Fast Marina Magazine

The reason I ask the question is this.......

Last week I took my TC to a local very respected classic car restorer. Now Marinas are not ususally his thing ( he hadnt even seen a TC for 20 years he reckoned :shock: ) but was VERY impressed with mine and its originality. 8)

I explained I was thinking of having it resprayed but wanted a top job that would last for decades ( hopefully! ) rather than just look good for 2-3 years before the rust came through again. ( I am planning on having the interior retrimmed too-its not bad but its not good enough...... ) I just believe if your doing something then its worth doing properly. ( oh and the engine and box are coming out to be 'refreshed' too! )

Now he was very honest. The front wings have pin pricks of rust coming through which he said he could cut out etc but advised on one new wing ( must be original BL he said !!!!!! ) and rear arches. As he explained, all was repairable but for me it would be cheaper to source the parts and him to fit them rather than him spending a lot of time making repairs. Also with new panels he assured me he could guarantee a longer lasting finish-fair point I thought.

He asked me what I paid for it and reckoned it was worth far more and advised as it is I should insure it for an agreed value of £3000-3500.

Anyway, he quoted me £1500-2000+vat to do the job 'proper like'. He then went on to say that as he is a registered restorer etc etc he could certificate the car for insurance purposes for £6-7000 if I had the work done!!!

Now I am not naive enough to think I could SELL it for anyway near that after the work has been done BUT as he stated, for INSURANCE purposes it would be worth that as trying to find a replacement for it would be nigh on impossible as there really cant be that many TC's in A1 condition and to replace like for like then you get into buying a TC and having a full restore done- hence the high insurance value.

I am seriously thinking of having the work done next autumn ( I intend to talk to many more people first and get Franks opinion at the presidents weekend before I commit to where I have it done ) but thought I would ask you of your opinions.

How much would/is a concours TC be worth?????? And how much difference is there between a insurance value and a resale value?

Only out of interest............

i would say that they are only worth what someone is willing to pay. as for insurance i wouls say we all insure them for more than they are actually worth.

Hi there balmy...please just go for it!... i would love to see this excellent TC Coupe lookin like it had just rolled of the production line back in 1974, regardless of the cost this car has to be worth doing as it is so original and unspoilt, i was thinking of replacing the metal just on the rear arch lips below the chrome mouldings and welding in new metal to the small areas of the front wings, the rest seems so good its unbelevable! how about some early navy perforated vinyl TC seats ? they lasted far better...i worked on these as an apprentice panel beater in the late 70s and at 3yrs old many had far more rust on them than this car has now!..i just wish i could have kept her and done most of the work myself, i guess a real mint MK1 Marina TC might now fetch £2,500 to 3k but as you say thats not why you are doing it...GOOD LUCK AND LETS HAVE SOME PROGRESS PICS...SOON! ...pete (MK1TCCoupe)

My advice,do what ever you want to do, your choice,you earn the money spend it as you want to,if you get enjoyment out of it go for it right or wrong,your call....
i wouldn't worry about the adding value aspect your Marina will struggle to top the £2500 bracket, no matter what you spend on your car but that's not the point,your car will be worth a lot more to you,and the subsequent enjoyment will get be worth the money spent.

Don't be put off by anyone telling you any different,i spent a lot more on a wrist watch than even the most sort after Marina will go for,people said to me "why spend all that on something that only tells the time!" i said "if i wanted a watch to tell the time i'd have bought a Timex" if you want a car to be an A-to-B go and buy a Fiesta, as i said your money do what you want!

An lets face it something worth only what someone will pay for it!

Russ

Beckett Bros "you just please ya self i'll get the train home

Hi Balmy, i think Russell summed it up very well, as he said, it is your choice what you spend your hard earned cash on, and if you want to spend it on a car then that is your choice entirely, obviously if you want to eventually sell the car on you stand little or no chance of ever getting back what you spent on it.
On the other hand there is always the chance that one day someone will make you an offer you can`t refuse, as happened to me a few years ago with my TC Convertible :roll: ...but like a fool i refused anyway :roll: ! , still i`m glad i did as i know i would never find another as good without spending a fortune on it , so for what it`s worth my opinion would be if you like the car and intend to keep it, then get it done properly once and for all, look after it and most of all enjoy it for what it is

Don't listen to these crazy people David :roll:

Get the TC sorted and I'll give you five English pounds,a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale and a Green Apple for it

Hi Balmy! Great Name!!
Join me in my quest to restore a TC!! :shock:

I will never get back the money I have spent so far let alone the total cost, but I knew this at the begining and as I wanted that particular model I chose to forget about that! :roll:

All the above responses are correct and I will be insuring mine for a lot as the buggers never pay out anyway

I am going to keep the car for as long as I can, so to me it had to be done as good as I could.
I will probably spend more on the seats than most people would buy a whole car / Marina but unfortunately restoring a car always costs unless you have a breakers yard full of them, and then it probably means it is not worth doing it anyway!

Good luck and make sure you post the pics up!

Paul.

I agree with Paul, the cost of repairs/restoration will outweigh the return at resale for many years to come. My Coupe isn't a TC, but with alloy wheels, gearbox conversaion, restoration etc. , I am well beyond what I am ever likely to get for it.

As far as insurance is concerned although you may have a certificate from the restorer for any particular value, in a write off or stolen situation, you'll not get that from any insurer unless the policy is an agreed value plan, not just an estimated value plan.

HI,

I totally agree with Paul. When mine's done It'll be kept for a long long time and yes its the one I always came back to when choosing a car to 'play' with. It was a hard choice between that and a Mk3 2000e.
I could of course just spend the money on hookers,booze, fags and betting otherwise .
Sentimentality fortunately outweighed the Ford in the end as I was surrounded by Marina's of all shapes and versions in my youth which clinched the deal. Now if I win the lottery......hmm.
I just wished I'd have bought and stored the family LE when it came up for grabs. The problem at the time aged 22, was that I had a JPS capri and a MK2 Jag at the same time and a house deposit to find! (And to think I binned them all of in favour of a sierra.........unforgiveable). And of course space as I couldn't fit them all in a 3rd floor council flat!
However I'm well pleased in the fact that I now have my Tc and hope to start later on in the year when I get the house sorted and that having watched Paul's restoration, should turn out nicely, as this one has had no bodgery done to it and is nowhere near as bad as the Jubilee was. Yes there are a few small rust patches but not in any of the major areas so I'm hoping it shouldn't be to involved in the making.
Money, shmunney!
Just enjoy it, You'd only blow the cash elsewhere.

Tony

I justified it to my wife by saying that the Coupe is cheaper than having a mistress - didn't go down to well, but I think that she got the message.

Of course its only right to spend your hard earned however it makes you happy.
I would say invest in a decent car alarm & a secure place to keep it, I speak as the recent victim of a car theft which is irreplaceable (dont have the dosh and its a htf model -1994 Toyota Hiace 5 door) , and take precautions expecting to come up against not only teenage joyriders butthieves who show up with a tow truck and pretend that they are collecting a broken down car for a client, and say ´oh I´m sorry,our mistake,we must have the wrong motor´if approached while stealing the ride´

MarinaCoupe wrote:I justified it to my wife by saying that the Coupe is cheaper than having a mistress - didn't go down to well, but I think that she got the message.

I think I said the same to my wife except I substituted the mistress for a drug addiction of some sort.

I got a nod of agreement too...

As my car is nearing completion, I had a simiar conversation with Joe and Jason the other day. Joe started it by saying that if it was an escort it would be worth loads.....probably. :roll:

After re-reading this thread I love the way everyone has avoided answering the question but spoke more about justifing ( or not ) the cost of such resto's.

So on a slightly different tact-whats the most thats changed hands for a marina that YOU know about? ( also looked at another thread about how the PC mag's price/valuations are way out so thought this might be interesting)

The most I know about was £1995 for a tidy TC some 16 months ago.....

Only out of interest. :mrgreen:

HI,
Just as a side note...Didnt a very low mileage white 1.8 estate go on ebay for about th e five grand mark recently?

Tony

is that the same one jan ivar bought ? i think it was under 3k.