The 260 market drying up? Some worrying observations.

[David]

I guess it depends on your point of view, as an owner or prospective buyer. As a buyer there's less to choose from, and current fuel prices won't help people decide to sell a 20mpg car but to an owner maybe it's a precursor to prices going up...

They should by flying off the shelves then, but they are not (yet). Selling one appears still to be a long and painful process as ever; buying one can also be much the same, with one or two "dogs" starting to pop up now!

Five to seven years ago we had a similar 260/75V8 market here in Holland, as far as number of vehicles was concerned. I bought mine then (on the telephone) in 5 minutes, within a few hours of the listing. There was a queue of people (really) waiting when I went to pay and collect, just in case I changed my mind or wanted an instant profit. Not like that now, here or in the UK by the look of it. My 'Olive' is a keeper, until I pop my clogs!

HowManyLeft is a useful tool, but beware - it's like disappearing down a rabbit hole!

Loads of fake news there, I'm afraid. More Rover 75 V8 Tourers still exist than were ever made, for example.

David

[Dashnine]

They should by flying off the shelves then, but they are not (yet).

Yes, but if the price is rising people are going to hang onto them there's no large profit to be made in a £5K - £10K car.

Loads of fake news there, I'm afraid. More Rover 75 V8 Tourers still exist than were ever made, for example.

Agreed (hadn't checked the Rovers TBH), and it doesn't help that the MGs are split into differently named entries, but I think the pattern still shows that cars are gradually disappearing into SORN at the same rate they're becoming unlicenced - so they're off road but not scrapped.

I suspect the SORN cars are being tucked away until they're worth more as we're past the bottom of the depreciation curve. There's a small fluctuation in SORNs between Summer and Winter as cars come out to play in the Summer, but the trend is a gradually increasing one.

Then you have owners who see the future appreciation for these cars and are trying to keep the miles off them and in the garage rather than using as dailies (although it's bloody hard!) with no intention of selling for as long as possible (that's me then).