Corniche / MPW FHC values

[Milemuncher]

I have a real hankering for a Corniche or MPW FHC. I first started looking at them 3 or 4 years ago but the circumstances weren’t right at the time to take my interest further - living in London and having nowhere secure to store the car being the main issue.

Having moved to the country, I’ve started looking again recently and note that asking prices appear to have risen significantly. Conversely quite a few cars that were on the market 3 or 4 years ago seem to still be for sale!

Are cars actually selling for their asking price? Are any of these cars selling at all?

I’d be interested in views from those who are closer to the market than I am. I’m after one because I love them rather than for investment purposes but at the same time don’t want to get too badly burned.

All advice gratefully received.

[atomicpunk]

You're absolutely right that there a few cars that have been on the market now for a while and not sold. These are desirable cars, but there seems to be quite a bit of 'ambitious' pricing out there.

What's available generally seems to fit into one of two categories - the top of the market (circa £50K+) where the number of potential buyers is probably quite limited, or the bottom of the market (circa £20K) where the amount of work needed to get a car up to scratch (due to patchy service history etc.) means that you might as well buy one of the expensive ones to start with!

The sweet spot as far as selling goes would appear to be something priced in between, and which has been regularly serviced and cared for by the 'right' specialists. I've owned my Corniche FHC for 5 years now, and have just put it on the market. It's a car which has been well cared for by RR&B specialists and is priced in the high-twenties, with a large amount of interest generated already. As ever, good cars priced sensibly will always sell!

[Milemuncher]

I agree that late 20s to early 30s would appear to be the sweet spot. My worry with the more ambitiously priced cars would be that they may be as likely to throw up a £10k or £15k bill as the slightly more realistically priced ones.

There also seem to be some unusually specced ones out there and others which have had engine or colour changes which I’d be inclined to avoid. Given the age and nature of these cars, I’m perhaps being a bit picky but I think it’s important to get the right one.

[atomicpunk]

You’re right to tread a little cautiously with these cars. But the reality is that nothing, regardless of the asking price, is going to be perfect and there will always be something that needs doing from time to time. The trick is to find an example with a solid history of being regularly serviced by specialists; that won’t necessarily be one of the most expensive ones. I’m a little biased, but I think my car is a good example of what you can get for your money without needing to go to the top of the market.

[Voxy]

atomicpunk said:

You're absolutely right that there a few cars that have been on the market now for a while and not sold. These are desirable cars, but there seems to be quite a bit of 'ambitious' pricing out there.

What's available generally seems to fit into one of two categories - the top of the market (circa £50K+) where the number of potential buyers is probably quite limited, or the bottom of the market (circa £20K) where the amount of work needed to get a car up to scratch (due to patchy service history etc.) means that you might as well buy one of the expensive ones to start with!

The sweet spot as far as selling goes would appear to be something priced in between, and which has been regularly serviced and cared for by the 'right' specialists. I've owned my Corniche FHC for 5 years now, and have just put it on the market. It's a car which has been well cared for by RR&B specialists and is priced in the high-twenties, with a large amount of interest generated already. As ever, good cars priced sensibly will always sell!

I second all of the above. I bought my FHC just over 8 years ago for a little over £20,000 - its a comparatively rare “1A” i.e. one of the last of the chrome bumper cars. It came with a partial service history from a classic car/race car specialist with a major service (almost £3,000) completed just prior to my purchase. Notwithstanding, I spent approx. £9,000 in the first 12 months of ownership sorting small niggles. Today, I would estimate the value in the early-to-mid 30s range.

[911Thrasher]

Like I mentioned in another similar thread bringing these cars to daily drivers can be big big bucks even when starting from a good solid base (straight rust free body and good engine).

I decided to do pretty much all the ancillaries at once no spare cash...30k£ later which I will never recover (i.e. my over 100kmiles T2 is not worth more than mid-20s) I now have a car which is in top condition and can cruise around London as well as embark on a 2,000 miles trip without any second thoughts.

[Milemuncher]

Many thanks for the comments.

Not sure I’d use it as a daily driver as we have more mundane motors for that but I absolutely take the point about the potential cost involved in getting one of these into A1 condition.

I’ve started to find myself looking at Shadows and Ts in the classifieds as the cost of the base vehicle is typically lower but I do much prefer the looks of the Coupé.

[atomicpunk]

By way of an update, my car sold very quickly - further proof that if marketed at a sensible price, they will find a buyer.

[Milemuncher]

Very pleased to hear that and very useful in terms of establishing a benchmark value for a well looked after example with good history.

I remain of the view that many of the cars at specialists dealers are over-valued. Then again this seems to be pretty much a rule of thumb with specialist dealers, regardless of the marque!