Words: John Mayhead, Hagerty
The updated UK Hagerty Price Guide has just been published, and the figures make for interesting reading. We’ve now expanded the Guide to track 1931 classic models, from the most affordable (Austin Allegro 1.0 2-door saloon) all the way up to the most valuable (Ferrari 250 GTO).
You may have read recent news reports announcing that classic values have “crashed” down by 10% in the last year, but although this makes great headlines it isn’t the conclusion we’ve reached from our own analysis.
It’s true that in the last 12 months some prices have been more volatile than in the preceding few years, but as we explained in this article, we believe that this is more the market finding its correct level than a ‘crash’ of any sort.
In fact, our Classic Index that tracks fifty classics that we feel are most indicative of the UK enthusiast and investor market, has risen by 2.16% in the quarter, and 5.3% over the last 12 months. It is true that some did fall: in the 12 months to October 2017, a total of 11 cars dropped in value, but 14 were effectively unchanged (under 2%) and the rest rose.
It is interesting to look at those cars that fell, and those that rose most in the 12-month period. The Jaguar Mk II 3.8 Saloon dropped 13.1%, a trend that is in keeping with other Jaguars that had risen very strongly in recent years. The DeLorean DMC-12 dropped by 7.3%, and the Ferrari Testarossa by 6.49%, in common with many other 1980s Ferraris.
