The Dealer’s Wheel
Don’t worry about your car’s future value, says Ant Anstead
Ant Anstead tells us why we should forget about the value of a classic.
Right now, the classic car market has never been so bonkers. Car prices have shot up to stratospheric levels well beyond the means of the mortal car lover. And in some cases that’s kind of OK. It provides an elite social pyramid that keeps the magic of the unachievable in the forefront of our minds, but out of our grasp. We can look but we can’t touch.
Because of that I can accept crazy prices for those rare beasts that have always been out of our reach. The ex-le Mans racers, the one-offs with serious pedigree, the Earls Court show cars and those with renowned owners.
No-one bats an eye at the Thirties Bugatti selling for £30 million do they? But when a fast Ford makes £500k, and you can’t find a top notch, humble Land Rover Series I for less than £50k (trust me I’ve been hunting) you have to step back and think… is this classic car game really for all of us?
Losers bidding £20 million
I hosted the Channel 4 show The World’s Most Expensive Cars and saw first hand the level to which some collectors were willing to go to buy their dream cars. I sat in the driver’s seat of the Ecurie Ecosse Le Mans-winning Jaguar D-type moments before it sold for a new world record for any British sports car at auction.
Remarkably, the three chaps slugging it out to win her were all sat in the room together, bidding millions. The losers were offering £20m plus! And while I watched this competition unfold from a front row seat I couldn’t help wondering which one of these chaps would actually use and drive her And whichever it was, that was the person I wanted to win. After all she’s a D-type – built to race, not sit in a collection as an investment at a time when the cash is wasted in the bank.
Bankers haven’t exactly done themselves any favours in recent years. In fact, besides the global downturn, I believe these institutions are largely responsible for the increase of classic car values. Money is not really worth anything sat in a savings account and the interest on £50k, for example, would be paltry compared with owning a wicked classic for £50k, using it for a few years, having some fun and selling it for £70k. Is it a surprise that car prices have rocketed? I don’t think so. The issue is now that cars have become passionless investments like gold, oil or copper. The market is different: non-car fans are now buying cars because of simple economics – for example, they are not making any more Gullwings!
Best stories involve a disaster
So classic car prices are rising and people are scrambling to get on the classic car ladder, making the market tricky to navigate unless you sleep on a bed of cash. Cars represent most people’s second largest purchase after their home, and my fear is that they are losing some of their magic and charm because more and more people are seeing them as sound financial investments. Owners are putting fewer miles on these cars for fear of losing value, yet when I look back at the cars I’ve owned over the years, the joy had nothing to do with money made. In fact, it was the reverse. I can’t help but smile thinking about each wreck that’s let me down, cost me a fortune and given me headaches. And when you meet car folk at events it’s the same. Getting somewhere on time with no problems means you’ve had no adventure. Imagine the scene… Brian from the Beige Car Owners’ Club says: ‘I remember a drive to Scotland that was great. We got there early and the fuel consumption was tip top.’ Zzzzz. My favourite stories are ones of disaster, where I broke down on the M4, was late for the event and borrowed tools to fix a leak. That’s the charm of classics. So, never mind the elite collectors. Buy yourself a tatty old wreck, put miles on her, and build some memories and friendships. Open your wallet and make it happen. It’s OK to pull up at the Aston Martin garage and peek at the Le Mans winner once in a while!