With general age and current weather conditions taking what appears to be a heavy toll on Mk1’s (and others) it made me wonder whether the overall numbers are reducing in the UK…is the number being taken permanently off the road for various reasons in excess of the number still being imported? I have absolutely no idea …any views??
I think the answer is probably yes. All good things come to an end and with MOT failures/accidents/major mechanical failures there must be lots that head to the breakers each year.
The Jap imports probably help prolong things but there’s only so many cars to stick in containers in the land of the rising sun! I doubt the number coming in sustains the amount on UK roads, I may be wrong, only the DVLA have the answer.
I myself think it is ‘natural selection’ and those of us that cherish these cars will reap the benefits in the long run with resale values and rarity.
I have had a few ‘bangers’ over the years that I have scrapped or sold, now worth money due to ‘quirkiness’ and rarity:
Mk1 Toyota Starlet, Mk1 Fiesta 1.1, Mk1 Fiesta XR2, Mk2 Fiesta 1.4s, etc. Look at the price of these type of cars in C&SC dealer ads now!
Although decent mk1’s are still around in Japan, the £/Yen exchange rate is so bad that I don’t think there are any mk1’s being imported any more. I’ve only been bringing in cars to break recently and they’re mostly mk2’s now.
There are more and more being taken off the road due to rust or accident damage so I’m sure that mk1 numbers have peaked in the UK.
Andrew,
If you ever get a v-spec in with a nice tan drivers seat let me know please!
-sorry to read about your diff BTW.
Apart from the fact that good Mk.1s mut be getting scarcer in Japan and perhaps the best gaining cult status,don’t forget that it’s possible to buy a perfectly usable Mk 1 in the U.K. for £1500 - 2000 now. Not much profit for a dealer so not much incentive to import.
Evidence from another local dealer who used to import 5s is he has now stopped. Its just not economical any more apparently…
I like this situation. The exact reason I bought a mk1 last year. I hope the cars have now ‘levelled off’ and will become rarer as no more come in from the east (I don’t mean Norfolk BTW!!).
Resale values still seem strong, I paid £1695 for my Eunos with 85k miles on it last year. I am confident I could sell it for the same this summer, not that I ever would.
UK cars have been getting rarer for 11 years!