Are prices dropping ?

[Banishit]

I would say yes they have stabilised, if not dropped in some part, things could not keep going skywards

[RS2000&MEXICO]

i wish they would come down. it would make it alot better

take mine i know £20k is alot of money but i spent £35k on it
and we all know how much the new parts are that are on my car

if the price goes down we won't see the escorts getting restored
so they will be broken up for parts as they will always demand a high price

if i don't want to keep mine and no one buys it then i will take it apart
and sell it all of to get my money back...
i know almost everyone won't want me to do that but i might have to

still i will wait and see

[AQUA]

I think we are talking about two distinct markets - specialist/concourse/restored and general/average/ebay stock.

All are governed by supply and demand obviously.

The fact that supply of vehicles in the prestige category is so miniscule means prices will tend to be very high, and will tend to reflect restoration costs also to some degree. The more vehicles that are restored, the more supply and prices will begin to fall depending upon demand - which i guess in this case will always outstrip supply...unless RS2000/Mexico keeps up his splurge of restoration. haha!

The second group where prices are now seemingly falling off 'a little', is a little more price elastic, in that there is a greater supply, though not without limits, and buyers can influence prices to a greater extent.

By the looks of things, demand will be maintained in both groups.

Relatively speaking in classic terms, escort prices have not hit the mega-high levels of other so called 'prestige' marques (such as the e type) - whose buyers obviously have had more disposable income to push prices up. Don't forget what followed was as e type prices spiralled, more were restored and entered the market depreciating the values of other vehicles in the same condition, as well as some buyers at high prices wanting to shift their vehicles to recoup some of the huge prices paid.

A lot depends upon your motivation to purchase in the first place, if its for the love of the marque, you can't go wrong i guess, as long as you are comfortable with the price you have paid.

With most on here, i guess, having kids and mortgages, and not being millionaires, i think we will always baulk at some of the higher valuations but ultimately, i guess most of us could still just about finance the purchase of one if we wanted to,but this depends on our own notion of VFM allied to our earning power and disposable income.

Value for money is entirely subjective ofcourse. And pointless discussing as we all have differing 'situations' to deal with.

[rwdrs]

i wish they would come down. it would make it alot better

take mine i know £20k is alot of money but i spent £35k on it
and we all know how much the new parts are that are on my car

if the price goes down we won't see the escorts getting restored
so they will be broken up for parts as they will always demand a high price

if i don't want to keep mine and no one buys it then i will take it apart
and sell it all of to get my money back...
i know almost everyone won't want me to do that but i might have to

still i will wait and see

What sort of attitude is that then, you'll have a load of non-NOS parts.
It isn't Lego you know, that's a very cavalier attitude to the cars that you so-called "love" and if you flog the V5 etc not legal, if you can't afford to loose 15K or more on a project then don't spend it.

Chucking loads of money at people with spares only to say I can't really afford to pay the prices is a bit rich. You're stoking up the market on the one hand and moaning about it on the other.

BTW, if anything the high prices have, if anything only encouraged thieving f@@kers to steal cars and split them, not discourage "enthusiasts" from spending sensible sums on parts and restoring cars at a sensible rate, not having to have the parts to get it straight back on the road, regardless of the cost.

[RUDDY]

Well I suppose I am in a position to actually put values onto paperwork for insurance valuations and I have discussed prices with respected people recently.

The top cars should hold their price as there is always a buyer looking for a car thats either

A. Clean and original low mileage
B. Been restored to a high standard but useable
C. Concours

I don't see them continuing to increase at the pace they have recently but I don't see them dropping, this will only happen if people who bought them as speculators and not true enthusiasts suddenly want some money back out of them and reduce their prices to get out, I don't think there are many speculators within the RS ranks.

The part of the market that certainly has slowed if not dipped is the average cars, cars in the £6k - £8k bracket . Last year there were people clammering to buy cars at this price range and they were getting snapped up but as someone has pointed out there are now nice cars failing to reach these prices, even on the 'Bay' .

I think the part prices have an overall effect on the market, in real terms it is cheaper, not to mention easier, to buy a very good car at £15k than an average car at £8k and try to turn it into a very good car.

Realistcally we couldn't expect to see the prices continuing to rise as they were and they are probably at the level now where they should be, still within reach of the average working man with a family to look after and a small disposable income for a hobby.

It remains to see what further impact the credit crunch will have, I fear it is more the impact fuel prices will have on our shows and days out.

cheers, Paul

[RSi]

if i don't want to keep mine and no one buys it then i will take it apart
and sell it all of to get my money back...

Lets hope someone buys it then

[steve p]

As said it also depends on the make of car, take mine 1 of only 400 built (truth be known less than 300 engines were ordered so in reality less than 300 ever built!) as a homologation special all the goodies ,but because it's not a Ford its market value (in standard form) is listed at about a third of that of a standard MK11 RS2000 where there were ten thousand or more built.The ford scene is very strong and cars wanted by many enthusiasts but not affordable by as many.
Steve
P.s I'm not having a dig at Fords by the way before anyone takes offence at what I have said.

[mk1gaz]

You are correct Steve , HS chevettes , Lotus sunbeams etc etc should sell for more money then MK2 RS2000's etc but they don't . It can only be supply + demand and as everyone want's an Escort (which all rusted away 20 years ago) the prices rise . How people can pay £15,000+ for standard specced Escorts is beyond me , they must be mental !!!!!!!

[johnylock]

prices

in my humble opinion ! its how much someone wants it that matters !! it doesant matter if the market drops because of credit crunch etc ! people will find the money to buy the right car they want .

[plentysideways]

r

if the price goes down we won't see the escorts getting restored
so they will be broken up for parts as they will always demand a high price

surely this contradicts itself, if cars aren't getting restored who will be wanting to buy the parts, especially at high prices?
Wouldn't it be the case that if the cars are cheaper more people would be able to afford to restore them?

This is one of the best threaeds on here for a long time imo, folks exchanging opinions without squabbling as well!

[graham John]

This is one of the best threaeds on here for a long time imo, folks exchanging opinions without squabbling as well!

wait Till spence and hally join in



cheeRS

[Frosticles]

wait Till spence and hally join in



cheeRS

PMSL, The flower pot men

[Chesney]

what do they know eh

[RS2000&MEXICO]

surely this contradicts itself, if cars aren't getting restored who will be wanting to buy the parts, especially at high prices?
Wouldn't it be the case that if the cars are cheaper more people would be able to afford to restore them?

This is one of the best threaeds on here for a long time imo, folks exchanging opinions without squabbling as well!

i see what you mean but there will be some ppl that will restore a escort including me but some ppl wont and thats what i'm saying
just hope things stay as they are cos at the mo the cars are worth lots and the parts are out there a bit on the high side but they are there

[roths]

Well, as I've told the wife several times.....

When I kick it, if she wants to get a fair price for the old crate, she has to take it to Cumbria and put a sign on it.....that's where the buyers are!

Personally, I think the credit crunch WILL put a dampener on prices for a while... I reckon the number of people in the UK who are willing to pay serious money for a car is actually pretty small...anyone care to guess how many?? They're most likely on this Board already and have already got the cars they want. My guess is "20" maximum, at the moment!

And I reckon the peeps who were previously willing to pay "middle money", are the one's who will be tightening the old belts for a while, concentrating on the mortgage etc...

Must admit, I'd been thinking about all this myself for a few months...so as someone said earlier.."good thread"!!

Si