Classic car prices dip as collectors flock to 1990s icons

With the exception of former competition cars and especially those with a circuit history, the prices of pre- and post-war classics such as formal saloons and cars that are difficult or unexciting to drive are also falling.

It’s an issue that goes to the heart of the traditional classic car market, said Mayhead: “People who had an emotional connection with these sorts of cars and who sustained interest in them are, to put it bluntly, dying out. The emerging generation of buyers doesn’t value them as highly.”

Andy Dearden, a classic car dealer and co-founder of Birchfield Classics, agrees. He said: “Unless a car is special in some way – be it rare, eradefining or capable of inspiring a sense of nostalgia – it will struggle to sell. That said, I believe there’s a younger breed of buyer emerging who has seen what value for money these cars represent and thinks they’ll have a go for the fun of it.

“For example, I sold an Austin Seven in outstanding condition to a couple for £11,500 recently. They’d just bought a period house in the country and wanted an old car to park outside on nice days and to drive on weekends.”

Wrightson accepts the older generation of buyers is retiring or fading away but, like Dearden, is optimistic about the future. He said: “People start their journey with the cars they know, such as Ford Cosworths and Subaru Imprezas, but then they meet other people with older 911s, for example, and so they begin to explore other areas of the classic car market. At the moment, there’s a lull while the market waits for the current generation to wake up to older cars, but they will.”

Dearden reckons it’s already happening: “Go to London’s King’s Road at a weekend and I promise you’ll see loads of British sports cars of the 1950s and ’60s: MGBs, TR5s and 6s and a sprinkling of Mini Cooper Ss.”

What’s happening to modern classics prices and why?

Some traditional classic cars may be getting cheaper but modern classics continue to become more expensive. Leading the charge is the Renault 5 GT Turbo, whose average price has risen 93% in the past two years.

Even an expensive collector’s model such as a 964-gen Porsche 911 continues to climb in price – up 20%.