Cheap Collector Cars? Sure, There’s Plenty to Choose From
When car people get talking, one of the time-honored traditions is to wax poetic about how cheap certain collector cars used to be. Porsche 930 Turbos? Nobody wanted them, too risky to buy with that motor. De Tomaso Panteras? Yeah, unloved, a real thin market back then. And here I’ll chime in myself: Mercedes SL Pagodas? Used to be able to buy pristine originals at prices that would make your jaw drop.
Okay, and…yawn. Yes, we all know that this stuff was cheaper back then. So let’s take a look at cars that are actually cheap to buy right now. Will they appreciate? Hard to say. Will you enjoy owning them until you cash out at a 500% margin from your original purchase price? Yes, you will enjoy them, but don’t count on a giant margin when it comes time to sell. If I could predict that with accuracy I’d already be on a beach somewhere instead of writing this article. Although, writing this article on the beach is probably exactly what I’d be doing….
I recently took a look at bringatrailer.com and found some completed listings that seemed like good deals. Let’s start things off with this 1990 Jaguar XJS. When it debuted in 1975 it was seen as a replacement to the venerable E-Type, and although it’s not quite as iconic, the XJS is looked back at with respect. Jaguar made a ton of them; 115,000+ in their 21-year production run, so you can take your pick and choose your color. Here’s a 1990 coupe that sold for the reasonable price of $9,300.
These are well-built, comfortable cruisers that look like a million bucks. I drove a black ’86 coupe daily for a year and had no complaints.
Prefer a convertible? You bet, here’s a ’95 XJS with the facelift design that ran from 1991-1996. 77K original miles, Sapphire blue over magnolia leather. What’s not to love? And for $7,900? Where do I sign up?
Jaguars from this era tend to carry a somewhat unfair reputation as being unreliable. The key (like most collector cars) is to buy one that has a deep service history and a low number of owners. This one unfortunately had 5 owners and a few cosmetic blems of note. Big deal. Drive it, enjoy it, and look like the player that you are.
But if you’re leery of living with a 12-cylinder British car that’s almost 30 years old, I totally understand. Let’s put you in this bright red Corvette convertible instead. It’s got a bulletproof 5.7L V8 and is sure to grant you pole position into any small-town July 4th parade. And if you ever need parts - they’re right there on the shelf at Napa.
The catch? There’s a “minor damage” notation on the CarFax report. But for $8,800? Drive it like you stole it, because you just did.
Maybe being flashy isn’t your thing. In that case, here’s another convertible that has enough curb appeal to be interesting, but not so much to draw attention. The “TC” came on the scene when Lee Iacocca convinced Chrysler to team up with Maserati as a way to redefine their brand. Instead, it ended up costing the company 600 million dollars. Produced for just two years, they were insanely expensive when new, and insanely cheap today. This one had 85K original miles and was landed for a measly $5,218. I’m just glad that Iacocca wasn’t alive to see this auction result.
These are not bad cars. They came standard with both a soft top and hard top, leather upholstery, and a reliable Mitsubishi V6. They look especially good in black. Great cars to loan out when you have relatives in town, it’s a neat old car that won’t leave anyone stranded and they’ll all remember the cool ride that they got to drive on vacation.
Another choice for a small convertible is this 1979 Fiat Spider. Showing just 96K miles, this car sold for $7,400 and recently benefitted from a major service that included a transmission rebuild. Many suspension components were also replaced at that time. Work to the braking system was also performed. And numerous engine gaskets were replaced to resolve leaks.
On second thought, don’t buy a Fiat Spider.
Okay, let’s face it. Any collector car is going to involve some expense. As mentioned earlier, you’re ideally going to buy a car from its original owner who’s going to lay down a thick folder of receipts in front of you that chronicle the car’s entire service history. You know what’s been done and you know what’s ahead. You’re now ready to carry the torch.
Now, if you really want to get involved, start a relationship and become a car enthusiast, let’s go for it. Let’s get you behind the wheel of a Porsche 944 S2. A one owner car. Black on black. Leather. 5-speed. This car was listed on BaT in May of 2023, bid up to $8,500 (reserve not met) and then re-listed in July of 2024 where it sold for $10,944. But if you look at the bidding history (link posted above), the second to last bid was only $9,044, so the winner could have conceivably just topped the previous bid by $100 instead of jumping it $1,900. But who’s to say, his jump bid did win the auction and scored him a pretty sweet car, one of only 2,402 944 S2 Cabriolets produced between 1989 and 1991.
But hang on, now we’ve broken $10K. Still “cheap”, but the words cheap and Porsche don’t mix. That’s right, let’s slow this train down, all the way down to $6,300. That’s the price of entry for what I consider the sleeper of them all, the car that may just be the one to appreciate in value by the year 2094.
I present to you the Pontiac Fiero. The Fiero was a valiant effort by GM to try something different. Produced from 1984 to 1988, it was Pontiac’s first two-seater in nearly 50 years, and the was the first mid-engine American car to be made EVER.
Despite being a problem child that spawned major internal squabbles at GM, the Fiero was a success, selling a whopping 370,168 units. The early cars were underpowered (and fuel efficient) with their 4-cylinder motors, but the later cars improved with V6 engines, although still short of the originally envisioned V8. Despite their huge production numbers, finding a good example is surprisingly difficult. This car had 39K miles and looked pretty darn good. To me, this is it: A car with a unique design, an interesting history, and straightforward mechanicals. I can safely wager that nobody under the age of 30 has ever seen one. And when was the last time you’ve seen one?
So, say you’re putting together a car collection. Let’s have a look at our buying spree. These cars shown here (minus the Fiat) total $48,462. Add on BaT’s 5% buyer’s fee and you’re now at $50,885 with SIX pretty awesome cars to show for it. But wait, for $51K I could have bought a brand new sports car that has a warranty, with everything working perfectly, and 4X the horsepower of these crusty old relics. Fair argument. But you know what $51K buys you in 2024? A Camaro coupe. Granted, it’s a high-level 2SS model with a few choice options tossed in, but in the end you’re kinda driving a cool rental car.
Am I right?
That was a fun article! I can’t decide which one I’d pick.