Top 5 Affordable Used Cars That Will Make You Money
One of the greatest joys of car ownership is finding that your motor has hit classic status and is appreciating in value. But predicting which cars will hit classic status is difficult - for every E-Type there's a Vauxhall Viva.
Nevertheless, we're going to stick our necks out and predict five cars you can buy today for under £5000 that will make you money down the line.
1. Mazda RX-8
There are a few key ingredients that make for a classic car and the RX-8 has them all.
With distinctive styling, the RX-8 cuts an attractive figure. Despite being over a decade old, the looks haven't faded and the quirky rear suicide doors are a talking point too, but they're somewhat eclipsed by the engine.
Though you'll never want the rotary engine explained to you in full, the fact it exists at all is testament to Mazda's perseverance and should help drive the prices back up once the car's done depreciating.
With rust spots around the poorly-sealed third brake light, high oil consumption, 22mpg combined if you're very careful and lots of bespoke components, RX-8 ownership is an expensive experience. A car that set you back £25k new just five years ago may not even reach £2k today.
Of course this is great news if you're thinking of investing in one. You'll see a return when the remaining cars have rotted away or been scrapped.
2. BMW 5-Series E39
If the 3-series E30 taught us anything it's that if you can drift it, drive it fast and get your family in it, it'll become a classic.
While not quite hewn from the same block as the E30, the E39 offers much of the same benefits. You get a straight six howl or V8 growl (there's some diesels too - no-one cares about those), a sweet RWD chassis that's a lot lighter than it looks and precise steering.
Though it was born in the age of electronic nannies, it's not over-encumbered by them - the stability control can be turned off, which leaves only the electronic throttle as a gap between you and the road. Like the E30, you can do all the work on it yourself - though you may need an eBay-special BMW cable and software to get the most out of it.
The market for the early cars is starting to bottom out, with the entry spec petrol models hitting sub-£1k prices. The Top Gear Special appearance should affect these sooner rather than later, so prices might start to rise a little.
3. Peugeot 406 Coupe
The classic car world loves a really good Peugeot and the 406 Coupe represents the only truly good one since the 205 and 309 of the 1980s.
In truth, the 406 Coupe isn't actually a Peugeot, save for the floorpan. In fact it's not really a French car at all - it was built by its designers, Pininfarina, at the Grugliasco factory in Italy and Peugeot just put the engines in. Of course the Italian-built French car was prone to odd electrical gremlins, but otherwise the Coupe was a superb car. Probably the most beautiful non-niche car of its day, the fifteen year old Coupe looks are still a cut above the dross you get on the roads today. They even have a racing pedigree, managing a handful of podium finishes in BTCC from 2001-2002.
The pain came from maintenance. Using virtually no standard parts other than the engines, the Coupe was legendarily expensive to keep going - moreso if you had the lazy, but epic V6. This has punted the prices down to well under £1000 now, even for reasonably good cars. Well worth the money even if you have to use it as a drive ornament - who says cars can't be art?
4. Volkswagen Corrado
The Corrado was a bit unloved when it arrived in the 1990s. As a reinvention of the old Scirroco - a full coupe version of the VW Golf of the day - buyers didn't appreciate the looks, weight or lofty price tag.
What they missed out on was a pretty good driver's car. With a subtle shift up the range from the Scirocco, VW conceived of the Corrado as more of an everyman Porsche 944 than a mere coupe Golf. Though still front-wheel drive, everything was thrown at it to compete with other mid-sized coupes of the day - like the Mitsubishi FTO and Alfa Romeo GTV - and the result was a great handling car that VW still struggles to match 25 years down the line.
With the narrow angle V6 - the two banks at just 15 degrees to fit it into the Golf engine bay - the Corrado had a uniquely special noise too, while the supercharged straight four G60 was a peach. The largely Golf-derived parts mean there's no shortage of bits to keep them running, so the Corrado is a practical future classic.
Prices bottomed out on these a few years ago, so they're one of the more expensive cars on the list, but you should get change from three large for even a mint example.
5. Ford Puma
There's really no escaping this one. The Puma will be a valuable car in your garage in 20 years time. Fact.
In terms of classics, the Puma's got it nailed: it's based largely on an older Fiesta platform - a platform that sold in the millions, meaning there are plenty of spares. It's also one of the best handling cars of any kind ever made and it comes from the blue oval, which has a worldwide following. If it's an older sports or performance car and has a Ford badge, it's an instant classic in the ranks of the XRs, the RSs and the Cosworths.
It's also got another trick up its sleeve - they're built to rot. Like the Mk1 Toyota MR2, the Ford Puma rusts like it's a competitive sport and as the market corrodes away into oblivion, the remaining cars become increasingly valuable. You won't even have to wait a decade for a good Ford Puma to be serious money - a Racing Puma moreso.
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