Residual values: Dan Prosser's old A110 in The Intercooler
Discussion
I subscribe to The Intercooler so my pasting this link - https://www.the-intercooler.com/library/blog/man-m... - may simply mean you'll end up at their paywall; if not then I think you'll all enjoy reading his short piece in full about the A110, as he had one for a while.
In short, Dan's 2019 car's now on its third owner with around 40,000 miles which, knowing what he paid for it 5 years ago and what its current value is, tempted him to check secondhand A110s in the classifieds. He soon realised that even after the value floor dropping in the past six months, the residual values are holding up at around a truly remarkable 72%...good for current owners, not so good for those aspiring to A110 ownership... or as Dan states: 'I've never known residual values like it in this sector of the market, or many others for that matter.'
He also raises the issue of legacy ie. that other manufacturers would learn from the A110's being built as a driver-centric sports car, with compact dimensions, simplicity, relatively modest power, minimal weight, the right amount of grip for the car's performance, and the joys of supple, longer travel suspension.
Yet despite all the 5 star reviews and its unique driving experience, as he puts it 'It doesn't appear that any of the other car makers were paying much attention at all, probably because the A110 was never a star performer in the sales charts (the 20,000th example was built eight months ago, six years after the car's launch)'.
And so the A110 remains the one sports car that stands apart from the rest.
In short, Dan's 2019 car's now on its third owner with around 40,000 miles which, knowing what he paid for it 5 years ago and what its current value is, tempted him to check secondhand A110s in the classifieds. He soon realised that even after the value floor dropping in the past six months, the residual values are holding up at around a truly remarkable 72%...good for current owners, not so good for those aspiring to A110 ownership... or as Dan states: 'I've never known residual values like it in this sector of the market, or many others for that matter.'
He also raises the issue of legacy ie. that other manufacturers would learn from the A110's being built as a driver-centric sports car, with compact dimensions, simplicity, relatively modest power, minimal weight, the right amount of grip for the car's performance, and the joys of supple, longer travel suspension.
Yet despite all the 5 star reviews and its unique driving experience, as he puts it 'It doesn't appear that any of the other car makers were paying much attention at all, probably because the A110 was never a star performer in the sales charts (the 20,000th example was built eight months ago, six years after the car's launch)'.
And so the A110 remains the one sports car that stands apart from the rest.
It's one of their 'free reads', so available to all. And it makes interesting reading. I suppose any legacy has also been obscured by manufacturers switching to EV development/production: anything batery-powered that weighs in under 1500kg might be considered 'lightweight', with all the knock-on effects of larger tyres, more substantial suspension etc. So not lightweight at all, and certainly less chuckable...
It's a nice article. I think his take on pricing is rather optimistic though! Maybe £36k retail at a dealer for a 40k mile car, but it wouldn't surprise me to see private ones for sale starting with a 2 in the next 6 months or so. Market generally for toys seems to be suffering at the moment. And even starting with a 2 it's done pretty well after 5 years and 40k miles.
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