Manifold: Ten of the Most Undervalued Cars For Sale in 2024
- Danny Davies
- Oct 29, 2024
- 11 min read
Updated: Nov 5, 2024
The used car market in the UK is a strange place at the moment. Apart from a few exceptions, the crazy boom that came as a result of the pandemic (and possibly lots of boredom during lockdown) has inevitably burst, meaning that there are some absolute bargains - relatively speaking, of course - to be had in the current climate. This therefore means that the next wave of investment opportunities within the car world are right under everybody's noses.
So, what do you buy today if your car purchase is as much of a business decision as something to drive? Well, here are my top 10 cars across different budgets that appear to be undervalued in the context of today's market, and have the potential to appreciate.
£10,000 - RenaultSport Clio Trophy (2005)
Starting off this list is a car that many consider to be one of the greatest hot hatches of all time: the RenaultSport Clio Trophy. Based on the brilliant Clio 182 (not biased at all), the Trophy took things up a level with reworked Cup suspension, visual parts from the crazy Clio V6, and of course, a set of the infamous remote reservoir Sachs dampers that made the Trophy so special. They are rare, too; only 500 were built exclusively for the UK (with a further 50 going to Switzerland, bizarrely), making them strong investment material.
Trophy prices are starting to climb, reflecting what has happened to other revered hot hatches that came before it, like the Peugeot 205 GTI and MK1 Golf GTI. Good, unmodified examples of those two have long since appreciated out of sight, and the Trophy looks set to follow suit; however, a cheap one can still be found if you look hard enough. The above example, available at Ashgood Classic and Sportscars, has done 90,000 miles but has also had plenty of recent work carried out (plus, who really cares about the mileage on a 205 GTI now?). It therefore looks in pretty decent shape - especially for sub 10k, at £9,995. I don't think the opportunity to buy a Trophy for that kind of price will present itself for much longer...
£20,000 - Lotus Elise Series 1 (1996 - 2001)
Similarly to the Trophy, the Series 1 Elise has become quite the legend since it was introduced, 28 years ago. Lotus completely revolutionised the sports car market with the little Elise, which pioneered a bonded aluminium chassis construction that was incredibly strong, light (the S1 came in at just 731kg) and also inexpensive to produce. It was a huge hit, and Lotus sold over 35,000 of them between 1996 and 2021, when production of the Series 3 came to a close.
However, while Lotus did build loads of them (typically a red flag for an investment car), nice, unmodified examples of the original, and best, Elise are getting harder to find. This example, for sale with UK Sports Cars Limited, has only covered 47,000 miles and is in a particularly nice colour combination of Silver Metallic over a Navy Blue interior. It's also being supplied following a refresh of several items, and also with four new Yokohama tyres. The asking price is £21,995, which seems like a smart buy; especially for an iconic, laugh-out-loud fun sports car, that looks great and will drive even better.
£30,000 - RenaultSport Megane R26.R (2008-2009)
Now here is a very special car. Another Renault that could easily be argued as the best hot hatch of them all, the R26.R shocked the world when it was unveiled in 2008; here was a Megane that came, from the factory, with a carbon fibre bonnet, carbon Recaro bucket seats and a roll cage. And very red wheels. It looked crazy, and was even crazier to drive; 230bhp and 230lb-ft of torque forced through the front wheels in a substantially lightened body (the R26 R only weighs 1,230kg) is quite a recipe.
Again, the R26.R is rare, which helps its chances of being a future investment (only 230 cars out of a production run of 450 came to the UK). This car, finished in Lunar Grey (the seller claims it's one of 21 UK cars in the shade) has covered 38,000 miles since it was registered in 2008, and I think it looks great in this spec. It has had a replacement low-mileage engine from another R26.R, which is documented at 24,000-miles, so it should still pull like you would expect a 230bhp lightened Megane to. Again, the R26.R seems like a great buy for the future, and this example is being advertised for £31,990 by Ashley Automotive. Not that you'd ever want to sell it afterwards, mind...
£50,000 - Porsche Boxster Spyder (2010-2012)
The 987 generation of the Porsche Boxster came along in 2004, and picked up from where the original, company-saving 981 Boxster left off. And, the 987 generation culminated with this: the Boxster Spyder. The recipe for the Spyder was to make the Boxster as light and as driver-focused as possible; it got the folding carbon bucket seats from the GT3, aluminium doors, a lightweight (and pretty complicated) fabric roof, fabric door pulls, and even the cover that went over the top of the dials was removed. In all, it was 80kg lighter than the regular car.
It was praised by journalists for being incredibly balanced and satisfying to drive, receiving glowing reviews; however, this stripped-out version of the Boxster cost £5,000 more than the standard car when it was new, and, as a result, Porsche struggled to sell them. This is good news for the future though, as it's rumoured that only 230-250 RHD Boxster Spyders came into the UK, with only around 100 of those were equipped with a manual gearbox. This example, for sale with Polo Prestige Cars for £42,995, is one of those 100-or-so cars, and it has also only covered 29,000 miles from new. People are starting to wake up to how rare these are, so fantastic examples of these brilliant cars will not be around forever before they start to climb in value.
Advert link: Used 2010 Porsche Boxster 3.4 987 Spyder 2dr for sale in Sittingbourne, Kent | Polo Prestige Cars
£75,000 - Porsche 911 GT3 (1999 - 2001)
The GT3 has consistently been one of the most exciting cars on sale for 25 years now over the various iterations of the model; something perfectly exemplified by the latest one, the 992.2 GT3, that was unveiled just the other week. However, this - the 996.1 - is where it all started. Unveiled in 1999 alongside the 996 Carrera Cup, the GT3 was intended to be the road-going version of the race car, with a 3.6-litre Metzger flat six that made 360bhp mated to a 6-speed manual 'box. It also had no traction control; a proper driver's car, then. However, Porsche didn't build many at all; estimates suggest only 106 RHD C16 (UK) cars were ever built by the Stuttgart manufacturer.
Surprisingly though, the first GT3 is comfortably the most affordable version of Porsche's now iconic model, with the 996.1 generation available from around £70,000, or the price of a new 718 Cayman S. This beautiful Arctic Silver 'Comfort' example, built in MY 2001, is available from 911 Virgin for £69,995, and it looks utterly immaculate. It has covered 51,000 miles from new, has full Porsche main dealer/specialist service history, and, being a 'comfort' spec car and not a 'clubsport' (of which there are reportedly only 28), it will be better suited to road driving due to the fact it comes equipped without a roll cage - plus, with the mileage, you can drive this GT3 without worrying about affecting its value too much, which is the ultimate win-win scenario. I absolutely love these, and, out of everything on this list, this could be the strongest investment for the future.
Advert link: 996 GT3 Mk1 (2001) - 911 Virgin
£100,000 - Aston Martin DBS (2007 - 2012)
In my opinion, the 2007-12 Aston Martin DBS is, simply put, the most beautiful car ever built. Famous for its introduction in the 2006 Bond film, Casino Royale, and then being the star of a truly great car chase at the beginning of 2008's Quantum of Solace, the DBS will forever be cemented in cinema history. However, the DBS deserves so much more recognition than just being the car from James Bond; it is lauded as one of the best Aston's ever built, utilising an immense 6-litre naturally aspirated V12 that produces 510bhp and 420lb-ft, which can propel it to a top speed of 191 mph.
Yet again, as is the common theme with this list, Aston Martin didn't build many examples of the DBS - especially not with the gorgeous 6-speed manual gearbox that completely transforms the way the car drives, making it feel lighter, nimbler and more driver-focused than the automatic version. DBS prices reflect this, with the rarer manual cars already commanding a premium over the auto examples; however, given how spectacular the DBS is to both drive and to look at, even the inflated prices for manual cars still feel like they have a lot of room to grow further. This example, for sale with Stratton Motor Company, is said to be one of 61 cars finished in the appealing shade of Lightning Silver with the all important manual 'box. It has only covered 31,000 miles, and the asking price is just £79,995. That seems like unbelievable value for money, and I would not be surprised at all if manual DBS examples such as this one turn out to be amazing future investments.
£150,000 - Ferrari 458 Italia (2010 - 2015)
Similarly to the DBS above, values for the Ferrari 458 Italia almost seem too good to be true. The 458, unveiled in 2009 and put on sale in 2010, was the final naturally-aspirated, mid engined V8 supercar built by Ferrari - a recipe that spawned an illustrious series of models going all the way back to the 308 of 1975. It was also the final Ferrari of this iconic layout to be designed by Pininfarina, the Italian design house that had previously penned the majority of Ferrari's most legendary models. It's a design that hasn't really aged a day, and went on to heavily influence the next ten years' worth of Ferrari supercar.
This combination of finalities that the 458 represents makes it, in my opinion, a perfect candidate for future appreciation. It probably also helps that someone called Jeremy Clarkson described the 458 as 'an all-time great', too. Therefore, this Grigio Silverstone 458 Italia - available with John Holland Sales for £134,995 - looks like a great example. Besides the lovely colour (which is infinitely cooler than Rosso Corsa), this 2014 MY 458 has covered just 15,000 miles and is equipped with some carbon interior goodies, and, of course, the epic 4.5-litre, naturally aspirated, flat-plane crank V8 that made the 458 so special. In a world where the 458 Speciale is worth so much (John Holland have a Speciale for sale for more than double the price of this regular 458), it makes you wonder how long it'll be until the base car, especially in a specification as nice as this one, starts to appreciate too.
£200,000 - Porsche 911 GT2 997.1 (2007-2009)
In my opinion, the 997 generation of the Porsche 911 is the best ever, and will probably never be bettered. However, many others have also come to the same conclusion, and several of the best versions of the 997 have all rapidly appreciated over the last 12 months, such as the Sport Classic and the 997.2 GT3 RS. Even the 'underappreciated' GT2 RS has suddenly jumped in value massively. However, the same cannot be said for the regular GT2 - well, not yet, anyway.
The 997 GT2 was first unveiled in 2007, and production only lasted for two years. The GT2 was powered by a turbocharged version of the GT3's 3.6-litre Metzger flat six that made 530bhp and 500lb-ft, and was rear-wheel-drive only, earning it a bit of a lairy reputation.
Just over 1,000 cars were built worldwide, but rumour has it that only around 65 C16 (UK) examples were ever delivered. Rarer still were GT2s equipped with the Clubsport package, such as this gorgeous 18,000 mile, Basalt Black example currently for sale with Hangar136, of which there are potentially as few as 13 cars. That makes the 997 GT2 one of the rarest production 911s built for the UK, and, at £179,995, I think it represents a very promising future prospect. Definitely not a car for the faint hearted, though.
Advert link: Porsche 911 (997) GT2 Clubsport – HANGAR 136
£400,000 - Jaguar XJ220 (1992 - 1994)
I will be the first to admit that £400,000 is already an eye-watering amount of money, but, when you look at the values of the cars that rivalled the Jaguar XJ220, it almost seems like there is an extra '1' missing from the front of the number. In a world where the Ferrari F40 is now worth £2 million, the F50 is worth twice that, and the Bugatti EB110 is worth £3 million, why is the XJ220 worth so much less? In fact, this immaculate, 9,000-mile example for sale at the Ashtree Collection for £424,995 looks like a relative bargain in comparison.
You could argue that the troubled stories behind the XJ220's development are still haunting the car's reputation 30 years later. Yes, it is true that the XJ220 was originally intended to have a 6.2-litre V12, but ended up with a modified version of the 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 from the MG Metro 6R4 rally car. But, cars like the EB110 didn't exactly have a fairy-tale start to life, either (far from it, in fact), and that certainly hasn't affected the value of the Bugatti, so why should it be any different for the big Jag? Also, the other good thing now about the XJ220's difficult birth is that, due to the switch from V12 to V6, many people cancelled their orders of the car when it was new. Therefore, once again, the XJ220 is incredibly rare - only 281 cars were ever made (and only 69 in RHD, like this Daytona Grey Metallic example), making it nearly 5x rarer than an F40. As a result, then, I think that everything is in place for the XJ220 to be an extraordinary future investment, as the time must come when it catches up to the values of the other cars it was designed to go up against.
£500,000+ - Audi Sport Quattro (1985 - 1986)
Rounding off this list is nothing 'short' (Haha, get it?) of one of the most legendary cars ever built. Of course, much like the Jag above, it's hard to suggest that a car being advertised for over half a million pounds can be seen as a 'bargain'; however, when you compare the value of the Audi Sport Quattro now, to where it could very well be in the future, I'm not sure what other word would be more appropriate.
The Sport Quattro, or sometimes referred to as the 'Shorty' Quattro (due to the fact that Audi chopped no less than 320mm out of the regular Quattro's wheelbase to create it), was the homologation special for Audi's legendary S1 Group B rally car which went on sale in 1985. As well as the massively shortened wheelbase, which gave the Sport Quattro its unique but uber-cool silhouette, Kevlar-composite body panels were fitted, and the 5-cylinder Turbo was boosted to 302bhp and 350lb-ft - which, combined with the Quattro's innovative four-wheel drive system, made it about as fast in the real world as supercars from the period, such as the Lamborghini Countach. It had to be though, as the Sport Quattro was actually about 60% more expensive than the Countach when it was new, costing £88,000 (in 1985!), when the Lambo would have been around £55,000.
Due to a combination of its unbelievable price, as well as the fact that Audi didn't have to build many examples of the Sport Quattro to satisfy the FIA's homologation rules, only 162 examples were ever produced for the public. This one, for sale with Octane Collection, is finished in the most iconic colour - Tornado Red - and has only covered 41,000 original miles, while also being completely unmodified. For such an iconic and impossibly rare car, (I think I've only ever seen one or two in real life) values are surely only going to go one way. They don't exactly come up for sale often, though - so this might be your one and only chance to own a piece of Audi and World Rally history, which is sure to also look after you financially at the same time.
Advert link: Audi Sport Quattro | The Octane Collection
(All prices are correct to the time of writing in October 2024)
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