values of series

[rovers2a]

are the sreies holding their value? seems as though defenders are dropping in prices. i am looking at getting another series. one that some one else has put the time into. done way to much wrenching on the old girls, so with that said what are your guys thoughts?

[czenkov]

I like to watch the prices for fun. Seems like people are asking more for Series vehicles than they have in the past. So they are holding/gaining in value or people have unrealistic expectations. My .02

[SafeAirOne]

Seems like people are asking more for Series vehicles than they have in the past.

It's really more about what people are GETTING for their series rovers than what they're ASKING. ;)

I don't realy have my finger on the pulse of series and defender sales, but overall I see that defenders asking prices are MORE than they were 5 years ago and series asking prices are LESS than they were 5 years ago.

Example: Most NAS D90's were advertised for around $18,000-$20,000 5 years ago. Today, they're averaging around $25,000. :eek:

Series 109s in decent shape were averaging around $7000-$9000 then. I've seen them in the $5000-$7000 range now. Of course there is a WIDE range of vehicle conditions to compare in the series rovers, so you can't really get a more UNscientific analysis than this one I've just provided.

[TeriAnn]

It has been my observation that the U.S. value of a Series truck rides upon the coattails of Land Rover USA.

When Rover stopped selling in the US in the mid '70's the resale value of a Series truck plummeted. Up until the early 1990's a really nice Series truck might sell for around $2500 and it was usually cheaper to buy a driver than to rebuild a gearbox or engine. I bought my 109 (bad transfercase & diff) for $350 in 1978 and thought I was paying too much for a broken down 18 year old truck.

Then Land Rover USA starting bringing in Defenders and had a major ad campaign reintroducing people to the Land Rover heritage. A lot of people couldn't afford a new Defender but saw this derelict Series truck sitting behind a barn for sale cheap. During the 1990's a lot of Series trucks were brought back to life and their value rode on the coat tails for the Defender's advertising campaign. Values soared and nice driver 109s were in the $1200 - $1300 range. I remember at the peak seeing some $17000 asking prices for very nice drivers (not newly remanufactured trucks which is a different ball game).

Then Defenders were no longer available and Land Rover USA changed their marketing direction. Instead of the truck that conquered Africa, Land Rovers became the car to take to the opera or movie premiers. New owners could pass a Series rig on the street and not know it was a Land Rover, nor would they care. As this was happening the resale value of Series trucks have slowly been decreasing. Thankfully a lot of the derelicts of the 1980's have been rescued and rebuilt but there are now fewer people lusting after them. With lower demand comes lower selling prices.

I would not buy a Series rig today as an investment. I would buy one because of the dream and a personal compatibility to the dream. I think Car & Driver magazine got it right when they reviewed a new Series truck and said that A Land Rover is more a state of mind than a car. As technology passed the Series truck by, this statement has become more true. It is not about money or status, it is about the state of mind that is compatible with a Series Land Rover.

Bottom line is yes, I think the resale price is slowly decreasing but since I don't expect to ever sell mine it doesn't matter. It probably doesn't matter to anyone who's personality fits their truck. It is after all just a state of mind.

[Jeff Aronson]

Yes, as Terry said...nicely put!

Jeff

[greasyhandsagain]

Series Land Rovers are an anomoly in the vintage car collectors marketplace. Tell me....do you really think of your Series as an *Antique Car?*, but yet every one will qualify for most states antique auto plates, and special registration/insurance.

Ramming a 59 series 2 through the woods....its a far different mind set than having a 59 cadillac in the garage.

....my point is, these early LR's tend to trade more on the 'workability' value than the classic car value. I personally feel they are underpriced.

[Jim-ME]

I have to agree with what has been said by Jeff and TeriAnne but Series Land Rovers were never a huge seller even when Series vehicles were available new. Even in the good old days you never saw more than 3 or 4 new trucks at a dealer, any dealer. You were lucky if you had the choice of one of the 4 available colors. I never even remember seeing a new 109 but I got interested in Rovers around 1969. When I purchased my first one there was only one new Series at the dealer, Reynolds Garage and Marina in Old Lyme CT. IIRC they even had one new Rover car. It wasn't until I came to Maine that the dealer in Hampden who really cared about Land Rovers had 3 new ones. I was there when they sold the last new one and broke the news to me that there would be no more. Part of the problem back then was the availability of parts plus the purchase price compared to a Jeep CJ or Toyota Land Cruiser. Parts tended to be scarce and very expensive. I can vividly remember being able to buy from a new place called Atlantic British Parts where I purchased my first complete exhaust system for less than I had to pay just for a muffler from the dealer. I hate to admit this but I had never heard of RN until I bought my second Rover 30+ years after my first. I really believe that parts are more readily available and less expensive today then when they were back then. A Land Rover is and will be no more attractive to the average potential old car buyer now than it was to the average new buyer back then. It took a certain type of individual to want to own a Land Rover and it still does to this day. You buy an old one and fix it because that is what you want to own; love to drive or in my case going thru a mid-life crisis. I didn't buy mine as an investment and don't look at it as such. It is my source of sanity and because it is to me it is priceless. Probably didn't begin to address your question so thanks for putting up with this verbiage.
Jim

[TeriAnn]

Ramming a 59 series 2 through the woods....its a far different mind set than having a 59 cadillac in the garage.


But maybe not that much different than going through the gears taking a TR3 through sharp curves on a winding mountain road.

Technology as left the classics behind. New vehicles will always outperform the old classics. People who drive the new ones are looking for function. People who drive the old ones are looking for more than just function and are willing to give up the modern vehicle advances to get what they need.

Anyone can push the "drive in deep sand" mode button but not just anyone can take an old 4X4 though deep sand. There is the active vehicle suspension control button and there is the brain and hard earned experience.

Some people take the mindless thrill, others thrill in the mind.

[Eric W S]

Example: Most NAS D90's were advertised for around $18,000-$20,000 5 years ago. Today, they're averaging around $25,000. :eek:


Huh? Five years ago the average NAS D-90 price was in the low forties and mid thirties. Check D-90.com out. Hell, 300tdi converted NAS's are only fetching mid thirties these days and 110's have dropped considerably. Quite a few high mileage D's for under 25k nicely equipped...

ROW prices are killing the market. Which is why I sold mine the year before they were eligible for import.

[Jeff Aronson]

I think Defender prices are lower right now because more of them were purchased as second or third cars for special functions or events. If people have less discretionary money right now, then they don't have the resources for that second or third car. Not surprisingly, there's less demand for the "extra" Defender.

If you are thinking of a Defender as your primary vehicle, it's a great time to pick one up!

Series Rovers will always appeal to the British car collector, but they are so damned useful that it's hard to just have one sitting around. Once you drive your Series Rover, it's hard to step away from it and into something else.

If it's any indicator, I find that my Series II-A get a LOT more attention from men/women ages 16 -30 that do either my TR-7 or Corvair. The latter two cars look ok but the II-A really resonates with the generations that grew up with pickup trucks or SUV's as their family vehicles. The sports cars just garner a yawn in comparison.

Jeff

[czenkov]

Excellent point - asking price is way different than realized price. Anyone know what the brownish 109" pickup in California sold for on ebay? The ad referenced a lot of work - I think it might have even mentioned restored. It sold without the top I am guessing cause he had that up for sale afterwards separately.

True. My truck gets lots of looks, smiles and stop/gawks. They lose interest after learning it really is a tractor. "how cute"!