Selling a classic car

By Stuart Johnston

If you happen to own a 1980s Corolla or Escort XR3, or even Y-Series Datsun, you could make a nice tidy profit when the time comes to sell. But right now it is a buyer’s market, so hang on t what you have in your garage.

Speak to salesmen about the investment possibilities of cars and they’ll tell you the only category of car where you can make money in the medium to short term is in classic cars.

For some time now classic cars have been seen as one of the best type of investments you can make, with the likely returns far out-stripping any other commodity, such as diamonds, gold, silver and property.

But the market has slowed down of late

Recently the market has slowed down substantially, however, and some owners of cars in the Ferrari and Porsche league find themselves having over-invested if they laid out big money for, say, a 30 year-old  Ferrari 348 or a Porsche 911 Carrera 4 about two years ago.

The upside comes if you can hang on to your car

The more expensive the classic car, the more money you are likely to make when you sell it, but, unless you are really short of cash right now, the word out there is that it’s best to hang on to your classic. This is not merely a local trend, but a global trend at the moment.

What about run-of-the-mill classics?

The writer of this article has been involved in the classic car scene since the early 1990s, having bought a neat 1966 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia for his wife at that time. In buying a classic, it is always best to go for originality first and foremost, and that first Ghia was complete and original in every aspect of trim with matching engine numbers.

Back then, air-cooled Volkswagens were only considered marginally collectible, but all that has changed. That Ghia that cost R12 000 in 1992 would sell now for about R200 000.

 Air-cooled first-generation  split-window Kombis change hands for R500 000 to R1-million  in top-grade restored condition, and any split-window bus, even in ratty and chronically rusty shape with hardly any trim, never fetches less than R150 000. That’s if you can find them.

Selling a Bay Window bus

The second-generation Bay Window Kombis are becoming almost as sought-after. About six years ago the writer bought a 1971 Volkswagen Kombi for R16 000. After spending less than R5 000 on minor engine work, registration and a good clean, the bus was sold for R80 000 just two years after purchasing. And now, two years later, that bus would probably fetch R150 000 to R200 000.

The same thing is happening with run-of-the-mill late-model VW Beetles. Early Beetles with rounded chrome bumpers are already selling upwards of R100 000 in tip-top condition, and even the late series big-tail light Beetles from the 1972 to 1978 period are fetching a minimum of R50 000 to R60 000 right now, in clean original condition.

Japanese classics

Some Japanese cars from the 1970s to the mid-1980s are already quite collectable. The rear-wheel-drive Toyota Corollas have quite a following, and if you can get a Corolla Liftback from the early 1980s in good shape, it will make you money when the time comes to sell it. Not huge money, because  a Toyota or a Datsun from that era s still not seen to have universal appeal. The trick is to buy one where the body work and interior  is as good as you can find it. Mechanical components are generally far cheaper to put right than shoddy trim. And buy the rarest model in the line-up of that time.

What’s the right selling price?

How do you know when you have set your price too low? When the phone starts ringing as soon as you have placed your ad.  A while back I sold a Volvo P1800 for R80 000, having paid R50 000 for it a few years earlier. I knew my price was about R40 000 too low as the phone kept on ringing months after I had placed the ad. Today, almost a decade later, that car would fetch R350 000 in the identical condition. It’s all about rarity value.  A 1960s-to1970s Volvo P1800 is extremely difficult to find.

What about future trendy classics?

If you already  happen to own a Mk I or Mk II Ford Escort, hang onto to it until you need to sell it. Prices of these cars have already gone ballistic, as there is such a demand for them both in South Africa and abroad. Even humble Mk III, Mk IV and Mk V Cortinas in good condition are fetching silly money, because there is a market for them in the UK.

Right now Volkswagen Citi Golfs, the early varieties, are looking a good bet for the future. Remember to buy a clean one in good condition. You won’t make huge money quickly on a Citi Golf or a Mk II Golf yet, but if you buy a clean one now and can hang onto it for five years, you will realise a great return on your investment. The reason being that good, unmolested examples are so difficult to find.

And the same thing is already happening with the third-generation (T3) VW Kombi. Again, don’t buy a ratty one that needs work. Buy that pristine example for reasonable money now, and in four or five years you will be sitting on a blue-chip investment.