Buying

The same shape, the same factory, the same aluminium on the same ladder chassis, and a thirty-year gap that the market prices at three to one. Four thousand auction results on what separates a Series III from a Defender, which one to buy for what, and why the older car is the one that has beaten inflation.

Both built at Halewood, both on Kent and Pinto engines, both sold in the millions. One was the car you always promised yourself and the other was a family saloon that won the RAC Rally five years running. Nine hundred auction results on why the Escort is worth nearly twice the Capri today, and whether that makes sense.

A twin-cam monocoque that claimed 150 mph against a pushrod six on a separate chassis that claimed 115. Both sold mostly to America, both were killed by American rules, and both have lost a third or more of their real value since 2014. Five thousand auction results on which is the better buy now.

The same engine in two completely different cars. A front-drive saloon that won Monte Carlo three times against a rear-drive roadster with frog's eyes, both built by BMC, both priced in the low teens at auction, and both stolen more often than they should be.

A V12 coupe and a V8 convertible, both born in the 1970s, both once dismissed as unreliable, and both now priced within a few hundred pounds of each other at auction. Which reputation was deserved, what was fixed, and which is the better car to buy in 2026.

Two small roadsters built to the same brief, sold against each other for eighteen years, and in their final form sharing the same engine. Backbone chassis against monocoque, swing axle against live axle, and which is the better first classic at under £6,000.

One sold half a million, the other sold ninety thousand and costs nearly twice as much. Four cylinders against six, Abingdon against Canley, and what four thousand auction results say about which is the better buy today.

The two free government checks and what they reveal, why the log book proves less than every buyer assumes, the serial numbers DVLA tells you to look for, what a paid history check adds, and where your rights differ between a dealer and a private seller.

Why the hammer price is never the price, what Category S and N actually mean, why a clean-looking V5C proves less than buyers assume, and how to think about bidding on a car nobody has let you inspect.

Why restoration bills reach numbers that horrify outsiders, where the money actually goes, and the practical protections that matter when handing a valuable car to a workshop for a year. Staged payments, written scope, and what happens if the business fails.