Sub €500 'Banger' with potential Classic Car status

PaulK_CCI

Silvera made an interesting comment in his Renault 21 thread, which set me thinking as to what 'banger' that you could pick up now, under 500 euro's, that would have a potential to become a classic in perhaps 5 or 10 years down the line?

A brief scan on the Buy and Sell pages, came up with the following cars that can now be picked up for under 500 euro's:

Audi 1.8

BMW 320

Citroen AX, Xantia

Fiat Cinquocento, Tempra, Uno, Brava

Ford Escort, Mondeo, Sierra, Fiesta

Honda Civic

Mazda 121, 323, 323F, 626

Mitsubishi Colt, Galant

Nissan 100NX, Micra, Primera, Sunny

Opel Astra, Kadett, Vectra, Corsa

Peugeot 106, 205, 309, 405, 605

Renault 5, 19, 21

Rover 416, 600

Saab 900, 9000, 93

Seat Toledo

Subaru GL

Toyota Carina, Corolla, Corona, Starlet

Vauxhall Cavalier,

Volvo 340, 440/460, 940

VW Golf, Jetta, Polo

Would there be anything in this lot, you'd reckon could be worth something or sought after in the near future???

KdjaCL

PaulK_CCI wrote:

Would there be anything in this lot, you'd reckon could be worth something or sought after in the near future???

Which of these comapnies is in endanger of not being in existence in say 10 years? Go for that one then


kdjac

mike65

Of that lot the Saab 900 is the one most likely I think. A bit different from the normal mid market/mid-exec mobile. A well sorted turbo will be the kind of thing that could gain value in the next 5-10 years.

Mike.

BrianD3

Out of that list presumably the BMW 320 is an E30 or E36. AFAIK good examples of the E30 have already gone up in value and the E36 will probably follow in a few years.

The Rover 600 has some potential for classic status I'd say. And the Honda Civic will be popular among ageing former boy racers

Not on that list is the Alfa 156. Early 156s are close to banger status now. Hope none of the 156 fans here are offended In years to come the car should definitely become a classic.

The Renaults and Peugeots will acquire much the same following as seventies Renaults and Peugeots have now. They will be admired for their dynamics and ride comfort etc. and they will have their fans however they won't really be "mainstream" classics and won't be worth very much.

Alfasudcrazy

I agree that the Saab is the only potential classic in that list. But anyway in my experience bread and butter cars of of the 60's 70's & 80's have risen in value - but they are by no means expensive to buy even now.

Take for example my Alfa Sprint 1.5 Veloce - with the chrome bumpers. I would have thought a car like that would be at least over £5,000 but I picked one up for just £1,170 which is just pocket money really. (he even gave me £20 back for petrol )

So for me its wait till they are a classic and then when I see a nice one at the right price - pounce.:)

ds20prefecture

I'd say Saab 900, Renault 5, Citroën Xantia.

Possibly the Sierra.

junkyard

Most cars, if they survive, will eventually make it to classic status if they mean anything to anyone. I know some people who adore Ford Escorts and others who despise them. Others love Mercs and others despise them. Some people I know have spent 20k euros restoring run of the mill cars but they mean a lot to them. Horses for courses really.

Redrocket

bmw E30, crx, golf, sierra, saab 900 turbo if possible, volvo 940,
any of the above in good condition..

Silvera

Renault 21 !

Seriously, it's as was said above - some people will spend good money buying 'everday' cars because they had one years ago. Sentimentality eh ?!

Blue850

Lancia Dedras and Themas. I've got a Dedra 1.8 twincam worth absolutley nothing but its a keeper for the future.

PaulK_CCI

I'd say the consensus is that currently the list doesn't contain much worthwhile in our view, but that whether or not a car achieves a Classic Car status, or dedicated following, depends on the next generation of car enthousiasts...

What people will like in the near future, are the sort of cars that people got in contact with and still have positive memories of when they were younger. That would explain why some people nowadays can become excited about an Opel Kadett, or Ford Escort, whereas in their day, these cars were not given a 2nd thought and were discarded as mundain roadfill. That would also explain the very low interest for early Volvo's, the likes of the Amazon, PV544 and the P1800? Volvo didn't come to Ireland until 1974, so very few people had uncles, dads and granddads with these cars, so they're currently not much in demand...

I would aggree with most that the only cars in this list, that could have a slight potential to rise in value over the years are the likes of the Saab 900, the AX, Xantia, Sierra, Civic, Renault 5, BMW 320, Lancia Thema...

Ultimately, it will only be the pristinely kept examples, and preferably the highest spec car that will generate interest: The early Saab 900 Turbo, the Citroen AX GT, Renault 5 Alpine/Turbo, Civic CRX, Sierra Cossie ..... but .... these would be the type of spec cars that you already won't find in the Sub 500 category anyway as they are collectible in their own right

Squirrel

The late 80s/early 90s Mazda 323F, the one with the pop up lights. My grandad had one so I'm probably only saying it will because of that. I used to love when he put up the headlights driving down the road

alastair

Fiat Panda
Suzuki Swift GTI Mk II
Renault Fuego
Renault Twingo

alastair

PaulK_CCI wrote:

That would also explain the very low interest for early Volvo's, the likes of the Amazon, PV544 and the P1800? Volvo didn't come to Ireland until 1974, so very few people had uncles, dads and granddads with these cars, so they're currently not much in demand...

Some of us get very excited about old Volvos! I knew I had to have an 1800ES years back, and it's my pride and joy now. The Amazon would be on my 'ideal collection' list too (maybe a GT, but the estate is gorgeous too).

Volvoboy

1970's Volvo 262c, Volvo 140.:D

PaulK_CCI

alastair wrote:

Some of us get very excited about old Volvos! I knew I had to have an 1800ES years back, and it's my pride and joy now. The Amazon would be on my 'ideal collection' list too (maybe a GT, but the estate is gorgeous too).

I just go on the demand and queries I get for Volvo's, and that is pretty low compared the the sort of enquiries and sales I get for the likes of Porsches, Mustangs, Mercedes, Ford, etc.

I wish there were more people like yourself and 'Volvoboy' that would realise that Classic Volvo's are amongst the most driveable, versatile and practical classics for regular useage!

dubtom

So what about todays cars,are any of them future classic's. My own opinion is that with the amount of electronics involved in the making of any car now, especially the likes of Mercedes(which nearly every model produced in the last 30 years is classed as a classic) just won't be economical to maintain in the future.I had an Opel omega a couple of years back and the onboard computer was 2 grand to replace if it went, without it, the car wasn't going nowhere.I dread to think what a Merc computer would cost. Cars are getting more and more sophisticated, the days of joe soap maintaing their car, apart from an oil change, are fast becoming history, whats it going to be like in 20 years.

Henry Ford III

Cossies are already rather expensive. A decent 86/87 3 door (the most desirable imho) is going to cost c.STG £8.5k.