NOTHING BEATS AN OLD-SCHOOL CAR CATALOGUE
WEBSITES are fine, up to a point. But when it comes to car price guides, there’s nothing like the charm of a physical book that you can thumb your way through.
That was what I found myself musing, anyway, when a lovely compact Hagerty Price Guide for Spring and Summer 2022 dropped through my letterbox this week from the classic car price experts and insurers — an invaluable tool for the enthusiast.
It covers an astonishing 48,432 collectable classic cars, ranging over 99 years from the 1923 Austin Seven Chummy Tourer (from £8,600 to £20,800) to a last-of-the-line 70th anniversary 2018-19 original 5.0-litre Land Rover Defender (valued from £125,000 to £159,000).
The fastest car mentioned in the guide is the 242.96mph McLaren F1, which is valued at up to £19.3 million, while the slowest listed is the 49mph Citroen 2CV with a tiny 425cc engine, priced from £3,500 to £22,100 depending on the year, model and overall condition.
I even found the first family car of my childhood — a much-loved Austin A55 Cambridge saloon, which can be picked up from between £3,400 and £9,600. I can still smell the red leather and horsehair seats, and loved the starting handle that doubled as a means of lowering the spare wheel from under the boot.
The Hagerty guide, which uses auction price performance, data from private sales and finance companies, insurance values and wider economic considerations, notes: ‘We believe that rising interest rates, financial market uncertainties and continued pandemic challenges will continue to drive both investment and enthusiast purchasing.’
■ THE hard-copy Hagerty guides cost £8 each and some will soon go on sale online (hagerty.co.uk/valuation).