Can you buy an everyday car that will increase in value ?

[biggbn]

It's a car I covet pruf, extremely jealous.

[biggbn]

Renault avantime?

[Prufrock]

Originally Posted by biggbn

Renault avantime?

Was recently featured in C & S (magazine), should the Vel Satis be included too ?

J.

[Bonefishblues]

Originally Posted by Prufrock

Was recently featured in C & S (magazine), should the Vel Satis be included too ?

J.

No!

HTH

[biggbn]

I think vel satis is destined to languish in the shallow end of the used car market, sitting on dealers forecourts with half an inch of dust and two flat tyres, faded bunting flapping forlornly as punters walk past to buy ANYTHING else. A shame, wonderful interior, cavernous, unusual. Most big French cars seem destined for a three figure price ending in 99ono in this country. I passed a pug 605 the other day and was struck by what a gorgeous,,well proportioned, elegant, worthless barge it was!!

[Prufrock]

They are but the thread is about running a car that may not depreciate further; the Matra built Avantime had reached the nadir of it's depreciation curve and is hardening, whereas the Vel Satis is still soft - although the odd low mileage one found seems good value at around £1500-£2000 if you like them.

Ditto the Peugeot 607.

British buyers have never really taken to big French cars, although in their heyday (!) they were quite successful when new -

Citroens CX & XM
Peugeot 605 (latterly 607)
Renault 25.

The French went the way of the Granada/Scorpio and Carlton/Omega.

J.

[biggbn]

I don't think any of them were particularly big sellers in comparison to their domestic market. I love a big Citroen, I must admit. I disagree avantime values are hardening, they seem at an all time low. I fou d three for sale in the last six months for less than three grand, one less than two. Decent cars too, bit of delaminating of the colour on one of them but good low owner cars. Still you are right in that pristine examples will command decent money, same story with many cusp classics..

[Prufrock]

Originally Posted by biggbn

I don't think any of them were particularly big sellers in comparison to their domestic market. I love a big Citroen, I must admit. I disagree avantime values are hardening, they seem at an all time low. I fou d three for sale in the last six months for less than three grand, one less than two. Decent cars too, bit of delaminating of the colour on one of them but good low owner cars. Still you are right in that pristine examples will command decent money, same story with many cusp classics..

I recommend you read the article about the Avantime in C&S then. In the mid 1980s French cars still did relatively well in a market not yet dominated by the Germans (the German NSCs did not support the user chooser market like they do now and have done for best part of two decades), the Renault 25 did particularly well against Granada, Carlton and even the Volvo 700 series, and Citroen had great ambitions for the XM when launched in 1989 - I was there.

J.

[biggbn]

Originally Posted by Prufrock

I recommend you read the article about the Avantime in C&S then. In the mid 1980s French cars still did relatively well in a market not yet dominated by the Germans (the German NSCs did not support the user chooser market like they do now and have done for best part of two decades), the Renault 25 did particularly well against Granada, Carlton and even the Volvo 700 series, and Citroen had great ambitions for the XM when launched in 1989 - I was there.

J.

Will track it down. You are right, Citroen had great ambitions for xm but they did not come to fruition. I loved mine. Worth tracking down a column Russel bulgin wrote for car magazine outlining why it failed here. He was a really good writer, though just short of Bishop, Llewellyn and cropley, and well short of the inestimable ljks, but then who wasn't?!

[Prufrock]

Originally Posted by biggbn

Will track it down. You are right, Citroen had great ambitions for xm but they did not come to fruition. I loved mine. Worth tracking down a column Russel bulgin wrote for car magazine outlining why it failed here. He was a really good writer, though just short of Bishop, Llewellyn and cropley, and well short of the inestimable ljks, but then who wasn't?!

I've read Car since I was at school so know Setright et al. I am aware - as mentioned - of Citroen's ambitions for the XM, I was involved in the UK launch.

I know why the XM failed in the UK - although I will add the first gen' was more successful than the second.

J.