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Spring is the time when classic cars start to emerge from winter hibernation.
This year, more than ever, it’s an opportunity to look forward to Sunday drives, classic car events and mingling with like-minded people. The forthcoming Anglia Car Auctions (ACA) sale is your chance to buy a classic car of your own. It’s all online, so you can bid from the comfort of your own home. Armed with a virtual budget of £10,000, we’ve selected 20 affordable classics from the ACA sale on 27 and 28 February 2021:
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Alfa Romeo Giulia 1300 Super
Estimate: £4500 - £6500
This is a good price for an Alfa Romeo Giulia saloon, although it will require a little work to bring it up to concours condition (we can’t help but notice the two different shades of red). Alternatively, you could simply enjoy one of the best handling and prettiest sporting saloons of the era. It was registered to an RAF corporal based in Cyprus, who kept the car until 2000. A nice backstory always helps.
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Austin Mini Mayfair
Estimate: £5500 - £7500
The Mini Mayfair replaced the HL in 1982, and was one of a number of special editions launched in the 1980s. It remained on sale until 1996, by which time it had adopted the Rover badge. The vendor is prepared to guarantee the 7909 miles on the clock, although the MOT history highlights an error made by the tester, when the mileage was mistakenly listed as 73,439.
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Bentley Arnage Red Label
Estimate: £8500 - £10,000
We’re stretching the upper limit of our budget to feature this 2001 Bentley Arnage Red Label, but it highlights what you can buy for the price of a new city car. Granted, a city car is likely to provide fewer headaches and put less of a strain on your wallet.
But this is the car for you if you want to know what it’s like to drive the automotive equivalent of Blenheim Palace powered by a 6.75-litre V8 engine. If the 395bhp is a little disappointing, the 616lb ft of torque is anything but. Time to roll out the ‘iron fist in a velvet glove’ cliché?
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Bond Bug
Estimate: no reserve
Few cars capture the spirit of the 1970s quite like the Bond Bug. Flares and a Paisley velvet jacket are essential attire when you’re driving this three-wheeled wedge of nostalgia. The Bug arrived in 1970, a year after the takeover of Bond Cars by Reliant Motors.
It was an attempt by Reliant to target a younger audience, in particular drivers under the age of 25. This is one of the best examples in the country, so you can expect to part with anything up to £10,000.
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Daf 33
Estimate: £2000 - £3000
Classic cars don’t get much simpler than the Daf 33 Variomatic. Launched in 1967, it was essentially a reheated Daf Daffodil, a car dating back to 1961. Needless to say, the 33 was looking a little dated by the time this example was registered in 1973. When we tested the Daf 33 as part of an economy feature in 1974, we said it was “no ball of fire”.
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Fiat 126
Estimate: £1800 - £2500
If you’ve been priced out of the market for a Nuova 500, take a look at its replacement. Launched in 1972, the Fiat 126 used a larger version of the 500’s platform and the same air-cooled engine. The 126 Bis arrived in 1987, complete with a new water-cooled engine and hatchback body. This example was imported from Poland, where production started in 1973. It remained on sale until the year 2000.
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Ford Capri 2.8 Injection
Estimate: £7000 - £9000
It’s getting increasingly difficult to find a good Ford Capri for less than £10,000, especially if you fancy a six-cylinder version. On the face of it, this 1984 2.8 Injection looks like it requires little more than some light recommissioning before it’s ready for the show season.
The car has covered just 1500 miles since 2013 and is available due to the owner’s passing. A two-tone Capri 2.8i on ‘pepperpots’ is many people’s idea of Capri heaven.
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Ford Cortina Mk4
Estimate: £5500 - £7000
This mid-range Ford Cortina L would have been a familiar sight on the roads of Britain in 1979. If your father didn’t drive a Cortina, your best mate’s dad almost certainly did. This example was registered to a Ford dealer until 1981, when it was acquired by the second owner, who kept it for the next 38 years. Middle managers of Britain, your new company wheels have arrived.
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Jaguar XK8 Coupe
Estimate: £2000 - £3000
Celebrate 60 years of the Jaguar E-Type by purchasing a… Jaguar XK. A budget of £10,000 isn’t enough to buy even the ropiest E-Type, while buying a budget XJ-S/XJS is a risky business. Fortunately, the Jaguar XK8 remains an affordable alternative – dare we say it’s looking better with every passing year? The pre-auction estimate places this 1999 example at the lower end of the price guide.
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Lancia Fulvia Coupe Rallye
Estimate: £6000 - £8000
Even in this condition, the Lancia Fulvia Coupe Rallye looks as elegant and pretty as an Italian supermodel. Wearing our rose-tinted spectacles, we’d like to say that this would be a delightful project, although some specialist support will almost certainly be required.
It was last on the road in 1979, although the auctioneers state that the engine turns freely by hand. Would it be wrong to consider using this as a base to create a homage to the Fulvia Coupe 1.6 HF rally car? Probably.
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Maserati Quattroporte
Estimate: £8000 - £10,000
The Mk5 Maserati Quattroporte cost from £70,000 when it was new in 2004. For that, the Quattroporte got a glorious 4.2-litre V8 engine, 394bhp at 7000rpm, a 0-62mph time of 5.2 seconds, and more elegance than just about any four-door saloon on the planet.
Have a read of our used car buying guide; the Quattroporte isn’t as scary as some reports suggest. That said, make sure it has been serviced every 6000 miles. The ACA website shows a video of the car running, so that’s a positive start.
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Mercedes-Benz 190E
Estimate: £4000 - £6000
The Baby Benz was built to rival the BMW 3 Series. Although it arrived in 1982, Mercedes-Benz started thinking about a smaller vehicle as far back as 1973. It needed something to sit below the W123. Some 1.88 million units had been sold before production ceased in 1993, paving the way for the C-Class. This 190E was imported from Japan in 2016. As daily driving classics go, this is probably our favourite in the ACA sale.
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Mercedes-Benz SLK
Estimate: £2000 - £4000
One day we will look with wonder on the days when you could buy a good SLK for a couple of grand. Launched in 1996, the SLK was designed to sit below the SL in the Mercedes-Benz range, and featured an innovative electric folding roof. Although it didn’t have the sharp-edged precision of the Porsche Boxster, its blend of style, quality and image won a legion of followers. This 2004 SLK 200 has just 34,400 miles on the clock.
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MGB GT LE
Estimate: no reserve
It wouldn’t be a classic car auction without an MGB. Actually, the ACA sale has no fewer than eight examples of the MGB, along with a couple of MGCs for good measure. We’ve shunned the more desirable chrome bumper versions to focus on this 1981 MGB GT LE (Limited Edition). As one of 580 cars built to mark the end of MG production in Abingdon, it’s a little slice of British motoring history.
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MG Metro Turbo
Estimate: no reserve
Just 18 months after the closure of the Abingdon factory, British Leyland launched the MG Metro. Six months later, a Garrett turbocharger was added to create the MG Metro Turbo. There are fewer than 100 examples on the road, although it will take an eternal optimist to suggest that this 1983 example be joining them any time soon. ACA describes it as “an extensive restoration project”. Quite.
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Nissan Sunny
Estimate: £1000 - £1500
“It’s difficult to find a lot to say about the Sunny,” confessed Chris Goffey when reviewing the Nissan in 1990. Not that this mattered to the car’s target audience, as some 500,000 units had been sold by the time the B13 model was introduced in 1990.
This example was registered in 1993 and still wears its original J.S. Holmes dealer sticker and number plates. It’s not exciting, but for a slice of retro sensibility, this Sunny looks surprisingly bright.
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Rover P6
Estimate: £3000 - £5000
The 3500S is the most desirable version of the Rover P6. Launched in 1971, the big news was the fitment of a four-speed gearbox, transforming the 3500 into a proper driver’s car. Detail changes included Ambla vinyl seats in place of leather and stylish wheel trims. A perfect 3500S could fetch a five-figure sum, so this presentable 1972 could be a bargain. A reminder of when Britain built cars good enough to take on the world’s best.
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Maestro van
Estimate: no reserve
It’s always surprising to find a retro van in fine condition. By their very nature, vans are used and abused, before being disposed of like the Ginsters wrappers and old copies of The Sun they tend to contain. The Maestro van was surprisingly popular, with Austin-Rover able to list British Rail and British Telecom on its list of customers.
BT ordered 3000 Maestro City vans in 1985, at the time the largest light commercial vehicle order in the UK. Fancy this? You know who to call.
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Subaru Forester
Estimate: £6000 - £8000
Can a 2004 Subaru Forester be classed as a classic? No, but this is practically a new car. It comes from a private collection and is being sold due to a lack of storage. With just 2865 miles on the clock, this must be one of the best and low mileage examples in the country. It has missed just one MOT, but has not a single advisory to its name.
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Zastava 750
Estimate: £1500 - £2500
The Zastava 750 is a familiar sight in parts of Eastern Europe, although it’s rare to find one in the UK. The Yugoslavian-built small car was based on the Fiat 600 and remained in production until 1985. This example appears to be a recent import from Germany and looks ready for an Eastern Bloc party. Remember, the ACA sale takes place on the weekend of 27/28 February.
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