Are values finally on the up?

Tom W

Tom W

Active Member
I've just been browsing car an classic, and in my mind values seem to be stronger than they were 3 years ago when I started looking for my p6 most seem to be in the £3k to £6k region, with people asking higher for the very best cars. They're mostly v8s but there's some 4cyls in this range too. When I bought mine, I remember runners needing some work being around the £1k to £1.5k mark, with basket cases being a few hundred pounds, and readily available. There hardly seem to be any of these around now. Are values actually going up, or are the tatty cars just getting restored or scrapped?

Are rising values a good thing? For me I would say yes. 3 years ago, I got a complete unmolested car for next to nothing that turned out to be basically sound. All it needs to make it into a good condition car is a respect. Looking at values now, the amount the value will raise by with the respray is possibly more than the cost of the respray itself. But then rising values are bad if your on the lookout for a cheap project, and if you don't intend to ever sell your P6 then values are largely irrelevant. I wonder if it will lead to more cars being restored, but maybe to a lower standard to make a quick buck.

What does everyone else think?

Tom
 
Or maybe I'm just looking in the wrong place. eBay seems to have cheaper cars at the moment. :?

Buy on eBay sell on car and classic :wink:
 
Higher values mean better spares support, more likelyhood of proper restorations and long term success for the cars. Lower values mean they will all become bangers as there will be no reason to spend money on them and they will gradually disappear. I spent upwards of £16k restoring mine but I will never get it back if I sold it. If I did the same to a Triumph Stag, MGB, Austin Healey, etc, I probably would.

Only my opinion of course, and I would love to see the prices of excellent examples in the £15k - £20k like other similar marques. I still think they would represent excellent value for money!!
 
I've always thought a P6 represents excellent value for money. The cars are so technically competent, for me I have no problems using mine in modern traffic. Where else can you get a sophisticated independent suspension, 4 wheel disc brakes, enough poke for it to still feel like a rapid car and decent parts backup. Only other one that comes to mind of a similar era is the Jag S-type/420. Values of those seem to be rising now, so maybe the P6 is following suit.
 
keynsham1 said:
Only my opinion of course, and I would love to see the prices of excellent examples in the £15k - £20k like other similar marques. I still think they would represent excellent value for money!!
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Not wishing to show off 8) , but I had mine valued at £13,000 then rebuilt the gearbox, had the seats and door trims recovered in leather, had all of the chrome redone, and re-vinyled the roof. The insurance company who came to see it after British Gas modified it agreed that it was worth between £15,000 and £16,000.

I wouldn't actually want a car worth what an E Type is worth as it attracts idiots who feel they owe it to the world to either steal it or damage it.

Richard
 
It's very clear that the bargain basement cars you used to see on Ebay are now history. Even clear major restorations seem to be fetching £500 plus and 4 cylinders with an MoT seem to have passed the £1,000 barrier with ease. I'm less clear what is happening with really good cars. Most of these seem to have migrated to Car and Classic and the like - and of course, you can't tell what the final selling price was on there.

Chris
 
Here in Australia I would tend to say that the value of the Rover in real terms has actually fallen. The vast majority of people who wish to buy a second hand car tend to buy something Japanese, Korean or an Australian Ford or Holden. In my opinion, the only people who would want to buy a P6 or P6B are those that have actually owned one previously or have always had an interest in owning one, and both represent a tiny percentage of the buying public. It has been said that to own a Rover, you need to be an enthusiast.

However, from my observations the Rover is beginning to attract a new demographic, both teenagers of driving age and people in their early to mid 20s, especially girls who see the Rover as being seriously cool.

Ron.
 
chrisyork said:
It's very clear that the bargain basement cars you used to see on Ebay are now history. Even clear major restorations seem to be fetching £500 plus and 4 cylinders with an MoT seem to have passed the £1,000 barrier with ease. I'm less clear what is happening with really good cars. Most of these seem to have migrated to Car and Classic and the like - and of course, you can't tell what the final selling price was on there.

Chris
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Looks like I picked mine up just at the right time then
 
IMHO, I think Fords have the "everyman" cache' that Rovers have never had & probably never will have. Far more people had Fords than Rovers & want to re-live their youth or remember their parents having one or whatever. Motorsport would be another factor, these Fords have leaped in value pulling the rest behind them. Jaguars were always a coveted car so they have more mystique to many people hence strong prices. Rovers were just always (at least until the P6) an understated, establishment car for the upper middle classes so were a little more under the radar, though of course they always had a quotient of admirers, myself included.
Of course, people who don't have any such baggage are coming onto the market now & time will tell what classic cars come to the fore in peoples affections.
 
colnerov wrote,...
So.. Even though I am not a girl, I'm cool then?
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Hi Colin,

I'm watching "House of Cards" at present, and as F.U would say,.."You may well think that, but I couldn't possibly comment".

Ron.
 
P6's (and even p5's) have always been cool, and, were they about in the 30's would have been the chic car of the Art Deco era, an era they so much evoke in their appearance.
It may happen that a new generation will "discover" them but I wouldn't be putting odds on it. It doesn't matter to me to any degree as I still like mine the same regardless of public acclaim or other wise.

Graeme
 
Looking at the new Practical Classics I see values of many classic Fords have been revised upwards
For ages Mk3 and 4 Escorts were worth nothing and I suppose most were scrapped, but now the rest seems to be fetching good money
 
I've met quite a few young people who've been impressed by the P6, but as has been said, many of them don't know a great deal about the brand's history, which means that they see it as an interesting, stylish, and very comfortable classic car. Quite a few of the people I've met with P6s are younger than you might expect, though the average age is still higher than something like an Beetle, it's still lower than some classics.
In terms of values, I'm really not that sure. Certainly very nice cars are getting further out of reach of those of us on a tight budget, with few decent V8s appearing for less than £2000 now though it's still possible to acquire some very cheap P6s with a bit of asking, and looking about. I think tax exempt 2000s are generally fetching a minimum of £1000 now, with an MOT, though there are still quite a few 2200s kicking about for the £800 mark, needing a bit of work. Triumph 2000 values are hard to judge, as there are still a lot of very scruffy ones, particularly mark 2s, which tend not to make £500 or so, and are destined for the banger track, though good ones are making around £2500-£3000 now. P6s which aren't tax exempt don't seem to be worth nearly as much, with the difference in value between a nice 3500S which is tax exempt, and one that isn't being significant. It's a nice thing to have, but it's not the end of the world if you need to pay a bit to tax it.
Certainly, I've noticed a drop in P5B values, and a rise in P5 values in the last year or so, though P6 values have been slowly climbing. I don't own my 2000, or the 3500 as investments, and I believe that the moment that people begin to think that the cars are becoming valuable, you'll notice a drop in the number of true enthusiasts, using their cars on a regular basis, in all weathers, and enjoying them, as Rover intended. For example, the only MGBs you really see being used on a daily basis are GTs, and mainly rubber bumper ones, because they're cheap, though spares are plentiful. I've never had any issue in obtaining parts for my P6, thus far, and I think that the club, and forum support available with these cars is truly superb!
I agree that it's great to see the cars being appreciated for what they are, and I do agree that they deserve to be worth a bit more, but there are definite disadvantages to our cars being perceived to be of greater value, and I just hope that the owners remain as interested in the cars as they are at present, and don't become hung up on perfect cars which aren't used.
Classics which I've noticed particularly price rises in, over the last year or so, are TR4/5s, MG Midgets, Jensen Interceptors, and Jaguar S-types/420s.
I'll be interested to see where P6 values are, come the end of the summer, as the period of growth tends to begin in April, or so, if values are set to rise. If P6s are to become really valuable, then it's probably time for one to take a starring role in a TV programme, or on film, as thus far, their TV and film appearances haven't really done anything to values.
 
The Rovering Member said:
ghce said:
P6's (and even p5's) have always been cool
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To us, yes. But they always had a bit of an 'old man's car' image too, which was quite entrenched in the public psyche for many years.
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I think that`s it, there are a few people around who always appreciate something unusual, but a lot of people think they are just a bit too 'stately'. P5 Coupes on the other hand..

Where I am in NZ there are very few non US classics that actually get driven, so my car is invariably the most unusual one in the carpark at the supermarket. Though I did see what looked like an original Lancia Stratos the other day, which knocked my 3500 into touch!

Prices in NZ seem to be around NZ$6 - 7 k for a tidy car. There`s one comedy dealer down here that puts them on at 12 - 14 k but they seem to sit on the auction sites for a 'long, long time'!

I paid 2.5K for mine back in 2002, gave it a respray, recon gearbox + brakes and some general tlc and its now insured at 8K which seems about right.

From where I sit, I would love prices to climb, but I suspect the P6 will alway remain underrated..

James
 
Unfortunately they really are destined to languish price wise forever, not enough families had them as they were not that cheap at new purchase unlike fords such as Mk1 2 and 3 Zephyrs and escorts ( the day Cortina MK3 , 4 and 5 become valuable I will cut my throat!) so they are not seen as a romantic revisit by the sons and daughters of the original owners nor a car for youth of the day to revisit in middle age.
Really I can see the attraction of a MK 1,2 and 3 P5 as we had a MK3 as a family car in the 70's. All that aside the very different styling of the p6 much like the ds Citroen's of the day will always ensure an adoring public though very much smaller than the rest of the mass public and their obsession with Fords Holdens and Jags
 
FrazzleTC said:
I just hope that the owners remain as interested in the cars as they are at present, and don't become hung up on perfect cars which aren't used.
.
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I think this is where The P6 Clubs come into it, we all know its nice to look at a mint car, but equally we should encourage cars that are used regularly. Ok they may have a scratch or three, have a well used look about them, but they are a car which is used and surely thats why we love them. Lets show people who attend the Classic shows the P6 IS NOT a museum piece its a classic car which can and are driven regularly
 
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