And on the merry go round turns

Sarthe72 · Post by **Sarthe72** » Sun Sep 14, 2014 12:15 pm

Mods, perhaps this doesn't belong, although they are E-type based, but it is a sign of the times. As a long time Lynx fan, and owner of three over the years, I was truly amazed at the results of the Bonhams sale yesterday. An alloy XK120 fetched ?85,000, yet a Lynx XKSS fetched ?385,000. You can buy a new Lynx XKSS for ?250,000, although not with perhaps the provenance of the older cars since they are made in Czechoslovakia. E-types over ?200,000 for the right car and Quentin Wilson's flat floor FHC fetching over ?200,000. Yet I have been offered a flat floor FHC in need of fettling - but not bodywork - for ?50,000. What on earth is happening?

christopher storey · Post by **christopher storey** » Sun Sep 14, 2014 6:00 pm

The buyer of the Willson car was a person to whom money is no object and who has been steadily buying Es at ridiculous prices over the last 6 or so months . My information is that this person has now bought 12 of them at this sort of price in 2014 . Quite why ( I do know who it is but was told in confidence ) I have no idea . What is salutary to note is that Willson still made a loss on the deal albeit after several hiccups in the restoration !

Post by **Heuer** » Sun Sep 14, 2014 6:08 pm

Bernie Ecclestone? To be fair the Wilson car was very well done and he had taken a lot of time and effort to it as original as possible.

Sarthe72 · Post by **Sarthe72** » Mon Sep 15, 2014 6:24 pm

Well, the history of Quentin's car is quite well known. He gave it to a restorer who made a pig's ear of it then he gave it to Martin Robey who started from scratch and he spent a fortune. Hence the enormous rebuild costs. Take an E-type to one of the major restorers today and they start from ?100,000 and work up. Mine cost south of half of that by the way. Anyway, I have decided that the time has come to part with the XKSS given the price made last weekend. I didn't buy it as an investment but as a fun car, but given the "value" I can't ever see me driving it in anger again and the fun has gone out of it. it is, for us, a life-changing sum by the way. I shall, I hope, be buying the flat floor FHC and restoring that for use when it rains - and when we tour so I can get my squash bag in and SWMBO her 17 suitcases.

Post by **Heuer** » Mon Sep 15, 2014 6:35 pm

The price achieved at these 'boutique' auctions are top money because you have all the high-rollers there for the weekend who get swept up by the fever and the auctioneers play to the crowd. Having said that there must always be an under-bidder, so more than one person thinks it is worth the money!

Good luck with the Lynx and we will look forward to hearing your restoration story on the FHC. Have you got one in mind?

christopher storey · Post by **christopher storey** » Mon Sep 15, 2014 6:43 pm

Yes, David, but interestingly one of my sons was at the Salon Prive auction the Friday previously and said that there were a huge number of no sale lots, and even of those which did sell, many were well below estimate

Sarthe72 · Post by **Sarthe72** » Mon Sep 15, 2014 7:44 pm

|My goodness yes! A 1961 flat floor FHC in red with tan interior. Needs repainting and trim having been in a hot climate, new rubber throughout and some general refettling but since it is an original Gloucestershire car and RHD, probably no tax to pay. It still wears the Gloucs plate even though exported 35 years ago! I am vigorously pursuing it as I write.

I shall be sad to see the XKSS go, but logically it must in view of the sum of money involved. If I hadn't had the E-type 32 years I'd probably have sold that too. It is an enormous amount of money involved - well, for us anyway.

Now another reason for the sale; I am totally convinced that the government will soon intervene and apply CGT to the added value on resale. This wheeze of buying and selling and paying no tax can't go on for ever. No matter what, each and every government has seized every opportunity to tax us out of existence, and this loophole can't last for long I fear.

Post by **Heuer** » Mon Sep 15, 2014 9:26 pm

Can't happen. CGT works on the basis of profit and loss. Chattels' are considered anything that has a useful life of 50 years - guns ( I have a few) , toys (I have a few), cars (I have few), but let's stick with cars. There are 35 million on the road in the UK and every one of them could claim to be a capital loss to set against any capital gains. A very, very few will increase in value because a few sad gits like us who like them. So what Government is going to want to allow cars, like stocks and shares, to be subject to market fluctuation and tax deductible? You lose money on your new BMW but you can set that against other tax gains - I don't think so! The tax free status of classic cars is what is driving the market but the gains are small beer in the big picture.

vipergts · Post by **vipergts** » Tue Sep 16, 2014 7:40 am

Absolutely David

They could never CGT Classics. Losses on "normal" cars far greater

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