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Are Renault 4s Overpriced

MeFeinMcCabe

MeFeinMcCabe

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Tunbridge Wells
I have a 1986 GTL, which has been garaged for a number of years with only 30,000 on the clock. It failed its MOT on minor items and needs a wee bit of welding. For numerous reasons have never got rounded to sorting.

I was thinking of buying a 4 that is already on the road but prices seem well over the top. Or is it just me.

Even ones that need restoration seem overpriced.

Is it because there are fewer on the road?

Is it realistic to spend thousands of pounds on average condition 4s.

I dont know the answer
 
I don't think 4Ls are overpriced. If you compare the 4L with say a 2CV or a Morris Minor Traveller, two cars that would be as practical as a 4, you will find that the prices asked for those two is far more than is being asked for a 4 in similar condition. There are many more of these two cars on the road, the 4 is rare,(less than 200 on the UK roads) so that makes it an underpriced car at the moment.
Tbh, I can't see your problem, why not just fix the GTL you have and just enjoy it.
 
Price is interesting. Many buyers want the enjoyment restoring a reasonable car and getting a bargain. Few good mechanical and cosmetically sound RHD ones become available and these just about match the demand for such cars.

I reckon mine is a good car, excellent runner and totally practical - I use it as the weekend runaround. It's worth around £3,000 to me and I do not need/want to sell for less. And if the market believes it's overpriced I shall happily continue to enjoy it.

However, if anyone would like to tempt me to part company ... you know where I am!

(Best wishes to all. I've been quiet of late but enjoying your posts).

Mark
 
Hello Mark, welcome back, wondered what had become of you. £3000? try getting a similar condition Moggy Minor or 2CV for that money, 4Ls are a bargain I reckon, and much underrated in classic car circles.
 
Are Renault 4s overpriced? I don't think they are if you consider them against the prices of similar 2CVs etc as mentioned above.

They're not as cheap as they used to be but then ten years ago you could pick up allsorts of interesting 1980s stuff for a few hundred quid but that isn't the case these days.

Is it realistic to spend thousands on an R4? Yes, I think it is. Values aren't going to go down and there is sufficient demand for them that prices will stay 'up'

Conversely, I have just sold my Kangoo and it did strike me as puzzling that it was worth less than my R4 GTL (sold in may) despite being a lot newer and more useable but the R4s rarity and collectableness adds a lot of value.
 
Thanks for the responses. I think the dilemma I have is I want to be able enjoy a 4 by actually driving it which means buying one as I dont have the time at present to restore my own.

I suppose if I sell my own I would benefit from what I see as overpricing to offset against any purchase.

Anyway I'll let you know how I get on.
 
The French market is now going up too
 
Look at most models of old car and people start paying more and collecting them right at the point that just a few too many have gone, as it is all about supply and demand. Note supply AND demand. Rarity alone does not command a high price, as something rare that nobody wants is not necessarily valued. I'd say R4's have hit that critical mass where slightly fewer come up for sale than enough to satisfy demand, and thats driven the modest price rise of late.

Its quite scary how few of a car you need to satisfy demand sometimes. Take something obscure like Citroen LNA's. Theres probably only about ten left, yet immaculate ones hover around a grand and are slow sellers even then...
 
Regarding the pice of the R4 I think they are just about right at present.
What need to be taken into account though is that some 4s are only worth £100 due to condition while a well restored example are worth their £5K price tag.
The past three years has seen huge hikes in the cost of restoration and spending 5 to 10K to bring a poor car to top condition can happen very quickly if you cannot do the work yourself.
Having restored many cars over the years I have found that these days very little quality body work can happen for less than 4K unless you can do a lot of the work yourself.
So as always inspect the car very well and buy the very best you can afford, It will save you money in the long run.
 
It's a crying shame that your poor car is stuck in your garage. Instead of buying another car, spend the money on fixing those "minor problems" and let her run free!
 
I have owned 3 LNA's
 
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