Auto-invest Blog From the c ...more

From the comments received from various quarters it seems that this years NEC Classic Car show was not quite as good as it could have been. Dealers sales were predictably affected by the very real competition of having an auction to compete with, especially as Silverstone Auctions threw open the doors to all visitors to enter free of charge! This apparently had two negative consequences, firstly it mightily irritated those who had paid to enter the hall previously and secondly it led to a scrum around the cars making it very difficult for serious prospective buyers to inspect them. This is yet another example of an auction company attempting to 'make' the market when in the opinion of many they should reflect it. The claimed 60% sales rate achieved is reasonable in the context of the current climate and time of year but not when you consider the special circumstances which applied at the NEC - a captive audience of some 100,000 attendees!! For those who regularly view our website it might be puzzling to see the variety of 'modern classics' currently on offer as compared to the more unusual and exotic offerings which traditionally apply. Whilst there are still some very very rare and beautiful classics available from us, I make no apologies for the addition of the 'moderns' The reason is that they represent fantastic value, models which have fully depreciated and are on the cusp of becoming classics in their own right for reasons of being beautiful, limited editions or extraordinarily well built and therefore durable. The 2003 Vauxhall Astra Bertone Cabriolet is a good example (see photo). This is the top of the range 2.2 litre Bertone special edition model luxuriously equipped with aircon, electric hood, black leather trim and it really motors! Forget about the Vauxhall badge (this model actually excludes it anyway on the front grille) and enjoy a really useable and unusual sports cabriolet for £2890. Absurdly good value especially as this one had only covered 52,000 miles in the hands of two owners and comes with a full Service History.