Buy them before we do: second-hand picks for 28 February

Mercedes A190 Elegance, £1495: The Mercedes-Benz A-Class of 1997 was a mould-breaker for its Mercedes-Benz C-Class-size accommodation in a small footprint with an engine designed to slip safely away under the car in a crash. We spied an immaculate 2002-reg with 39,000 miles and full service history.

BMW 745i SE auto, £5950: “Only people who say ‘I’ve got to not like something’ have a problem with it,” said Chris Bangle in defence of his E65 7 Series of 2001. This 2004- reg 745i SE has all the gizmos, a full BMW history and one owner, proving Bangle hit the bullseye.

Mazda RX-8, £3995: The RX-8 wasn’t the first car with a rotary engine but it’s the only one with rear ‘suicide’ doors. Motors can last 100,000 miles or so, so we plumped for this 2008-reg, one-owner example with 47,000 miles and a recent compression test.

Volvo 850 T-5R estate, £7989: The 850 T-5R of 1995 changed people’s perception of Volvo, although in subsequent years the car maker did little to build on it. But it was fun while it lasted. Our find, a right-hand-drive import from Japan, has just 69,000 miles and is rust-free.

Auction watch

Land Rover Defender Works V8: Production of the old Defender ceased in 2016 but as minds turned to its replacement, Land Rover celebrated the model’s 70th anniversary in 2018 with the launch of the Works V8. Powered by a 5.0-litre Jaguar engine producing 399bhp and 380lb ft and with an eight-speed automatic gearbox, the new edition was built around specially selected examples of nearly new Defender 90s and 110s. Land Rover’s Classic division assembled 150 of them. Prices started at £150,000 and within a month they’d sold out. A 90 Works with 57 miles was sold at auction recently for £129,000. No investment, then.

Future classic

Toyota Celica 1.8 VVTL-I GT, £5490: Not an obvious future classic, but the seventh-generation Toyota Celica GT of 2006 has many of the qualities necessary to qualify. For one thing, it’s a dedicated coupé and not a hatchback with the rear doors filled in. It looks the part, too, with its reduced ride height compared with the standard model, its oversized, Supra-like rear spoiler and its neatly integrated bodykit. Also in the mix is a revvy, variable-valve 1.8-litre motor and a sweet-changing six-speed ’box. Finally, few exist and it was made by Toyota, so it’ll never break.

Clash of the classifieds

Brief: Find me a Ferrari-beater for less than £35,000.

Chevrolet Corvette Z06, £34,970

Audi R8 V8, £34,995

Max Adams: When you need to outmuscle a Ferrari, get yourself a Corvette. But not just any old ’Vette; find a Z06 as I’ve done and you’ll have a monster 7.0-litre V8 with 505bhp. What’s more, 0-60mph is rattled off in just 3.9sec and the top speed is 198mph. Beat that, Mr Pearson.

Mark Pearson: Ha! Easy. I don’t have to dazzle with figures ’cos what I’ve got is a manual Audi R8 quattro with just 40,000 miles on the clock. This is the car that shoved it to Ferrari in spectacular fashion: no mid-engined supercar was as finely balanced or as densely engineered. See? It’s a high-performance car for the discerning, unlike that lairy Corvette.