MODERNCLASSICS 25
everal years ago I
found myself handing
over £2550 for an E34
M5. It was a
tremendous amount of
money to me but, having heard that
sonorous six and laid eyes on those
pin-sharp lines, I couldn’t walk away.
Alas, several months later,
circumstances dictated that I sell it –
but, to my delight, it netted a then-
whopping £4k. It was a case of having
luckily bought the right car, at the
right time, for the right price.
There are never any sure-fire
certainties when it comes to future
values, though, and even less so at this
moment in time.
Ongoing economical turmoil aside,
the mooted worth of many a car has
been inf lated beyond reality over the
past few years.
Consequently, the last thing you
want to do is base your next purchase
solely on the hope of unfounded
massive appreciation. It’s still worth
considering the long-term view –
some bets are still better than others.
Buying a car can be one of the biggest
purchases in life, after all, so it’s best
to make an informed decision.
In any case, it has to be the right car
for you – a car that, irrespective of its
value, will always induce a grin when
you drive it. Need some inspiration?
Here are our top picks.S
WAYNELAMPORT
MANAGINGDIRECTOR,
ST ONECOLDCLASSICS
‘I’vealwaysbeenobsessedwith
ca rs and been really interested
in the kind that don’t
depreciate. I’ve always followed
the market to see what is going on and
always had instincts about what was
going to go up in value – and finally, when
I had some money behind me, I got a unit
down in Sevenoaks and invested in some
cars. Here we are, four years later; I learnt
a lo t aboutthecar tradeveryquickly.’
Dream modern classic: ‘An Alfa Romeo
147 GTA.Thatenginein a littlecar...’JONATHAN OSTROFF
SALES MANAGER,
HEXAGON CLASSICS
‘I entered the motor trade in- I went to the TVR Centre
in Barnet, where I was warranty
and service manager, then
afterwards to Rover – initially servicing,
then I went to the sales side and have
stayed there ever since; in 1998 I joined
HR Owen Land Rover, then transferred to
its Porsche branch, and then joined
Hexagon in 2006. I used to drag my father
in here on a Saturday to come in and
dreamaboutcars.’
Dream modern classic: ‘A 993 coupe – a
Carrera 2 or 4.’
WILL DANIELS
MODERN CLASSICS AUCTION
CONSULTANT, BRIGHTWELLS
‘I trained and qualified as a
surveyor, but I’ve been into cars
for years and used to import
and export them. Then, a friend
who was working for Brightwells’ classic
car department but in need of some
assistance said: “Look, this is right up
your street, are you interested?” I said
yes, and ended up there full time in 2016.
It really is my ideal job because it feeds
my addiction for buying, selling and
havingcarsaround.’
Dream modern classic: ‘A Pagani Zonda,
Ferrari F40 or F512M.’GARY DUNNE
SALES MANAGER,
CLASSIC CAR AUCTIONS
‘I came into the motor trade 25
years ago, via main dealers. My
MD then approached me a
couple of years ago and said
“CCA is getting bigger and bigger, and I
want someone to come in and run the
sales team.” I look after numbers but I’ve
got a team around me, who have
hundreds of years experience between
them, and we work as a committee to
settle what we think a car is worth when
weconsignthem.’
Dream modern classic: ‘Money no
object? A Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.’Meet the experts