What is your 280 worth?

The reason I put this section is is because I am getting a lot of enquiries asking me what people think their Capri 280 is worth.

Now, this is a tricky area. Firstly I will probably not know nearly enough about your car at the time of asking.

Secondly, I'm not sure why you want to know. Why do I say this? If you just bought the car then it's worth what you paid for it. If you are wanting to sell it then advertise and you will quickly see from the responses whether you pitched it right or not.

If you want your Capri 280 valued for Insurance purposes then you will have to approach your local Capri Club and ask the Secretary to do you a valuation. CCI provide this service I think.

What I tell people is this:-

Every car has 3 prices.

1. The price a buyer would like to pay - usually less than what the seller thinks

2. A price the seller thinks it's worth - sometimes right on the button but mostly over optimistic

3. The price that someone is actually prepared to pay for it - that is market price i.e. what the 'market' says it's worth.

Now I know there's more to it than that but this pretty much sums it up. The things that people look for are generally:-

History - how well documented

Services - garage or enthusiast

Damage - accidents - how well repaired

Repairs - welding, plating, new panels

Genuine panels - a must for serious cars

Coachwork - condition of paint (most 280's today will have newer than 1987 paint on)

Gaps - how do panels line up door/wing/bonnet/scuttle?

Leather - creased, cracked, ripped or perfect

Driving - does it feel planted? - non pulling steering, nice engine sound, pulls well, noisy gearbox, back axle?

Wheels - refurbed - or scuffed and kerbed.

Molested - you know what I mean you molesters out there!! You would not believe the 'bling' and crazy bits I've ripped off 280's to get them back to 'normal'.

And the list goes on.............................

Bear in mind a classic car can either be a thing of passion, a craving, a 'must have' or else it's a hole into which you throw money and your relationships!! Someone's thing of beauty can be someone elses banger!

Bottom line is a Capri 280 can be worth anything from £500 to £20,000 at todays prices. A breaker to a delivery miles car and anywhere in between.

I therefore hesitate to provide 'valuations' over the phone or email as it's plain inaccurate and can cause you problems (and me) if you then start quoting Dr Brooklands as saying your 280 is worth £xxx.

Please don't be offended if I decline to 'guesstimate' your car's value - it is just not an exact science. I do appreciate the fact that people feel my opinion is worth asking in fact it's quite flattering, but telling someone what you think their car is worth is fraught with problems.

You can be sure that if your car is 'right' and you ask me if I want to buy - then one phone call and a visit will usually settle it.

Likewise if you want to buy one of mine - just look at the site and the cars that are presented there. I think it speaks for itself.

Hope that clarifies the matter a tad more?

Thanks to everyone who contacts me - I really like to know what's out there despite what I've just said. Keep the info coming - but don't expect me to say whether you got 'a steal' or 'lost a fortune'!