TR2/3/3A Auction results for TR3's

[Number_6]

Just got the December issue of 'Classic and Sports Car' magazine. They have a monthly feature with a round up of auction results for classic cars. I was surprised to see how high the auction results were for TR2s thru TR3A's. The lowest sale was over £18,000 and a TR3A in the Bonham's auction described as 'Superb, Restored, ex-left, Hand Drive' sold for £36,700, that's over $58,000!

They also had a small ride along magazine listing what they consider the 25 'Greatest Ever Drivers' Cars'. The TR3A is rated at No. 21. Rated higher than a Lancia Stratos or a Cobra 289!

 

[Andrew Mace]

Before you get your hopes too high, I don't think prices typically reach quite that level here in the States, where we got sometimes from 70-80% of total Triumph sports car production. OTOH, it might still be the case that a "parts car" or "basket case" here in the US might be snatched up by a UK restorer for better money than the car would bring here!

 

[NickMorgan]

Drivers will sell privately over here for somewhere between £8,000 to £15,000. For freshly restored cars people can ask up to £20,000. Dealers will tend to sell better quality cars and prices seem to be around £15,000 upwards. It is rare to see them advertised for more than £25,000 and that would be for near concourse condition.
Restoration projects will start at about £3,500 for a reasonably complete car. The problem for us here is that most restoration projects are severely rusted. We still import "rust-free" cars from the USA to restore!
Sorry, I'm not sure what the exchange rate is just now, so you will have to translate!

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Here is a pic of the 36 000 lb'er for anyone that is interested.

Cheers,
M. Pied Lourd

 

[DNK]

No way it looked that good coming off the show room

 

[tinman58]

Amazing paint job! I agree with Don.

 

[Number_6]

Wow, that is one good looking TR3A. I don't know if it's really worth $58000+ but I guess someone thought it was. Good to see value of the cars is going up. Looks like a D-type or XK-SS on the left just peeking into the picture.

 

[luke44]

It is a good looking car and it <span style="font-style: italic">is</span> good to see it.

Part of it reflects the reality of the $$ real cost a full blown professional restoration - at least if it is all farmed out. I probably have 25 hours into my heater alone as an example. A restoration shop charging out at $100/hr (not an uncommon rate for profesional specialty restoration shops) means that is now a $2500.00 heater.

Also I can add another comment based on my early research - if you talk to same restoration shops, they will readily tell you there are many $50k TR3's out there. A full on professional panel fit/finish/<span style="font-style: italic">paint job alone </span>on a ground up resto car will run well north of $15k.

It really doen't matter what the car is - if it is a special interest car, the best examples will always bring that kind of $$. I have also been tracking TR3 prices for a long time. I have followed examples of $40k and $50k cars - they went somewhere - they were sold - and not normally through sites like eBay.

An earlier posting I started on same topic can be found here....

https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcforum/ubbthreads.php/topics/676767/1

 

[TomMull]

This, of course, is one of the examples in Piggotts book, Original TR2/3/3A. Celebrity, I suppose, adds something to the value. I agree with Don, also. The car is "restored" to something it never was. After all, these were never high end cars. They were built on a budget, sold at a very competitive price; flashy, fast and fun but never elegant. I, for one, love them for it. Tom

 

[tdskip]

I spy a Capri! Ha!


Any what is directly behind the TR3?

(not the lightweight Jag)

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Thought you might like that skip. Apparently, it went for a very high price as well.

Cheers,
Tush

 

[luke44]

...these were never high end cars. They were built on a budget, sold at a very competitive price...

Not unlike 65 Ford Mustangs for example or any number of classic cars from that era - the best of which are also now out of $$ reach for the average guy today.

 

[newguy]

This seems to coincide with the information I recently received from Hagerty's Insurance. I was speaking with them to renew the insurance on TS76775L and they indicated that there was absolutely no problem with putting a $40,000.00 declared value on my car. They said that based on the current sale prices which they are seeing, that was a reasonable number.

 

[Andrew Mace]

Funny thing: in 1965, the Amphicar (hey, it's got a Herald engine!) sold new for $2,889. Now, maybe $40,000-$60,000!

 

[BRSLimited]

Funny thing: in 1965, the Amphicar (hey, it's got a Herald engine!) sold new for $2,889. Now, maybe $40,000-$60,000!

I know someone who has one thats a project he wants to sell if anyone might be interested.

 

[Don Elliott]

The rear end you can just make out is a Jag XKSS that they raced before they introduced the XK-E. Bothe the front end as well as the tail end were shorter than the XK-E.There was one here in the Montral area back in 1958 to 1960 when I used to go to see the races at St. Eugene (former WW2 RCAF Conner Air Base.

https://www.carstyling.ru/resources/classic/large/57Jaguar_XKSS_1.jpg

 

[Number_6]

Yup, the Jag factory converted un-sold short nose D-Types to 'Road going' sports cars with the idea that they would sell them to The US for road racing events. Only converted & sold 16 of them before the big factory fire destroyed the rest. Unbelievable that by '57 the D-Types were considered just obsolete racers and the factory couldn't find any way to shift the rest of them.