Two-door Mark I and II Escorts, especially RS models, have a premium because of their rallying heritage, their eligibility for various historic motorsport classes, and because even an 'cooking' two-door car with a sound shell is highly sought after today as the basis for a rally car.
The 944, while still having race applications, is less competition orientated than the legendary Mark II rally car, and I think the Capri is probably a closer comparison. It is not just the rare Mark I and RS2600 / RS3100 that fetches big money in good nick. A really good 3.0S Mark III is worth a strong five figure sum, and a good 2.8i is worth decent money too. More than what a lot of people are prepared to pay for a 944, even though by any objective measure most factory 944 models are far superior cars to most factory Capris. Mantas are firming up quite nicely now too. I love 'em all, and if I had had a barn in which to store my worn-out Mexicos, RS2000s and Mantas I would be quite well off now.
Competition considerations apart, one reason for the high prices for these surviving Ford and GM cars is that almost all of them have been scrapped and very few are left, so supply and demand equation pushes up the prices. They were far more rot-prone than galvanised Porsches. Most cars reach a point where, having been quite common, suddenly most of them disappear off the roads. I believe the 944 is in that phase now. It has taken a lot longer than most mass produced cars to reach that point because unlike a Ford it is capable of looking half-way decent and being basically drivable even when it has been left outside for 20 years, is pretty much worn out and concealing a lot of rust.
I have said here a few times before that I believe the 944 population is reducing very quickly now because many of them are today in the hands of people who take the view that:
it's a cheap car, I only paid a few grand for it, there's no point spending X thousand getting -
- a proper sill and wing replacement
- putting in a new clutch and flywheel
- rebuilding the transaxle
- changing the head gasket and having a proper top-end rebuild
- or even having a total rebush and all new suspension.
(Can you imagine how bad a 25 year old, 150,000 mile Capri would be on original suspension?? Yet there are plenty of 944s out there in that condition, and capable of superficially driving moderately decently. But not for long...)
Fair enough I suppose if that's what someone reckons, it's their property and they can make whetever choices they want - it's a free country. But those are the cars that are getting scrapped now, and will continue to go to the junkyard over the next few years, I predict reducing the population of UK registered cars by 90% compared to the number on the roads a couple of years ago.
A lot of people today say "No point throwing money at a 944 with problems, just scrap it and you can buy a minter for next to nothing". I don't think that's a sustainable argument in the longer term.
The survivors five years from now will be the ones that have had big money spent on them with reputable specialists and restorers, or less cash outlay but a great deal of unpaid labour by the talented few who can genuinely do all the mechanical and bodywork required to proper standards. At that point there won;lt be any good, cheap cars available to buy because no-one who's spent that kind of money on a car because tehy want to keep it for the long term will be interested in selling it for peanuts.
do you see the prices of 944 turbos ever reaching these dizzy heights when as mentioned in previous posts, you can buy a boxter for less.
that argument is never used against the FORD RS models. i.e. buying an ST focus or new cosworth over an old escort
The comparison with the Focus is a good one. Once the 944 population has finished going through the great reduction currently in train, the argument will become meaningless, as it has with Fords (as you point out). I think we are close to the point now where almost all the people who just want a cheap £5k Porsche to smoke around in for a while and then move it on, are going for Boxsters, and the only buyers in the market for 944s will soon be people who want them for the long term and intend to keep them. That will push up prices of good cars that have been properly restored. I don;t see prices going up to the extent that they become money-making propositions - restoring a car like this will always cost more than buying one that has been restored, as it does for almost anything except a tiny elite of classic cars - but up to levels which reflect the underlying quality of the car, because of the basic change in the supply- versus-demand equation.
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