28 appreciating classics and what you should pay for them

Today, the driving merits of this once unpopular Porsche are finally being recognised. While the ship’s already sailed for its 944 cousin, now looks like the time to pick up a 924.

Prices are climbing steadily, particularly for the more powerful Turbo or S models – although these are naturally more expensive to buy, too. 

The S is probably the one to go for, on account of its 944-derived 2.5-litre engine. Find a tidy example for less than £10k and you could be on to a winner.

BMW E46 M3

Target price: £10,000 – 20,000

We love the original E30, but the brutal truth is it’s slow, expensive and makes an ordinary noise. The later E46 M3 is the polar opposite.

Okay, so it’s heavier, much more common (take that as you like…) and doesn’t have the early car’s motorsport pedigree, but the E46 is heaps of fun and prices for the best have been climbing recently.

Avoid the jerky SMG semi-auto and wobbly cabrio and go for a manual coupé. If you can afford to stretch the budget, the CS got some of the CSL’s goodies and is a sound investment.

But make sure the rear floorpan isn’t cracked before you starting deploying the full 338bhp to the road…

Peugeot 205 GTI

Target price: £10,000 – £16,000

A long-time favourite for ragging around supermarket car parks, Peugeot’s 205 GTI was the hot hatch to have in the late ’80s.

Launched in 1984 with a fuel-injected 1.6-litre engine good for 104bhp, followed by a 1.9-litre unit two years later, it combined snappy handling with a lightweight build to set the bar for compact performance.

Alas, sales suffered in the ’90s thanks to its joyriding reputation and the 1.6 went out of production in 1992.

As with the Porsche, 205 values are already on the up and showing no signs of slowing. In fact, at the top end of the spectrum, pristine examples are fetching prices in the £30k range – but you don’t need to pay that for a tidy runner.

Less than £10k will still get you a 1.6 or 1.9 that goes well, while low-mileage, good-condition machines can be found below the £15k mark. Enjoy and maintain one sensibly and you could be sitting pretty in a few years.

Jaguar XJ-S

Target price: £7000 – £12,000

The successor to the legendary E-type, the XJ-S was every bit the luxury cruiser: generally powered by a smooth and capable V12, Jaguar’s understated but stylish grand tourer was equally at home consuming motorway miles as it was putting its power to use on country roads.

Built between 1975 and 1996, values have only recently started to climb as the market wakes up to the worth of this capable and reliable model.

Find a well-serviced late-’80s or ’90s V12 example without any clunks, run a compression test and hope prices go the way of the E-type.

Mazda RX-7

Target price: £12,000 – 18,000

Although many car makers dabbled with rotary engines in the late 1960s and early 1970s, only Mazda kept the faith in the face of economy and durability concerns, slotting piston-less engines into a variety of coupés, saloons and sports cars.

Most famous of those was the RX-7, and the FD-series, the last of its three iterations is hot property right now.

They’re also huge fun to drive with their rev-happy nature, a sequential turbo setup that minimises turbo lag, and Porsche 968-beating handling.

Your biggest problem is finding one that hasn’t been modified into some sort of terrible Batmobile pastiche.

Volvo 1800ES

Target price: £14,000 – £20,000

Volvo might not initially strike you as a marque likely to garner high investment returns, but then the P1800 was no ordinary Volvo: an attractive and evocative ’60s sports car, it shot to fame as Roger Moore’s steed in The Saint.

The 1800ES shooting-brake version followed in 1972 and is a more affordable option these days than its predecessor, although still reasonably pricey.

While not quite as pretty as the P1800, the distinctive 1800ES still has a certain charm – the kind of car The Saint might have driven once he’d settled down.

It should be reliable, too: the P1800 was originally built by Jensen, but Volvo took over production in 1963 to ensure its esteemed reputation was maintained.

That said, you can still expect it to have been extensively driven if you buy at the bottom end of the price range; we’d probably take the safer option and spend more on a low-mileage example.

Ford Capri 2.8i Special

Target price: £10,000 – £15,000

Long regarded as a poor man’s Aston Martin V8, values for Ford’s British-built muscle car have rocketed in recent years.

Looking back, the punchy coupé was surely always destined to be an icon: conceived as a Mustang for the European market, it borrowed parts from the Cortina, put plenty of power through the rear wheels and had fastback styling to boot.

Capri prices look to be levelling off after a pronounced climb in recent years, but particularly desirable variants such as the 280 Brooklands and the sporty four-speed 2.8i Special are likely to keep rising.

You’ll struggle to find a Brooklands for less than £20,000, but the 2.8i Special, complete with 2.8-litre Cologne V6 engine, is still affordable – and great fun, too.

Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R

Target price: £26,000 – 45,000

Race winner, cultural icon and still mind-bendingly fast, the R32 GT-R was too cheap for far too long. Now it’s worth more serious money, but is still likely to rise.

The best investment options are the rare V-Spec, and extremely rare N1, cars. But a standard GT-R is a safe place to put cash, and more fun than an ISA statement.

The later R33 GT-Rs, which took over from the R32 in 1995, are also a sound bet.

They’re a little heavier than the R32, but still great to drive, and they're just becoming eligible for importation to the US – which means more demand, and higher values.

Ford Bronco

Target price: £5000 – 35,000

While Land Rover is busy readying its new Defender for sale, over in the US another off-road icon is getting a revival – and that’s sure to have a similar impact on prices of the originals.

Ford launched the Bronco in 1965 as a rival to the Jeep CJ-5 and it was a staple of its lineup for over 30 years.

It’s back for 2020, which means everyone will be talking about the oldie.

First-generation cars built between 1965 and 1977 get the most cool points but they’re already expensive.

Second-series cars are much more affordable, but they’re based on a chopped-down F150 chassis so don’t look or feel as special. You pays your money and you takes your choice…

Mazda MX-5 Mk1

Target price: £3000 – £6000

It might seem an obvious choice, but Mazda’s legendary MX-5 remains a sound investment even as its appeal becomes widely appreciated.

A Japanese improvement on the front-engine, rear-wheel drive, lightweight sports cars that Britain had been turning out since the ’50s, the reimagined roadster was unveiled in 1989 and soon proved a success.

Offering bags of fun and more reliable than its European cousins had ever been, the compact classic became the best-selling two-seater convertible of all time.

Affordably sporty, early MX-5s carried 1.6-litre or 1.8-litre engines and were immensely fun to drive. Later motors were more reliable, but there’s decent availability of spares if anything needs a fix.

There are so many of them out there that you could easily pick one up for under a grand if you wanted to.

If, however, you’re looking for a car that rises in value as well as giving you enjoyment then we’d suggest you invest in a good-condition, rust-free example around the £6k mark.

Lotus Elise S1

Target price: £12,000 – £16,000

Launched in 1996, the Lotus Elise remains as evocative, sporty and desirable today as it was 20 years ago.

With an aluminium chassis clad in hand-finished glassfibre, the lightweight roadster was endless fun to drive and handled like a dream, in true Lotus fashion.

Things got more powerful over the years, with the ’99 111S model carrying a 143bhp Rover engine – but a low-mileage 118bhp Series 1 model is no bad bet.

Cheap ones are increasingly hard to come by, but find a tidy example below £16k and, well kept, you're likely to more than make your money back on it in a decade.

Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6

Target price: £2000 – £7000

Something of an everyday saloon, the Mercedes-Benz 190 might not initially look like the best candidate for investment – particularly given the countless varieties that left the factory. There are, though, certain variants of this understated German cruiser worth investigating.

Chief among them are the 2.3-16 and 2.5-16 models – but prices for these are already prohibitively high.

Instead, we’d opt for a 190E 2.6, which carries a fuel-injected 2.6-litre motor good for 160bhp.

A sound drive that people are increasingly interested in, tidy ones are still available for less than £5k if you shop around – and, as values for its rarer cousins continue to climb, you can bet 2.6 prices will be pulled up with them.

Triumph Stag Mk1

Target price: £12,000 – £18,000

Every bit the ’70s sports car, the Triumph Stag launched in 1970 as a 2+2 GT with a body styled by Michelotti and a 3-litre V8 under the hood.

Alas, though, while the Stag might have been good enough for Bond in Diamonds Are Forever, its engine was famously troublesome, suffering cracked gaskets and poor cooling.

Now, though, the tourer’s shaking off its sketchy reputation. Those reliability problems are fixable these days and by this stage in their life many Stags will already have been thoroughly sorted. Later models were generally much more reliable than legend would have it, anyway.

Around 26,000 or so were built, many of which have survived intact – so there’s no shortage on the market. 

Finding a good one may be harder, but choose carefully and you’ll have a classic that will give you years of enjoyment, even if its price doesn’t climb quite as much as some on this list.

Toyota MR2

Target price: £3000 – £5000

Launched in 1984, Toyota’s boxy sports car was an instant classic, combining an affordable price tag with accessible power, not to mention all-’80s styling.

Independent front and rear suspension – together with disc brakes on every corner – meant it handled beautifully, too, which did plenty to make up for the functional interior and absence of boot space.

With those iconic pop-up headlights, the MR2 was all-but-certain to gain a devoted following – and rust-free examples of the 125bhp AW11 model are already on the up.

Find a tidy one for less than £5k, drive it nicely and you should be set.

Volkswagen Golf MkI GTI

Target price: £9000 – £13,000

Arguably the definitive hot hatch, the Volkswagen Golf GTI has become a synonym for diminutive machines with agile handling, zippy performance and boxy body kits.

Launched in 1975 with a naturally aspirated 1.6-litre four-pot motor good for 110bhp, the featherweight (872kg) rollerskate could blast from 0 to 60mph in nine seconds – but it was most fun when chucked through corners.

First-generation GTIs remain a barrel of laughs today, their sharp handling and rev-happy motors offering more feel than you’ll find in almost any modern hatchback.

Remarkably, despite the fame of the name, stellar examples can still be found for less than £10,000.

That 1.6-litre engine was pretty hardy – unless thrashed – but many of the 460,000 Mk1 machines built have perished due to the dreaded rot, which means prices for well-maintained cars will only rise in value.

Ford Escort RS2000

Target price: £18,000 – £25,000

Forget gold: fast Fords are rapidly becoming the property to hold if you want to make a buck. That they’re generally also immense fun to drive is a happy bonus.

Any saloon with a Cosworth engine is ripe for a price rise – and many have already shot up, particularly the homologation specials – but it’s still possible to pick up a MkII Escort in nippy 2-litre RS2000 guise for less than £20k. Not entry-level money, sure, but still accessible.

A punchy two-door saloon with plenty of performance, some 10,000 RS2000s were made – which explains why you can still bag a decent one for £18k today. In contrast, just 109 of the less-powerful RS1800 models made it into being and they’ll set you back £50k or more.

Not the rarest, then, but the RS2000 is still a rally-bred legend in its own right and one that’s almost certain to follow the fast Ford trend – provided you pick one that’s original and carries proper RS parts.

Alfa Romeo Spider Series 2

Target price: £18,000 – £25,000

A stunning successor to the Giulia and Giulietta before it, Alfa Romeo’s drop-top Spider launched in 1966 and, like Game of Thrones, would enjoy a long and complex life over the course of several series.

Regardless of the model, all Spiders offer an addictive mix of sharp-but-subtle Italian style (the first three iterations were penned by Pininfarina), zippy performance from the all-alloy twin-cam motor and a cracking chassis that handles like a dream.

Cost varies across the models, but our pick of the mix would be a Series 2 Spider in 2000 Veloce guise. It pairs the classic looks of the earlier models with accessible 132bhp performance from the 2-litre motor – all without breaking the bank.

Being Italian, they can be a little capricious, though: rust is a major issue and the engine needs regular servicing, while any repairs can soon become expensive.

All the same, buy smart, drop the top and you've an investment classic that you can enjoy all summer long.

Fiat 124 Spider

Target price: £8000 – 15,000

Another Italian Spider, this one is still resolutely in bargain territory: never officially available in the UK, the two-door Fiat 124 packs a small-but-sweet 1.4-litre motor that delivers zing to match the sparky drop-top body.

Launched in 1966, the sporty, Pininfarina-bodied 2+2 hasn’t yet enjoyed its moment in the spotlight – which means it’s both an affordable entry point into Mediterranean classics and one that’s arguably undervalued.

With understated style and zest to the engine, any standard 124 Spider should deliver good bang for buck.

Only ever sold as left-hand drive, it’ll have to be an import – but trickier is tracking down a 124 that’s been well maintained since the ’60s. Check the engine thoroughly and do your best to locate a rust-free example (which might have to come from the USA, where most were exported to) – but don’t shy away from a mild restoration, either.

Good ones are out there – and if you find one, you’ll have a reliable roadster that’ll serve you well and might just bring a healthy return.

Ford Sierra RS Cosworth

Target price: £15,000 – 25,000

We said that fast Fords were the way to go – and, if we had another nest egg going spare, we’d opt for a speedy Sierra RS Cosworth.

Launched in 1985, the punchy performance saloon was equal parts affordable, practical and rapid, thanks to a Cosworth motor good for 204bhp and a 1200kg kerbweight. Built to qualify the model for competition, it proved an instant success for the American marque – and with good reason.

Less expensive than the limited-run RS500 (the rarest and therefore yours for £55k or more), the ‘standard’ Sierra RS Cosworth is also on the rise. 

You can still pick up a good RS Cosworth for around £16k if you look hard enough – although if you’d bought one five years ago you really would be quids-in now. Just make sure it's not a fake…

MGB GT V8

Target price: £12,000 – 18,000

Built by British Leyland at its lowest ebb, this muscular ’70s coupé saw a beefy American V8 bolted into the previously underpowered sports car – and the result was something little short of spectacular.

As balanced as the standard MGB, the combination of a low kerbweight and bags of torque from the thrumming 3.5-litre motor saw the GT transformed into the proper sports car BL should have been building for years. Think 0-60 in 8.6secs and 125mph at the top end.

Alas, despite the blistering thrills offered by that uprated power plant, the V8 iteration was blighted by the torrid reputation of the badge on its nose and the upgrade simply came too late in the day to make it a runaway success.

Which is great news for buyers today: just on the cusp of appreciation after decades in the wilderness, the GT remains affordable despite its relative rarity (fewer than 2600 were built).

Decent examples can be found for just north of £10k, with excellent chrome bumper numbers asking closer to £20k. Prices are unlikely to rocket, but a 0.4% rise in value according to Hagerty last year suggests the numbers are creeping up.

Bentley Turbo R

Target price: £10,000 – 15,000

Refined luxury, stately understatement and astonishing pace: Bentley’s V8 cruiser is a picture of ’80s motorway muscle and iconic to boot.

A stoic yet stylish four-door that can do the 0-60 dash in 7 seconds yet still cruise through Knightsbridge without screaming new money, the Turbo R is arguably the ultimate blend of furious pace and classy comfort. Ideal for those looking to sit in, rather than on, an investment.

Despite its comprehensive package of mod-cons and mighty speed, though, and even with a spike in values over the last decade, the Turbo R is still an affordable thing – albeit one that’s sure to continue climbing.

Maintenance bills can be hefty indeed, especially if you suffer electrical problems or turbo woes, so it pays to give any prospective purchase a thorough twice-over and aim for one with a full service history.

Do your homework and it’s possible to pick up a good one for £12k, which should leave you all set.

Mercedes-Benz SL500 (R129)

Target price: £8000 – 15,000

Mercedes revamped the SL class in 1989 with fresh styling and plenty of tech, shipping the R129 in a range of specs over the ensuing 12 years.

Top of the line was the 6-litre V12 cruiser, while the AMG models were naturally the sportiest of the lot – but for the best blend of performance and appreciation potential, we’d opt for an SL500.

Launched in 1989 as the 500 SL with a punchy 326bhp 5-litre V8 engine that could go and go, the autobahn attacker became the SL500 in 1994, retaining the engine, high-spec cabin and attractive shell, with just a few tweaks.

Naturally, the complex electrics can cause havoc if they go haywire, but a well-kept example with a good service history should offer a smooth gearbox and a V8 – whether M119 or later M113 variant – that’s sturdy and relaxed, but lively when it needs to be.

Get a good one for less than £10k and you’ll have plenty to enjoy, as well as a potential nest-egg for the next few decades: values are already a good deal higher than they were five years ago.

BMW E34 M5

Target price: £10,000 – 15,000

A true Q-car, the BMW M5 was the performance saloon to have at the turn of the ’90s. 

With sharp yet understated styling, that little ‘M’ badge is pretty much all that marks it out as a sleeper but that naturally aspirated 3.5-litre motor under the hood is good for 315bhp and can do 0-60 in a fearsome 6.3 secs.

Add a manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive and upgraded suspension into the mix – not to mention the even more powerful 340bhp engine that arrived for 1992 – and you have a true super saloon to play with.

The question, then, is not why you should buy one of the blistering race-bred Beemers, but why you shouldn’t.

The answer? If there is one, it’s maintenance: get unlucky with engine issues, rust, leaking dampers or something else and you face huge bills to get it back on the road. 

So don’t be tempted by cheap deals. Inspect and drive a range of E34s to get a feel for what’s out there. If you find a stellar one with a good service history around the £10k mark, you should be set – then it’s just a case of waiting until it goes the way of the E28 before it.

Toyota Supra Mk4 Turbo

Target price: £12,000 – 18,000

Another two-door offering that does plenty for Toyota’s sporting reputation, the Supra – in twin-turbo, Mk4 guise – remains an impeccable blend of sculpted styling, Japanese reliability and punchy performance.

Built between 1993 and 2002, the slippery sports car still cuts a dash with its aerodynamic lines and one-piece wing, while its sequential turbos mean the 3-litre straight-six can deliver a thumping 326bhp, paired with fantastic balance.

Always wanted one? Now’s the time to buy: as the new Supra hits the streets and nostalgia washes over everyone who had a Mk4 on their bedroom wall, the upward price trajectory is only going to accelerate.

Strangely, just a few hundred were built for – and bought in – Britain, which means original, UK-supplied examples are rarer and more sought-after. But don’t worry: a well-maintained JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) import will offer just as much fun.Naturally, the sporty six-speed manual cars are the most desirable, with prices for the best going above £20k, but you can still find plenty of good turbocharged ones for £15k.

Honda Integra Type R

Target price: £7000 – 13,000

As pure a driver’s machine as they come, the DC2 Integra Type R revs to over 8000rpm, sends 197bhp to its limited-slip-equipped front end, and will leave that 205 GTI you were thinking of paying £10k for a mere speck in the mirror.

We’re convinced these cult machines will be £25k cars in only a few years, so now is definitely the right time to get in on the action.

But watch for sill and arch rot and unsympathetic Fast & the Furious mods.

Land rover

Target price: £7000 – 40,000

Cheap for years, Land Rover prices rose sharply with all the fuss made around the end of Defender production back in 2016.

And they’re likely to get another boost with all the publicity surrounding the arrival of the all-new Defender, which lands in showrooms early in 2020.

The huge production run means there are thousands to choose from and umpteen body styles.

A coil-sprung Defender is a good daily bet, but an SII or early SIIa (before the lights moved to the wings) gives you most of the style and experience of the first cars for almost half the spend.

Nissan 300ZX Turbo

Target price: £5000 – 12,000

This Japanese giant was heaped with praise when new, but, unlike the Nissan Skyline GT-R and Supra, then fell out of favour.

Official UK cars were all 2+2 turbos, but other markets had the option of a shorter, two-seat car and naturally aspirated V6.

Japanese car specialists are reporting a steady swell in interest for the criminally undervalued 160mph Z, which is still currently valued at a fraction of the £30k+ you might pay for an equivalent Toyota Supra.

Porsche 996 Turbo

Target price: £28,000 – 45,000

These fearsomely rapid water-cooled 1996-2005 Porsche Turbos dropped below £20k at one point, but you’ll need £30k+ for a nice one today, and more like £40k for a low-mileage dealer-supplied car.

That’s still great value when you consider it’s less than a third of the money being asked for its 993 predecessor, though.

The Tiptronic auto ’box was optional for the first time on this Turbo and it’s not as bad as you think.

But we’d always go for a manual, and the X50 pack (boosting power from 414bhp to 444bhp) is a nice bonus if you can find one.

Images: Tony Baker, James Mann, Julian Mackie, Malcolm Griffiths, Daimler AG, RM Sotheby’s, Nissan, Haymarket Automotive

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