ONES THAT GOT AWAY

THE CARS WE SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT OR ARE JUST GLAD WE DIDN’T...

Tell us in 60 words the car you should have bought, or were lucky enough to buy!

Send your tale to uniquecars@bauertrader.com.au with ‘Gotaways’ in the title

1961 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL Back in 2007 I purchased and imported a ‘59 Buick from a collector in Arizona. He owned an unrestored 19,000 mile ‘61 Continental at the time that he said he would never sell. Come 2020, I received a random email from the owner offering the car to me! With all the Covid dramas, my chances of importing another car from the USA were over. COLIN WHITE - EMAIL

AUGUST 2000 FORD FALCON XR GT

As did happen to GTs back in the day, this Old Gold XR has been messed with beneath the bonnet but retains the external embellishments that made these a traffic stopper when new. Unless you count the GT500 Cortina, Australia prior to 1967 never had a genuine road-going racer but Ford with this car made up for lost time in one swoop. Fewer than 600 were built but for years they were ignored by people who preferred later GTs with 351 engines and more muscular looks. That changed about 15 years ago, with prices surging and despite authenticity issues this car should still make $100k.

DECEMBER 1996 AUSTIN-HEALEY 100/4

Christmas-time 25 years ago would have seen a few UniqueCars readers tempted to put this Santaspec (red over white) Healey into the stocking. $30k was at the time fair money for a decent but not exceptional 100/4 and this car shouldn’t have struggled to find a buyer. Fast forward to Christmas just gone and the same car might have been back in the market and tempting a new generation of cashed-up empty nesters. This time though, with Big Healeys of all kinds in hot demand and buyers on the hunt for good 100/4s, the price will more likely be $99,999.

JULY 2003 BUICK RIVIERA

As an impressionable 11-year-old I managed to score a whirl around the block in the passenger seat of a LHD Riviera and have never forgotten the experience. ‘My’ Riv was a personal import and not required to be RHD, however a lot did arrive via big-city Holden dealers to be locally converted and sold with new car warranty. Whether this one is a survivor from those times, or a more recent import is impossible to say, but it looks excellent and should have survived the years since 2003. Had you paid $17k for it back then, the ledger would by now be looking very healthy.

JUNE 2001

FIAT X1/9

Some cars charm buyers out of the treetops and appreciate wildly while equally worthy designs can’t even keep pace with inflation. The energetic X1/9 Fiat sadly falls into the latter category. With a body by Bertone, 1.5 litres, four discs and a five-speed, Series 2 versions look good and get along quite nicely while remaining among the least expensive sports cars of their era. Yes, Fiats rust but so do Alfas and Lancias and their appeal doesn’t seem to be suffering as a consequence. We can only assume that the Fiat is awaiting its time in the spotlight and values one day will ignite.

JUNE 1994

LEYLAND MINI LS 1275

Mini sales in the UK rampaged on until 1999 but out here the death knock came – unless you were a Moke – in 1978 and LS 1275 sedans were the last in an illustrious line. The LS was hardly luxurious but did come with decent, cloth-bound seats and proper wheels to help with the ground clearance. Just 400 are believed to have been made; painted silver or gold and list priced at $4760 – just $300 more than the very basic Moke. The model remains popular with Mini collectors, so a decent proportion of the cars built have survived and prices are yet to become ridiculous.

JANUARY 1993

CHEVROLET STATION WAGON

For reasons best known to General MotorsHolden, locally assembled Chevrolet station wagons were never part of its plan to dominate the 1950s Australian market. Cars like this were hardly ever seen and it wasn’t until the mid1960s that Chev wagons became popular with dealers who would import brand new US-built models for favoured customers. We asked automotive value tracker Hegarty.com for more detail and discovered very little. Sales of wagons during 1954 topped out at 10,770 and a surviving Bel-Air in excellent condition will today likely cost around US$18,000.

APRIL 1991

PANTHER J72

Enormous money back in 1991 for what essentially was a fairly cheesy replica Jaguar, but Panther still went on to create its own niche in the classic market. Anyone considering this car would have been wise to deal hard and not be suckered into believing fairy tales about longterm gain. Very good ones in the British market now make around A$70,000 but here where the brand has no profile they will struggle. A car similar to this was advertised a while back at $58,000; suggesting that anyone who paid the 1991 price then held on grimly for 30 years would be behind by a fair old slab.