In the shade under 80.000 miles, this Mk2 Ford Focus RS looks to be worth £15,500. Just be sure to check for hidden wear on the inside of the tire
Four years ago you would have been lucky to grab a Focus RS Mk2 for less than £19,000, but now prices start at £13,500. Not only that, but there's also a giveaway smell about them, with many advertised at £1500-£3000 less than the market average.
It happens that a colleague is considering selling his Mk2 Focus ST, which he bought 12 months ago. Not a chance. Prices have plummeted and his plan is to come out with his shirt in tatters.
“Too many tired, ratty, leggy and modified cars, plus just keeping one on the road becomes more expensive,” is his theory. It can equally well relate to MS. The upside is that if you've always coveted one, now might be a good time to strike.
An unchanged car with reasonable mileage and a good history - virtues that will stand it in good stead as they become rarer - is what you want. We found a 2010 Reg with 77,000 km and a complete Ford service history for $15,500. This is being sold by a Ford dealer, so we're guessing they know one of the slackers well.
We would be interested to test this on a Castrol Longtec or Edge 0 watt-40 diet and that when we remove the dipstick we cannot hear the hiss of the escaping air indicating excessive blow-by pressure caused by a diaphragm split in the oil filter and oil filter combination. breather (but this is easily repaired).
The box should change smoothly and the tires should be of a premium range without excessive wear on the inside shoulders. Lastly, we wanted to check the ECU wiring to see if the drive motor was worn excessively.
Volvo S60 T6 R-design and 4WD auto, £7990: the same age and strength as the Focus RS above, it's comfortable to express and not hot in the cabin like previous generations of smartphones on the S60 R. Our finds are a 2011-reg with a heroic 140,000 miles, but only one previous owner and full service history.
Citroen Xsara 2.0 VTS 3-door, £3480: Citroen has moved away from the bland-looking fare of such a Xara VTS, but under the hood this 165bhp 2.0-liter is good for 0-62 mph in 7.7 seconds. This 70,000-miller in Big Nick has only one owner and a full history. This future classic is written over it.
Skoda Fabia 1.4 TSI VRS auto, £4495: “one cop owner” Ads pipes for this warm hatch. It's not made for that kind of life, except that it's not a full history Skoda, in “excellent condition” and, automatically, hasn't been redlined often. Beware of high oil consumption.
Mercedes-Benz A200 Turbo auto 5-door, £5000: The measure of the answer to the Golf GTI has a 190bhp turbo engine and sport suspension to make it the most elegant A-Class of its time. This one owner, 2008-reg example has done 75,000 miles and has a full Mercedes service history and a panoramic roof.
Auction watch
Mercedes-Benz E320 coupe: the old 124 E-Class in 1984-96 is respected for its looks and build quality, but the coupe and convertible versions are popularly coveted. Of the two, the convertible is the more desirable, but the perfectly proportioned coupe is no ugly sister. In late 1995 Reg suit with 162 kilometers on the clock, recently went under the hammer, making £000. Rust can pick up around the wheel arches and these looks can blind you to problems below, but this seems reasonable. The Coupe is better than the Cabrio and goes best in one direction.
Future Classic
Volkswagen to GTI, £11,950: From the future of the classical point of view, it is difficult to imagine that tomorrow the old tire kicker will worry about modern city cars. Unless, of course, they coveted the GTI. It may lack the flair of its golf equivalent, but it's fun enough and that the badge matters a lot. Add a rarity and you're a pint-sized future classic. Today, prices start around £11,000. Our find is a privately sold 2018/67-Reg three-door with 9000 miles for $11,950. Considering it only costs £13,750 new and the approved used ones are around £12,500, we're offering £11,000 and squeezing £11,250.
Declaration collision
Short: Find me a bl special for $3000 to go to the run-of-the-mill festival.
Morris Marina GT, £1800
Austin Maestro 1.3 Special, £2000
Max Adams: I think we can all agree that the Morris Marina is the perfect fodder for a festival of respect. To his credit, Marina was very important to the "new" cars for the Morris brand, as he desperately needed to take on the mighty Ford Cortina. Of course, it was a hasty effort, but it forms another chapter in the rich tapestry that was the British Leyland.
Mark Pearson: Yes, that's a good way to say that it was complete nonsense, isn't it? Well, if you want to manage precision and high build quality instead, take a look at my light and airy Maestro. True Rover product groups at this stage, but, you know what a difference. This peach 1989 has only done 35000 miles from New and immaculate. He is white - the best color for the Maestro - and, above all, this is not Marina. Game over, I would say.
Ma: what is the meaning of Maestro if he has a 'talking dash'?
MP: Yes, it wasn't as successful as we hoped it would be. Never mind, the Maestro still has zero-shift steering, dabbles in design, and might have had a golf dry-cleaned in his day. No car was more desirable.
Ma: I want to quote the stamp 'newspaper duck' because you're lying about eating a little.
MP: so my maestro trumps your marina? John?
Verdict: that the maestro is really special.
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