Values Rising at last?

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retrocool73
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Values Rising at last?

Post by retrocool73 » 30 Jul 2008 03:34 pm

Are the values of these cars finally climbing off the rock bottom? A tasty 360 GLE has just sold on ebay for £750 'buy it now', and the white 12K 340 1.7 from Leeds also seems to be attracting a fair few bids... Granted, these two do look to be 'exceptional' cars but it's better than all the very nice 300's we have seen changing hands for little more than scrap value in recent times.
Could the light at the end of the tunnel be in sight, could these cars soon be accepted as classics and not just shitters?
B mk2 1.4GL 3-door57K xSTOLEN PRESUMED CRUSHEDx
E 360GLT Injection 4-Door Red 45K MINT
E 1.4GL 'Special Edition' 5-Door Met.Blue 72K
F 1.7GLE Ltd Edition 4-door Met.Grey 56K
F 360GLT Injection 5-Door Black 106K
G 1990 1.4 5-Door Dark Grey 108K RESTORED

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jtbo
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Post by jtbo » 30 Jul 2008 07:37 pm

I'm afraid it is only because drift scene has turned eyes towards cheap rwd cars and found 300 series to be rather usable to their purposes. This should rise prices at least in theory as demand rises.
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Nikdev
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Post by Nikdev » 30 Jul 2008 09:42 pm

jtbo wrote:I'm afraid it is only because drift scene has turned eyes towards cheap rwd cars and found 300 series to be rather usable to their purposes. This should rise prices at least in theory as demand rises.
Its sounds like you think it is a bad thing? :wink:

retrocool73
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Post by retrocool73 » 30 Jul 2008 09:50 pm

I don't honestly think immaculate 5-doors reaching 4 figure amounts has anything to do with the drifting scene, it's people wanting a good value tidy usable classic. The rising values of old Fords & VW's have had a knock-on effect on what is traditionally seen as 'lesser' cars
B mk2 1.4GL 3-door57K xSTOLEN PRESUMED CRUSHEDx
E 360GLT Injection 4-Door Red 45K MINT
E 1.4GL 'Special Edition' 5-Door Met.Blue 72K
F 1.7GLE Ltd Edition 4-door Met.Grey 56K
F 360GLT Injection 5-Door Black 106K
G 1990 1.4 5-Door Dark Grey 108K RESTORED

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MJ
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Post by MJ » 30 Jul 2008 10:12 pm

Yup, prices do seem to be going up - a year or two back a few people were getting bargains with one bid on ebay, but no longer.

The price of 3 door 340's is likely to be due to drifters, and that will push up 360 prices somewhat. (Due to people choosing a 360 over a 340 due to price, raising 360 prices)

The drifters writing off 300's is sure to be having an effect in lowering supply as well. :(

300's are also getting cooler these days (partly due to the drifters) and they are becoming more popular, increasing demand.

Quite possibly the price could be related to the age of original owners. Many of these cars were bought by older drivers, and maybe many of these drivers passed away or gave up driving a few years ago increasing supply, and maybe this generation is releasing less cars now...

The price of scrap metal is also likely having an effect, taking more older cars off the road.

The credit crunch, and raising road tax for newer vehicles could also be attracting more people to 'older cars'.

Finally, perhaps 300's are on the edge of becoming classic cars, with the resulting price rise...
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jtbo
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Post by jtbo » 30 Jul 2008 10:39 pm

Nikdev wrote:
jtbo wrote:I'm afraid it is only because drift scene has turned eyes towards cheap rwd cars and found 300 series to be rather usable to their purposes. This should rise prices at least in theory as demand rises.
Its sounds like you think it is a bad thing? :wink:
Only when they take mint rust free 300 series car and then use it until it looks more of F117A stealth fighter than 300 series because of all dents ;)

Volvo 300 series car after abuse
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Volvo 300 series car before abuse
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Volvo 360GL -88 -under restoration-
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Volvo 240 Diesel -83 -undecided-
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trabitom99
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Post by trabitom99 » 31 Jul 2008 09:40 am

retrocool73 wrote:I don't honestly think immaculate 5-doors reaching 4 figure amounts has anything to do with the drifting scene, it's people wanting a good value tidy usable classic. The rising values of old Fords & VW's have had a knock-on effect on what is traditionally seen as 'lesser' cars
I agree. It's always going to be debateable what a "classic" really is, but despite ones views on whether a classic car is a MkII Escort or a Ferrari GTO there will always be a demand for older, bread-and-butter cars which were popular in their day as people go back to look for their first car, or the car their dads (or in the 300's case, grandparents ;-)) owned out of nostalgia.

The "classic effect" may take a little while longer in the 300's case though due to its long production run. Values of MkII Golfs, MkIII Escorts, Kadett E / Vauxhall Astra II aren't exactly huge either. But with these cars, the values of good-condition XR3, GTI and GTE/GSi versions are already a good deal higher than the rest ...

Tom
343 GL Touring B14.1E CVT (155) 98000kms 1980 (sold)
343 L Junior B14.3E MT4 (155) 229000kms 1981 (scrapped)
343 DLS B19A MT4 (155) 167900kms 1982
360 GL Injection B200F MT5 (231) 348598kms 1988 (scrapped)
360 GLT B200F MT5 (302) 230000kms 1988

retrocool73
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Post by retrocool73 » 31 Jul 2008 11:55 am

The thing I find wih 300's is that they're between two stools - dynamically they've a lot more in common with 70's cars like Mk2 Escorts, Chevettes etc than they have with their mid-late 80's 'competition' such as Astra's, mk3 & 4 Escorts etc - this makes them more of a classic in my eyes, but of course it was this that got them so heavily criticized by the motoring press at the time

There's always a debate about what makes a classic, 15 years ago you'd have been shot in certain quarters for suggesting a mk2 Escort was a classic car, 10 years before that the same purists would have denied early Cortina's, BMC Farina's, 1100/1300's etc that tag, now the same people are playing up about calling our cars classics
B mk2 1.4GL 3-door57K xSTOLEN PRESUMED CRUSHEDx
E 360GLT Injection 4-Door Red 45K MINT
E 1.4GL 'Special Edition' 5-Door Met.Blue 72K
F 1.7GLE Ltd Edition 4-door Met.Grey 56K
F 360GLT Injection 5-Door Black 106K
G 1990 1.4 5-Door Dark Grey 108K RESTORED

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trabitom99
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Post by trabitom99 » 31 Jul 2008 12:22 pm

It's an age thing really. The younger generation of classic car drivers isn't usually interested in 50s or 60s cars because we don't remember seeing them out on the roads. For the older generation however, 70s / 80s cars are used, not classic cars.

"Classic status" is a constantly shifting thing as the cars and their owners get older. That's also one of the reasons why the UK '73 classic car tax exemption is so unfair ...

Tom
343 GL Touring B14.1E CVT (155) 98000kms 1980 (sold)
343 L Junior B14.3E MT4 (155) 229000kms 1981 (scrapped)
343 DLS B19A MT4 (155) 167900kms 1982
360 GL Injection B200F MT5 (231) 348598kms 1988 (scrapped)
360 GLT B200F MT5 (302) 230000kms 1988

pete-d
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Post by pete-d » 31 Jul 2008 12:50 pm

Well I just paid £350 for my 340 about 2 weeks ago - a very fair price considering it's condition, MOT and Tax.

I notice that the 360 GLE that sold on ebay for £750 has been relisted due to an "accidental purchase" - whatever one of those is!

Pete

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