‘Two years ago these cars would’ve made 40% more’
Classics we once thought were too expensive have suddenly become affordable – but just how long can the bargain basement market last?
Yikes – there have been some cheap classics knocked down of late. Anglia’s August sale saw a tidy ’88 Jaguar XJ-S V12 coupé with warranted 65,000 miles and good history sell for a derisory £2100. You’d make more breaking it for spares. A ’73 Rover P6 3500S in admittedly unflattering Mexico Brown but with the manual gearbox, 78,000 miles and 32-year ownership, sold for just £2862, while a silver 2002 right-hand-drive Mercedes C32 AMG estate with 56k miles and history sold for just £4982 – and only 128 C32 wagons were ever sold in the UK. Even a very clean ’74 Mercedes 350SL with 133k, history, long run of old Mots, hardtop and 19-year ownership made just £7526 – and we all know R107s usually fetch north of ten grand.
Bonhams at Beaulieu in September was equally bargain-based. A nice green ’96 Aston Martin DB7 coupé, the desirable manual, 67,000 miles and good Aston dealer and specialist history went for an eyebrow-raising £13,491 and an ’83 right-hand-drive Maserati Kyalami with 54,000 miles, £12k’s worth of bills and one of only 190 ever built, made just £23k. Two years ago either of those cars would have made 40 per cent more. The ’89 fly-yellow Testarossa may have been left-hand drive with scant history but when was the last time you saw a redhead go under the hammer for £60k? Weakening modern Ferrari values seem to be biting hard and Bonhams only drew £52,900 for a ’99 lefthand-drive 550 Maranello despite 17,000 miles and a recent major cambelt service. Most surprising of all was a pretty ’65 Sunbeam Tiger MKI, an older restoration with MKII 4.7 engine, that made only £31k. Not long ago nice Tigers would make £50,000 all day long.
Barons dispatched a very shiny ’87 Capri 2.8i in Radiant Red with 89k and 18-year ownership for a pi£ing £6380 and – make sure you’re sitting down for this one – a very sharp and well-kept ’98 Jaguar XK8 convertible with 67k miles being sold due to ill heath made a risible £3300. Bargain of the day was the gorgeous ’83 Jaguar XJ12 Series 3 in Coronet Gold with only two owners and warranted 35,000 miles for £4400. That’s half-price to you and me.
CCA sold an early 1949 Series 1 80-inch Land Rover complete with behind-thegrille lights in very decent nick for £23,500 and a recently refreshed and repainted left-hand-drive ’76 Mercedes 280SE in anthracite with 76k for only £5280. Even an ex-elton John 1990 Bentley Turbo R long-wheelbase with 96,000 and mainly Bentley dealer history only made £8800.
So there are amazing opportunities out there while economic and political uncertainty shakes the market’s confidence. Look at it this way – we may not know how long this softening will carry on or what sort of recovery might come, if and when, but these cars were all cheap enough to play with for a year or two and get your money back, or even suffer a mild loss. At these prices I’d happily take my chances with that 350SL, DB7, Tiger or XJ12 just for some classic fun. The cars we thought had spiralled out of reach are now back in our crosshairs at seriously tempting money. Life’s far too short not to own the Rocket Man’s Bentley for a bit.