Mr Funk wrote:
But all this talk of prices rising dramatically and them being worth the money that's being asked in some places is frankly hilarious.
I'd love a mk1 over the mk2 any day of the week, as would most of the people on here but the scarcity of parts twinned with the frightening reality of rust issues would put all but the most dedicated of restorers off.
Which is why a perfect mk1 is worth well north of 5k
Late to this thread but I'll throw my opinion into this.
There are a seriously limited number of roadworthy mk1's in this country, and it's in the hands of the owners of said vehicles to dictate the pricing. In any other classic scene, with the possible exception of the Escort/Capri, it's the much more rare and stylish coupe that fetches higher prices than it's more workman cousin. In the case of the Escort, the massive aftermarket makes restoration and modification both possible, and financially viable, given the values of finished cars. To some extent, this applies to the mk1 Golf, as it's the hot hatch icon, values for restored and original cars are kept high by demand, and by proxy, the value of lesser models, is kept artificially high by the "scene" surrounding the Golf.
The Scirocco was more expensive than the Golf when new, and marketed more as a small luxury coupe and as such, despite being mechanically identical to the Golf, and Golf GTI, and having a lower centre of gravity it was seen more at the time as a tourer, not a racer. Had they sold a GLI as it was, along side a GTI with a more sporting appearance and interior, like the US "S" model, then it might have been seen differently. The sad thing about the US "S" is that it never had more than 82hp so whilst it looked good in it's GTI style colours, with blacked out brightwork and dark, sporty interior, it couldn't even match a GLS in performance. The GLS, GLI, and GTI here in the UK were barely distinguishable from each other, and there was only the Storm as the standout model, and that was horrifically expensive for what it was. It's reputation for corrosion certainly hasn't helped bolster numbers, and get it more into the psyche of other VW owners.
All these things mean in the eye of the VW nut, the Scirocco is the also ran, the old mans car, the rust bucket, and uncool. It's us, and the thinking types that know better, and that's why we love them so much. The thing is, that that perception is changing. The retro culture is making cars of our era deeply cool, no matter what they are. So now we have the power to keep prices high, we own them, and it's other people who want them. Demand finally exceeds supply, because those who have wanted them have got them, and those who only now want them, can't find them.
Right now I have an '81 storm project car, that's been projecting for a while, I will finish it, and when it's done, it'll probably owe me £10k, and that's the minimum I'd accept for it. I have the power, I have the control. I sure as hell won't be selling it though......
I also have a '78 GLS that I'm converting to absolute factory GLI spec. That's probably worth £1500-£2000 as it stands, but when painted, and mechanically overhauled, I'd value it around £6000.
Treat them like classics, because that's what they are. It's demand that dictates prices, and you create that demand by keeping your car nice, and engendering desire in others. Tasteless modifications, botched repairs, and loosing the originality are what de-value these cars. That's in the control of the owner. I'd also argue that those people who ask ridiculous prices for parts unique to these cars also don't help. They make it uneconomical to repair them, and put people off buying what could be seen to be an expensive car to restore.
Running these cars is cheap, suspension and brake parts are cheap, engine and transmission parts are cheap, they're economical, reliable, great looking, and most of the ones still around have been rust protected one way or another by now. On top of that, they perform very well by the standards of the day, and are great fun to hustle along. There is no reason they shouldn't be one of the most sort after, useable classics out there, it's just people don't seem to know. Should we keep the secret, keep car prices down, or shout the praises to anyone who'll hear, and drive prices up?
We all want high prices when we sell, and rock bottom when we buy, but somewhere in the middle, where the best cars get the price they deserve, and restorable cars don't get broken for spares, but restored, as they should be, is probably about right.
After spending the last weekend at Roadstar in the Netherlands. The conclusions I can draw are basically MK1's in the UK are chronically under valued. After a chat with a really nice guy a friend of Eric's. He asked where are all the max value MK1's? valued in Classic & Sports car valueation table at £3.5K?
