GET YOU FIRED UPONES THAT GOT AWAY
THE CARS WE SHOULDHAVEBOUGHTORAREJUSTGLADWEDIDN’T...FEBRUARY 1999
AUDI AVANT
If you own the last of Holden’s Commodore
Sportwagons then thank Audi and its amazing
Avant. Based on the low-drag 100CD sedan, the
Avant looked way too bulky for its 2.3-litre, five-
cylinder engine but performance, unless you really
loaded the Audi up was very good. Most local
deliveries were five-seaters with a massive ‘sub
boot’ that when lined with ice made an excellent
drinks cooler. Parts aren’t common so most of the
Avants are gone yet values aren’t affected by scarcity
and a car like this is unlikely to generate the money
being sought 20 years ago.SEPTEMBER 2009
ALFA ROMEO 2000 SPIDER
Sometimes the way the market moves (or fails
to) is bewildering. While 105 Series Alfa coupes of
similar age have rushed beyond $70,000 only the
very best Spiders from the same age range will
better $50,000. Local Spider sales ended in 1978 so
this would be one of the last Australian-spec cars
and among the lucky ones. Later versions imported
from Europe or the USA come with rust issues and
ugly oversized bumpers. Hopefully the money
spent by this vendor was on body maintenance,
helping keep the brown Spider intact while making
some money for its buyer.NOW$12,000
$27-30,000
NOW$10,800
$7-8500
NOW$23,000
$33-36,000
CLIFF^ CHAMBERS22 TradeUniqueCars.com.au
Tell us in 60 words the car you should have bought, or were lucky enough to buy!
Send your tale to [email protected] with ‘Gotaways’ in the titleAUGUST 2000
1964 CHEVROLET EL CAMINO
The El Camino got canned in 1961 but returned in
1964; smaller and sportier than before. Previous
models were based on full-sized Chevrolets but
from 1964 El Caminos used a Chevelle platform.
Very few early El Caminos came to Australia as
new cars and this one is very likely a later arrival.
The ‘350’ V8 might is also a later addition; fitted in
place of the original engine which most likely was
a 4.6-litre ‘283’. Mid-1960s El Caminos still appear
frequently in the used-car listings and values have
increased steadily. However they aren’t likely to
match booming demand for later ‘SS396’ versions.FORDESCORTMK2I rememberit well,a red MK2 with black trim and some fancy Weld
wheelsparkedatthetopofmystreet,for $5500. I loved it but got distracted by the black
manualXDFalconuptheroadwhichwas offered for $4000 with an amazing sound system!
I wishI hadeithercarparkedin mygarage today as you just don’t stumble upon them.
BENJAMINSMITH-SARINA,QLD$
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