Went to Beaulieu Autojumble today...talking of crazy prices i saw a very tidy looking mk2 cooper in the Bonhams tent, very clean looking but obviously restored and repainted. The reserve was £17,000 expecting to go for £22,000! since when were ordinary coopers fetching cooper s money? , i think i`d better get my GT finished and i`ll be ready for the rush on GT`s when all the coopers run out!
For every silly price like that there'a an equally cheap one , that '59 that went on Ebay (restored bare shell plus bits) last week for less than two and a half grand springs to mind. They can ask whatever daft price they want but they won't necessarily sell 'em.
In the shed wrote:
This business of S's changing hands for £20k is madness.
Not at all. When you see some hateful rubbish like TR6's making 15k, and E Types, Healey 3000's etc selling for 40k and more, 20k for a perfect Cooper S is not unreasonable. It is a sought after classic car, and you see what 20k will buy you in terms of a new car which, in 7 years time will be worth ten quid and a Mars Bar.
Yes, 20k is a lot of money but you'll get it back and more when you sell again. That makes it a cheap car.
Cooper and S's may well be worth buying and keeping for a few years as you say, you will very likely not lose money.
But i think the point is they have become a richer than average man's plaything/investment.
Since the 80's E types have been out of reach for most people.
It DOES seem a lot but that's a rare thing with good earning potential in the film industry and at classic events - imagine how much ice cream you could sell from it over a sunny weekend at Goodwood It'll look great when it's finished won't it!
Morris J types are a subject close to my heart. I (and several of my fellow J van mates) have been very surprised at the prices they've been selling for in the UK. Vans that need a complete restoration are selling for up around 8 or £9000. What's happening is that they are being stripped down and fully rebuilt with major body modifications into vintage styled icecream vans , or used for other commercial purposes. Presumably finding one that is already an icecream van means a huge saving in conversion costs.
I guess commercial users can justify the expense and when you think that an ordinary looking modern van costs something like £18,000 and you still have to convert it into an icecream van, the sums probably add up.
I paid about £500 for J Type about 2 years ago. I figure I could ship it to the UK in its terrible unrestored condition and still make a tidy profit on the deal.