Future Classics?

There's no rule that we have to like all classic cars.

My own yardstick is based purely on values. As cars get older their values (i.e. what anyone's willing to pay for them) drop in relation to their age. At some point they reach rock bottom, banger value and level off. It's when they start climbing again that they're entering classic status, IMO. Mk2 Vauxhall Cavaliers did this a couple of years ago. Where you could buy a tidy runner for £400 or less, they're now at least double that amount. A friend recently sought out and bought a Mk1 Fiat Uno :eek: as he'd owned one as his first car. He spent 800 pounds on a rusty wreck as decent ones are way into the thousands!
To me it's just an old Fiat like the ones I used to buy for fifty quid, but to their loyal followers they have just as much right to be a classic as any of our Rovers. I have no problem with that, though I wouldn't want to visit a show that was dominated by similarly "modern" cars.

BTW, I believe the very first edition of Practical Classics featured an MGB that was less than 15 years old at the time.
 
I would mostly agree with the article. My personal view is that if a car gets to be 15 years old and is still on the road, it's at least a neo-classic. Once it gets to 25 years it's definitely a classic. I don't go much by price as this is really an indication of demand. For me, it's more about the sentimental/enjoyment factor.
 
For me it has absolutely nothing to do with value or age and everything to do with irrational affection! For example, a tidy Allegro may only go for £400 but there really is no denying their classic status, whether you like the or not. Likewise, MX5s are really classics already yet many are still "young".

However, anything that inspires people to restore examples that are past economic saving and/or to form an owners club is a classic in my book.
 
I must say, I'm still tempted by a 75. As the article indicates, they really are cheap as chips at the moment but being modern I worry that things going wrong would be an arm & a leg.
 
The Rovering Member said:
I must say, I'm still tempted by a 75. As the article indicates, they really are cheap as chips at the moment but being modern I worry that things going wrong would be an arm & a leg.
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If you buy one cheap enough, if it goes wrong you just run it in and buy another one.....
 
They're a fabulous wafty ride. I love them personally. Would love one of the 4.6 ones too.
 
The Rovering Member said:
I must say, I'm still tempted by a 75. As the article indicates, they really are cheap as chips at the moment but being modern I worry that things going wrong would be an arm & a leg.
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I was also tempted by a 75, and then i sat into one and everything inside felt so cheap compared with the P6, that i turned away.
And it was an early car, pre "project drive" cost cutting rubbish.
If am going to use just one large(ish) sallon, now that the P6 will have A/C, there is no doubt which is the best one to have and use.

Comparisons aside, i haven't still rejected the idea of a 1.8 75 mostly to use at work and cut a little on the mileage that the P6 has to do and keep it out of the worst.
 
harveyp6 said:
The Rovering Member said:
I must say, I'm still tempted by a 75. As the article indicates, they really are cheap as chips at the moment but being modern I worry that things going wrong would be an arm & a leg.
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If you buy one cheap enough, if it goes wrong you just run it in and buy another one.....
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The Rovering Member said:
Yes, but if I got a nice one & like the car, I wouldn't want to do that. I may experimentally look into insurance prices though.
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I can understand your thinking, but the problem is that, as it would seem you're all to aware, moderns are crammed with so many things that do cost an arm and a leg, which often fail, hence their low s/h value in the first place, and the reason why they're not worth doing.
 
Indeed, it's the sheer user-unfriendliness of them that puts me off, considering my modest skills in these areas. I can undo things & (generally anyway :roll: ) put them back together & tackle general wiring/electrical exercises in our cars, but delving into the complexities of modern motors isn't something I feel like getting into, even if I thought I could.
 
The Rovering Member said:
Indeed, it's the sheer user-unfriendliness of them that puts me off, considering my modest skills in these areas. I can undo things & (generally anyway :roll: ) put them back together & tackle general wiring/electrical exercises in our cars, but delving into the complexities of modern motors isn't something I feel like getting into, even if I thought I could.
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Simplicity in all things keeps me owning my P6 though I do worry for things such as power steering and auto boxes, the rests a doddle, if I could find a simpler and more economic classic which is just as reliable I would have one of those too, I think an Austin 7 embodies all I really need.

Graeme
 
An Austin 7 probably embodies everything anybody needs, but not necessarily everything they want. Personally I require just a little more power, as my A30, despite having an A35 engine, amply demonstrated. :LOL:
 
I can understand your thinking, but the problem is that, as it would seem you're all to aware, moderns are crammed with so many things that do cost an arm and a leg, which often fail, hence their low s/h value in the first place, and the reason why they're not worth doing.
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This is exactly what puts me off a modern classics and makes me wonder how many 80s, 90s, 00s cars shall still be on the road after 25 years? I can imagine that in the not too distant future, there shall be more P6s that Rover 75s?
 
JVY said:
I can understand your thinking, but the problem is that, as it would seem you're all to aware, moderns are crammed with so many things that do cost an arm and a leg, which often fail, hence their low s/h value in the first place, and the reason why they're not worth doing.
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This is exactly what puts me off a modern classics and makes me wonder how many 80s, 90s, 00s cars shall still be on the road after 25 years? I can imagine that in the not too distant future, there shall be more P6s that Rover 75s?
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Really don't need to imagine it, it has already happened, just evidence how many SD1's are out and about and how many P6 sport SD1 wheels :mrgreen:

I am certain that 75's have a shed-load more electronics than an SD1 and that car life time is inversely proportional to the amount of inbuilt electronics

Graeme
 
I suppose the ultimate thing would be a system like megasquirt which allows you to control a cars whole electrical system across multiple manufacturers and sensors. I suppose canbus and OBD are part way there, but if you could reverse engineer these things you'd have a chance at supporting them, along with being able to add extra features etc. I'm guessing these things are patented to the hilt but something must be possible....

Rich
 
A friend recently described replacing the air filter on his BMW 1 Series diesel. I lost track after he'd listed about a dozen items that need removing for access, including the strut brace, fuel lines (which need bleeding on refitting), etc. BMW themselves charge for 2 hours labour for the job, which comes in at around 230 pounds with the filter and VAT. And that's probably one of the simplest service items on the car!
 
I'd agree with the Subaru Impreza, MX-5, and 75 inclusion.
The Impreza, I can really see becoming a classic, because of the fact that it suddenly brought Subaru into the limelight, with a very competitive, affordable, and well-made sports saloon, which just so happened to be rather exceptional on rallies! My reason for wanting one in the future is that my parents had two of them in the 90s, into the early 00s, and I remember just how cool they were regarded as being in the school playground.
MX-5s, I never understood until I drove one, and since then, I've been bowled over by just how much fun they are, for so little outlay, relatively speaking.
The 75 deserves to be a classic, as it's a genuinely good car, having run one for 12000 miles, which I've just bought back in the last week or two. :oops:
They ride exceptionally well compared to the vast majority of modern cars, they're very comfortable, they seem very rust resistant indeed, with the earliest cars being 14 years old now, and I've never seen one with any serious rust. There does seem to be a bit of an obsession with buying absolutely top of the range ones, with as many toys as possible, and then adding an awful lot more to them. Some 75s that I've seen are rather tackily modified with lots of fake plastic wood, and even more chrome. I think Rover got it right with the 75, for the first time in a while, and it's just a pity that they're under appreciated. Mine is a 2.0 V6 Club SE, which I thought was a good compromise of performance, economy, equipment, but without a lot of the silly extras that go wrong. You'll struggle to find many on owners club sites that haven't been modified, but mine, LPG conversion aside, is exactly as it left the factory, and will remain thus. The only really expensive job on a V6 is the three cambelt change, with waterpump, which is usually just under £500, and needs done every 6 years, or 90k miles, officially. The 1.8s get a bad rep, but diesels don't seem much more reliable. V6s have their foibles, but are pretty good, for the most part. If mine expires, it'll be replaced by another one, if I want a car for travelling long distances in total comfort. They're really just amazing value for money, if you buy well!
 
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