Resale values on different replica vendors

Hi there,
I have been considering buying a kit GT40 as a long term project/hobby and I'm still looking at the various manufacturers out there.
I'm currently looking to RCR, Tornado and CAV.

The kit pricing seems similar on those (although I don't have yet the shipping costs for the CAV)

However I noticed on the few ocasions that tornados are for sale as completed cars, they are considerably cheaper that CAV's or RCR's

There is one for sale in the UK for only 35k GBP
Ford GT40 Replica (by Tornado) - Renowned and Well Sorted For Sale (2003) on Car And Classic UK [C288744]

That's less than the cost of the kit.

Any reason for this?
Resale value would also influence my choice, of course.

Thanks
 
Welcome to the GT 40's world Jorge. Your question has been beaten to death in many threads on this forum so be prepared for different responses. Its really not an easy question to answer. It depends....on many factors. Cost of materials used, quality of materials used, marketing of the product, shipping and tax costs, fluctuating exchange rates, simplicity of design or complexity of design, build manuals etc. Of course one can spend countless thousands on their choice of engine and transaxle etc too which will fluctuate overall costs a great deal and will certainly effect resale value. For example a car with a Holman Moody motor and ZF gearbox will normally sell for much more then a car with a base mustang 302 with a low cost transaxle. Of course there are some bargains out there and "good things come to those who wait" they say. That certainly applies to me as I had the GT40 "fever" bad and when first considering buying one of these great cars I looked at a CAV Gulf Liveried car with a Rousch Motor and ZF trans. They wanted nearly $98,000.00 for it in 2007. Two years later that exact car sold for about 75,000 and the guy who bought it kept it for about a month and then sold it to someone in Europe for a very nice profit. Then not long ago a fully sorted SPF MKII sold for $64,000 at auction. They are rare but they do exist. I will only speak on behalf of CAV to say they offer a great product and their quality is outstanding. The stainless steel monocoque chassis is a work of art too. The materials used are first rate and you will not be disappointed. I've also received excellent help from the factory when needed. Good Luck in your search.
 
Welcome to the GT 40's world Jorge. Your question has been beaten to death in many threads on this forum so be prepared for different responses. Its really not an easy question to answer. It depends....on many factors. Cost of materials used, quality of materials used, marketing of the product, shipping and tax costs, fluctuating exchange rates, simplicity of design or complexity of design, build manuals etc. Of course one can spend countless thousands on their choice of engine and transaxle etc too which will fluctuate overall costs a great deal and will certainly effect resale value. For example a car with a Holman Moody motor and ZF gearbox will normally sell for much more then a car with a base mustang 302 with a low cost transaxle. Of course there are some bargains out there and "good things come to those who wait" they say. That certainly applies to me as I had the GT40 "fever" bad and when first considering buying one of these great cars I looked at a CAV Gulf Liveried car with a Rousch Motor and ZF trans. They wanted nearly $98,000.00 for it in 2007. Two years later that exact car sold for about 75,000 and the guy who bought it kept it for about a month and then sold it to someone in Europe for a very nice profit. Then not long ago a fully sorted SPF MKII sold for $64,000 at auction. They are rare but they do exist. I will only speak on behalf of CAV to say they offer a great product and their quality is outstanding. The stainless steel monocoque chassis is a work of art too. The materials used are first rate and you will not be disappointed. I've also received excellent help from the factory when needed. Good Luck in your search.

I understand that the engine+transmission choice is the difference between a few thousands or a few tens of thousands.
Still , seeing a tornado for sale for the price of the parts alone seems that the owner is basically giving it away.
This is also not the first time I see the tornado go for 30k£ ish
 
Jorge, I agree. Can't speak on why price is what it is. Might be a great deal for someone. Only way to know is to check the car out in person. Or, maybe the price reflects condition or a seller very eager to sell and needs money fast.
 
I would have to say that if you are even thinking about resale, then just don't build. Find a used one that you like for sale. You will still have to make it "yours" and that will give you a chance to spend time (and money) on it.

I don't think I could collect half what I put into it. That's just the nature of the home built car.

Superformance is the only one that truly holds value, and that takes a hit from new just as well.
 

Keith

Moderator
I understand that the engine+transmission choice is the difference between a few thousands or a few tens of thousands.
Still , seeing a tornado for sale for the price of the parts alone seems that the owner is basically giving it away.
This is also not the first time I see the tornado go for 30k£ ish

Interesting question. British cars, in the main, tend to be put together by the owners (not so true today, but it certainly WAS the case). For that reason, the horrendous commercial labour costs one would have to pay to have one built, or part built are often not applied to a sale price - as the labour is a "labour of love" so if it cost the owner £30K in parts that's what he might ask for his finished car, being satisfied that he "got his money back"

Also bear in mind, it's a limited market, so if one HAS to sell, it should be pitched right.

There is another, more philosophical reason - and that perhaps is that "we don't do profit" like some other nations.

I do not believe that the sales price necessarily reflects a car's standard as that is what at I think you are trying to say. Every self built car will be a different standard from the next and must be judged on it's merits. As regards Tornadoes, there are so many of them out there now, the actual car may have started it's journey before you were even born!

Do you know there are still many unfinished (no, even UNSTARTED) GTD kits to be had in the wide world? What would THEY sell for?.

I believe it would be quite wrong to say (or even imply) that Tornadoes, for example, are cheap because...this goes for every make and works the other ways,s such as ERA's are expensive because :

The nature of the beast is that everyone of every make is different - never two the same - so cannot reflect similar price points except (there's always one :)) professionally built cars such as Superformance - THERE you might get a 'market value' idea.

Naturally, the asking price therefore, based on original investment might be considerably lower.

It wasn't so long ago that GTD's could be acquired for as little as £20k and even less.

Hope this helps. It's only an opinion but I have been around these cars for over 40 years from Slough upwards!
 
You may have a point Keith.
For me half of the fun in the GT40 is to actually build one.
If not, I could just grab one of these bargains for myself.

If I do build one and if I do have to sell it, I will be happy to "only" sell it for the parts cost as I would have lost no money.
 

Keith

Moderator
You may have a point Keith.
For me half of the fun in the GT40 is to actually build one.
If not, I could just grab one of these bargains for myself.

If I do build one and if I do have to sell it, I will be happy to "only" sell it for the parts cost as I would have lost no money.

Exactly my point - which is why there can be a large variance in selling prices for "self-built" cars. :)
 
Welcome to the GT 40's world Jorge. Your question has been beaten to death in many threads on this forum so be prepared for different responses. Its really not an easy question to answer. It depends....on many factors. Cost of materials used, quality of materials used, marketing of the product, shipping and tax costs, fluctuating exchange rates, simplicity of design or complexity of design, build manuals etc. Of course one can spend countless thousands on their choice of engine and transaxle etc too which will fluctuate overall costs a great deal and will certainly effect resale value. For example a car with a Holman Moody motor and ZF gearbox will normally sell for much more then a car with a base mustang 302 with a low cost transaxle. Of course there are some bargains out there and "good things come to those who wait" they say. That certainly applies to me as I had the GT40 "fever" bad and when first considering buying one of these great cars I looked at a CAV Gulf Liveried car with a Rousch Motor and ZF trans. They wanted nearly $98,000.00 for it in 2007. Two years later that exact car sold for about 75,000 and the guy who bought it kept it for about a month and then sold it to someone in Europe for a very nice profit. Then not long ago a fully sorted SPF MKII sold for $64,000 at auction. They are rare but they do exist. I will only speak on behalf of CAV to say they offer a great product and their quality is outstanding. The stainless steel monocoque chassis is a work of art too. The materials used are first rate and you will not be disappointed. I've also received excellent help from the factory when needed. Good Luck in your search.

The car that sold for $64k (SPF) actually cost $70k to get to the repair shop.
It had to be rebuilt from a poor initial build. The paperwork (MSO) also was incorrect. More problems. Engine was a stock small block. Ac was out. I think it finally was up to $90k invested. I know the buyer and was bidding against him when I was warned off. I was told it was going overseas to the desert car collection.

The latest SPF MkII I know of sold for $125k. And worth it.
Another friend got and excellent buy on an early ERA, but needs sorted and corrections made to many other owners 'fixes'. AC doesn't work, but it will. Should be a nice car when sorted and you couldn't tear it away from the new owner.

Good hunting
 
Jorge
Cost....A Shelby American all aluminum 427 FE custom built dyno tuned 482ci, 600 hp, 610 foot pounds, 950 cfm Holly, and ++++ on the build sheet can run $30k.
A Rosch SB FI 427 will hit $20K. Add beefier half shafts and trans-axle. Fire suppression systems, adjustable suspension, $500 brake pads, etc. It adds up quickly and I haven't mentioned wide body, rod shifting link, or roll bars.
Take someone with you who knows the manufacture and the car when you go to see a car. Go for a ride,... maybe a drive.
But to see one in your garage is a thing of beauty, second only to a Bugatti Veyron. Pure art!
 
I still think that the GT40 is the best looking car ever built, even the Bugatti Veyron. Am I the only one that thinks it looks like a fishing lure on wheels?
 
You are not alone - Veyron is fugly and sounds like a whoopee cushion.
Personally I don't think there has been a really good looking car since the F40 (and BTW I'm not a Ferrari fan). Can't think of one offhand anyway.
IMO GT40 is the best looking car ever.

Tim.
 
I still think that the GT40 is the best looking car ever built, even the Bugatti Veyron. Am I the only one that thinks it looks like a fishing lure on wheels?

Maybe that's what this guy was thinking: (NSW language)

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NJmB1F2mdE]Bugatti Veyron Lake Crash-- Original Video- 1st hand account - YouTube[/ame]
 
WTF!? What's the story on that?

Apart from the strange crash - if it wasn't moving you'd think it was the box a supercar came in.

Tim.
 

Malcolm

Supporter
A totally standard GTD, and I mean totally standard GTD in good conition sold at auction recently for a hammer price of £42,000. After house costs it would have been about £48,000. That may be lucky but from looking at what the asking prices are for a number of GTDs recently, they do seem to be appreeciating in value again.

What I would be interested to hear thoughts on is, with a quality replica, is it more valueable in totally standard form or if it has recognised performance upgrades? Expanding that, I just bought a 1992 TVR Griffith for restoration. It is metallic black with a green interior. Not my favourite colour scheme I have to say but a freind said that if I changed the colours it would not be as valueable after the restoration as if I had kept the original colours. Thoughts welcome!
 
Malcolm, certainly another issue to ponder with these cars and IMO a very interesting question. My .02 pence/cents is this: I believe it would depend on the performance upgrade. ie. Removing a Holley four barrell and adding 4 Webers to a MK 1 should add value I would think. Looking at an SPF the one thing that is obviously not like the originals are the seats (same with CAV and others too) so I would think if you added a set of Gelscoe original type seats you would enhance the value of the car also. With these cars the more you can do to them to improve the car or to get them as close to the original as possible I think adds value and thus the reason many believe the SPF cars will hold value more then others. But and its a BIG but....with the TVR you purchased you are dealing with an established marque and changing how the car was originally delivered may devalue the car. As an example cars produced in the 60's and 70's came in some unusal colors (Lambo Countcach's and Miura's being delviered in a rather odd Lime Green color) and to change that I would think would devalue the car. Same over here with Mopar cars painted "Plum Crazy" and "Grabber Orange." The ID plate usually denotes the color the car was delivered in so to change that could cause the car to lose value. In the end though it really is up to the buyer and how badly they want the car at that time. Get 2 people in the same room both bidding on the same car and wanting the car and BINGO we have a winner.

In conclusion, with the replica cars I think certain performance additions can add value (is adding AC a performance upgrade?) and adding other things can devalue a car like wacky interior mods or crazy wings to the back or 24" wheels.
 
Back
Top