Innholdsfortegnelse for 06/01/2021 i Classic Car Buyer

Such are the traditions of the printing industry that the first issue of any regular publication you read in the new year will generally have been put together right at the tail end of the previous one and so it is with your first CCB of 2021. So although I’m writing this at the height of the pren-Christmas rush – in fact on the shortest day of the year – I’ll spare you yet another column looking back on the year nobody expected and instead try to look forward to better times in the coming months. At which point I should point out that I am in no way qualified in any useful medical or epidemiological capacity but one thing I do feel qualified to comment on is the spirit…

Released before Christmas and covered in last week’s issue, research commissioned by classic rallying firm HERO-ERA revealed the historic/classic vehicle sector turns over £18.3bn a year and employs 113,000 people. Beyond the headline figures however, the 60-page report, entitled ‘The Economic and Environmental Impact of the Historic and Classic Motor Industry in the UK’, also included further insights into the UK’s classic car pool – and they make for fascinating reading. Conducted by Cebr (Centre for Economics and Business Research Ltd), the report estimates there are 3.01m classics in the UK rather than the 1.54m figure released by the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs in November. This is because Cebr has supplemented the FBHVC’s definition of all historic vehicles being over 30 years old with the HMRC definition of…

It’s certainly been a whirlwind year for classics going under the hammer, with the pandemic halting many sales in their tracks. On the whole, classic car auctions weathered the worst that 2020 could throw at them and came out winners – some with record performances. We quizzed the UK’s auction houses on their thoughts about the past year, their stand-out lots and what they have in store for 2021. Now that 2020 is done, how was it for you? It’s been a doubled-edged sword really. Apart from the obvious downsides, our business downside was the loss of our April auction. But other than that, we’ve managed really well. Trade has been good, and the numbers have been building. It’s been going that way over the past five years, but I…

With 2020 now done, how was it for you? We’ve had to cope with Covid and all the restrictions, but the overall result was that we’ve had a record year. According to Hagerty’s analysis, we have the highest sell-through rate in all of Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the USA and Japan, so virtually the whole world. What changes did you make to adapt to the pandemic? Our sales were behind closed doors and we made it mandatory that on viewing days – which were on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday prior to the classic sale on Friday – that customers had to book a slot. No booking meant no entry and they had to wear a mask and gloves What effect did the pandemic have on your sales and…

Now that 2020 is over, what kind of year did you have? We already had a platform online we had used for selling MoD items and automobilia so we rapidly enhanced it for use with classic cars. It’s proven to be a considerable success, costing much less to run than traditional ‘in-person, physical’ sales which means we can operate on tighter budgets and smaller profits go further – meaning we survive as a business and jobs are kept. What changes did you make to adapt to the pandemic? Bar the move to online only sales, we initially had no viewings which worked surprisingly well. As the guidance evolved we operated limited viewings over three of the live sale days, and only to bidders who had registered online, pre-booked and paid…

PROTON SALOON / AEROBACK (1988-96) Introduced to the UK in the late ’80s was Malaysia’s first ever ‘national car’, known in its homeland as the Proton Saga but sold here simply as the three-box Proton Saloon and the five-door Proton Aeroback hatch. Both were Malaysian-built versions of the old Mitsubishi Lancer, powered by 1.3- and 1.5-litre engines from the same Japanese manufacturer. It didn’t take long for budget-conscious British buyers to appreciate Proton’s great value for money, decent build quality and brilliant reliability, hence the UK being the Malaysian’s brand’s biggest export market by the start of the 1990s. The original Protons remained on sale for over seven years, with one cosmetic facelift during that time. Now though, they’re not exactly an everyday sight, with Proton’s low used values seeing…

Wheeler Dealers is set to return with a new UK-based series in the autumn, with Mike Brewer joining forces with former Formula One mechanic Marc ‘Elvis’ Priestley. However, that won’t be it for fans as the pair will also reunite for second series of hugely successful spin-off show, Wheeler Dealers: Dream Car – and they’re looking for people to take part who want to trade in their current motor for the car of their dreams. Each episode sees Mike and Elvis meet a car owner and find inventive ways to add value to their existing vehicle, before flipping it for a profit and reinvesting the proceeds in a series of trade-ups that hopefully result in that person’s dream car. Series one included a Land Rover Series 2a, a Mk2 Escort,…

Fresh classic car TV is back on our screens tonight (January 6), with the first episode in a new series of Salvage Hunters: Classic Cars airing on Quest at 9pm. Series five of the hit show will once again see decorative salvage dealer Drew Pritchard join forces with car dealer Paul Cowland in a hunt for more classic cars to buy, restore and sell – hopefully for a profit. There are five new episodes in all, featuring a heady mix of Swedish, French, Italian and British classics. Tonight’s show gets things underway with a 1972 Citroën DS that looks like a wreck but hopefully hides a decent car underneath. On the other hand, a beautifully cared for Lotus 7 looks set to make an easy profit, but Drew hasn’t read…

The E36 BMW 3-Series, the onetime king of the fast lane and darling of the company car park, has been named the top affordable car of the 1990s by readers of CCB’s new sister title, Car Mechanics Bargain Cars. The bargain Beemer was voted into the top slot by followers of Bargain Cars on Facebook and Instagram, narrowly pipping the Mazda MX-5 into top spot. The MX-5’s archrival, the MGF, took third spot ahead of the luxurious Jaguar XJ saloon. Other ’90s icons in the list included the Ford Mondeo, BMW E39 5-Series and Alfa Romeo 156 in fifth, sixth and seventh places respectively, with the Peugeot 306 in eighth and a contemporary boy racers’ favourite – the Citroën Saxo – in ninth. However, some more unusual cars also got…

Now that the dust has settled on 2020, how was it for you? When you think the world pretty much turned upside down in March, we can’t be anything but delighted with the end result. What changes did you make to adapt to the pandemic? Our auctions were switched from being live physical auctions to online timed auctions. Bidders were still able to physically view the cars, however. What effect did the pandemic have on your sales and consignments? The first lockdown coincided with the week of our first scheduled classic car auction of the year, so we had to cancel. Thereafter we were extremely busy with consignments, and the demand for stock was extremely strong. What was your biggest or most remarkable auction of 2020? Our Summer Classic Car…

How did 2020 work out for you? Our March auction was one of the last physical sales before the lockdown, and despite having precautions in place, an overnight shift in people’s reaction to the virus saw us down about 25 per cent in attendance. We decided not to have the July 9 sale as everything was still in a pickle, but we did go ahead with our October sale behind closed doors. What changes did you make to adapt to the pandemic? We were very strict in what we did. We had 75 per cent of lots on site, with a week of viewing by appointment, along with a few barn finds that were not going to be moved until after the sale. We had online biding for the first…

Part 2 1945 - 1968 Post War Austerity to the Swinging Sixties A FRESH START AFTER THE WAR In the aftermath of World War Two, Britain’s Ministry of Information was busy telling the country to export or die. British pre-war automotive manufacturing prowess meant the motor industry should lead the charge for exports and across the board car companies responded, prioritising development of models for the lucrative North American market. Austin, Morris, Standard Triumph and many more were looking across the Atlantic. As war ended, the Standard Motor Company’s managing director Sir John Black wasted no time getting back into car production and making use of his recently acquired Triumph name, badging his organisation as ‘Standard Triumph’. While its small economy saloons were known as the Standard 8 and 10,…

The Mathewsons team signed off for 2020 with a pre-Christmas auction featuring over 400 lots of cars, motorcycles and memorabilia. And as with many of the firm’s recent sales, the first 100 lots were auctioned on the Friday evening, with the remainder going under the hammer on the Saturday. Friday evening saw several notable successes, with a 1969 Triumph Herald 13/60 selling above guide at £6376 and a 1969 Mercedes 280 SE more than doubling its estimate at £12,544. Another interesting project was the blue 1968 Triumph GT6, which also sold above guide at £5450. It was an interesting night for big American pick-ups too, with a ‘Cal-look’ 1948 Chevrolet 3100 selling for £20,500 and a 1964 Ford F100 beating its £15,000-£17,000 estimate to achieve £18,275. On Saturday, an older…

Now that 2020 is done and dusted, how was it for you? Despite the challenges of holding live, open-to-public auctions, we remained determined to do so if possible. Thankfully, that’s what we achieved, and the results were incredibly strong and consistent across all four sales. In fact, the Christmas auction returned the biggest sale rate of the year, at 83 per cent of 192 lots. What changes did you make to adapt to the pandemic? ‘Getting creative’ would be one way of describing it. We combined our May and July sales and curated the auction at an entirely new venue, Windsorview lakes near Datchet. We are fortunate to own the 100-acre rural site and consequently, were able to control and manage it entirely ourselves, respecting social distancing and all necessary…

Now that the 2020 is over, how was it for you? Surprisingly positive. We’ve held two classic sales, and our other auctions have gone ahead too. We feared the worst, so it’s been a bonus. We saw a rush for £20,000-£30,000 sports cars particularly from retirees who’d spent all this time saving and thought what are we going do with it other than enjoy it? Take the two TR4s sold in August for example, both men said that very same thing. What change did you make to adapt to the pandemic? Appointments and masks, quite simply. We’ve also stopped printing catalogues, and instead gone online. But we know the industry moves, everything changes anyway. We’ll eventually go back to printing catalogues, but we’ll also stay online. What effect did the…

RENAULT ESPACE MkI (1984-91) Launched in 1984 and running for seven years, the Matra-built glassfibre-bodied Espace was Europe’s first full-size MPV, effectively creating a whole new market that other manufacturers were destined to follow. A facelift in 1988 softened the front end a little, while the MkII Espace of ’91 brought a much more curvaceous style. The original Espace is now a fairly rare sight, despite its success when new. Very few are offered at auction. We did spot a splendid looking 2200 TXE achieved around £2100 at a Swiss sale in October – an impressive result, although it was in very good condition and in a desirable trim level. You’re more likely to find an Espace MkI by trawling the classifieds and looking online, where you should find MoT’d…

You’re right, it can’t be. Of course it’s an import, but has been converted to right-hand drive and very neatly too. It’s had its previous owner since the early 2000s, who commissioned the conversion and also had the paintwork finished to its fantastic purple you can see today. Peter Vardy Heritage has this car staged prominently at the front of their showroom as a bit of a showpiece, as it’s so eye catching. Quirky too, which continues inside with the plush velour seats, a modern steering wheel from a Golf plus a purple gear-lever top. The car has been treated to a full mechanical overhaul by Peter Vardy Heritage, from a full engine rebuild, including bronze-finished rocker covers, through brakes, suspension and exhaust. It’s also been fully undersealed underneath to…