Seriously?

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Perhaps shoot him an offer for £750 Alan?

I can't really offer a chap £750 for a car he is asking £3000 for Dave! Not with a straight face anyway :-)

I'll keep an eye on it - if I think it gets to the stage where he might take a sub-grand offer I'd probably have a go.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

I can't really offer a chap £750 for a car he is asking £3000 for Dave! Not with a straight face anyway :-)

I'll keep an eye on it - if I think it gets to the stage where he might take a sub-grand offer I'd probably have a go.

That begs the question Alan - does the seller have a straight face asking £3k for a basket case? Or is he sat there thinking some mug will buy it for whatever reason thinking they have a bargain resto candidate?

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

That begs the question Alan - does the seller have a straight face asking £3k for a basket case? Or is he sat there thinking some mug will buy it for whatever reason thinking they have a bargain resto candidate?

I think you have hit the nail on the head there Dave - and sadly we have seen people on this forum do that previously.

:-(

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

I think you have hit the nail on the head there Dave - and sadly we have seen people on this forum do that previously.

:-(

Maybe an offer of £750 is better than he's already had? Perhaps he's dropped the price in the hpe people who previously offered £300 would increase their offers?

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Maybe an offer of £750 is better than he's already had? Perhaps he's dropped the price in the hpe people who previously offered £300 would increase their offers?

I have just looked at the photos of the rust in the boot - eeeeeeek!

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

I have just looked at the photos of the rust in the boot - eeeeeeek!

Scary, isn't it?

That's without looking at the areas that more commonly rot - you'd either have to be very brave or borderline certifiably insane to take it on as a resto. I'm sure it could be done but you'd need a lot of time, money, patience and skill to do it, more of each to do it right and then it would have to be a labour of love as the end wouldn't justify the means.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Scary, isn't it?

That's without looking at the areas that more commonly rot - you'd either have to be very brave or borderline certifiably insane to take it on as a resto. I'm sure it could be done but you'd need a lot of time, money, patience and skill to do it, more of each to do it right and then it would have to be a labour of love as the end wouldn't justify the means.

... you are so right Dave - I hadn't bothered to look at those photos of the boot close up until the other day - they do rather send shivers down the spine! If it is that bad in the boot then I suspect there is nothing left of the inner wheel arches at the back, which probably means the sills will be rusted away as well.

Having thought about it (for a second or two) I will not be making an offer, even at £750. I think that car's best use would be as a spares mule.

:-(

[Othen]

Whilst keeping an eye on 240 prices at our favourite auction site I came across this one nearly a month ago:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volvo-240...53.m1438.l2649

... I think this is the third time it has been advertised and still has not attracted an opening bid at £1989 (sort of odd number to start with I thought).

I suppose it is just in that no man's land between historic cars/really nice cars (both of which make good money) and old, tired cars. It sounds more or less genuine (apart from the paint that used to belong to the RAF - I would not be advertising that if I were the seller!).

10 years ago this motor car would have probably made £500, 20 years old being about the nadir of car values - now the question is has rarity made it value increase substantially? It would appear the answer is no (so far anyway).

I'll keep an eye on this one :-).

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Othen

...

10 years ago this motor car would have probably made £500, 20 years old being about the nadir of car values - now the question is has rarity made it value increase substantially? It would appear the answer is no (so far anyway).

I'll keep an eye on this one :-).

To test my theory about 20 year old cars being at their nadir in terms of price, I thought I’d see what might be available for only £500 on our favourite auction site. The car had to be running and riding, with a current MoT, and found this that has just sold for £499:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Focu....m46890.l49292

... a Focus auto may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but a usable car with less than 180,000 miles for £500 is where the 240 above would have been 10-15 years ago - obviously the car is rarer now, but I’m wondering why people think their £500 cars are suddenly worth 2 grand. Sometimes I’m just too old to understand :-)

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Whilst keeping an eye on 240 prices at our favourite auction site I came across this one nearly a month ago:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volvo-240...53.m1438.l2649

... I think this is the third time it has been advertised and still has not attracted an opening bid at £1989 (sort of odd number to start with I thought).

I suppose it is just in that no man's land between historic cars/really nice cars (both of which make good money) and old, tired cars. It sounds more or less genuine (apart from the paint that used to belong to the RAF - I would not be advertising that if I were the seller!).

10 years ago this motor car would have probably made £500, 20 years old being about the nadir of car values - now the question is has rarity made it value increase substantially? It would appear the answer is no (so far anyway).

I'll keep an eye on this one :-).

People who are looking for an older Volvo won't want to spend out on a respray to get a decent colour Alan - might be a few Chinook fans out there but i think even they would baulk at the idea of dodgy paint! Is a "Chinook Paint Sprayer" even an official rank in the RAF?

Originally Posted by Othen

To test my theory about 20 year old cars being at their nadir in terms of price, I thought I’d see what might be available for only £500 on our favourite auction site. The car had to be running and riding, with a current MoT, and found this that has just sold for £499:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Focu....m46890.l49292

... a Focus auto may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but a usable car with less than 180,000 miles for £500 is where the 240 above would have been 10-15 years ago - obviously the car is rarer now, but I’m wondering why people think their £500 cars are suddenly worth 2 grand. Sometimes I’m just too old to understand :-)

I drove a lot of Focus models (Focii ?) when they were new (some so new they didn't have registration plates) and almost all (except the top/sportiest) models displayed worrying understeer when going into corners. I took the worst one back and got them to check tyre pressures, dampers and put it on the ramp to see if there was something wrong with the front suspension. I'd narrowly missed the Armco coming off a roundabout and i wasn't being a lead-foot either! As such i wouldn't even think about a Focus even if i was desperate for transport.

A lot of 20+ year old cars are going up in value now though, the 240 is in a grey area where some are considered "just an old Volvo" and others are definitely in classic territory, even if not at the magic 40 year status yet.