Classic car prices bubble: is now the time to invest in an old car? ► A look at classic car values► Are prices spiralling out of control?► Classics experts analysis market trends As the hammer fell on the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO at Bonhams’ Quail Lodge auction last autumn, the market analysts were busy revising their price forecasts. The headline price of $38,115,000 (£22.8m) – a new auction world record – captured headline writers’ imaginations, but the truth is that the Pebble Beach auction in August actually put a lid on classic car values. Until the high-profile sale, recent GTO transactions took place in private, with the prices achieved subject to wild speculation. GTOs were notionally hyped up to £30-35m, inflating prices of classics across the board. Experts thought differently: a GTO was worth £20-25m – as Bonhams proved. This is good news for the whole classic car market, silencing whispers that we were heading for an early-’90s style price crash.
Marcus Atkinson, the MD at Hagerty’s Cars That Matter, the classic car values bible, reckons, ‘the sale of that car for “just” $38m was a positive sign that rationality still rules in the marketplace, rather than a sign that things are cooling rapidly’. Click here for CAR's coverage of the world record auction sale. Classic car prices: boom or bust? The early-’90s crash was linked to the bubble bursting in Japanese real estate and stocks. ‘The markets started to recover from about 1998,’ says Dietrich Hatlapa, founder of the Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI), an independent classic car values think tank. Since then, there’s never been a year where classic car prices fell back. This was just as true for anything from your entry-level Porsche 911SC all the way to blue-chip, competition Ferraris, the long-time darling of the classic car investor. The really interesting changes have taken place since 2008, when the global economic meltdown forced everyone to re-evaluate their finances.
In a market where more conventional investments have frequently struggled, classic cars have continued to surge upward. Hatlapa, whose company tracks prices of the most important classic cars, says: ‘For most of the past six years, our HAGI Top Index measured double-digit growth rates, and during 2013 we observed record growth of more than 40%. So far, 2014 is turning out to be a more moderate year, growing 8.42% to the end of July.’ The GTO will no doubt rein that in further. Hagerty’s Atkinson adds: ‘From 2011 to 2013, the market recovered to the point where nearly every sub-market was trading at all-time highs. Although there are signs that it’s levelling off, it will likely remain strong until the next global economic crisis.’ And while interest rates remain at historic lows, classic cars continue to be a fun way of growing your money. Are classic values entering a boom period in 2015? So what makes today’s market different to that of the early 1990s, when values crashed spectacularly?
Significantly, 2013 aside, growth has been steady rather than spectacular, and whereas in the 1980s the emphasis seemed to be purely on vehicle condition (with a consequent tidal wave of often questionable restorations to order), today cars are valued for their history and provenance. Tellingly, far fewer classic cars are bought with borrowed money today, and buyers are much better educated about a more international market – so the compulsion to sell at a loss lessens when local troubles occur. It’s easy to move your car on in another, more prosperous, overseas market these days. Rob Sass, a Hagerty’s analyst in California, bought a 200,000-mile Porsche 911SC in 2012 for the equivalent of £7800. He sold the car in Germany two years later for about £14,000. ‘I suspect that the German will make a profit on the car too, as the market on rust-free, clean ex-California 911s in Germany seems brisk,’ he says. So, while the years of spectacular growth in classic car values might be over, there’s little danger of them crashing either.
Expected 5% annual growth in values of the ‘right’ cars, sustained in the long term, is not to be sneezed at – and you can have a hell of a lot of fun driving your investment. What better excuse is there to cash in that ISA, dig out some money from under the sofa, and indulge in buying something classic? Click here to find your next classic on our sister site Classic Cars For Sale. Five £10k-£20k cars that could become future classics BMW M3E36 (1992-1999)Enthusiasts’ cars are cheap compared with £25k E30 M3; desirable E36 two-door is £6k. These M cars are getting very fashionable Mercedes-Benz 190E2.3 and 2.5-16v (1984-1993)190 Cosworths are a steal, unlike E30 M3s. You can pick up examples from less than £5k, although the best ones are £15k and beyond Currently undervalued, they’ll surely rise in value when buyers cotton on. Mitsubishi Evo Tommi Makinen Edition (2000-2001)The tech-laden Evo costs from £8-18k, but when the Forza generation hits its 40s, this car will be top of many people’s lists
Porsche 9113.0- and 3.2-litre (’78-’89)The value of impact-bumper 911s has doubled from £10k to £20k these past four years. 911s tend to be mechanically robust TVR Griffith(1991-2002)The Griffith’s realistic entry price is £15k, rising beyond £30k for the very best examples. Demand will remain high as it ages disgracefully Where would you spend your classic cash? Let us know in the comments below.Articles 1 à 30 sur un total de 2534 Combinés Filetés Tein Street Basis pour Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 (IX) Combinés Filetés Tein Street Basis pour Subaru Impreza WRX GE/GH (08-10) Combinés Filetés Tein Street Basis pour Subaru Impreza WRX STI GRB (07-14) Articles 1 à 30 sur un total de 2534When German Jalopnik reader Andreas (TheSafetyEngineer) told me he knew a guy near Nuernberg who hoarded Mitsubishis, I figured he was talking about someone who was in over his head with maybe five or six Lancers pouring out of his driveway. Boy, was I wrong.
It turns out the ultimate Mitsubishi stash isn’t in Japan, but Germany. Tilo Macht and his wife Anja, owners of Autohaus Macht—a small shop in Eckental, Bavaria that specializes in fixing Subarus, Mitsubishis, Suzukis and Saabs—are legitimately obsessed with old Mitsubishis. Like, Someone Should Have Staged An Intervention Decades Ago-obsessed. But it’s too late. After growing up in a household that sold Mitsubishi, Tilo now owns well over 100 of the cars, ranging from standard little Colts to extremely rare FTOs. The duo get their cars from everywhere, including German car buying websites, car museums (one actually came from the Mitsubishi Museum in Japan), and U.S. army bases. Others are either driven or shipped from Japan, England, Australia, the Netherlands—all over the place. The Machts’ need to satiate their Mitsubishi love knows no geographical bounds. Why so many Mitsubishis, and why that brand? Tilo told me he’s the son of a Mitsubishi dealer and just loves the cars.
Plus, he considers them as an advertising tool and a long-term investment. I don’t know about that last part, but you can’t doubt their enthusiasm. Tilo and Anja own 12 old Lancer Turbos—12 of the same car! And they have eight Sapporos! We get to benefit from their almost-clinical addition by feasting our eyes on droves of gorgeous Mitsubishis. As soon as I got to the workshop, I was greeted by a huge line of modified Mitsubishis and Subarus, many of which Tilo and his team modded themselves. Though they look neatly placed in front of the shop, they’re not garage queens: Tilo actually drives these things. He told me about a time he drove to a local rally in one of his own Rally-liveried cars shown below, and was actually waved in to the pits by the race staff! And even though he didn’t take them up on their offer, he does run these things in “Old School Rallies” just like god intended. One of the coolest cars out front was this old Lancer from Hungary, which has an EVO III engine and an R34 GT-R turbo and intake.
Let’s have a gander at that monster: And because it would be ridiculous not to show the R34 turbo: Here’s a charred spot on the wall out front (apparently one of the cars shoots flames): Here are some more pictures of the cars out front. A Mitsubishi Sapporo turbo: And then around the side, I had even more to take in. That was when things got weird. Check out this Subaru Sambar Kei-car with a Bus body conversion (no, it’s not a Mitsubishi, but it’s still awesome): Then there’s this ridiculously low-mileage, extremely rare Lancer 1800 Turbo imported from the Mitsubishi Museum in Japan. It’s in immaculate condition. Behind it is an Eclipse and a Mitsubishi Colt. But even if the Eclipse looks more badass than the little white hatchback, it’s the Colt that deserves your attention. That’s because it has been the recipient of an FTO engine swap, meaning it makes 200 horsepower from a 2.0-liter V6, and on top of all that, it’s got EVO III suspension and brake systems.
There’s also another Colt in the garage that’s going to have a Galant’s 2.5-liter V6 shoved in its engine bay, and will also get a wide-body kit that’s been sitting in the back of the shop. Here’s the rest of the lineup on the right side of the building, starting with a convertible Mitsubishi Sapporo (one of only 300 in Europe, I’m told— Tilo has two in his collection), and a rare Lancer GTI. And finally finishing up with an Eclipse and an old Lancer Ralliant: As you keep walking along the right side of the building, at the end of the row of cars on the left is the big garage door above. And as soon as you walk in, you turn to your left, and see this: It’s an ocean of classic Mitsubishis. And smack-dab in the front is a 1977 Lancer Kombi—one of apparently just two in all of Germany. And right next to it is a Mitsubishi Pajero, basically Mitsubishi’s version of the CJ-3B. But forget all of that, because right behind the sexy gold Kombi is an FTO!
These things were only built for the Japanese Market, and came with a 2.0-liter V6 making about 200 horsepower. More importantly, it’s just gorgeous: And FTOs have the finest ass of any car in the history of automobiledom: Here’s a yellow Mitsubishi Celeste, which received a Pajero 2.3-liter diesel engine swap from the Netherlands (apparently only about 1,000 Celestes got such a treatment). And in front of it is a Galant Coupe, the only one in all of Europe: Behind that yellow Celeste is another Celeste: To the left of that gorgeous beast sits a third-generation Mitsubishi Galant Kombi: And to the right is a Cordia GSL: Over to the side, there’s another Celeste: And there’s a beaten up Colt GTI, also a fairly rare car: And a Mitsubishi 3000GT biturbo (look at that gorgeous Mitsubishi J53 Jeep in the background): Behind that J53 is this old Starion: And A70 Lancer Sedans hidden under hoists: More random pictures of that front room:
Walking past that sea of cars on the left and straight through the garage, there’s another room on the left through a big wooden sliding door: It’s filled with gorgeous Starions. Look at this one with its factory wide body kit: A gray Colt turbo (the first Colt sold in Germany, I’m told), a white Colt GTI, some Eclipses and a Starion: But the star of the entire collection is this beautiful old Colt 1000, which Tilo and Anja got from Australia, and of which I’m told there are only 10 left in the whole world! And behind that sits this white A70 Lancer: Then there’s this 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse Targa: And in front of it, there’s the first car in the collection, an old Galant. It was in this car that Tilo got into a really bad accident. One of his friends bet him he could never fix the car up, as the entire front and driver’s side had been torn open like a sardine can. But since Tilo isn’t one to turn down a bet, he spent a year working on the car almost every other day, and got it to the shape you see above.
It’s a bit of an oddball car, now. The spoiler and exhaust come from a BMW, the wheels are from a VW Golf, and Tilo built his own adjustable coilover suspension system. More pictures of the side room: But that’s not all. Directly opposite the side room, on the other side of the front garage, is an overhead door. And through that garage door are lots and lots of tires and wheels: You have to be careful not to trip over engine blocks: Once you’re in, you turn to the right, and you start seeing the backs of cars in a tiny little hallway: Then you walk through and see even more Mitsubishis: Colts and Galants and Lancers: Tilo has it all:Just outside of the garage sit a bunch of cars. But between Tilo’s workshop and the neighboring building, there’s another ocean of Japanese automobiles: First, you have to squeeze past the flatbed: And when you do, you see this: It’s a yard filled with Tredias, Colts, Eclipses, Lancers, Galants and all sorts of Subarus as well.