Cars that will have value in the future?

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For nostalgic reasons I had a look at the first first car I purchased to see what's happening with them now. It was an E reg Escort [edit] 1.4(1987) and in 1995 I bought it for £2.5k or so.

Currently there is one for sale at £11.5k [emoji50][emoji50] No idea if it will sell at that price, but it seems amazing to me.

This got me wondering if there are cars now around the £2k price that will be worth so much more in 20 years time... I've no interest in investing but wonder what might be "future classics".
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So, Escort not Focus.
Passed my test in an Escort, but never owned one.

There was an article in Autocar a couple of weeks ago about future classics. Fascinating read.

Can't say I've owned anything that meets the brief, but I remember the first car I bought, an MG Maestro, very fondly.
 
My third car was a 'P' reg (1976) Hillman Imp, cost £295 with a year's MOT in 1991. You'll struggle find a decent one for under about £3k nowadays. First and second cars were a Marina and Ital, so the less said about them the better!

Cars that tend to hold their value are often distinctive. Perhaps the Renault Twingo will in thirty or forty years time, since there aren't many other rear engined cars in production at the moment.
 
Any car has the potential to be a future classic, so long as it is kept in good condition and preferably relatively low mileage. What usually helps is if it is the sporty derivative of the car, but even if it isn't the sporty derivative, if there is a sporty model it can make other models more appealing in years to come.
 
I should of kept my Capri, I'd like to get hold of a Honda S2000 as a second car and hold on to it.
 
can't see many cars becoming classics down the line, most I see are just faceless boxes euro of jap
 
A part of me really want to hold on to my C30, when it gets to a point where it's not worth much i'll just garage it and drive a different car because it's different looking to most cars, it also has top of the line T5 engine that Volvo don't make anymore. It has the R-Design package and never been in an accident. I've even changed the cambelt this year too.

2 years of owning it, the value has drop like £1k, depreciation for it has almost bottomed out.

Especially that electric is the future so any cars with interesting engines would be rare and more rare. I am even considering getting a V6 and hold onto that too.
 
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That Escort has increased in value because even though Ford made millions of them, most have disintegrated into piles of rust by now. Same with Sierras: considering they were the best selling rep-mobile of the time there should be thousands of them still on the road, but I only see one in a blue moon now, and that’s mainly at car shows. I suppose because they were everywhere nobody really bothered about saving them.

Collectible in the future? Hmmm, maybe something not too pricey but still a bit exotic and with some decent grunt? Honda S2000, Nissan 350Z, TVR. The biggest problem will be getting fuel for them in the future I’d imagine (or it’ll be £10 a litre. :().
 
of course in 20 years time you won't be able to drive them anywhere as all towns and cities will be emission free zones.
 
Cars that were somewhat plentiful 5-10 years ago will rise in value. 15 years ago I couldn't even give away my 20 year old Saab 99, nowadays they are anywhere between £2000-5000, same with 900s.

9000s and Pre-Edna 9-5s will rise as numbers dwindle and enthusiasts try to get good examples (rot-free 9ks or 9-5s that haven't succumbed to sludge), newer models probably won't as old cars (post 2006) with £500 road tax will be shunned.

Thinking this morning how few Vectras I see on the road now.....Can imagine sporty Cavaliers and Vectras (SRi/GSi) will see values go up.
 
Literally just picked up a 56 plate Mazda RX8 PZ from a RX8 specialist

Joint purchase with my youngest son as a nimi investment. It’s the 1.3 228 bhp version.

It was collected from a specialist dealer in Swanley Yesterday. Seems there is a fair bit of interest in these. £2800, so not a killer price. The guy had quite a good stock of them.
 
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Hugh Jarse said:
Literally just picked up a 56 plate Mazda RX8 PZ from a RX8 specialist

Joint purchase with my youngest son as a nimi investment. It’s the 1.3 228 bhp version.

It was collected from a specialist dealer in Swanley Yesterday. Seems there is a fair bit of interest in these. £2800, so not a killer price. The guy had quite a good stock of them.
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A colleague had an RX-7 - he was put off after a while by the road fund licence....sold it for an A5 TDi.
 
I've owned a few 'modern classics' over the years: Hillman Imp, Triumph Spitfire MkIII, Citroen 2CV6, GSA and 3 CXs. All had major flaws, and if any of those models are now in great condition then they deserve to fetch a good price because of the effort to either keep them in good nick or to restore them from their natural state of horribleness.

FWIW the boy has had an RX7 turbo - interesting drive, but unbelievably thirsty for such a small car.
 
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90s cars are now going up in value - a few years ago I could have had a lovely 1990 Celica GT4 locally for £1k. Now I will struggle to get one under 5k and even then it'll probably be a dog. A Carlos Sainz, RC, Rally, or A model is considerably higher again, even in Japan prices start at £5-6k Even the base 2.0 GTi is seeing values increase, where a few years back they were £300 they are now starting at £1k.

My Mitsubishi FTO (GP Version R Aero Series, a seriosuly rare car even in 1998!) was supposed to be my classic for the future, I paid 2.5k for it 4 years ago, but an accident last year has led to me selling it for £1.5k. An absolute bargain for someone.

Some cars have gained proper cult followings - the Escort Mk1 and Mk2 far from being cherished classics lovingly restored and cared for by eccentric pensioners, are still being used and abused on the world's rally stages. You can even now by brand new shells manufactured in China for when you run out of skill. I work for a company specialising in rear drive escorts and we have had year on year growth since starting up 10 years ago, testament to the market these cars have!
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
Some cars have gained proper cult followings - the Escort Mk1 and Mk2 far from being cherished classics lovingly restored and cared for by eccentric pensioners, are still being used and abused on the world's rally stages. You can even now by brand new shells manufactured in China for when you run out of skill. I work for a company specialising in rear drive escorts and we have had year on year growth since starting up 10 years ago, testament to the market these cars have!
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You don't even have to go to China. There are UK companies making replacement panels for mk1 and 2 Escorts, even floorpan and one company based in Kent has just started producing mk1 body shells.
 
Know of anywhere that does 100E floors?
 
ancient_mariner said:
I've owned a few 'modern classics' over the years: Hillman Imp, Triumph Spitfire MkIII, Citroen 2CV6, GSA and 3 CXs. All had major flaws, and if any of those models are now in great condition then they deserve to fetch a good price because of the effort to either keep them in good nick or to restore them from their natural state of horribleness.

FWIW the boy has had an RX7 turbo - interesting drive, but unbelievably thirsty for such a small car.
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By small, what do you mean? Physical size or engine size?

The RX8 is quite long and weighty. It has a subtle 4 door profile (2 “suicide” rear doors) and 228bhp 1.3 rotary engine. That is around 18mpg average for a lot of grunt.

In our case it dill be garaged and used sparingly. My daily car is a Kuga 180 and my son has an Astra SRi 1.4T (150), which are swapped between us. The RX8 is intended as a bit of fun though to fully push it, might get the odd ‘track day’ run out at Castle Combe, which is not too far away!
 
Hugh Jarse said:
By small, what do you mean? Physical size or engine size?

The RX8 is quite long and weighty. It has a subtle 4 door profile (2 “suicide” rear doors) and 228bhp 1.3 rotary engine. That is around 18mpg average for a lot of grunt.

In our case it dill be garaged and used sparingly. My daily car is a Kuga 180 and my son has an Astra SRi 1.4T (150), which are swapped between us. The RX8 is intended as a bit of fun though to fully push it, might get the odd ‘track day’ run out at Castle Combe, which is not too far away!
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By small I meant not very large or heavy, and with a relatively low drag. IIRC it did 15mpg on a good day, and a bit less when booted. At the same time I was driving around a modern (i.e. heavy) diesel estate car that returned 60-70mpg.
 
Nod said:
Know of anywhere that does 100E floors?
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So, is that now nearly vintage rather than classic....I dunno

We run a classic car show, and the qualifying age for a "classic" is (not my choice) 25 years and older.
When it was first proposed I was thinking, 25 years ??, that puts it in the early 90's, how is that "classic", like...a mk4 escort is a classic:rolleyes:, do me a favour.
I suppose our ideas of what a classic is, is shaped at least partially by our age, my idea of a classic starts in the 70's, 80's is still close, 60's is moving in to vintage, but then where do you put a 1933 Pakard 4 door Sedan.
As it is the show has cars from 1900 through to 2000, so I suppose it caters for all tastes, but I just can't get interested in mk4 escorts and cars from that era.
 
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Honda S2000 and the 6th gen Accord Type-R will probably retain some nostalgic value.
 
ancient_mariner said:
By small I meant not very large or heavy, and with a relatively low drag. IIRC it did 15mpg on a good day, and a bit less when booted. At the same time I was driving around a modern (i.e. heavy) diesel estate car that returned 60-70mpg.
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My favourite diesel estate was the Renault 21 Savanna 2.1TD, Very comfy with loads of load space. I was getting 55-65mpg from it. It was regularly doing European long distance runs, super road runner! The engine gave up at 270,000 miles!
 
Hugh Jarse said:
My favourite diesel estate was the Renault 21 Savanna 2.1TD, Very comfy with loads of load space. I was getting 55-65mpg from it. It was regularly doing European long distance runs, super road runner! The engine gave up at 270,000 miles!
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I had one fitted with 2 rear facing seats.

Fortunately I was in it alone when some idiot pulled out on me whilst I was doing 60.
 
Phil V said:
I had one fitted with 2 rear facing seats.

Fortunately I was in it alone when some idiot pulled out on me whilst I was doing 60.
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I had the official Savvana 7 seat 1.7 petrol version prior to the 2.1TD. Completely different floor pan to the 5 seater and, for me, totally under-powered. A neighbour bought it.

Can’t see any of the 21 range, apart from the 21 Turpo saloon being collectible though.
 
A friend had the 7 seater Savanna diesel too, though he was poor and drove everywhere at no more than 55mph. IIRC it just rotted away & all sorts stopped working on it, but it was great as an alternative to an MPV.
 
ancient_mariner said:
A friend had the 7 seater Savanna diesel too, though he was poor and drove everywhere at no more than 55mph. IIRC it just rotted away & all sorts stopped working on it, but it was great as an alternative to an MPV.
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The early ones came with added rust f.o.c

My 2.1D was basically rust free but worn out! Still fondly was remembered for comfort and reliability. Drove it to Italy on a ski trip where it spent 9 days buried in snow in a hotel car park. On the check out, dug it out, started first turn and 5 minutes later we pulled out and drove back home!
 
Hugh Jarse said:
I had the official Savvana 7 seat 1.7 petrol version prior to the 2.1TD. Completely different floor pan to the 5 seater and, for me, totally under-powered. A neighbour bought it.

Can’t see any of the 21 range, apart from the 21 Turpo saloon being collectible though.
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Mine was an aftermarket conversion, after it’s demise, I was skint and in a hurry I replaced it with a 7 seat Montego countryman.

That was definitely a low point in my car ownership. I then went back to a 7 seat Laguna, (highest TCO of any car I’ve owned).

None of which would be collectible though.

The only cars I’ve owned that’d be collectible are:
MkII Escort Ghia
MG maestro (non turbo)
Austin Healey Sprite
 
hoochy1 said:
this is where i used to get my escort stuff



http://www.steelpanels.co.uk/category/ford/100e/floor-100e/
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Thanks, I'll pass that on to the neighbour who's doing one up.

joxby said:
So, is that now nearly vintage rather than classic....I dunno

We run a classic car show, and the qualifying age for a "classic" is (not my choice) 25 years and older.
When it was first proposed I was thinking, 25 years ??, that puts it in the early 90's, how is that "classic", like...a mk4 escort is a classic:rolleyes:, do me a favour.
I suppose our ideas of what a classic is, is shaped at least partially by our age, my idea of a classic starts in the 70's, 80's is still close, 60's is moving in to vintage, but then where do you put a 1933 Pakard 4 door Sedan.
As it is the show has cars from 1900 through to 2000, so I suppose it caters for all tastes, but I just can't get interested in mk4 escorts and cars from that era.
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Veteran is a slightly moveable feast, with some people saying 1914 and others '18 or '19. Vintage is again slightly variable between '30 and '45. Classic is pretty much anything over 25 years old - the rarer and prettier, the more likely the vehicle is to be accepted as a classic.

Classics I've owned include a Frogeye Sprite and a (non droop snoot) Vauxhall Firenza, although the Firenza was at the time considered a banger. Had a couple of bikes which would now apparently be collectible. A couple of Bantams (D7 and D14) are the only ones I'd consider classics though and even they only make the grade due to their age!
 
Hugh Jarse said:
Literally just picked up a 56 plate Mazda RX8 PZ from a RX8 specialist
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I've got an RX-7 (FD3S) but it's a project car, fire damaged from a battery fire so needs a new loom, bonnet and various other bits. I've actually got most of the bits, what I don't have is the time!

Edit - it's a genuine UK car, of which there are few, not a Jap import.
 
Nod said:
Thanks, I'll pass that on to the neighbour who's doing one up.



Veteran is a slightly moveable feast, with some people saying 1914 and others '18 or '19. Vintage is again slightly variable between '30 and '45. Classic is pretty much anything over 25 years old - the rarer and prettier, the more likely the vehicle is to be accepted as a classic.

Classics I've owned include a Frogeye Sprite and a (non droop snoot) Vauxhall Firenza, although the Firenza was at the time considered a banger. Had a couple of bikes which would now apparently be collectible. A couple of Bantams (D7 and D14) are the only ones I'd consider classics though and even they only make the grade due to their age!
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I'd missed out the bikes - had a 175CC Bantam (that nipped up on its first long run out post 'restoration') and a BSA A7 shooting star that broke the crankshaft in half after a bit of spirited riding. Also had a Suzuki 550 triple, Honda 400/4 (piece of gutless junk) and CB250K4 (decent, slightly fragile bike & MILES better than the 400/4) Kawasaki S1b triple, and most recently a Guzzi V50.
 
iv'e had a couple of bikes i wished i kept :(

during the mid 80's i bought a suzuki RG 500 Gamma from jim Sandifords in bury i paid £3,000 new for it at the time, if you want one today in immaculate condition there averaging 9 / £10,000
i actually bought 2 of them because the first one got stolen

iv'e had the rg 125 and the MK1 250 gammas but i don't think they hold the same value as the 500's
i also had a Suzuki XN 85 turbo during the 80's which seems to have tripled in value since than

i had quite a time on bikes during the 70's and 80's but sadly very few photographs of them which i regret today
 
A friend ballsed up the timing on his GT 500 (IIRC - might have been a 550!) and had it set to TDC. On starting it, he managed to bounce it back off a compression stroke and set off - backwards! (And the friend really was a friend rather than me - I've never owned a GT of any size.)
 
nilagin said:
You don't even have to go to China. There are UK companies making replacement panels for mk1 and 2 Escorts, even floorpan and one company based in Kent has just started producing mk1 body shells.
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Yes we sell the full range of Magnum panels, and when it's ready we will have the full Mk1 shells too. The only Mk2s are Chinese at the moment though, they require some time in the body shop though (as you might expect as they have been reverse engineered from a complete original shell and all the presses made from scratch by a company with no car making background)
 
I seriously doubt that Escort has any chance of selling for half that. It needs to be something better than 1.3 or 1.4 - something like Cosworth, etc. If you keep an average car, you need space (cost one way or another), tax and insurance if you drive it, MOT, mechanical reapairs, bodywork as paint tends to go bad with age... You may find any gains could be wiped out by it.

You may as well get a car with racing progeny and one that is fun. So something along the lines of Audi Quattro, BMW M3 / M5, 8-series, Subaru Impreza WRX STI, Some of the rarer mercs, etc. I would personally go a nice posh convertible route. It will always be fun in good weather, comfy to drive and if it appreciates you could make a lot from weddings, etc or just by selling it. I bet you can't go wrong with M3 or some Porsche if you manage not to crash it.

Edit: also has to be low mileage so good luck with that.
 
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LongLensPhotography said:
I seriously doubt that Escort has any chance of selling for half that. It needs to be something better than 1.3 or 1.4 - something like Cosworth, etc.
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There was no Cosworth version of that model Escort and Escort Cosworths sell for a great deal more than the asking price for that particular Escort.
 
I think it would need to be an XR3/3i/RS1600/ RS Turbo to fetch that sort of money, a mint one would probably go for more. I find that owners of bog standard models see the prices the go for, and think their vehicles fetch the same. Again, this depends on the model and Mk of the vehicles.
 
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