N555 GUL - T5-R Gul yellow estate anyone know it?

[Pupbelly]

Well I managed to get an appointment to see the car. It’s going to have to be mechanically and bodily at the top of its game for that money.

Doing some Googling I came across a thread where a Gull estate was being offered for sale on this forum for circa £4,600 and was met with scoffs and ridicule saying that it would no way be worth that, “half if you’re lucky”. Granted this was a thread from 2011 but it shows how barmy the classic used car market has gone in a relatively short time.

What surprises me is that for such an active and great forum this car isn’t on anyone’s radar and nobody can say “oh that was so and so’s car, brilliant……”. I would have thought being a unicorn it would be a club member or at least have some visibility in the Volvo community

[XC90Mk1]

Originally Posted by Pupbelly

Well I managed to get an appointment to see the car. It’s going to have to be mechanically and bodily at the top of its game for that money.

Doing some Googling I came across a thread where a Gull estate was being offered for sale on this forum for circa £4,600 and was met with scoffs and ridicule saying that it would no way be worth that, “half if you’re lucky”. Granted this was a thread from 2011 but it shows how barmy the classic used car market has gone in a relatively short time.

What surprises me is that for such an active and great forum this car isn’t on anyone’s radar and nobody can say “oh that was so and so’s car, brilliant……”. I would have thought being a unicorn it would be a club member or at least have some visibility in the Volvo community

Not sure how much ‘Covid’ premium you are paying for that.

It really is a case of each to their own however.

[ITSv40]

Originally Posted by Pupbelly

What surprises me is that for such an active and great forum this car isn’t on anyone’s radar and nobody can say “oh that was so and so’s car, brilliant……”. I would have thought being a unicorn it would be a club member or at least have some visibility in the Volvo community

You may have better luck on Facebook. In my experience this forum deals very well with the 'no sex please, we are British' type of Volvo ownership. Facebook has Volvo groups that cater for any 'specialist interest' imaginable. There will be some very active ones covering Gul estates.

[Pupbelly]

Originally Posted by XC90Mk1

Not sure how much ‘Covid’ premium you are paying for that.

It really is a case of each to their own however.

What realistically should be the market rate be would you say? Imported Japan cars with what seem to be really low mileages are circa £10k+ The Gul do have a cult status is seems but I will agree there is a hefty premium on this one.

Mid teens?

[Pupbelly]

Originally Posted by ITSv40

You may have better luck on Facebook. In my experience this forum deals very well with the 'no sex please, we are British' type of Volvo ownership. Facebook has Volvo groups that cater for any 'specialist interest' imaginable. There will be some very active ones covering Gul estates.

I'm not a Facebook person, but I could ask the missus. Do you know of any such groups? (links?)

[ITSv40]

Originally Posted by Pupbelly

I'm not a Facebook person, but I could ask the missus. Do you know of any such groups? (links?)

You could try Torquevolvo as there is a strong 850 following on there or just search for Volvo gul estate or similar and see what comes up.

[JohnM 855 T5R]

I'll just get my sixpenneth in. £25K I would say is a bit strong but consider my experience the week before last. My T-5R Gul Estate Auto was in for MOT (passed with no advisories). Whilst hanging around, a classic car dealer who is a friend of the garage owner was there, had a poke about whilst it was on the lift and asked if I was interested in selling.

As I say, mines an auto, UK supplied, 174,500 miles, 15 owners (yes 15!), totally immaculate except for drivers seat which needs retrimming of the "Alcantara", no fault codes, everything works, totally rust free, no interior squeaks or rattles, completely standard and runs like a dream.

After much discussion, he offered me £15K. Now he's looking to make a profit on that. Allowing say £400 for the seat retrim and at least a couple of grand profit, he must be thinking £17.5 to £18 K on the forecourt. I turned it down as I love the car but it suggests that values are strong - though I think £25K for an immaculate manual is over the top.

He said, the plus points that attracted him were (and all this applies to all classics whatever their make) - immaculate bodywork with showroom paint, no underbody rust, perfect mechanicals, UK supplied (imports typically trade at far lower values), not messed about with (any form of tuning reduces the value in the collectors market) plus lots of history and bills. Didn't care about the number of owners - as he put it, condition is everything. Also said that autobox cars in general in the collector market are slowly catching up with manuals in value as more and more buyers nowadays prefer driving autos. Now don't shoot the messenger - this is simply what a classic dealer said to me.

I can't help feeling he had a buyer already lined up.

Regards
John

[XC90Mk1]

Originally Posted by Pupbelly

What realistically should be the market rate be would you say? Imported Japan cars with what seem to be really low mileages are circa £10k+ The Gul do have a cult status is seems but I will agree there is a hefty premium on this one.

Mid teens?

I think that if you list something and it sells the same day it MAY have been low cost. If it takes 2-5 weeks perhaps that was fair value.

However a lot of 760s, E38 and P38s (they are what I keep an eye on) have been listed since Feb 2020 on and off. 18 months means you have likely stuck it on and it’s not going to sell (is there anything wrong with that - no).

If you look historically at wine, bullion, investments etc etc you always get to a point at which your shop keeper, builder and cabbie are buying into asset classes as ‘you can’t loose’. and all asset classes fluctuate up and down (seemingly not bricks and mortar perhaps….).

Remember a lot of the money going into vehicles now is not by enthusiasts but by children of the 90s etc seeing it as a sound investment. Once a down turn comes and they start loading money the market will be flooded with low cost vehicles.

That’s my view anyway. I would expect in the next 1-10 years the bubble will burst.

As previously stated 850 and 70R were been bought up for a grand, now they are 10. That not inflation, blthats a bubble and at some point in the future the bubble will likely burst.

[Pupbelly]

Originally Posted by JohnM 855 T5R

I'll just get my sixpenneth in. £25K I would say is a bit strong but consider my experience the week before last. My T-5R Gul Estate Auto was in for MOT (passed with no advisories). Whilst hanging around, a classic car dealer who is a friend of the garage owner was there, had a poke about whilst it was on the lift and asked if I was interested in selling.

As I say, mines an auto, UK supplied, 174,500 miles, 15 owners (yes 15!), totally immaculate except for drivers seat which needs retrimming of the "Alcantara", no fault codes, everything works, totally rust free, no interior squeaks or rattles, completely standard and runs like a dream.

After much discussion, he offered me £15K. Now he's looking to make a profit on that. Allowing say £400 for the seat retrim and at least a couple of grand profit, he must be thinking £17.5 to £18 K on the forecourt. I turned it down as I love the car but it suggests that values are strong - though I think £25K for an immaculate manual is over the top.

He said, the plus points that attracted him were (and all this applies to all classics whatever their make) - immaculate bodywork with showroom paint, no underbody rust, perfect mechanicals, UK supplied (imports typically trade at far lower values), not messed about with (any form of tuning reduces the value in the collectors market) plus lots of history and bills. Didn't care about the number of owners - as he put it, condition is everything. Also said that autobox cars in general in the collector market are slowly catching up with manuals in value as more and more buyers nowadays prefer driving autos. Now don't shoot the messenger - this is simply what a classic dealer said to me.

I can't help feeling he had a buyer already lined up.

Regards
John

Thanks for your input John (and everyone so far). I'm in no rush to purchase, just a case of seeking the right car for the right price (which this particular one fails on the value front!) I would agree that prices are driven by greed and nostalgia. I am also seeking out an Escort Series 1 RS Turbo (ideally my own old car which has reappeared and is taxed and MOT'd again, noting I had it when I was 19 and I am now approaching a half century!) The prices for these are utter madness with a lot of iffy examples out there.

[Timmilne]

I'm sure this will make all Gul 855 owners feel good — me included. Mine is a one owner, auto estate, currently on 136,000 miles and counting (I've done 15,000 miles in one year of ownership, so it must be in pretty good shape mechanically) and I didn't pay anywhere near £25K for it.

However, as has been debated on here before, the jury seems to be out on whether these cars are about to go the way of E30 M3s, Porsche 964s or even Peugeot 205 GTis to become real cult classics with premiums to match.

My view is that M cars and old Porsches have newer, much more expensive successors that have made their predecessors seemed relatively cheap for a long time. That's not true of old Volvos, whose value has rather been in their (perceived) robustness and economical practicality. Forgive the generalisation, but I don't believe the people who buy, own and maintain old Volvos are the sort of people who are going to wake up one morning and say "I want to pay £25K for a yellow Volvo".

For these prices to be realistic (i.e. people actually pay them), it's going to need a completely different type of buyer for whom they appear to be good value, but there isn't either a newer relative or even contemporary competitor to lift the values. Old M5 tourings and early RS6s are newer, much more powerful and have the halo effect of their newer iterations, but don't make this money. If the value perception is purely speculative — thinking they might be £50K in years to come — that seems like a risky bet.

I'd love to sell my car for £20K plus, but I don't see it happening somehow, so I'll carry on piling the miles on and enjoy the colour, for no other reason than it's easy to spot in a crowded car park.