for miniscule amounts of money at the time. Therein lies the meaning perhaps, in the context of this magazine, of the word ‘classic’. When those cars were bought by their various owners, they were bought for practical reasons. They were fit for purpose; the price was right; and, above all, they were a car we wanted to own. The bought and sold prices at the time were just what they were, with no, or very little, consideration given to the idea that the car might escalate in value over time.
These cars were acquired because, for a number of reasons, they were cars that we wanted to own. They were cars that performed well, looked good, had a unique design aspect, or similar. Now, years later, it is those same reasons that make these cars stand out from the crowd, and that make them enter the category of ‘classic cars’. Value today would seem to be a side effect of the reason that the cars were desirable in the first place. A car as simple as a Triumph Herald was desirable as a small runabout because it was light and easy to drive; highly manoeuvrable; and, at the time, aesthetically pleasing to look at, with its square, well-proportioned look, and Italian-style glasshouse cabin.
When my son came back to New Zealand to live after growing up in Europe, his boy-racer instincts made him buy numerous Alfa 33s and Peugeot 205 GTIS, the cars of his dreams. Some 15 to 20 years ago, he was buying and selling these for $2K to $3K each. The cost of them was not the point; they were the cars he wanted. For him, they looked good, made the right noise, and went well. Those are the reasons that these cars are now fetching prices way, way above what they were worth then; the reasons why they are minor classics already. The classic car market is becoming more and more interesting.
Towards the rear of this magazine is a column called Editor’s Pick. This column features a car selected from our Cars for Sale pages that we think is interesting and warrants a little more space. Starting next issue, we are going to eliminate Cars for Sale, and expand the Editor’s Pick column. We’ll be looking at the local and international classic car marketplace, and we will feature three or four cars in greater detail. Local experts will be consulted, and these new column pages will give you a more detailed look at this area of the car market.
Keep and eye out for it next time, and keep on wondering about whether you should have bought, or sold, that particular car.