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My lovely and thoughtful wife gave me a Land Rover Defender 90 station wagon as a gift for Valentine’s Day in 1997 (red of course). I still have it and it is the only vehicle I have owned that is worth more today than the day it was given to me new. Of course if I deduct the on going cost of maintenance I am probably in the hole, but I choose to ignore this fact. People try to buy it all the time but given its source it will be with me for life if our son doesn’t abscond with it first!
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Having owned three Land Rovers here in Australia, I can say that the brand allows for numerous opportunities to work beside your father under the bonnet - as you try to figure out what's wrong with it.
With any "classic" British car, I think that you are only taking care of it (i.e. continuing to pour $1,000's into it) for the next generation (i.e. the next sap who you can trick into buying it).
Of course, I say this as I search for a low mileage Series 1 Miata.
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If you want to know the next cars that will be collectible, you just need to know which cars hung as posters on the walls of today’s 50 year old men.
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I thought this article was never going to end.
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This article could have been about me. I'm a Gen x-er, and I bought a '74 Datsun 260z a few years ago to begin a long, painstaking process of a full frame restoration. Obviously, I'm not the only person doing this, because they are increasingly rare to find (or expensive). The one thing I like about cars from the pre 1980s is that you can actually work on them in your garage. Nowadays, the electronics, sensors, controls, and modules are so complicated, I wouldn't know where to begin...
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I agree Norman. I rebuilt VW and Ford Courier (Mazda) motors with only a gasket set and new bearings and piston rings. Four bolts held the VW motor to the transaxle. Rebuilt a VW on my kitchen table.
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Surprised to not see any mention of the online auction website Bring A Trailer - every car enthusiast I know talks about it and looks at it on a daily basis.
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@NRoc87 Best way to waste or spend time. My favorite website.
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The popularity and desirability (and longevity!) of the Land Rover Defender is no surprise. They are truly unique and awesome vehicles, capable of navigating anywhere in the World (the next time you watch a documentary of modern-day explorers, treading over treacherous snowy terrain or deep into some jungle, check out what they're driving. Most likely it's a Landy!).
I love it when we Landy drivers give each other a knowing nod of the head or the two-fingered "Hey!" as we pass each other in traffic, even though we've never met!
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The article focuses on a Land Rover Defender and notes that restored Defenders can exceed six figures. The article grossly oversimplifies the market for Defenders and fails to distinguish between NAS (North American Spec) Defender 90s and imported Defenders (such as the one pictured). The NAS D90 was only sold in the US in 1994-1995 and 1997. There were only a few thousand sold during those years. (There were also 500 NAS D110s sold. All but one in white.) NAS D90s were rare to start and have only become more rare with the passage of time. Many D90 owners actually drive them and thus low millage examples can be very hard to find. Low mileage NAS D90s are the ones that can exceed six figures. In the current market, you'll never find a working NAS D90 for $18k. Imported Defenders? There are more of those arriving every day to fill the gap at the lower end of the market. You can find those on online auction sites and they vary tremendously based on condition and prior service. Whether an imported Defender is an investment is to be seen, but they are still awesome vehicles.
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@Steve
My experience with a 1994 Jaguar XJ6 led me to the conclusion the Brits can't make a decent electrical system or even a straight body with full frame. This article claims Land Rover to be least reliable vehicle on the road in the UK.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2179067/Land-Rover-revealed-UKs-reliable-car-71-cent-years-old-break-year.html
... Albeit I like the idea of a snorkel air intake in the age of climate change fueled wet weather.
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@larkspur Decades ago, I owned an MG Midget with a bumper sticker that said “Only the finest British parts are falling off this car”
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The British drink warm beer because they have Lucas refrigerators.
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The story with classic cars is always the same. It doesn't matter that a fifties or sixties car is worth so much in the eyes of older experts. No, it depends on the fact that the prospective customers experienced the car themselves in their own childhood or their youth as super great. These are the valuable emotions that make a car valuable. For example, a Porsche 356 may be "valuable", but today's relevant buyers prefer an 80s 911 or even a 924. The same with other brands, the new generation experiences a Baby Benz being cooler than a 1959 190SL because they weren't born then yet.
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I Love MY 2018 Subaru Forrester XT .. not a lot of cash but but when I punch it it has out perform and passed by many people in cars costing 40-70K more than it’s sticker price.. it was the last year they produced it ...maybe in 20 years I can sell it for 80K .. hee hee hee!
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agreed. since I own two, I'll try not to flood the market.
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@Robert
I'll never forget a Car Talk episode where a caller said she had $80k to spend and wanted the perfect car. They told her to buy 2 Forresters. Hilarious. Unfortunately they are not attractive whatsoever.
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@Robert I am also a NYC Forester owner named Robert. Is this a thing?
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Confirmed. Keep transport fun!
This Gen-Xer is renovating a 1976 Argosy motorhome to commute from NY to MI where I garage my 1989 Jeep Wagoneer next door to my old 1998 Beetle now owned by my father-in-law, who rebuilt a Jeep from scratch in the 1950's with his dad, both of whom built V8's for GM through the boom years.
As cars become electrified, my hope is that it will get easier and safer to work on them with loved ones.
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