Five Things: overvalued second hand cars

Monday, 14 December 2020

We all know how tempting it is to snap up a potential “future classic” on the second-hand market for dirt cheap but no one really knows if a car is going to skyrocket in value. Here are five that did and we’re not sure why…

Nissan Skyline GTS-T

The Skyline GTS-T came as a two-door coupe and a four-door sedan, with the latter still fetching five-figure sale prices.

I could have probably put 1980s and 1990s Japanese machinery in here for all five entries but I’ll limit it just to three. The Skyline GTS-T is one of the more painful ones because it’s not even a GT-R.

The R32 GTS-T used the 2.0-litre turbocharged version of the RB engine while the later R33 and R34 generations of Skylines got the 2.5-litre turbo. Once upon a decade ago, a tidy R32 GTS-T would have set you back around $10k but now you’re looking at well over $20k for a coupe. Bonus if you can find one with under 200,000km on the clock too.

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The Integra Type R is often regarded as one of the best front-wheel drive sports cars of all time. But high-kilometre models are shifting for more than $20k, which is a lot of money.

Mazda RX-7

For $100,000 of your own money, would you take an E30 M3 or a near-new M4?

The FD RX-7 (the curvy, Batman version) is arguably the best-looking sports car of the 1990s. It’s gorgeous and the rotary engine supplying power is as iconic as it is infamous. See, it might make some ungodly noises and be tuned to produce plenty of power but it’s not exactly reliable.

Nor is it fuel efficient. That’s pretty much why Mazda hasn’t given us a new one but in the absence of a mythical RX-9, you can always pay around the $50k mark for an FD RX-7. Just don’t forget to budget another five-odd grand for fuel, oil and repairs.

Holden Commodore

With the demise of Holden, this was always going to happen. And look, I get it. The Commodore is inherently cool. Big V8, the option of a manual transmission and four doors so you can pretend it’s practical.

But when an automatic VK Commodore from 1986 is asking upwards of $50,000, can we agree that it’s a bit much? Even if it has a modern LS1 under the hood. I’m just saying, you can get V8-powered Toyota Soarers for half that price.

Honda Integra Type R

Prices for 1990s Hondas have been steadily increasing over the last few years, with Integra Type R’s in particular going for healthy sums. A quick scan of Trade Me reveals two DC2 Integras sitting at more than $20k with another two later DC5 models at the same price.

They’re cool cars but $23k for a front-wheel drive sports car with more than 220,000km? That’s a bit silly. Hitting VTEC is fun and a manual transmission is always a plus but at that price, it’s only a few thousand more before you can start considering base model Porsche Caymans.

BMW E30 M3

The E30 M3 may be one of the best sports cars ever made and a case study for the engaging “driver’s car”, but it’s also a four-cylinder car from the late 1980s costing close to $100,000.

For the same price you can get yourself a near-new M3 or M4, which are objectively superior cars. But if you do really want a two-door, manual transmission and rear-wheel drive sports car for that sort of money, could I suggest a Ford Mustang, Porsche Cayman or Nissan 370Z? If you don’t mind branching out into all-wheel drive automatics that aren't a BMW, the mighty Nissan GT-R is readily available below $100k.