As an owner of a 1990 car, I will not comment too much on prices, as I am sure that many owners will add to this post.
On a general note though, I think you will find that the cost of the car is dictated by availability, then quality, then mileage, then options like Nurburing suspension etc, then age.
British cars hold their value more than the rest of Europe, because it is an island, right hand drive, and the simple fact that only 696 ever came in officially, to cover all models from 1989-1995.
I posted a reply to someone who wanted a specific car a few weeks ago, and the maths worked out that there were only about 40 cars ever sold in UK that were the right year and spec, so he would have had to see how many were uncrashed, wait till one turned up for sale, then actually buy it, if it was the right colour he wanted !!
The UK books of price, like Glasses Guide and Parkers, generally undervalue the car against what you will have to pay to get one. This works against you, as this is the value that the insurance companies use when paying out in the event of a crash.
This is my estimate of the current price structure.
£3900-£6500 - 1989/90/91/92 3.6 cars condition dependant
£5000-£9000 - 1992/93 first 3.8s, price difference is due to condition and mileage
£8000-£15000 - 1994/95 3.8s, fully loaded, nurburing suspension, price varies to cover from low mileage concours condition to big 200,000 milers.
£15000+ Specials. I vaguely remember seeing a black limited edition being sold for £29000 with something crazy like three thousand (3000!!!!) miles on it, and another for £20000 that had everything in the options catalogue, 20000 miles, a full BMW respray and a BMW technician tied up and gagged in the boot for emergency repairs
Right hand to Left hand drive conversions??? Don`t you mean Left hand to Right hand drive???
Surely the UK Right hand drive are more expensive to buy, so to save money you would buy a cheaper German LHD and have in converted to RHD? In Germany M5 cost peanuts. Eg.
www.mobile.de will sell you a 120000km 1990 3.6 with everything for £4100, but it is LHD.
You live in UAE. Thats United Arab Emirates if I recall. I thought you were RHD ?
Anyway, $900 seems VERY cheap for a conversion. I am sure that if I walked into a dealer and asked for a dashboard he would immediately think of the commission and phone his travel agent to book a holiday.
What will the labour alone be to take a 7-10 year old car (1992-1995, its nearly 2002!) apart and rebuild all the steering, brakes, electrics, pedals, dash, ventilation etc etc etc. The centre dash will be different, I think the instrument cluster does fit ($1200 saved, phew!), but the main dash is different. I would have expected another zero on the end of your $900
Any way you slice it, it would be better to get a RHD or LHD as you require rather than change it.
Add to this the aggravation of telling the insurance company about it.
mmm... am I right in believing that UAE does not require insurance, but accident claims can be settled from the responsible parties personal assets? I recall hearing that somewhere, so you drive what you like, but may have to sell your house etc if you stuff your car into the side of a Ferrari and have to pay the repairs out of your pocket.
Hope this is of some help, and good hunting.
I have had my 315bhp 3.6 since July, and I still smile at it.
If you really want LHD, and have to have it moved around the world to you anyway, why not try and see what a lovely USA Californian car would cost that doesn`t know what rain is ???
Try
www.autotrader.com the US version of
www.autotrader.co.uk
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