Special editions: are they really that special?
These are the creation of the new car marketing droids who are thinking of enhanced sales with the promise of a snazzy paint job and a few extra pieces of kit. Traditionally, that never translates into anything like higher used car values, thank goodness; it just makes the vehicle rather more saleable to people like us. So are there any that we should be taking a closer look at?
Rustling around the cheapies, I was delighted to stumble across a 1993 Volvo 440 XI Limited Edition at just £395. It’s one of those ironically hip – rather than hip replacement– nouveau not-quite classics. With racing green paint, sports seats and I don’t know what else, it will always make £395 for as long as it can pass an MOT. The rarity special-edition factor will always help, too, even if the automatic transmission doesn’t.
If you’re buying a cheapie, a Ford Focus is a sensible way to go. Ford has long offered Black editions, so a 2001 1.6i petrol with leather, and in black, of course, is a snip at £790. You’ll have to wait decades for any significant value hike, but it’s a comfy car and not an old bloke’s Ghia.
We don’t want saloons, though, do we? We want character, excitement and a really, really good special-edition name. Well, that would be the Mazda RX-8 Nemesis.
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expert knowledge?
My wife got £1750 part ex for a 05 Celica with 24000 miles on the clock and full Toyota history Looking at Autotrader its not far out so who on earth would pay £5000 for one
Wrong priorities