Future Classic To Buy Now For Under £1000

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

They did do a 325i compact, I'm not sure whether it was any good or not though...

They did a 2.5 e46 compact but not in the e36, decent cars but Christ they're ugly!

I've got a 36 compact as a daily and a 2.8 ready to go in shortly, I really like it even in standard engine form, loads of fun, like a slightly more refined and less rusty e30. not sure if they'll ever be a 'classic' but they'll not get much cheaper!

 

E36 2.8 sports are getting broken left right and centre, I think a decent one wouldn't be a bad investment, again they'll not get much cheaper than they are now.

[Alastairh 47]

I am very tempted to chuck some money at an original Audi S8. Hopefully this will go in a positive way.

[soundguy 13]

Toyota MR2 MK3 - fantastic handling and road holding.

[AaronMountford1990 0 1 Cars]

MK1 Skoda Fabia VRS - i may be biased as i have one but there is a certain logic to it.

 

Skoda released a very popular diesel sport hatch, the MK1 Fabia VRS, and a sport petrol octavia vrs - they then cancelled diesel VRS production so no MK2 diesel fabia vrs opting for a 1.4 TSI Fabia VRS Petrol, the octavia got both petrol and diesel.

So the sporty version of the MK2 Fabia is the Monte Carlo with i think 105bhp? It's okay but its no VRS....

 

Along comes the MK3, and again Octavia fan's get both a petrol and diesel VRS, whereas the Fabia...gets nothing - no VRS at all to be sold in the UK.

 

So ultimately, the only popular diesel VRS and the ONLY diesel VRS in the fabia range - is the MK1, as on the forums the MK2 VRS gets a lot of stick for being, well petrol and doing naff all MPG, along with having an unreliable DSG box, massive oil consumption and an unreliable block from squeezing 180bhp out of a 1.4....

 

So i see these going up a lot - think about it, golf diesels were reproduced year on year in every shape and engine litre going - the Fabia had an 8 year run (ignoring the 2009 plate MK1 kicking around) from 1999-2007 and it has quite a big following still for giving ridiculous MPG and quite a decent ride power wise - and with a stage 1 map it's near standard type R territory but with a LOT more torque (310nm standard from a 1.9 PD TDI 130 engine, a bit more on the later BTL code engines)

 

So yeah. MK1 Fabia VRS - watch this space

[nomis 12]

Interesting one Aaron, raises that whole question of whether any / many diesels will ever make it as classics. I reckon there will be some that are hailed as brilliant now or in their day that eventually will once the rest of them vanish.

The BMW 330d estate of the past decade always gets flagged as a great car, that must in 20 years time be in with a shout.

[AaronMountford1990 0 1 Cars]

Interesting one Aaron, raises that whole question of whether any / many diesels will ever make it as classics. I reckon there will be some that are hailed as brilliant now or in their day that eventually will once the rest of them vanish.

The BMW 330d estate of the past decade always gets flagged as a great car, that must in 20 years time be in with a shout.

 

I suppose it depends on if they revise it and carry it on through body changes, MK1 MK2 etc. If its just limited to one body style like the MK1 Fabia was i personally cant see anythiing that would stop it being a classic one day as it's only something available at that time not like the golf thats reinvented every year for example?

[welshpug 1,657]

I'll say it.

 

205 gti

 

 

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

206GT

Proper numbered limited edition car with the WRC homologation/heritage.

Only 600 RHD, you can find them under £1000.

The 206 GTI is an underrated car in my opinion having now owned one, and that's from someone who always used to say they were rubbish but had not driven them much.

[GLPoomobile 958]

Can the OP please clarify if the point of this thread is about future classics as an investment? Because to my mind anything you can pick up for a grand is - generalising here - is unlikely to increase significantly in value because it's likely to be a bit of a dog example in the first place.

 

Taking 205s for example, since it's what we all know on here and they've shot up in value in the last 2 years, of those that are now selling for decent money, how many of those were genuine sub £1k examples a few years ago, and if they were sub £1k, how much money was spent to bring the condition up to now make them worthy of a decent value?

 

Most of the cars mentioned in this thread so far seem to be either uncommon at sub £1k, or if they are a bit more common then the ones that are under £1k are the examples that are unlikely to fetch decent money in the near future. But then maybe in 20 years time when we are down to handfuls of a particular model, that's a different ball game.

 

I said recently that I think the 1st gen Audi TTs are a future classic and are probably at the bottom of their depreciation now. Funnily enough PH did an article saying the same a few weeks later. But the cheapest TTs are not going to be the ones commanding good values in the next 5 maybe 10 years. Saab 9-5 Aeros have been stupidly cheap for years and are easily found for under £1k, but are they a future classic? Still quite a lot about as they just soldier on. The Alfa 166 is now getting rare as hens teeth and whilst I'm not sure if they will go to classic status, they do have a following. I'm absolutely kicking myself for selling my 166 Super for £400 3 years ago, as it would probably be worth £2k now, and the value would probably steadily increase as it was generally good condition, was relatively low mileage and have the provenance of being one of the earliest off the line, and a press car used for the Autocar road test. But whether it would be worth £400, £2k or £10k is meaningless unless there is a buyer out there, and for cars like the 166 there's not going to be a floodgate of potential buyers at any one time.

[GLPoomobile 958]

 

I suppose it depends on if they revise it and carry it on through body changes, MK1 MK2 etc. If its just limited to one body style like the MK1 Fabia was i personally cant see anythiing that would stop it being a classic one day as it's only something available at that time not like the golf thats reinvented every year for example?

 

The lines between classic and niche get very blurry. What constitutes a "classic" anyway? There's plenty of cars that aren't classics but are now very rare, and often when something is rare it becomes more sought after often in spite of the item's other short falls. So long as something is rare but still sought after, it will have value, perhaps more value than it rightly deserves. I think something like the Fabia VRS probably fits in to that bracket rather than necessarily being a classic one day.

[Anthony 1,003]

Taking 205s for example, since it's what we all know on here and they've shot up in value in the last 2 years, of those that are now selling for decent money, how many of those were genuine sub £1k examples a few years ago, and if they were sub £1k, how much money was spent to bring the condition up to now make them worthy of a decent value?

Depends what you're after I guess. Judging from the prices I see cars advertised and apparently selling at, I'd say that a £1k 205 GTi from 2-3 years ago has doubled in value easily enough in that time. Sure, it'll never be a top money example, but if you're looking at it from an investment point of view doubling your money in that space of time isn't to be sniffed at in an age where the money in your bank account is effectively being devalued thanks to interest rates being so much lower than inflation.

[Robbiedundy 58 4 Cars]

Picked this beaut up the other night

Needs a patch in the inner wing, interior putting back in, front arches/sill covers/bumper & grill put on properly and maybe a service before mot. I paid £800 so there are bargains to be had ????

Edited February 24, 2017 by Dundy53

[ALEX 98 1 Cars]

Civic Type R EP3...

Just assumed they'd be around the £1000 price mark by now as they are currently selling at around the same price I got trade in for mine 3 years ago. (£2000).

Must be already going back up in value?

Edited February 24, 2017 by ALEX

[allye 530 3 Cars]

I think you'll be extremely lucky if that's 106 only needs a small Patch..

[hoodygoodwood 70 3 Cars]

I think a thousand pounds or so is the sort of amount someone could find ( without enraging the wife too much ) to buy an interesting car while they are still available and put it away somewhere safe .I wasn't thinking of cars that have already achieved 'cult' or classic status because of course they are already out of reach - a £1000 205 GTI would be a money pit unless you were unbelievably lucky . All motors go through a stage when they are just 'old cars' and the values will bottom out at around the 12 to 15 year mark and the neglect sets in .I currently have my hands full with a 309 project ( £350 ) to be followed by finishing my Miami Blue 309 GTI ( £450 ) but if I had space to dry store a car I would be looking right now for a Saxo VTS / 106 GTI - might have to go a bit over a grand for a good one though . Without a doubt the Golf and 205 GTI's hitting the 30 year old mark have opened up hot hatches to the regular classic car scene as anyone who takes one to a MGB/E type/TR6/Mini type show will tell you .

[nomis 12]

Friend of mine bought an S Type Jag 3.0 V6 to share between him and his dad for either £750 or £950, can't remember. Did so as a modern classic and because his dad always wanted but had never had a Jaguar. It may never turn out to be classic but it's unlikely to get cheaper and he says it's brilliant fun and still feels luxurious. To me that's everything a sub £1,000 classic is about. Buy it, drive it, enjoy it, and if one day it goes up in value, great.

Edited February 25, 2017 by nomis

[Andya 2]

Interesting views form everybody, this is something which my car friends will always discuss when we get together.

 

For me I have actually just bought a Clio 172 Cup, I had to change the discs and pads and put some decent rubber on it but is a great car especially for circa £1k, a very capable car and lots of interesting history of what Renault did to make them lighter (no ABS, no Aircon, thinner glass etc) and change the front track to be wider etc. I think the car is bound to go up but I didn't buy it for that reason as the amount it will go up won't be huge, I bought it to drive, enjoy and possibly do some sprints/hillclimb events in. Was at Silverstone a couple of weeks back with it and had a great laugh.

 

Andy

[barneys66 122 1 Cars]

Civic Type R EP3...

Just assumed they'd be around the £1000 price mark by now as they are currently selling at around the same price I got trade in for mine 3 years ago. (£2000).

Must be already going back up in value?

 

I've been sorely tempted to pick up an unmolested EP3 whilst they're cheap, but I too think they're on their way up.

 

Still plenty to choose from for the shrewd and patient buyer though I guess..

[tartanbloke 35 1 Cars]

Interesting views form everybody, this is something which my car friends will always discuss when we get together.

 

For me I have actually just bought a Clio 172 Cup, I had to change the discs and pads and put some decent rubber on it but is a great car especially for circa £1k, a very capable car and lots of interesting history of what Renault did to make them lighter (no ABS, no Aircon, thinner glass etc) and change the front track to be wider etc. I think the car is bound to go up but I didn't buy it for that reason as the amount it will go up won't be huge, I bought it to drive, enjoy and possibly do some sprints/hillclimb events in. Was at Silverstone a couple of weeks back with it and had a great laugh.

 

Andy

totally agree and I nearly bought one a few weeks ago just to rag it for fun.....

[Simes 248 2 Cars]

Citroen XM.

[allye 530 3 Cars]

Citroen CX!! Only a little while ago you could get one for less than £1k, loads of spares in France. They'll go the same way as the DS, XM is a long way off I'd say.

 

A CX is my next old French buy, a late GTI.

[dawning 11]

Original Renault espace?

https://www.gumtree.com/p/renault/renault-espace-/1216945642

Just spotted this on gumtree, 2.3 million miles apparently only 200 quid though.

[jackherer 543]

A CX is my next old French buy, a late GTI.

I strongly recommend a GTi turbo, it's a crappy pushrod engine that doesn't rev and without a turbo it doesn't really justify the GTi badge. I used to have a Series 1 turbo 1 (i.e. no intercooler) and it was brilliant, by far the best car I have ever had.

[welshpug 1,657]

I'd say get an XM now if you find one, there's not many left! I think tbh any spec XM will do.

 

I borrowed a CX safari to move house once, and a friend has had two executives, epic quilted leather hammock like seats, shared the same wheelbase as the safari not the standard saloon.

 

Also has had an XM Executive V6.

 

oh and a DS 23i, and a DS Safari basket case.

 

 

not sure why he had the nickname of Retro Joe....

[allye 530 3 Cars]

I want a late CX GTI, engine is irrelevant though....!

 

I do like the XM, I pass one regularly parked in hedge and want to stop and investigate but the CX is hailed the last great Citroen before that bloody Peugeot took over!