Trophy Valuation Help

[jlpower]

Hi all

New to the forums but spent a fair amount of time on here.

I could really do with some help in valuing a Trophy I'm interested in. I won't go into specifics as to which one it is for now, apologies!

Here goes:

SORN'd and warehoused for the best part of five years
35k miles
FSH
Original spec
1 owner
One front damper refurbed a couple of years before garaging.

The seller is a friend and completely trustworthy, but I'm most concerned about the fact it's been off the road for so long. I'm told by Mick at Diamond that it'll definitely need new belts (he says it's every five years without question, and that actually more damage is done if they're not driven), and then there's also whatever else needs to be done to resuscitate it. Possibility of new tyres if they have hardened and cracked? etc etc

Any information you could give me would be hugely appreciated - it is a car I really want, but I think there's a decent amount of risk involved in getting something that's not a runner (please, correct me if I'm wrong!). Taking the car to a specialist to get it worked on doesn't bother me, but the price needs to reflect that.

If you're feeling extra generous, give me amounts for pre/post belts change, pre/post tyres change and pre/post anything else you may know of that I don't! I'm just looking to get a fair price valuation for both me and the seller.

Thank you for reading and happy driving.

 

[dablk]

If this is the r-sport car it's already sold.
if it's not then I would imagine th r-sport car went for £8k with the belts done by his specialist. So if by some miracle your looking at a different car then there's a price guide.

 

[jlpower]

If this is the r-sport car it's already sold.
if it's not then I would imagine th r-sport car went for £8k with the belts done by his specialist. So if by some miracle your looking at a different car then there's a price guide.

Thanks for replying.

No, it's a car which has never been on the market before.

8k? Recent examples on Autotrader and eBay seem to be closer to the 3.5-5k mark so that's way higher than my valuation. You do mean for a 2005 Trophy, yeah?

 

[Farnsworth]

They say say buy a car on condition and service history.
Condition-no mention.
Service-a full service with all belts and fluids at a good independent will start at around £500.
Tyres-possibly old PE2's on there (who knows) will be ok but well past their best £70 to £80 a corner for decent.
Sachs-never a good idea to do one, should be done in pairs to balance them. They could last another five years or five weeks after being stood.
I wouldn't worry too much about being stood, would have been better if was used every so often but the service 'should' sort most issues.
Having said all that, your valuation is well low. A 35k Trophy is becoming a desirable thing, you should be looking at between £5k and maybe £6k before work.

 

[dablk]

Yep. A sorted, mot, Sachs fine, belts fluids fine with right tyres. Paint perfect type example would go for £8k. As said all the work would need to be done.
R-sport car sold in 12 hrs of being advertised on piston heads.

 

[Claude]

I don't follow the market but I doubt that too many 1-owner Trophys with 35k appear all that often.

It is a low mileage car. Sure, there will be lower, but the majority are doing 5/6/8/10k a year, hence why they're being priced around £3.5-5k, plus some are missing the crucial front Sachs.

A car is worth what any one person is willing to pay, and I think if this was advertised for £7.5k it would probably sell, assuming it's in good condition with full service history and no significant issues.

£400 to fit new tyres, and if you want it then I think you have to budget for a full and thorough service, starting at £500 but more realistically £800 up to £1k depending what needs doing. You could ask for the money off but this vehicle is probably more a seller's market kind of car.

Personally I can see why a 35k 1-owner Trophy is an attractive proposition but personally I'd rather go for a 75k 4-owner car that had been driven and maintained but an enthusiast owner - I'd have more confidence in trouble-free motoring doing it that way.

If you're going to garage it as an 'investment' and not put any miles on it then get it bought, don't spend a penny on it until you want/need to sell it. I doubt you'll lose anything, depending when you move it on.

If you want a reliable car then maybe with a service it might be perfect but it could have plenty of issues the current owner doesn't know about. At the end of the day these little Frenchies have plenty of foibles, just some tend to be more significant than others.

All the best

 

[jlpower]

Thanks for all your replies. I had no idea the mileage was so crucial when it came to price. I thought that once a car had passed 30kish then it didn't really have much difference to one that has 75k on the clock, especially as the engines are 'bomb-proof'.

The condition of the car as far as the bodywork goes is good, but I haven't been able to inspect the car yet, this will be done next week. Who knows what the underside will show, therefore, although the seller (again, a friend) seems confident. There is a thick layer of dust on the car, I'm told, due to it not having a cover on it, but it hasn't been left in a cold, wet garage so the car shouldn't have accumulated too much crap - and I doubt dust is going to do too much (again, I may be wrong here!).

I think it's best if I get it that I accept it is probably going to need some four-figure work doing to it to get it in tip top condition - what's the point of driving this car in any other state?!

I'm just concerned about the state of it after it being sat there, but maybe I'm being a bit too conservative.

Thanks.

 

[dablk]

Tell your mate i'll give him £3k for it if its a bit too dusty for you
Yes four figures is easially achieveable on a 182 needing some bits done. Even without needing doing sachs or tyres.

 

[jlpower]

3k seems a little low considering the above posts...!

 

[dablk]

might throw in a packet of jelly babies too

seriously though, I woul imagine your getting a few emails regarding what/where/who and if you dont want it etc.

Hope its a good one for you
All the best

 

[MarcB]

A car is worth what any one person is willing to pay, and I think if this was advertised for £7.5k it would probably sell, assuming it's in good condition with full service history and no significant issues.


Personally I can see why a 35k 1-owner Trophy is an attractive proposition but personally I'd rather go for a 75k 4-owner car that had been driven and maintained but an enthusiast owner - I'd have more confidence in trouble-free motoring doing it that way.

Exactly my thoughts.

I would hate to think what the fluids are like if its not been moved / started or turned over.
I would be thinking to get an £8k car you are possibly looking at spending £1500 if not more.

Even if its not out in the cold / wet / damp rubber can still perish and things can still bind on or seize

 

[jlpower]

Exactly my thoughts.

I would hate to think what the fluids are like if its not been moved / started or turned over.
I would be thinking to get an £8k car you are possibly looking at spending £1500 if not more.

Even if its not out in the cold / wet / damp rubber can still perish and things can still bind on or seize

I think the same - spending £1500 on it would be probably what's required to get it into a solid, safe and proper driving condition to the point where I'm not checking it constantly!

Brilliant responses so far, thanks a lot everyone. Keep 'em comin.

 

[dablk]

Have they told you the number to check its history on here?

 

[jlpower]

Have they told you the number to check its history on here?

Yeah, I know the number. I've looked it up. As I say, it's from a good friend so that helps a bit. :up:

 

[Roger88]

If this went on the market it'd be snapped up by a 'collector'. I'm sure if you bought it for £6k spent £1500 on it and kept it for 3-5 years and didn't do many miles you could get your money back. £3/3.5k is more like price of cars that have done 90k+ miles. If your budget is £7k then don't go higher than £5.5k so then it leaves you the money to spend on it. My 2p worth

 

[jlpower]

If this went on the market it'd be snapped up by a 'collector'. I'm sure if you bought it for £6k spent £1500 on it and kept it for 3-5 years and didn't do many miles you could get your money back. £3/3.5k is more like price of cars that have done 90k+ miles. If your budget is £7k then don't go higher than £5.5k so then it leaves you the money to spend on it. My 2p worth

Thanks for the words, Roger88. It sounds like £1.5k is about the right amount to spend on it getting it up to mint condition.

 

[TonkaTruck]

I'd personally be pricing in £1,000 for a complete service and some decent tyres.

Once MINT (as some traders put it) your looking at a minimum £7,500+.
Obviously price other work required accordingly.

 

[Luke335]

I actually think for a valuation you should expect it to easily cost 2 - 2.5k to get this car back to where it should be.
Cam and Aux belt with water pump and dephaser pulley.
oil and filters. Brake fluid. Discs and pads all around.
Battery and possibly alternator.
Basic damper rebuild.
Tyres.
I guess somewhere around 4.5 to 5k is a fair valuation from what we know (or don't know) of its current state. I hope that doesn't sound too pessimistic but you don't want to sell yourself short and there's plenty to be done!

 

[gonein60seconds]

I actually think for a valuation you should expect it to easily cost 2 - 2.5k to get this car back to where it should be.
Cam and Aux belt with water pump and dephaser pulley.
oil and filters. Brake fluid. Discs and pads all around.
Battery and possibly alternator.
Basic damper rebuild.
Tyres.
I guess somewhere around 4.5 to 5k is a fair valuation from what we know (or don't know) of its current state. I hope that doesn't sound too pessimistic but you don't want to sell yourself short and there's plenty to be done!

I tend to agree, I think £1000-1500 is being hopeful, the depth of renewal when a car has been parked up is deeper than a service, especially taking into mind this is a performance car. I brought a 2000 Lotus Exige with low miles that had spent a good deal of its life as a garage queen, it looked lovely, first bill was £9000 for a complete suspension refresh and C service. followed by £1400 for tyres, the old ones had 2000 miles on them, but rubber had aged out. And more recently £2000 for paint refresh.

Don't get me wrong a Trophy with 30k miles and solid history is very desirable, but cars being stored bring their own issues. That all said its still a great find ;-)

 

[TonkaTruck]

Pardon my ignorance... but when would it require a damper refurbishment? If it ain't broke, don't fix it?