Increasing valuation on Spridgets

[Jim_Gruber]

Great turnout of LBC's for British Car Day in Dayton yesterday. 3 Sprites and close to 20 Midgets. 20+ XKE's in the front row were lovely to see. I was impressed by several Midgets with very expensive paint jobs as well as a Miget with an $8,500 For Sale sign posted on the windshield. Not sure if he can get that for his car but it indeed looked nice and very well done.

Anyone else seeing on lowly Spridgets seeing a dramatic increase in value around the country?

 

[vagt6]

Good question, Jim.

In a word, no.

Pricing for nicely sorted Midgets and MK II-IV Sprites (not Bugeyes) has remained relatively the same for the past several years. I've seen some blue sky asking prices for pristine/concours examples, but nice driver prices have been fairly constant. I know where there's a concours-level MK IV Sprite for sale right now for $12,500. I saw a similar one sell about 3 years ago for the same price.

A very nice Midget can be had for $7,000-ish today, and a bit more will fetch a near-concours car. Such pricing has remained the same for years. For example, I paid near the bottom of that range for my near-perfect MK III Midget (eBay) 2 years ago, and it has all the goodies including the Datsun gearbox, factory Works hard top, pro paint job, etc. She's a show winner and clean as a pin inside and out. But, I don't think she would go for much more than I paid, from what I'm seeing on eBay and the usual internet sales venues.

MK II-IV Sprites are a different animal since they're more rare than Midgets and generally bring higher pricing. However, I haven't seen pricing vary much in the past few years on them, either. Bugeye pricing <span style="font-style: italic">may</span> have nudged up a little, but not significantly.

At least that's my experience. I wouldn't be surprised to see pricing rise a bit in the future . . . but for now, it's farily flat IMHO.

 

[scoutll]

I guess it depends on what you have, and where you are. I agree with Mark pretty much across the board. An average nice driver will being an average price. A really nice car will go for a bit more, but generally, in the US and Canada, they are not worth what a person has in them and are not in the same range as other collector vehicles. This phenom is good for the buyer or enthusiast, but not so for the seller. That said, I do know of three very well sorted MK1 Midgets that sold in Europe and the UK within the past year that went for nice bugeye type money. All three of them went for 10 - 15,000 Pounds or Euros respectively, which puts them into the 16,000 - 19000 dollar range. The prices are definately going up in Europe, but haven't caught on yet here. In the early cars (up to about 64), the Midget is the rarer bird, but it doesn't seem to make much difference in pricing.

 

[Gerard]

Anyone else seeing on lowly Spridgets seeing a dramatic increase in value around the country?

Jim,

I'm seeing a lot of very high priced Spridgets (especially Bugeyes), but very few that merit the high asking price. Most of them are not real restorations, just tarted up with fresh paint on the outside and a fresh interior. If you're lucky some tidying up mechanically. I shudder every time I see a car that has an asking price of $25k and you look in the engine bay and see flat black paint or worse rubberized undercoat... nothing being hidden there...

Here's a Bugeye on ebay right now that's a perfect example. The seller has no clue what under the bonnet either. It's a 1275, not a 948. Plenty else wrong with it. A nice looking car, but certainly not a $25k car.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Austin-He...#ht_4904wt_1012

As far as record prices, I sold this one for a decent price a couple years ago, though not near what it cost to build and at least a couple thousand less than it was worth. With the economy like it's been, it's getting very tought o sell even some nice cars.

https://www.vuvox.com/collage_express/collage.swf?collageID=0134319034

 

[Trevor Jessie]

Here is one that his for sale local. Will it bring the asking price? Probably not, but you'd be hard pressed to build one like it for the same money. I think these cars (by nature) attract people that are DIY'ers.

https://louisville.craigslist.org/cto/2473868199.html

The above car is being sold by his widow. She has no idea how to sell it, she just knows that he thought highly of the car, spent a bunch of money on it, and only drove it a few hundred miles before he passed away. The advert doesn't mention the fact that it has a 1275/5-speed/new side curtains, etc, etc.

I hope she sells it for good money, for her sake and to maybe (in a small way) help bolster spridget prices.

 

[RickB]

I think it also depends on location somewhat.
Supply and demand come into play, here in the Northwest there seem to be plenty of fair examples that sell for less than $3K.

If you are willing to do a lot of work you can usually find something in the $500 - $1000 range. If you want a good daily driver then it's going to be around $2500.

Cars with expensive paint will be more, but as usual the owners will not get near what they have spent from the sale.

Most of us (honestly) don't think of these cars as an investment. We love the things, selling one is like losing a family member, or giving away the family dog. You don't hope to profit, just that it goes to a good owner who will care for it.

 

[RickB]

Trevor, that's a nice car - I hope she holds fast and finds a good buyer.

 

[RickB]

Here is a fine example: (nfi)

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/2530449055.html

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]* Must sell before I leave. This the best Midget out there worth well over $6000.
It will be sold to the best offer over $2500 before I leave. Some one will steal it.
This is a very nice desirable steel wheel Midget. Original paint and rust free.It is
currently customized but can be reassembled to make it into the original Classic as
shown in the picture. I just tried to simplify it like the bug eye Sprite I did this by
taking off the parts I thought just took away from that concept. I only used a screw
driver and wrenches and did no damage to the body. I have a spare windshield for
the one I did altered. All the parts were saved and safely stored. If your handy with
a screw driver and wrenches it can easily be reassembled in a weekend.
It has newer rebuilt transmition, front end, seat covers and a special rear end gear ratio.
I'll go into more about what I did and why, along with more pictures. .
As for looks, the girls give it a big WOW. Check it out for yourself.
I'm retiring in the Philippines and leaving in a month and can't bring it with me.
I MUST MUST sell it before I leave and will take the best offer I get before I go.
Call me and we can chat before you come to see it.
Thanks for your interest, Chuck 206 526-0730. [/QUOTE]

 

[Deleted member 8987]

Rick....did you see the price at the top of the page (ignoring the text)? Heck, I might even buy that for $1.

 

[Sarastro]

Here ya go: https://ventura.craigslist.org/ctd/2528751932.html

Five poor picture, no useful description, and a stunningly high asking price. You have to wonder what people are thinking.

 

[vagt6]

Well, I guess some sellers who ask these astronomical prices go on the old addage: if you don't ask, the answer's "no".

Wishing for the P.T. Barnum effect on a clueless buyer???

 

[drooartz]

Asking is not the same as getting, methinks.

 

[scoutll]

Does anyone want mine???? Cheap at $15,000. Thats what the guys at NADA say it's worth... So what that it's unrestored and a bit worn.....

 

[tomshobby]

Seems simple enough; the seller knows there is someone out there that has more money than they know how to manage and they have the sellers money in their pocket and he is figuring on ways to get it.

 

[jlaird]

Mama says Miss Agatha is not for sale for 16K that is what she is insured for and that is about what I have in her, just a bit less actually. However, 19K would really make me think awile. LOL

 

[RickB]

Here is a nice looking RWA for $1900 or offer. Love the jellybean mags.
(nfi)

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/2536190317.html

 

[Gundy]

Wow.....Bugeye prices are still climbing.
While I know it's not worth it I wouldn't
take $20K for ol Mimi.
That's what my agreed value insurance policy list her for
after photo submissions and a build specs review.
Then again I didn't buy her to make money. She's a high
maintenance girl who likes nice things.
She makes me happy, she's tinker friendly and THAT is priceless.
Custom built cars rarely re-coup the investment.