Monday, 30 July 2018

How to Increase Your Car's Resale Value

Naturally, you’ll want to recoup as much money as possible on a car when the time comes to move it on. While substantial depreciation means that you’ll make a hefty loss on it, there’s still a good chance of getting decent value on it – and possibly taking a whack off the amount of your next purchase – once the vehicle is kept in proper condition and all the paperwork is in order.

The best place to start is to make sure that the basics of the vehicle are working properly and that there is no visible damage. Windscreen wipers, steering wheel controls and lights all need to be bested to ensure that they’re in full working order, while all fluids should be topped up and the car should be given a thorough cleaning inside and out. It won’t do any harm, either, to take the vehicle to your mechanic so that they can check for any major defects which could seriously affect the car’s value. Even if all seems to be well, it’s a good idea to have it serviced while you’re at the garage.

After you’re satisfied that the car is in near-perfect nick, ensure that you have any documentation which the dealer or private buyer will need, such as the registration certificate, service records and history report, along with your most recent insurance policy.

If all that is in order, you stand a good chance of getting an above-average deal on selling the car. If you want to get even greater value from the sale, a little market research goes a long way. Does the car have features that prove popular with motorists? Emphasise these. Is the odometer approaching a significant milestone? Sell it before then, as a car’s value drops notably when it passes a certain landmark (i.e. selling at 99,900 miles will get you a far better deal than 100,050). 

Here is an infographic from Woodstock Motors with further tips on how to get the best possible deal on a car resale...
Thanks to: Woodstock Motors

Monday, 23 July 2018

Podcast - William Medcalf Vintage Bentley



UKMotorTalk's Graham Benge sits down for a chat with William Medcalf of William Medcalf Vintage Bentley.

William describes the importance of keeping vintage cars running, and running well using modern technology and business methods.

UKMotorTalk - William Medcalf Vintage Bentley

To follow the UKMotorTalk podcast, and not miss a thing, go to:
http://shoutengine.com/UKMotorTalk/

Saturday, 14 July 2018

Saturday Goodwood Sights

Sir Jackie Stewart
Sir Jackie Stewart

Lotus Consul
Lotus Consul

Billy Monger stops for autographs - Carlin F3
Billy Monger stops for autographs in his Carlin F3


Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond
The Duke poses for photographs!

AMG Petronas F1
AMG Petronas F1

1968 Alan Mann Racing Escort
1968 Alan Mann Racing Escort


Friday, 13 July 2018

Some Goodwood sights...

1968 FORD MUSTANG FASTBACK (BULLITT – ‘559)
1968 FORD MUSTANG FASTBACK (BULLITT – ‘559)


Indy500's Borg-Warner Trophy
Indy500's Borg-Warner Trophy






The first autonomous race car up the Goodwood hill - Roborace
The first autonomous race car up the Goodwood hill - Roborace


Le Mans winning Toyota TS050 Hybrid
Le Mans winning Toyota TS050 Hybrid


The sound of the Supercars

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018

Thursday, 12 July 2018

Cartier Style et Luxe @ Goodwood Festival of Speed

A hat-trick of Jaguars...

Jaguar XJ220
Jaguar XJ220


1954 Jaguar XK120
1954 Jaguar XK120


1956/1963 Jaguar XK-D
1956/1963 Jaguar XK-D


... and a veteran electric car from 1901!

Harrods 1901 Waverley Electric Cleveland 3HP with owner Michael Ward
Harrods 1901 Waverley Electric Cleveland 3HP with owner Michael Ward

Bonhams sale @ Festival of Speed 2018

A few from amongst what could easily constitute a perfect wish list....

1965 Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1


1965 Ford Lotus Cortina MkI Competition Saloon

Where better to start than this old racer, "campaigned" in the mid-1960s by Jim Clark, Sir John Whitmore, and Jack Sears.

Estimated at £200,000 to £250,000


2014 McLaren P1 Coupé


2014 McLaren P1 Coupé

With only 38 miles on the clock, this P1 has clearly not been "enjoyed" in the way you might imagine with yourself at the wheel.

Estimated to go for £1,300,000 to £1,700,000


1929 Bentley Speed Six 'Le Mans Replica' Tourer


1929 Bentley Speed Six 'Le Mans Replica' Tourer


If joining in at any number of prestigious motoring events is your thing, you will surely be welcomed in this 1929 Bentley, with its body built by H J Mulliner, and displayed on Bentley Motors' own stand at the 1929 Olympia Motor Show.

Estimated at £800,000 to £1,000,000


1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT


1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT

A well known vehicle in Historic GT circles, this DB4 GT has been tested in the harsh conditions of Le Mans Legends, Spa-Francorchamps Six-Hour Endurance classic and, naturally, the Goodwood Revival.

Estimated sale price: £2,300,000 to £2,500,000


1961 Aston Martin 'MP209' DB4GT ZAGATO '2 VEV'


'2 VEV' 1961 Aston Martin 'MP209' DB4GT ZAGATO GRAND TOURING TWO-SEAT COUPE

It's nice to have a choice of DB4 GTs, so how about '2 VEV' instead?

It is one of two 'VEV' registered Zagatos from Essex Racing, and this one driven at one time by Jim Clark in the RAC Tourist Trophy race here at Goodwood.

Estimate: Well you know what they say about having to ask the price.....



1932-34 Alfa Romeo Tipo B Grand Prix Monoposto


1932-34 Alfa Romeo Tipo B Grand Prix Monoposto


Finally for now, because the credit card is getting strained.....

... with an exceptional history including racing at Brooklands, Shelsley Walsh hill-climb, Donington Grand Prix, and the Brighton Speed Trials, according to the Bonhams sales literature, it "can justifiably be claimed that there is no more significant Grand Prix car in the history of international road racing at the highest level than the Alfa Romeo Tipo B Monoposto."

Estimated to be sold for £4,500,000 to £5,000,000


Wednesday, 11 July 2018

A look back at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2012


In a last look back before the first day of the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed tomorrow, we stop at 2012 and find Karun Chandhok, Nick Heidfeld, land speed record holder Andy Green, Daniel Ricciardo, and nine time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen.


Tuesday, 10 July 2018

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018 - Another look back ... the Festival of Speed 2005


A second daily delve in our archives finds the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2005.....


UKMotorTalk - Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018 - A look back at Festival of Speed 2005

Fernando Alonso - Renault F1
Danny Sullivan - Indy car
Tim Harvey - BMW BTCC
Darren Turner - Aston Martin Le Mans
Tony Maynard - RS200
John Watson - F1

To follow the UKMotorTalk podcast, and not miss a thing, go to:
http://shoutengine.com/UKMotorTalk/

Cars on the Green (Bury St. Edmunds)

I’ve got a theory that the cars you like, the ones that give you that sense of nostalgia; are the ones that were kicking around when you first got into cars.

For me, it’s been pretty much a life long obsession, starting just before I could talk and picking up steam from the age of 2-and-a-bit.

That was the late 80s, cars were boxy, music came on cassette, velour was in and everything was plush. I’ve many memories of riding around in my parent’s car, mix tape on, watching everything going past out of the window. That car was a Ford Orion, so it seems everyone’s Dad had one, or their Grandad, Uncle, mate or whatever. Ours was an ‘Equipe’ [Eekwip – in case you were wondering] metallic red with an RS spoiler, alloys and to my child mind was the plums.

We kept it a fair while too; from brand new until it was about five, maybe six years old. I was absolutely devastated when they sold it, to be replaced by a Mondeo in the mid-nineties.

I’m in my early 30s now and no less car-obsessed, though the novelty of daily driving the older cars has near-enough worn off (though there are still those sunny days when there’s no better way to get to work); modern motors have long since taken over as daily drivers.

I’ve always had a fondness for retro though, E30 BMWs, 190E Mercs, even the behemoth Volvos have a certain appeal, and when it comes to pitching up at a car show with Retro stuff I’m given the fizz.

I’m lucky enough to have a garage tucked up at the bottom of my garden and inside is my own little slice of retro. I’ve arrived here through a series of other cars, but there’s one that will never leave my little collection. Yep you guessed it, another Orion, a nostalgia trip that will undoubtedly get Freud-enthusiast tongues wagging.



Now, I’m not here to hark on about what a great car it is or was. There are better, trust me, but it tickles my pickle and that’s all that matters; different strokes for different folks and all that, after all, it could be worse, at least I’m not infatuated with a Citroen Sea-three barnacle or whatever that plastic encrusted monstrosity is… Okay, Okay, I know I’m getting off the point here and that’s probably no surprise to you by now, the fact is that I do get to go a number of ‘one-make’ shows but there’s something to be said for mixing it up a bit which is why when my good friend told me we needed to come up to a show in Bury St Edmunds, I loaded up the car and headed off.

The drive up wasn’t quite as-planned… With the help of friends I built and fitted the engine in my ‘Onion’ seven years ago. It’s been warmed up, cooled down and ‘used’ but incredibly it’s worked well… until now. A bizarre habit of randomly stalling when rolling to a stop. Fine, it restarted every time until I reached Essex at which point it decided that re-starting was far too much bother and an un-scheduled rest break ensued.

I’m always astounded by the public, and I wasn’t let down this time either; total idiots pulling in front and stopping dead whilst I was trying to bump start the car…

On the other hand, a kind chap and his wife in a tidy Mk3 Golf helped push me out of trouble until we were ready to go again. A full evening of fixing numerous faults on Mark and Amy’s drive (sorry neighbours) and we were back in business.

And now we get to the point…

Cars on the Green has something for everyone! Assuming you are in some way in to cars, ‘normal’ in other words. It doesn’t matter what you’ve grown up with either; the chances are that if you were born after 1919, there will be something there for you.

There was definitely A LOT there for me, not all my usual flavour, check out this Beetle for example, a Karman Convertible Beetle, imported from California, restored and all the better for its 50bhp engine.




Or a selection of rat-look Hot Rods dumped on air and bristling with shiny V8s.





Jap?


Or a cute little piece of Italiana (Dave, this one for you) in the form of Fiat’s pretty X19.



Have I made my point?

For me though, the car of the show was a Mini. This one was more than a bit special; you could see in the owner’s eyes that this was more than a car, but it is part of him and part of his late wife and the adventures they shared together. “The look your wife gives you, is the one mine gave me” he said, laughing as he put his hand on my wife’s shoulder as we chatted over the car.



The car is a genuine 60s Works rally Morris Mini Cooper S competing in the 1964 Rallye Monte Carlo, before being sold on – as a racer where it was stripped – then on again to its current owner; whom by pure one-in-a-million chance, happened upon the previous owner and the original timing gear and a chunk of history.

This isn’t a concourse, cotton-wool covered show piece, it’s driven as often as he can. Event stickers and scrutineering tags  fill the interior, a self-contained mobile museum dedicated to itself. It’s honest, it's filled to the brim (none of this weight saving cobblers) and more than anything it’s built. Really built.





There was so much to love, the original engine still sits in the car with its straight cut box, rebuilt properly in 1966, aeronautical style and with only routine servicing has clocked the best part of a quarter of a million miles. The best bit though? A twin bottle holder. What for? “Well, that was to take a couple of bottles of Whiskey. The Rallye did last for several days, you know,”





I genuinely couldn’t imagine the Mini with anyone else. Driven and enjoyed.

Sometimes there is something to be said for trying something new, you never know what you might find. So, whether it’s an MGB running a straight six, a Mk1 Golf GTI with a 2.0TFSI engine or a Sierra Cosworth with a Supercharged Mustang lamp, it never hurts to have a bit of variety. There’s a whole world of cool stuff out there and it’s great to see it.






The Onion? Well, yep that’s still in the garage….

Michael Gates