MGC slide unlocks a compelling value proposition
MGCS are looking seriously good value. I can remember when nice ones lived permanently North of £25k – not any more. In December CCA sold a rare ’68 auto GT, fresh from a windows-out repaint and with 67,000 genuine miles for only £12,210 while H&H knocked down an older restoration ’69 BRG roadster that had mellowed beautifully for £17,500 along with a BRG ’68 GT with 67,000 miles also an older restoration, for £9562. Prices for the ’C have softened noticeably in 2020 and these older restorations that had fortunes spent on them in the 2000s – when exceptional cars were changing hands for £35k – feel like well-sorted bargains now. When you can buy a shiny, well-driving, older-resto MGC for the equivalent of 20% of today’s resto costs it does make you scratch your head.
In January Anglia sold a ’69 roadster in BRG in nice condition and with a TV appearance in its history for £13,250, while in July Mathewsons dispatched a well-restored ’68 MGC GT looking fresh in Tartan red with 39,000 warranted miles for £10,725. How long before we see the ten grand MGC I wonder? And for the record they’re great cars – lazy, gutsy and perfect for long continental road trips as long as you’ve got the optional overdrive. Modern tyres and suspension tweaks can sort out the nose-heavy handling; invest some money into that unstressed 3.0-litre straight-six and you’ll be knocking on the door of 145mph. Readers of a certain age will recall MGCS being regularly advertised and sold for much more than we’ve seen in 2020. If you’ve always fancied one, a tidy roadster or GT could be tucked up in your garage for less than £15k.