As someone of a similar age who has been pondering exactly the same question over the last few months, with roughly the same price-bracket, I'll be fascinated to see what suggestions people come up with!
The challenge, of course, is contained in the title of Steve's thread. It's not a question of looking for low depreciators (we can probably all list the usual suspects), but of looking for something that will hopefully
increase in value over the years, without being kept in cotton wool.
That just about rules out anything that is/was produced in any numbers, surely?
And the requirement for it to be reliable and usable may rule out some potential older candidates. I lust after a Fulvia, or an Alfa Spider 105/115, but I wouldn't want to use either all year round, and I've already got my B for the summer. Ditto a Citroen DS21.
Of the more recent machinery, it's really difficult to spot something that's sufficiently affordable to be within budget, yet sufficiently rare/desirable to be a potential appreciating classic. A good friend of mine thought he'd nailed it with a Renaultsport R26R (complete with all the trimmings, including titanium exhaust), which admittedly has kept its value pretty well so far, but only because he hardly uses it. In any event, I doubt it'll be worth very much in 10 years' time. Having said that, it's a riot to drive - nothing else I've driven comes close for raw entertainment. A bit Like a Caterham with 4 seats and a roof.
I've just spent a happy half-hour browsing the Pistonheads classifieds, my search parameters set for between £16-£19k and from 1993-2008, on the basis that anything older than that is unlikely to be usable as a daily driver, and anything more recent that that, within that price-point, is likely to be mass-produced and therefore not classic material.
I got 1059 hits, including some lovely Maseratis and TVRs that might potentially be future classics - but I'm not sure either marque would be suitable as a daily driver!
My pulse quickened at this one, but then I've always had a soft spot for Lancias:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...elta/lancia-delta-integrale-evo-1-16v/1406958
Remember Steve, I saw it first!!
(And before anyone points it out, yes I know it's older than 1993 - it showed up in my search because the vendors gave the date of importation - 2000 - rather than manufacture, but I'd still bite their hand off if I had the cash, and the nerve).
