'Cassic' car you wish you bought.

Pecker · May 31, 2017

12 hours ago, Big Rat said:

@NemesisUK Very nice I'm impressed, the closest I got to was hiring a Vauxhall Chevanne, what a piece of s... that was.

🐀

Don't worry, I had one worse... only good things about it were RWD, engine in the boot, and the insanely loud backfiring capability...

MNMJ · May 31, 2017

19 hours ago, Big Rat said:

@MNMJ I remembered when they raced these, and a journalist overheard a comment from a team member who said words to the effect 'racing these is just as sensible as burning piles of £20.00 notes and shoving the same continually into the fire '

They did sound good though 😏

Big Rat

That sounds rather lovely. I understand that they were very fast, but not reliable enough to win much.

Big Rat · May 31, 2017

3 hours ago, MNMJ said:

That sounds rather lovely. I understand that they were very fast, but not reliable enough to win much.

@MNMJ Right on both counts 👍

🐀

Big Rat · May 31, 2017

20 hours ago, Linas.P said:

That is very true, they say you should not meet your childhood heroes (or teenage for this matter).

@Linas.P All children..... period 😂

🐀

Big Rat · May 31, 2017

6 hours ago, Pecker said:

Don't worry, I had one worse... only good things about it were RWD, engine in the boot, and the insanely loud backfiring capability...

@Pecker A friend had a 130 model of this he was so tired of it, when he travelled on the now defunct Hook of Holland to Harwich ferry he left it on board and went back home on the train 😂

🐀

Linas.P · May 31, 2017

1 hour ago, Big Rat said:

@Linas.P All children..... period 😂

🐀

technically you need to be at least teenager to drive a car, but I give you that - according to insurers you need to be 65 to afford the insurance on it... at which point it is the same as being a child.

mikeyv · May 31, 2017

1 hour ago, Linas.P said:

technically you need to be at least teenager to drive a car, but I give you that - according to insurers you need to be 65 to afford the insurance on it... at which point it is the same as being a child.

Really, in what way?

Peter P18 · June 2, 2017

For me it would be either the Toyota Supra MK4, or the R34 GTR Skyline. Both are commanding silly prices (more so the R34 GTR), and are set to be highly collectable in years to come.

I'd also love to build a 240Z with a full RB26, GTR running gear conversion. Old skool looks with modern performance and handling.

Linas.P · June 3, 2017

On 6/2/2017 at 3:07 PM, Peter P18 said:

For me it would be either the Toyota Supra MK4, or the R34 GTR Skyline.

2

R34 was always quite expensive, but Supra is another matter. I remember coming to UK in 2009 and looking for a nice car - car prices in UK compared to my country were like madly cheap... 2-3 times less. I remember I really liked 2001 Subaru WRX/STI "bug-eye" (yes... I know everyone hated it ) so that was my first car to check for insurance. The car costed £2500 (I believe it was WRX with pro-drive kit), the insurance for me was £30000 (no - that is correct 30k), the next one I checked was "rally coloured" 1.8l GX version aka STI replica for £1300 ... that one was £14000 to insure. At this point, I realised there is no love for Subaru drivers in UK and moved on.... onto Toyota Supra I believe it was 3l 1994 non-turbo one for ~£1500, just to illustrate how many times the price multiplied - there were no that many cars ~8-10 on Autotrader at the time, but you could fit them all in £1500-£3500 price range... Now you can imagine when I checked insurance for this one ... it was... yes £36000. At this point I realised there is no discrimination against Subaru, just against the drivers overall.

Spacewagon52 · June 3, 2017

The first Celica would be my choice for CRAVE = the 2.0 litre ST or 1.6 - not fussy. They rusted well and are now quite rare and expensive for a good one.

I agree with MikeyV - it would not be about value but love for the car. The Celica compared with my LS would probably be horrid to travel in .... but it was a car I nearly bought in the 1970's. I would stil love one ... just for its looks and sentimental reasons.

My 2nd choice:-

LS400 MkIV - wow! I have won the lottery!

Big Rat · June 3, 2017

22 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

The first Celica would be my choice for CRAVE = the 2.0 litre ST or 1.6 - not fussy. They rusted well and are now quite rare and expensive for a good one.

I agree with MikeyV - it would not be about value but love for the car. The Celica compared with my LS would probably be horrid to travel in .... but it was a car I nearly bought in the 1970's. I would stil love one ... just for its looks and sentimental reasons.

My 2nd choice:-

LS400 MkIV - wow! I have won the lottery!

@Spacewagon52 David here's a little treat for you 👍

Big Rat

Linas.P · June 3, 2017

1 hour ago, Spacewagon52 said:

LS400 MkIV - wow! I have won the lottery!

Problem with LS is that they are unlikely to become classic - great cars though. My opinion is based on looking to other limousine class cars i.e. old S class, Bmw 7 Series etc. You can find complete, stock good shape 1975 car for few thousands, whilst coupes or cabrios of the same year costs astronomical money.

I guess SC/Soarer is the one to choose - still very similar car, but those 2 missing doors are what matters.

Talking about Supra below is quite good value and fairly original car:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Supra-n-a-MANUAL-PROJECT-car-phone-calls-only-/182579443803?hash=item2a8295385b:g:tt4AAOSwlY1ZKVO3

Thought, few years ago similar one would have been sold for an empty can of beer. As well talking about the price and point I made earlier about collector gangs buying out specific model to disrupt supply and demand, you can see evidence of that in action - this guy owns at least another 2 Supras, which at some point he hoarded for pennies. Any time you see a car which used to be fairly rare but cheap and now rocketed in value, you will always see the same trend - a yard full of same model cars. Same applies to NSX, BMW 3/6/8-series coupe and many others.

Spacewagon52 · June 4, 2017

10 hours ago, Big Rat said:

@Spacewagon52 David here's a little treat for you 👍

Big Rat

Thanks Paul! Yes, I still drool! I saw one for sale recently but they wanted £10,000! Panels are not easy to source I understand and the tin worm is a real worry.

It might not be too expensive to maintain mechanically - but I am useless with a spanner and need to rely on trusted garages. I believe classic cars are affordable if you are capable of fettling your own car. I am a person who loves cars but knows very little about how they are put together. I am in awe of peeps on here who do their own servicing and repairs. To a certain extent I have my heart in my mouth whenever I drive the Lexus, worried something very expensive will go wrong. To be honest, what is the worst that can happen? The car is scrapped, and I have lost the present value, which is under £3000 probably.

We should be more worried if we pay a great deal more for a car (£20,000 +) as if that goes wrong you have little choice but to pay to have it repaired. I understand the logic when people take out the extended Lexus warranty - it is basically an insurance against a potential money pit. I would have to disagree with Linus, I believe they will be a classic, as the LS 400 broke the mould for luxury saloons. They are very much over engineered and that has been shown by how little they age.

I went to the local Classic car show - not one Lexus, but there will be a 20 year old LS 400 there next year! (I hope!). A trio or more of ISF's would also be treat!

Big Rat · June 4, 2017

@Spacewagon52 David Yes the values are well on the up and in my opinion justifiably so, they are a very good looking car, in fact there was a car meet at AV8 Cafe on the 20th November 2016 no more than 20 or so assorted cars, one of which was a pale yellow 1600 ST, it was in fantastic condition inside and out.

They owner was obviously not bothered about using it it was pouring down !

Ive been specific about the date and location as there is a YouTube video of the day can't seem to find it 🤔

I agree about the maintenance of these vehicles and the peace of mind of a warranty, I'm fine with nail guns and roof trusses modern cars don't react well to attempted repairs to shall we say the body work to one of these.......

I to agree agree about the LS in time it will happen the engineering in them is marvellous, had an elderly neighbour some years ago with a 400 who used to fly out of Bristol airport to see family abroad didn't like leaving it at the airport car park so I was employed on chauffeur duties, it was head and shoulders above my then M5 in many respects except the performance obviously.

But the sheer quality of the whole package made the the M5 feel like a very 4th division contender !

The days of a fully attended national Japanese classic car show are on the horizon 🤗

Big Rat

Big Rat · June 4, 2017

4 minutes ago, Big Rat said:

@Spacewagon52 David Yes the values are well on the up and in my opinion justifiably so, they are a very good looking car, in fact there was a car meet at AV8 Cafe on the 20th November 2016 no more than 20 or so assorted cars, one of which was a pale yellow 1600 ST, it was in fantastic condition inside and out.

They owner was obviously not bothered about using it it was pouring down !

Ive been specific about the date and location as there is a YouTube video of the day can't seem to find it 🤔

I agree about the maintenance of these vehicles and the peace of mind of a warranty, I'm fine with nail guns and roof trusses modern cars don't react well to attempted repairs to shall we say the body work to one of these.......

I to agree agree about the LS in time it will happen the engineering in them is marvellous, had an elderly neighbour some years ago with a 400 who used to fly out of Bristol airport to see family abroad didn't like leaving it at the airport car park so I was employed on chauffeur duties, it was head and shoulders above my then M5 in many respects except the performance obviously.

But the sheer quality of the whole package made the the M5 feel like a very 4th division contender !

The days of a fully attended national Japanese classic car show are on the horizon 🤗

Big Rat

@Spacewagon52 Makeing no apologies for gratuitous showing of another one, I love this picture 😋

Spacewagon52 · June 4, 2017

This is an original advert for the USA I think.

Spacewagon52 · June 4, 2017

1 minute ago, Spacewagon52 said:

This is an original advert for the USA I think.

A work colleague had a yellow one, my favourite colour. Also liked the dark brown metallic.

The-Acre · June 4, 2017

For me it only ever was, and ever will be a 69 Corvette Stingray. No other car would do. I once owned a 69 Chevy Malibu in a rare right hand drive, oh how I wish I still had it, especially as it only cost me £150!

Big Rat · June 4, 2017

49 minutes ago, The-Acre said:

For me it only ever was, and ever will be a 69 Corvette Stingray. No other car would do. I once owned a 69 Chevy Malibu in a rare right hand drive, oh how I wish I still had it, especially as it only cost me £150!

@The-Acre Phil how about this beauty is it the same model as your old one ?

http://www.sa-cia.co.za/uscars/chevrolet-chevelle/

Big Rat

The-Acre · June 4, 2017

1 hour ago, Big Rat said:

@The-Acre Phil how about this beauty is it the same model as your old one ?

http://www.sa-cia.co.za/uscars/chevrolet-chevelle/

Big Rat

I couldn't open the link, but this was like the one I had, although not the SS as this one is, same colour though.

Big Rat · June 4, 2017

50 minutes ago, The-Acre said:

I couldn't open the link, but this was like the one I had, although not the SS as this one is, same colour though.

@The-Acre Nice very nice, never had an American car been tempted in the past love the simplicity of these vehicles 👍

Big Rat

Martin F · June 4, 2017

22 hours ago, Linas.P said:

Talking about Supra below is quite good value and fairly original car:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Supra-n-a-MANUAL-PROJECT-car-phone-calls-only-/182579443803?hash=item2a8295385b:g:tt4AAOSwlY1ZKVO3

I'd hate to see a bad value one !!!

Looks like that guy has bought at the bottom of the barrel and is now just trying to farm them off because the market value has moved up a bit, but those examples are still bottom of the barrel.

Peter P18 · June 4, 2017

Correct. Due to frankly absurd prices being paid for Supra's at the moment, chancers are advertising poor examples at inflated prices. Even n/a versions are creeping towards double figures, which is crazy considering you could buy them for £2-3k a year or two ago.

The problem is demand is outstripping supply. I am sure I heard somewhere that Japan have even started trying to buy these back, as they don't have enough available over there anymore.

The States are also Supra crazy (thanks F&F!), so I can't see prices coming down anytime soon sadly.

I'm always going to have a soft spot for Supra's though, joined the owners club when I was 13yrs old! I've owned 4 myself, supported three mates who raced them for years in Time Attack and Eurosaloon races, and one of my best mates owns the largest Supra tuner in Europe.

If I don't sell up and buy one, I'm sure I'll pick up a project car at some point in the future.

Linas.P · June 4, 2017

40 minutes ago, Martin F said:

I'd hate to see a bad value one !!!

Looks like that guy has bought at the bottom of the barrel and is now just trying to farm them off because the market value has moved up a bit, but those examples are still bottom of the barrel.

The price is ok for nowadays, but you know that I have same opinion - N/A Supra in same condition was literally worth nothing few years ago.

13 hours ago, Spacewagon52 said:

I would have to disagree with Linus, I believe they will be a classic, as the LS 400 broke the mould for luxury saloons. They are very much over engineered and that has been shown by how little they age.

1

Let me rephrase it a little bit - LS400 will become a classic car, depending which definition you use you can call any car over 30 years "a classic". But it will never command same value as say SC. I might be worn but I am looking to trends and Limousines/Large Saloons are not what becomes valuable. Furthermore, there are some exceptions when the car is specific rare edition e.g. BMW M5, or Lexus IS-F... but sadly LS400 were a mass produced car, even more sadly it is over-engineered and very reliable - not good sign if you want it to become "appreciating" classic. Funny enough, the better the car is the less likely it becomes exceptionally rare and expensive, unless made in limited quantities from the beginning.

thatfatbloke · June 5, 2017

Never been one for sports cars,always preferred 'luxury barges'. Here are just 4 on my list of many. The green Mercedes 300te, called Gertie, was the actual one I owned until about 3 years ago. Wish I still had her (as well as the LS of course).