Future classics: cars to buy that will rise in value

This article was originally published on 9 August 2017 - DT is like the BBC TV, padding out with repeats, though with the BBC is more like the core ;)

I did download a copy (the paywall must be new). The title says his budget was £3,000 but in the article it says £5,000. Either way, the journalist seems happy.

Nice quote:
As a result, no sooner does a really good A2 in the right spec come up for sale than it has disappeared.
 
The Telegraph doesn’t operate a paywall like The Times, but does now require a login

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/features/3000-spend-future-classic-bought/
Pragmatism certainly played its part, because when all is said I done our family car doesn’t really need 200bhp, a giant rear wing and a hefty insurance premium. Rather it should be cheap to run, safe to drive and able to withstand the elements. For my budget, only one model fit the brief: an Audi A2.

The A2 was Audi’s first really small car, and a rival to the Mercedes A-class. Like the Mercedes it made excellent use of interior space thanks to its upright, almost MPV-like design, which also helped to make it very aerodynamic.

More importantly, what makes the A2 stand out was the engineering integrity evident in the way it is built. Specifically it used an “Audi Space Frame” constructed from laser-welded aluminium that was about 40 per cent lighter than a conventional steel monocoque. Similarly the bodywork was aluminium, which even today is unheard of for a small car, and is simply bolted on.

This all means the A2 is not only lighter and stronger than its contemporaries (giving it an excellent crash test rating for its day, notes the family man) but also that it doesn’t rust.

Built between 1999 and 2005, the A2 was not, however, the commercial success Audi had hoped. In total the German brand sold about 176,000 A2s over the car’s curtailed six-year production run, which against Mercedes and its million or so A-class sales was rather lacklustre.

Its failure is generally blamed on its high price (the German brand was forever keen to remind buyers that the A2 was a small Audi rather than a cheap one), plus the high cost of repairs to the aluminium bodywork.

Commercially disappointing the A2 might have been, but the attention to detail that went into building it resulted in a car that was both extremely economical and astonishingly durable. For used buyers this means sifting through plenty of examples that have covered in excess of 150,000 miles, with the multitude of previous owners and missing service history you’d expect. There are also a lot of diesels, or cars without air-conditioning, or ones with the “Open Sky” panoramic sunroof that can cost a four-figure sum to replace if it goes wrong. As a result, no sooner does a really good A2 in the right spec come up for sale than it has disappeared.

More encouraging is that while prices for A2s are higher than for equivalent small cars of the same age, they are yet to seriously take off. Combine this with the fact many seem unaware that what they are selling is so much more interesting - and thus potentially valuable - than cars of an equivalent size, age and mileage, and there are bargains to be found.

After missing out on a couple of promising cars, I did eventually manage to snap up a one-owner example with 50,000 miles on the clock, a detailed service history, and the right specification. This included the more powerful 1.6-litre direct injection petrol engine and nice details such as the original toolkit and even some vintage Audi screen wipes in their own leather bag. Yes, I am that much of a geek.

True, compared with today’s standards the engine needs a few revs to get going and the ride is pretty firm, but the build quality is simply superb and the whole car feels almost as tight as it must have when it first left Audi Reading’s showroom in February 2004.

What I can’t yet say for sure is whether A2s really will appreciate in value over time. However, aside from that I’ve ticked every box on my wishlist and with my little aluminium Audi can once again hold my head high the next time the question of car ownership arises.
 
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