How are UK prices these days?

[wildatheart]

I bought my 280SL ten years ago for £24k, and it seemed to me that for quite some years the prices (at least here in the UK) of these cars were pretty static. I'm wondering whether the last couple of years however, prices seem to have gone up quite noticeably. Would others here agree, ie. that there has been a recent surge, of sorts? Given that my £24k car of ten years ago is in least as good a condition now as it was ten years ago (though it's had an extra 20k miles, taking it to 104k), what kind of price might one expect to sell it at today?

[Danesgate]

I owned a 280SL for a short period a couple of years ago and have been watching prices ever since.

I'm not in a position to comment an any particular trend, because the range of W113 prices is pretty wide (in theory based on condition, but an expensive car does not always relate to good condition...!), but I have noticed that some dealers have had the same cars for sale for 12, 18 months or more - and not on consignment, actually in their premises.

There do seem to have been a few more adverts for dealers looking for stock, but I still see the same cars at Chelsea Cars, Silchester and others, that were there a year ago.

I guess if the price was right, they'd sell.....

[JamesL]

I paid top whack for mine from SilverArrows in 2003. It was just over £30k and subsequent looking around made me think I'd been scalped. I've seen numerous dealer cars since and for similar money seen worse so felt better.

Getting a car through any means under £20k is now nigh on impossible (cue Jaymanek popping up!), when it was a norm then.

I too have a sneaky feeling that prices are on the rise. Not by much but the good cars are really going up in vlaue and I feel the ones that you see sticking around are those that need work and priced too high. Last time I was at SliverArrows they had one at over £30k that had no headlamp notches, the odd rust bubble etc and it took a while to shift.

Perhaps it's not prices rising but buyers being more discerning...

[AGT]

I don't think that there is much of a turnover at the dealers the past couple of years and therefore very hard to say what any individual car would sell for. The price range seems to go from about £20k up to £40kish for a full restoration but as some of them have been Silchestered they might not stay at £40k. A decent, reasonably correct car which does not need a lot spent on it immediately must be worth around £30k.

If you are still in Edinburgh have a look at the 230SL which Labinjoh (the Alfa Spider specialist on Stevenson Road) is selling for £21,950. Of course it has not sold yet but, if it did, then mine would be worth about £1 billion. Kenny Dunn the 911 man at Roseburn has sold the occasional SL and he might give you an idea of what he could sell your car for. Last summer he had a nice 280SL for £36k.

Regards
Andrew
1966 230SL

[wildatheart]

Hi Andrew (it's been a while!),

Some good tips there, thanks. I might go take a look at that Labinjoh car, to have a reference point. Do you know if Kenny Dunn sells cars on commission, and would therefore tell me what he'd try to sell it at? (Though if/when I sell, I suspect I'd seek a private sale)

[wildatheart]

I went and had a look at the Labinjoh car, and you have to feel sorry for whatever wide-eyed person is going to fall for the the pretty red old car and puts down their cash. I'd value that car at 12k and even then it would be a waste of money and time. Missing soft top/frame, non-injected engine from a 280 saloon, terrible paintwork, tired and mismatched interior. Only somebody with a degree in marine biology might be charmed by the footwells.

[AGT]

Jaap

I can hear it barking from my office - poor thing. Still, the man does sell old Alfa Spyders in Scotland and so he can't be too squeamish about a bit of terminal rust.

Kenny Dunn does sell on consignment and he likes an oldie for the showroom window to draw in the Ferrari Scaglietti crowd.

Regards
Andrew
1966 230SL

[Flyair]

One interesting point regarding prices in the UK is the exchange rate. OK for trades within the UK it doesn't matter too much, but since there are several left hand driven Pagodas on sale in the UK, their natural buyers are in Continental Europe. For them, the UK sourced cars became much more affordable. I know at least two owners of Pagodas who claim to buy it well below the prices observed in Germany or other European countries.

So, given that Pagodas are an international "commodity" on the oldtimer's market, I would say that the value of Pagodas in the UK went down relative to the general levels.

Stan

[jaymanek]

trust me, finding a decent pagoda is hard work..

There are hardly any private people selling them.. the ones that come up at a sensible price just get snapped up immediately.

I did find one, but I think I got lucky... My car would be double the price i paid at a dealer right now.

[stickandrudderman]

As already mentioned, price is absolutely no indication of quality.
I recently did a PPI on a car that was being sold for £35000, and indeed the body work  had been restored to the highest standard imaginable, but it's nearly always the case that a restored car has had the money spent on either the mechanicals or the bodywork, rarely both and this car certainly was one of those.
However, we all know that a good body is hard to find (insert pun here) so taking into account the car lacked the soft top option (which obviously devalues it)and the requirement for some mechanical improvement I advised a value of £30,000 wich was accepted by the selling garage.
My reasoning was that if you don't mind not having a soft top you are going to struggle to find one as nice as this structurally and perhaps that's worth a premium.
I've had a customer bring a car to me that he'd just paid £40,000 for. It looked stunning, again with excellent structural restoration, but he spent another £15,000 with me before the car was right.
These two were both cars that were worth spending money on, if only to have a nice looking and reliable car rather than to make a good investment, but MOST that I see, and it's quite a few, are in pretty poor condition and IMHO not worth anything like what people are paying for them.
The one described above for example is not even worth anything like £12000 given the description.
The old expression, "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" comes to mind, but judging by some of the prices these cars are fetching I would say that, apparently, you can and many unscrupulous dealers are doing just that.
I could go on...

[Flyair]

I must admit that Pagoda is an addiction, in addition to being a car. And addiction is like love...when you love, you don't count, so GBP 10000 or more....