Prices of G's for sale.

scotsjohn · September 05, 2011, 08:24:51 PM

I've been looking at prices asked for G40's here,Pistonheads even E-bay. How come people ask so little for cars they've put so much time, effort and money into? I took my G down to a local show at the weekend and it got a fair amount of attention. What people were asking was " how much for a decent one like this"? I told them I'd be looking for £3,500 for mine which didn't seem to faze them. But when I told them they could get something pretty close for £2,000 they wanted to know why and I really couldn't tell them. This was against a background where someone was asking £1,500 for a totally shagged old Sunbeam Rapier and got it and a Mini 1000 with fresh paint and not a lot else got £3,600 of an asked £4,000.
People are always on the lookout for something differant, so maybe punting them in Practical Classics and the like might well give them their proper status.

AlexG40 · September 05, 2011, 10:21:55 PM

It's about demand mate. Not many people want them so the prices are low. If I think back before I built mine when they were fetching good money it was still £5k tops for a minter. Now you'll be lucky to see £3.5k for the same car. People are scared of the mileage a lot of them are on and add to that the simple fact is you get a lot of car for your money elsewhere as Top Gear recently pointed out.

Boris · September 05, 2011, 10:26:23 PM

I know what you mean. I feel like I have mine priced too high with it being a non runner, but I'm really only looking to get back 2/3rds what I paid trying to get it on the road myself. Bad luck put paid to my efforts. Not had any interest at all so far.

Yoof · September 05, 2011, 10:29:19 PM

An enthusiasts car through and through.

For £4k fo a minter, you can get a 10yr old 300bhp Audi S4, to 99% of the population that's the sensible choice!

AlexG40 · September 05, 2011, 10:36:54 PM

^ That's it, a few years ago a G40 was one of the fastest things you could get your hands on for (relatively) little money. Now all the big power hatches and saloons that have been produced over the last 10 years are worth feck all and all have airbags, aircon, leccy windows, brakes that work.....etc...etc..

hayesey · September 06, 2011, 09:18:23 AM

yoof raised a good point on this subject at action this weekend. Kids on clubpolo are paying £1500 for GTs or even not much less for clean CLs when they could pay the same or a touch more for a g40. The reason is they can't afford to insure and run a g40. Then when they get old enough they have got bored of polos or realise they can buy something faster or more modern for the same or less money.

Like Alex said, the demand for g40s is low so if you want to sell one you'll probably have a hard time of it for £3500 unless it really is mint and low mileage. Having said that, the one in the for sale section you commented on does seem too cheap. But then we've not seen it...

scotsjohn · September 06, 2011, 10:56:17 AM

I reckon the G's problem pricewise is the fact it's almost unknown. It's selling to it's own tight market, which sees it literally devouring itself. A bit more exposure to the general car enthusiasts market might see it get a better deal as a genuinely collectable.

ereeiz · September 06, 2011, 11:02:01 AM

I don't think it's a bad thing myself. The more accessable it is to people, the better! Sure you get the odd nobber here and there that does horrific things to one, but they're few and far between.

PeteG40 · September 06, 2011, 11:21:27 AM

Vicious circle now given the age of the car...

they need some love - chargers, engines etc need rebuilding. Most now need paint and welding before long. If you do this to a mk1 or mk2 golf gti you end up with the money adding they value to a car... not necessarily the case to a g40 as they are still not as collectable.

As for why they arent as collectable - its cos they aren't iconic like a golf gti. I still think mk1/2 golfs look amazing and turn heads with the general public. A polo is still second best.

Values for g40s have been similar since i've had them (10 years) and I can't see them going up tbh.

Andy · September 06, 2011, 02:52:50 PM

It's already been said, but there are much quicker; more stylish; comfier cars available for the same money - and similar insurance costs, so it's not an obvious sensible performance/fun car choice. If I didn't already own one, but was into VWs, I wouldn't be looking to buy one now.

Then as Pete's said, they're just not that collectable given their lack of desireability. Golf GTIs (Mk1 and Mk2 anyway) were iconic, and whored and adored by press and public alike, so remain collectable.

I think insurance is a real factor that's crippling values more in the short-term though. One of the 18 year old Club Polo lads was paying over £2k to insure a standard CL, and that seemed about par for the course from what he was saying. I'd hate to think what a G40 would cost them even with a few years NCB under their belt. I guess that's why GT values remain very solid, as they're sporty(ish) but still insurable.

The G40 remains unpopular, (relatively) expensive to run and expensive to maintain, and doesn't offer anything performance or comfort wise that something else costing the same money can't do better. On the other hand, we all know they're damn good fun!

scotsjohn · September 06, 2011, 09:04:29 PM

I have to agree with what you guys are saying, but reckon it could be worthwhile trying to sell to a different market. If you're in no rush, try and catch the eye of a collector after something a bit different.

breadman · September 06, 2011, 11:14:58 PM

The trouble is, a collector who was after something a bit different wouldn't look at a G40, there not "different" enough.
I can only see a remote interest if a totally original, very low mileage and truly mint condition car came up for sale. How many of these exist - if any?

ereeiz · September 07, 2011, 10:13:13 AM

1 in Switzerland on about 12k or something daft IIRC? That's probabaly it

lol

envious · November 03, 2011, 12:06:20 PM

tbh im 20 and looking for a nice little hatch that i can make my own.
ive looked at the 1.4 16v golfs the 1.3 106 rallye's even but the thing that makes sense to me is a g40 i first saw one at the age of 8 when my uncle had one at the time. blitzing through the country side nothing on the roads could keep up either and ever since ive wanted one. Ive had pictures stuck up all over my room and maybe im not a normal 20 year old who knows but the g40 is my ideal car.

Justin14100 · November 26, 2011, 10:09:34 PM

Quote from: envious on November 03, 2011, 12:06:20 PM
tbh im 20 and looking for a nice little hatch that i can make my own.
ive looked at the 1.4 16v golfs the 1.3 106 rallye's even but the thing that makes sense to me is a g40 i first saw one at the age of 8 when my uncle had one at the time. blitzing through the country side nothing on the roads could keep up either and ever since ive wanted one. Ive had pictures stuck up all over my room and maybe im not a normal 20 year old who knows but the g40 is my ideal car.

Get one! I've had mine since I was 18 and loved every up and down I've had with it