Seriously?

[baggy798]

Average ebay sold prices September-December:

2021:
740s £1,328 (minus £4,600 outlier)
940s £868 (minus £3,000 outlier)
240s £1,381 (minus £10,101 outlier)

2022:
740s £728 (minus £1,550 outlier)
940s £1,118 (minus £3,522 outlier)
240s £2,067 (minus £5,200 outlier)

Weird prices in the 240 world. A red GL saloon goes for £4755, and 8 days later a superior red GLT saloon goes for £1940.
£5200 for one with a crappy 2.7 v6 and 3 speed auto??

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

I'm thinking the opposite Dave, that large, thirsty oldish motor cars will become quite undesirable as people get poorer (an inevitable consequence of quantitative easing). I don't think there is any rush, I'll be able to buy a 740 project motor car for a monkey or there about in a year or two.

You may well be right Alan and if so, ill happily eat my words at that point. I see it slightly differently though, as people get poorer they'll sell off the depreciating cars (the new ones) first and keep the classics as "a banker". That will keep the market nouyant in my opinion. Will be interesting to see how it pans out..........

Originally Posted by Dippydog

Had a quick glance back through latter parts of this thread and I've seen no reference to e-bay item number 295403421442[can't do links]so apologies if it's been mentioned.Blue 1985 GL saloon said to be a 2.4[?]been stood about some time no M.o.T. and no keys.

That would be this one then?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295403421442

Still for sale on a classified ad it seems.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

You may well be right Alan and if so, ill happily eat my words at that point. I see it slightly differently though, as people get poorer they'll sell off the depreciating cars (the new ones) first and keep the classics as "a banker". That will keep the market nouyant in my opinion. Will be interesting to see how it pans out..........
.

It is difficult to draw meaningful conclusions from very small samples Dave. I’ve concluded over the past year that 740s sell for about half the cost of similar 240s. I don’t really see any great driver for either increasing much, indeed I might say they are getting a bit cheaper. In fact someone has produced some averages in a post above that suggest 740 prices are falling.

If 740 prices suddenly confound me by increasing quickly then I just won’t buy one, the whole point of my projects is that they are accessible (cheap to buy and easy to do up). It would be fun to take on a nearly historic 740 saloon next, but I won’t be paying top dollar for one.

[Moomoo]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

You may well be right Alan and if so, ill happily eat my words at that point. I see it slightly differently though, as people get poorer they'll sell off the depreciating cars (the new ones) first and keep the classics as "a banker". That will keep the market nouyant in my opinion. Will be interesting to see how it pans out..........





That would be this one then?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295403421442

Still for sale on a classified ad it seems.

Good luck with that! £300, to break.🤨

[Othen]

Originally Posted by baggy798

Average ebay sold prices September-December:

2021:
740s £1,328 (minus £4,600 outlier)
940s £868 (minus £3,000 outlier)
240s £1,381 (minus £10,101 outlier)

2022:
740s £728 (minus £1,550 outlier)
940s £1,118 (minus £3,522 outlier)
240s £2,067 (minus £5,200 outlier)

Weird prices in the 240 world. A red GL saloon goes for £4755, and 8 days later a superior red GLT saloon goes for £1940.
£5200 for one with a crappy 2.7 v6 and 3 speed auto??

That information is very interesting. It is difficult to draw statistical conclusions without knowing the confidence level of the results (so the standard deviation from those averages and the population size), but still the numbers are interesting.

The averages do rather support my observation that 740s fetch around half as much as similar 240s.

The rise in value of 240s is unsurprising in that a greater proportion will be qualifying for the historic vehicle premium, this probably accounts for the wide disparity in 240 values also, as early 1980s cars appreciate but later ones stay the same.

The reported drop in 740 values doesn't entirely surprise me; from my observations I'd say at best they are not increasing. These are large, thirsty oldish motor cars that never developed a cult following - with gas at £8/gallon and no tax benefits they are consequently a little unattractive. There may be an upturn in 740 values in 2025/26 when the oldest 740s start qualifying as historic vehicles - and that factor may lift the whole series as it has with 240s. I have not been following 940 values.

An interesting post - thank you baggy798.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Othen

Thank you Dave, I thought you might know about this sort of motor car, that is fascinating...

In a similar vein, I came across this 1979 Allegro Vanden Plas:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255862291...Bk9SR9ywo5WcYQ

... I think the last MoT ran out about 5 years ago, so a bit longer than the seller implies since it was last used. It is an rough as a badger's arse, and I'm a bit alarmed that the seller claims it is now tax and MoT exempt - there is no way that has been roadworthy in years.

Is this one scrap value, or would it also be worth restoring?

... I think the last MoT ran out about 5 years ago, so a bit longer than the seller implies since it was last used. It is an rough as a badger's arse, and I'm a bit alarmed that the seller claims it is now tax and MoT exempt - there is no way that has been roadworthy in years.

Is this one scrap value, or would it also be worth restoring?

The Austin Allegro Vanden Plas made £653 at auction. If weighed in for scrap it would have been worth £250, so there must be some intrinsic value of £400. Perhaps that is not entirely surprising as the motor car has already qualified as an historic vehicle (whether the current owner should have described it as roadworthy to achieve that is a moot point, but not important in this discussion).

I suppose this has been a cheap way to get into historic vehicle ownership for not much more than scrap money. I'm not sure there is any margin in renovating it (but that is true of almost all projects) because we saw a similar aged, good condition Allegro fail to make £2,500 at auction only a few weeks ago. It would seem (to me) therefore that even in roadworthy and smart condition the Vanden Plas would only be worth 2-3 grand, but it would take a cost a great deal more than that to get it there.

If I don't get a 740 for my next project I may look out for an Allegro - it would make not much sense, but there is an inexplicable allure (to me).

[Dippydog]

Yes that's the one I meant LS. I'm with Moomoo on this £300 maximum!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Dippydog

Yes that's the one I meant LS. I'm with Moomoo on this £300 maximum!

It would weigh in as scrap for £250; I suppose there might be £250 worth of easily accessible spares if someone could be bothered or needed a donor car, but then it might cost £200 to collect... so you and Andrew aren't far wrong Dippydog. I think the seller is just flying a kite - and has wasted £20 on a classified ad.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

It would weigh in as scrap for £250; I suppose there might be £250 worth of easily accessible spares if someone could be bothered or needed a donor car, but then it might cost £200 to collect... so you and Andrew aren't far wrong Dippydog. I think the seller is just flying a kite - and has wasted £20 on a classified ad.

Looking at the sellers other items, he appears to be a breakers yard - maybe trying to jump on the current RWD Volvo bandwagon?

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Looking at the sellers other items, he appears to be a breakers yard - maybe trying to jump on the current RWD Volvo bandwagon?

Ah, good research Dave, I hadn't realised it was a breaker's yard. In that case he/she has probably estimated it is worth £1,300 as spares, but to achieve that it would need breaking, the parts cataloguing and advertising, so it might take 3 years to get the money. I still think he/she is flying a kite with this ad; I'm not sure there is much of a RWD Volvo bandwagon apart from historic motor cars to jump on (this one will qualify in 2026, but that is still 4 years away).



PS. I've just had a look at the vendor's other items Dave: hundreds of them, and you are right, it is certainly a breaker's yard. It looks like he/she has a go at selling complete cars that drive in and have been bought for £250 each as scrap to see if someone bites. That will only cost £20 for a classified ad and might work occasionally. I suspect the next move will be to allocate some hours to breaking the car and sell it as components, plus crush the shell for recycled steel. That is a pretty good use for an old bus like this such that little gets wasted.