OK, as some of you may know, I took the plunge about 4 years ago and bought myself a fully restored MGB. After four years of happy roof down cheap motoring (OK - a couple of breakdowns, but hey, it's an MGB, right? And anyway, I've had electronic ignition fitted now...) I'm beginning to feel I've scratched that itch now, and perhaps its time for a change of toy.
Key criteria are that it must be interesting, open top, and useable. and I don't want to lose a fortune in depreciation - the B has pretty much held its value, and I like that! Ideally I would also be able to get classic car insurance - think that means it has to be at least 15 years old, but not sure whether some insurers do that at 10 years?
The car will probably only do 2-3000 miles pa tops, so I don't really care about fuel costs, and I am prepared to accept occasional chunky repair bills (these cars were expensive when new), but equally I want it to be regularly useable, not an ornament, so I'm not interested in something fragile or that will spend an inordinate amount of time at the workshop.
So - to vehicles. I'm thinking through SLs. I'm not a great fan of the R129 styling, so am torn between the R107 and the R230...the latter appeals a lot in terms of the car itself, and the possibilty of playing with a 3-500bhp+ V8. R107 is obviously a different kind of proposition, but more likely to fit the classic car insurance and low/no depreciation model.
What does the collective think? I'm probably thinking in terms of adding a few grand to the value of the B, so budget would be mid to upper teens. Have early 230 values bottomed out yet? Should I leave it for another year or two? Is there anything else (124 cabrio?) that I should be considering? No set time to keep the car, but realistically I'd have it for at least 4-5 years, maybe longer if I'm enjoying it and it's holding its value.
And before we all get too excited about spending my money, I should add that it took years of deliberation before I finally bought the B!
Key criteria are that it must be interesting, open top, and useable. and I don't want to lose a fortune in depreciation - the B has pretty much held its value, and I like that! Ideally I would also be able to get classic car insurance - think that means it has to be at least 15 years old, but not sure whether some insurers do that at 10 years?
The car will probably only do 2-3000 miles pa tops, so I don't really care about fuel costs, and I am prepared to accept occasional chunky repair bills (these cars were expensive when new), but equally I want it to be regularly useable, not an ornament, so I'm not interested in something fragile or that will spend an inordinate amount of time at the workshop.
So - to vehicles. I'm thinking through SLs. I'm not a great fan of the R129 styling, so am torn between the R107 and the R230...the latter appeals a lot in terms of the car itself, and the possibilty of playing with a 3-500bhp+ V8. R107 is obviously a different kind of proposition, but more likely to fit the classic car insurance and low/no depreciation model.
What does the collective think? I'm probably thinking in terms of adding a few grand to the value of the B, so budget would be mid to upper teens. Have early 230 values bottomed out yet? Should I leave it for another year or two? Is there anything else (124 cabrio?) that I should be considering? No set time to keep the car, but realistically I'd have it for at least 4-5 years, maybe longer if I'm enjoying it and it's holding its value.
And before we all get too excited about spending my money, I should add that it took years of deliberation before I finally bought the B!
