Classic Prices

Dades

Just wondering people's thoughts on a couple of things.

Has the 1973 cut-off date for road tax in the UK made post-73 car more affordable? i.e. If you are looking for a 30+ year car in the UK would cars from 1974 to 1976 be the optimal value to bring to Ireland? Or is UK tax not enough to make a difference...

How does anyone think the maturing of SSIAs will affect the market here? I realise they have been maturing all year but I don't think it's a stretch to say that most people will be collecting their cash in the first quarter of 2007. Perhaps only mainstream car buying will be affected...

dubtom

Well judging by classic american mag age doesn't seem to be a factor in the Uk yank market in terms of what they buy.Infact, I noticed just one add in this months were 'free road tax' was in the add as an incentive.I don't think expensive road tax is an issue for most over there,as is the case here, 600 or 800 a year would make the difference in whether you buy the car, maybe their tax is a lot cheaper. I think their market is based more on the car/make/model and desirability rather than age.

spidersonmars

I think that at the lower end of the market. As in my end of the market cars such as rover P6's / early SD1's and Citroen CX's etc, it does seem to have an effect on the price and the desirability to keep them in the UK. I know a few people who sell cars in the 73-76 bracket mostly to Irish buyers coming to the UK.

Abelloid

I think the Porsche 912E is looking very tempting for that very reason,
as it's a 1976 only car it will never be road tax free in the UK and prices aren't as high as earlier 912s.

mike65

Whoa! Has something happened regarding "classic tax"? Did they draw a line in the sand?

Mike.

Abelloid

Jan. 1st 1973 IIRC....

Dades

JustinOval wrote:

Jan. 1st 1973 IIRC....

I think that's right - in the UK any car registered after this date pays road tax. And that cut off date never changes, i.e. it will still be 1973 in 10 years time.

I imagine if they tried that here, classic owners would not go so quietly into the night.

PaulK_CCI

JustinOval wrote:

I think the Porsche 912E is looking very tempting for that very reason,
as it's a 1976 only car it will never be road tax free in the UK and prices aren't as high as earlier 912s.

The problem is finding a good 912E: they were only sold in the US when new, and only a handful have come back to the continent. Since they're all LHD, you won't find many in the UK, and if you do, you;re better off sourcing one on the continent against Euro prices.

mike65

The Atheist wrote:

I imagine if they tried that here, classic owners would not go so quietly into the night.

You think? The classic scene here is much smaller on a per capita basis.

Mike.

green-blood

yeah 1973 is the cut off in the uk, its static unlie our rolling 30 years thing

but lads at max its 250 euro for tax... would you really flog your classic motor because of that...thats a 1.2 anything here for gods sake

the SSIA is certainly driving classic prices here, we have record numbers of cars being imported and alot are of an older type. Irish prices have always been silly high with the flip side that support, garages, welding, paint repairs have always been silly rare and pricey.

there could be lots of stuff hitting the market in 2 years when peoiple getbored or frustrated!!!

Abelloid

PaulK_CCI wrote:

The problem is finding a good 912E: they were only sold in the US when new, and only a handful have come back to the continent. Since they're all LHD, you won't find many in the UK, and if you do, you;re better off sourcing one on the continent against Euro prices.

I know of a few really good examples in the UK, one of which came up for sale recently but I don't think it sold in the end, it seems a lot of buyers there do take the road tax issue seriously.
In Ireland we also have the benefit of NCT exemption, which combined with the cheap tax and no VAT, means we have a lot more to gain by buying a 30+ car,
if I was living in the UK I wouldn't let road tax put me off a purchase. :rolleyes:

Dades

green-blood wrote:

but lads at max its 250 euro for tax... would you really flog your classic motor because of that...thats a 1.2 anything here for gods sake

I'd no idea it was that low. Can't imagine it making that big a deal then.

It would be a much bigger deal for Irish Classic owners. Owning a Merc or a Jag etc would be a nightmare at our rates - esp given the low mileage p/a of a lot of cars.

Re SSIAs - might be a good time to flog your 'spare' classic in the new year. Not everyone is going to want to blow it on a new kitchen or a house deposit.