Another wanting mega bucks!!

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 9:52 pm

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1991-CITROEN-BX17 ... dZViewItem

stuart_hedges · Post by **stuart_hedges** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:09 am

No pics=no sale.

Bloody idiot. No BX is worth over a grand... and that's me being generous.

We love 'em but the market at large doesn't. A BX on the 'bay with no pix.... fifty quid if you're lucky?

Just being realistic.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:40 am

I think there are a few dreamers on the bay of jest at the mo.

Even 16v arent fetching that good money. Some folk think that if its a diesel then they can get good money for it, no chance, they are either bought by us nutters or someone wanting a banger as its cheap.

Also noticed that even though a model might be rare, it adds zero extra value, because the only people interested are us.

I hope the prices stay low for as long as possible, otherwise most of us will get priced out of being able to buy any future ones, not good news if u r selling of course

I reckon another 10 years might see the BX getting noticed more in classic car circles, then prices may start rising significantly, especially those Mk 1's......

DavidRutherford · Post by **DavidRutherford** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 9:55 am

I've mentioned it before now, but it does seem like an appropriate time to mention again:

I saw a method of valuing old cars (10-25 years old) a while back.. it may have been on the bangernomics site:

You start with the value of the vehicle if if had no tax or MOT, and were to sell it or break it for spares. £50-£150 ish for most cars.
Then add the value of the MOT at roughly £1 a day (£30 a month)
Then add the value of the tax (£180 a year)
Then subtract the cost of any immediate repairs needed.

Looking at this white estate... Assume it really does need nothing, and is in great condition.

£150(good engine etc) + £365(years mot) + £10(almost 3 weeks tax) -£0(assume it needs nothing)

That's £525. About right? Make an offer for £450 and expect to get it for £500.

mnde · Post by **mnde** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 10:55 am

That would make my garaged untaxed, unMOTed Meteor worth roughly -500.00 GBP

Mark.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 10:06 pm

David, i quite like the way you have worked out the value of 2nd hand cars, all u need to do know is get the rest of the country to adopt the Rutherford standard

Mark, if its not got an mot then its scrap as far as 2nd hand prices go, about £80. I'm not implying that your car isnt worth £500, just if u tried to sell it you would either get no bids or upto the scrap value.

My lovely TZD Turbo was bought by Tim for £42 & now is sat outside my house driving me to work & back everyday, not bad eh!! for a car that didnt have an mot. I did pay Tim a fair bit more than that though....

I try to take the positive out of these situations, they are mega cheap cars to buy & offer a lot of driving pleasure for no dosh, as long as you forget about trying to sell them on for proper money then all is well.

stuart_hedges · Post by **stuart_hedges** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 10:29 pm

There's a lot of sense being spoken in this thread. I especially like The Rutherford Standard!

Mulley makes a good point too. If Tim bought the car with no MoT, £42 was a fair price. If he got it MoT'd and then charged you "a fair bit more" for it, then that's fair too.

At this level of the market - cars that are worth between 0 and 500 pounds - the MoT is the crucial thing. I've learned this the hard way, by buying (or picking up free!) cars with no MoT and then spending a fortune on getting them road-legal only to sell them for less than I'd spent out.

At the moment I'm in a more sensible situation; I got my BX effectively for free with a year's MoT on it. That's an indicator - not a guarantee, but a strong hint - that I'll get through a year without spending serious money. That's what buyers at this end of the market are looking for.

We love BXs, we see the "classic" qualities in them and we fall in love with them, but the world at large does not. We - and the ebay sellers - need to be realistic and understand that a BX has no intrinsic value.

I regularly joke that my car is worth the cost of the diesel that's in its tank. Actually, that's not a joke - it's the truth.

I spend a lot of money on comprehensively insuring it, mainly for the convenience of being insured to drive other cars. But I know that if someone scraped a supermarket trolley along it, or keyed it, it would be written off on economic grounds.

Sorry state of affairs

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 10:43 pm

Totally agree with what you are saying Stuart, but i can guarantee you that if our cars were worth a grand we would all be moaning that u cant buy a rubbish one for less than £500.

So u cant win either way, i prefer the current situation which is they arent wanted by most people, & hence we get em cheap....

Most people who see my car (even if they dont like it) cant believe it was going to the scrapyard & intitally only cost £42 to get saved.

Its the labour costs that cripple people getting these cars fixed, the parts on the whole are cheap, but once you add e.g 5hrs labour at £70p/h, its no wonder they dont get fixed.

Luckily this club has the experience & the people with the desire to help others repair these cars & thats why there are a few more on the road than there would be, so i'm grateful for that.

Long live the Club

stuart_hedges · Post by **stuart_hedges** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 10:50 pm

I'm with you there too mulley

I'm a cheapskate - I reckon I will *always* be in cars in this part of the market

What will it be in 20 years time? BMW 3 series, I reckon. Those things are everywhere. You won't be able to give them away when they get old.

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 11:09 pm

And I have to say so long as I can buy an immaculate 26k miler for £475, l'm happy.

tim leech · Post by **tim leech** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 9:42 am

£475!

Bargain of the year there Mr Chidlow!

Kitch · Post by **Kitch** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 10:08 am

I can't see the point in listing an ebay car if you haven't got the pictures ready for it

I expect it could sell for a good price, as someone who's a BX nut but not on this site could be bidding and be willing to unearth shedloads of cash on it. But no where near £1200...thats just ridiculous.

On a different note, I just worked out my valver is worth £810....and I paid £770 for it nearly three years ago. A rise of £40! What an investment! At this rate it'll be worth billions when I'm 80

DavidRutherford · Post by **DavidRutherford** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 11:25 am

I have to agree, there are some serious bargains to be had if you're in the right place, at the right time.

My DTR Turbo was just one of them. Due to a leaky water pump the seller wanted shot of it. Even with 5 months MOT and 2 months tax (and half a tank of fuel!) he sold it to me for £60. Even according to "the formula" it was worth at least £150

Cambelt, water pump and a service, and it was on the road. It's since gone straight through another MOT with one advisory (slight exhaust blow) and is racking up the miles like nobody's business.

I really don't think motoring can come much cheaper than that!