Escorts I-II prices?

Sort of the other way round, I've been watching a few episodes of Wheeler Dealers - where they 'do up old classics'. And some quite interesting cars too - old Porsches, BMWs, British sports cars.

They seem to buy them quite cheaply (sort of fine), but then through some form of alchemy turn them round into something tidy for (they say) buttons, and then sell them for not very much more than they paid.

All in the name of entertainment, no doubt. But assuming the sale is genuine, it did strike me how little sthey can go for.

Also, I find the show to be pretty good. Some decent tips.

You can't expect a mere journalist to know the difference in value between versions of the Escort. After all, that would take about 5 minutes to research. So they simply print the most impressive figure they can find.

What tends to push up MkI Escort prices is they are popular for classic car competition like rallying.

Mmm. I don't think you get the whole classic car thing at all, do you?

100%

Not really. Mk1 & Mk2 Escorts were amongst the most boring and conventional cars around at the time - stylistically, as well as being _decades_ behind the times technically. It's just that some of them were fairly quick, but utterly conventional, cars, and they did well in competition at the time.

They still do well in competition now, albeit not at the very top level, and with VAST amounts of money thrown at them.

They were pleasant enough vehicles to drive with nice quick direct steering and a decent gearchange. What may make them popular now is they are a big contrast from today's small cars. Not saying they are better - just very different.

Quite. My niece's hubby races one.

I very much doubt they were markedly different to, say, an Avenger in that respect. Yet how much is a cooking Avenger worth? Even a genuine Tiger would struggle to fetch the price of an equivalent-condition 1100L Scrote.

A genuine Tiger's still worth quite a bit, but spare parts for an avenger are way harder to source than for and escort & they never had the same following. Plus a quick glane at ebays sold prices rather than asking prices tells you that cooking Mk2s still aren't worth much.

That's because you're missing the point of the show!

It's more about how you can c*ck about with cars as a hobby, rather than it being a 'real' business. Hence them pointing out 'we can do this for nothing - but you may need to pay a specialist, which will cost you £xxx'.

It's a 'scene' thing, very much like the classic VW scene.

To be part of the scene, you need the right car. At the moment, it's all about the Mk1 and Mk2 Scrotes. But the Mk3 RS and XR are starting to get silly now, too.

I'll find it very entertaining when the tugid and unbelievably dull Mk1 Mondeo becomes the entry-level 'Ford scene' car, and people have to pay near new prices to acquire one.

...and it will...

(Actually, I dunno - long term, the Mk1 Focus is the obvious candidate)

ST170 prices will go astronomical.

I still reckon the sporty Mk1 Mondeos will go silly very soon, though - they're debating them in Practical Classics...

Don't know what 'near new car price' you're thinking about to get a base MOT'd Mk 1 Escort. Of course any 30 odd year old car in as new condition will fetch a price close to a new car. But then they are very rare.

It's interesting how this goes. For instance there's strong Ford and VW 'scenes' which might include the Mondeo and the Passat, but virtually no classic Hyundai or Mitsubishi scenes. Such that there is is essentially people picking them up for pimping or banger racing - you'd never see a smart original one, they all have orange alloys and the exhaust from a bus.

Theo

I was talking of the likes of the Mk1 Mondeo and Focus - how long before you'll need to pay £15k to get a nice one? - we may laugh at the idea now, but these are the kind of cars which will command silly money over the next decade or so.

Pretty well any 30 year old car in as new condition will make a fair bit of money, purely because it is rare. Even although regarded as a bit of a dog when current. Perhaps even more so as fewer may survive.

You don't buy a classic car because it is 'better' than a similar cost newer one. You buy it because it is different from a modern one, and this appeals to you. It's never really been a good investment - which is good news for those who like it purely as a hobby.

I still have my bog-standard 1969 1300L Mk1 Escort bought secondhand in 1977 a one owner 8K miles, always loved the simplicity of it's engineering if not the quality

plenty of other cars i now wish i had not sold, Mini Cooper S, split screen VW camper

I wonder what others biggest regret is

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I like the Lexus we have now, but I do miss the Mk2 Granada Estate that we used for many years, it died from a rattling big end and general old age made it not worth fixing. Its nice square shape and superb steering lock made it so easy to park, and anything could fit in the back. Even

4 people and a baby plus luggage for a week all went in easily. It had most of the comforts that people have now come to expect and in general, reliability was excellent.

Escort II was a much nicer drive than a cooking Avenger IMO, plus the Avenger rotted even more apectacularly. Learnt do drive in a selection of MkII scrotes, big sister had an Avenger and a MkII scrote.

Ha, split scren VW camper. There's another one people are going crazy about.