3.5iS- will this be a classic?

[huytonman]

Predicting what cars will become classics in the future is a bit of a mugs game, Ive sold cars that I grew bored with only to see them rise in value afterwards, in some cases outrageously so and at the time nobody would have considerd them to be a future classic. So called experts get in wrong e.g. I was planning to buy a low miles 997GTS a couple of years ago, found on at a Porsche dealership for £50k and was warned by the salesguy not to expect GTS's to rise in value "like some punters think", I didnt buy the car for other reasons and you can guess what has happened to values of low mile GTS's. Rarity and something "special" helps to get the car to classic status and as much as I like my 35iS its only "rareish" and even with the BHP on offer its trounced in this department by quite a few "hot hatches" and I'm sure these four cylinder turbo motors will continue to grow stronger so the BHP draw is limited in my view. For me though the in-line 6 cylinder engine with twin turbos is worth the entry price and is rare in a two seater and the DCT box is the best I have used (better than in Porsches that ive had) so some aspects are special. Personally though I expect to lose a huge chunk of money when I finally move the car on, expecting anything else will lead to dissapointment :thumbsdown: ... if it was me in these cirumstances I would carry on enjoying the car until such time as it starts to become expensive to maintain then move it on for something new.
Keith

 

[sunnydays]

Due to the low numbers of these around prices should be very stable. Only around 400 in the UK, meanwhile thousands of Z4Ms. While the Z4M is classed as a "classic" due the fact it is an "M", you can rest easy knowing that your 35is spanks and outperforms the M in every department

:roll: you really are a knob :lol:

Lol why? All I did was state the truth. The E89 is faster on straights and round the track. Newer, more refined and comfortable, the only thing you could argue in favour of the M is driver involvenent since its a manual.

 

[Taz]

its a crystal ball, I think there other cars that have a better chance of becoming a classic but who knows :?

 

[Pastry]

Due to the low numbers of these around prices should be very stable. Only around 400 in the UK, meanwhile thousands of Z4Ms. While the Z4M is classed as a "classic" due the fact it is an "M", you can rest easy knowing that your 35is spanks and outperforms the M in every department

:roll: you really are a knob :lol:

Lol why? All I did was state the truth. The E89 is faster on straights and round the track. Newer, more refined and comfortable, the only thing you could argue in favour of the M is driver involvenent since its a manual.

If you say so :roll: you're not related to busterboo by any chance are you

 

[HillWalker]

If you keep anything long enough it'll become a classic, that's what I keep telling the Mrs anyway

 

[Smartbear]

:roll: you really are a knob :lol:

Lol why? All I did was state the truth. The E89 is faster on straights and round the track. Newer, more refined and comfortable, the only thing you could argue in favour of the M is driver involvenent since its a manual.

If you say so :roll: you're not related to busterboo by any chance are you

Don't get him started on sodding tyre pressures again! :lol:
Rob

 

[PerryGunn]

I think the main obstacle to any of the recent generations of cars becoming true classics (rather than cars that sit in a collection or motor museum) is going to be their reliance on complex electronics - in 20-30 years time there won't be a lot of demand for a mint low-mileage early 21st century vehicle if it's a non-runner due to, say, an ECU fault and it's impossible to repair or obtain spares.

Compare this to older vehicles that rely on 'proper' mechanicals where replacement parts may not be available off-the-shelf but can be fabricated by someone like Machine Monkey in a workshop - that type of car could be kept running virtually forever...

 

[Paulr]

All cars become classics if you keep them long enough, as less and less of them will be around. When was the last Montego you saw? Good models are starting to go up in value, particularly the performance ones. Who would have thought that!

The Z4's will achieve classic status at some point, maybe another 15 years we will be sitting here saying how we wish we had kept ours as they are worth a lot of money now.

But Aston DB5 or Ferrari anything kudos? Not so convinced.

 

[Paulr]

I think the main obstacle to any of the recent generations of cars becoming true classics (rather than cars that sit in a collection or motor museum) is going to be their reliance on complex electronics - in 20-30 years time there won't be a lot of demand for a mint low-mileage early 21st century vehicle if it's a non-runner due to, say, an ECU fault and it's impossible to repair or obtain spares.

Compare this to older vehicles that rely on 'proper' mechanicals where replacement parts may not be available off-the-shelf but can be fabricated by someone like Machine Monkey in a workshop - that type of car could be kept running virtually forever...

Exactly why the relatively simple Comet can still be flown, but the very specialist & complicated Concord or Vulcan cannot.

 

[Anonymous]

I suppose most people's idea of what makes a car classic is that it's future value will increase due to the rarity:demand ratio but trying to define what makes a classic car is a tricky problem (try looking up the definition of a classic car online).

This car is considered to be a classic - most examples still survive apparently. If you'd bought one new and kept it in reasonable nick you'd certainly be looking at profit if you sold it.



This seems to give strength to one particular definition I found online which was that for a car to become a classic, somebody just needs to keep it on the road for no logical reason other than it's that particular car.

Food for thought :wink:

 

[bob4333]

Not sure that the E-type is the best analogy to use - on it's release, Enzo Ferrari said it was the most beautiful car in the world - so it's appreciation was hardly lukewarm back in the day.

No, I'll stand by it.

Enzo Ferrari is indeed quoted as saying that: I don't have any issue with it and certainly would have no wish to denigrate the E Type's classic status. The point being that E Type sales were so small at the end that the factory had difficulty shifting them, and the value of used examples must have gone through the floor (admittedly the 1973 oil crisis didn't make things any easier).

Some years down the line and it's a different matter. But I think there are big differences between Classic, Perceived Future Value and Collectable, and we're back to "What makes a car a classic?"

 

[GuidoK]

Only around 400 in the UK, meanwhile thousands of Z4Ms.

Thousends of z4m's in the uk?!?
Are you drunk? :lol:
There are currently 862 z4m's registred on UK roads....

The E89 is faster ... and round the track.

You have any real data to back up that claim?
Like an independant test by a pro/compentent driver on a track with the same tyres?
(so a lap time set in 2006 and a lap time set in 2014 has no real meaning as tyre technology has come a long long way)

 

[Anonymous]

Not sure that the E-type is the best analogy to use - on it's release, Enzo Ferrari said it was the most beautiful car in the world - so it's appreciation was hardly lukewarm back in the day.

No, I'll stand by it.

Enzo Ferrari is indeed quoted as saying that: I don't have any issue with it and certainly would have no wish to denigrate the E Type's classic status. The point being that E Type sales were so small at the end that the factory had difficulty shifting them, and the value of used examples must have gone through the floor (admittedly the 1973 oil crisis didn't make things any easier).

Some years down the line and it's a different matter. But I think there are big differences between Classic, Perceived Future Value and Collectable, and we're back to "What makes a car a classic?"

An interesting point made about the 1973 oil crisis hitting sales of the E Type, got me thinking that the E89 was launched just after the start of the global financial melt down (the effects of which has lasted throughout its production lifetime) and what impact this might have had on sales volumes. I looked at the sales figures for the SLK (considered to be its main competitor) and global sales in 2007 were 28,104. By 2009 this had fallen to 13,371. Even when the R172 new model was launched in 2011 sales only rose to 20,949 - some way off the 48,101 they shifted in 2005. Perhaps those who feel the E89 was not as popular based on sales volumes compared to the E85/6 should consider this?

 

[GuidoK]

^might be the financial crisis but also might be that the roadster car type wasnt as popular as it was before.
If you look at bmw's global sales of all models it only had a 2009 setback (about 15%) but grew pretty steadily throughout the crisis years.
So if the e89 suffered from the crisis, it was probably only one of the few models :wink:

And it certainly wasnt due to the oil price, as that plummited in 2009 when the crisis started

 

[Kingfisher]

Did I read somewhere that the next Z4 won't have a folding hardtop? If true it's off my list I'm afraid!

 

[GuidoK]

Did I read somewhere that the next Z4 won't have a folding hardtop?

Yes, its going to be a proper roadster.

 

[Dav the wheel nut]

I suppose most people's idea of what makes a car classic is that it's future value will increase due to the rarity:demand ratio but trying to define what makes a classic car is a tricky problem (try looking up the definition of a classic car online).

This car is considered to be a classic - most examples still survive apparently. If you'd bought one new and kept it in reasonable nick you'd certainly be looking at profit if you sold it.

IMG_1165.JPG

This seems to give strength to one particular definition I found online which was that for a car to become a classic, somebody just needs to keep it on the road for no logical reason other than it's that particular car.

Food for thought :wink:

And someone posted Valencia Orange would never be classic

 

[Anonymous]

I suppose most people's idea of what makes a car classic is that it's future value will increase due to the rarity:demand ratio but trying to define what makes a classic car is a tricky problem (try looking up the definition of a classic car online).

This car is considered to be a classic - most examples still survive apparently. If you'd bought one new and kept it in reasonable nick you'd certainly be looking at profit if you sold it.

IMG_1165.JPG

This seems to give strength to one particular definition I found online which was that for a car to become a classic, somebody just needs to keep it on the road for no logical reason other than it's that particular car.

Food for thought :wink:

And someone posted Valencia Orange would never be classic

Not based on the interest shown at ZEDfest yesterday :-D

 

[JustCruzin]

The way things are at the moment anything that uses petrol will become a classic

 

[Pastry]

Well... Some say that in a straight line, it is faster than light itself...... that it corners better than a bullet train..... that it will fellate you better than Linda Lovelace.. So of course it will be a classic... a classic fable :roll: