As the active MG season draws to a close, there are mixed signals coming from the marketplace. Perhaps more than anything, the MGF has started to make a considerable impact and while it has undoubtedly expanded the sports car market, there are growing numbers of owners of older MGs who are disposing of them in favour of the new car.

The MGF certainly made the midsummer headlines with the closed auction sale for dealers, which was held at the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon. As was widely reported, the MGFs offered for sale were from Rover and MG Cars and the realisations turned out to be well above list price. The average figure was 107,3%, although certain cars like Gerry McGovern’s attracted considerable attention, in this instance being bid to £21,800, which included it being personally signed by the designer. Two film placement cars, for Emmerdale and Madson, made £19,200. These were all prices to the trade so it is likely that by the time they were sold to the public, they were some £4,000 over list on average.

The laws of supply and demand were working here. With order levels surprising even Rover, many MG dealers had customers who did not want to wait several months for a factory car and viewed this is a worthwhile alternative. With the Summer ahead, this was the chance to have a car in time to enjoy it and dealers arrived to bid at the auction with orders already in their pockets. Paying a premium for an MGF was worthwhile in the view of many potential customers, although it has to be said that many of the cars offered for sale had been retro-trimmed with Heritage leather kits.

To a degree, this situation has stabilised, with more cars coming on to the market, but as a perusal of the motoring columns of the broadsheet newspapers will confirm, there are always a number of cars for sale, usually with low mileage. Here prices range from around or just above list, depending on the specification, to those being optimistic and asking a sizeable premium for a delivery mileage VVC. As Winter approaches and the sports car market supposedly goes into hibernation, there are signs of over-list prices being a thing of the past. Longbridge is working at full pressure and the waiting time for a new MGF is now rapidly shrinking.

The MG RV8 has been carried along by the ground-swell of interest in the MGF and at the Gaydon auction one of the Rover-owned examples sold for £24,000, the purchasing dealer aiming to sell at £26,000. Recent RV8 offered for sale privately have included a 5,700 mile example at £24,995 and a 31,000 mile 1993 car at £19,750. With so few cars remaining in the UK, the likelihood is that prices will remain firm and although mileage is less important on a large engined car such as the RV8, it will still have a bearing on prices.

The odd unregistered MGB still surfaces, one of the latest being a 1980 LE Roadster at the Titty-Ho Garage at Raunds in Northamptonshire. Their example has just 42 miles recorded and the car is absolutely ex-dealer, including the cardboard collar around the handbrake. The car was stored on blocks, with wheels removed and the hood has never been down. Originally delivered to Mann Egerton in Norwich the car comes with a Heritage certificate and is priced at £13,995.

Staying with the MGB, as always the strongest demand is for the chrome bumper, wire-wheeled and leather interior models, the demand for which outstrips supply. When such vehicles come on to the market, they do command a considerable premium. Rugby Classic Motor Garages recently sold a 1964 example in Tartan Red with wire wheels, a Works hardtop and only two local owners for £9,750, but as Malcolm Underwood explained, the problems of locating such vehicles are becoming a greater. Moving away from the MGB, a particularly noteworthy car handled was a 1967 MG Midget on wire wheels and still with its original interior. One of the sought-after 1275cc versions and finished in Basilica Blue, this car had only completed 22,000 miles and was priced at £6,500. There still a demand for everyday cars however, commented Malcolm Underwood and several Rubber Bumper MGBs have been sold in the £4,000-£5,000 region.

The difficulty of locating good cars was echoed by Clive Murray of Murray Scott Nelson, who said that excellent MGB roadsters could easily command prices up to £10,000 and that they could sell any number of these. But commenting on the cars they were offered, he said that it was very similar to a Bonny Baby contest, where everyone thought their MG was the best, when sadly this was infrequently true. As to sales, Murray Scott Nelson had experienced a very strong first half of the year, during which there was an unprecedented number of enquiries for MG Midgets. Restoration projects, particularly MGAs and MGBs were also in strong demand prior to the winter.

Despite the evergreen popularity of the chrome bumper versions of the MGB roadsters, there is a growing amount of evidence that the rubber bumper versions have become strongly sought after, several trade advertisers like Alexandra Motors featuring them. This Portsmouth dealer is currently listing two low mileage examples, including a 31,000 mile 1980 car at £6,995. Clearly such roadsters are gaining in price as they fill a market void.

The demand for MGB GTs has always been less than the roadster in the enthusiast market, particularly as fewer and fewer of the cars are used on an everyday basis, for which they have always been particularly suited. Early cars can, and do, command a premium, but there are any number of rubber bumper versions available, which can be purchased at very moderate cost. Price band is from around £2,000 onwards for a running example, up to the £5,000 level for an exceptional car with good history and low mileage. It will be interesting to see if the new MGB GT bodyshells coming from British Motor Heritage focus attention on what still remains one of the most versatile MGBs ever built.

What of the auction scene for a good to average priced car? Many people shy away from this route, but the fact remains that if you do decide on exactly what you are looking for and the price you are prepared to pay, there a good buys to be made. But just like buying privately, it is a case of caveat emptor, so you need to check a lot as far as possible before you decide to bid. That said, it is a case of buying on condition and not allowing yourself to be swept along by bidding euphoria and end up paying more than you should. While the big name auction houses like Brooks, Sotheby’s and Coys do sell the mainstream MGs from time to time, they do tend to be the choice for rare and older models, particularly competition cars.

Typical of the cars offered for this sale route was the ex-Works Sebring MGB GT which Brooks catalogued at Goodwood and which sold to the joint owners of the Sebring MGC GTS Works cars. This unique MGB GT returned to the track in the MG Invitation Race at the Coys Goodwood, the former MGA 1500 Team Car, driven by John Gott on the Liege Rally, sold for £28,000 (plus premium and VAT).

In May at the NEC, at the Classic and Sportscar Show, the unique Aston Martin MGB Prototype was offered. Styled by William Towns, it was the Aston Martin interpretation of the MGB brought up to date, at the time of their attempts to acquire the manufacturing rights to the car and the MG premises at Abingdon. That project ultimately failed, but the car survived as a running prototype.

Some of the most relevant realisations for the Spring and Summer sales from various auctioneers (all quoted without premium and VAT) include the following cars. ADT at Blackbushe, who sales invariably have an MG content, sold a 1980 MGB LE for £8,650 and a similar Condition 1 1972 MGB also performed well at £9,600. MGB GT Les fared less well, at £4,000 and £4,900. Another good MG hunting ground is H&H at Buxton. Among their through-put have been a 1932 M Type at £9,800 a brace of 1958 MGA 1500 Roadsters at £10,000 and £9,500 respectively and a 1953 TD at £7,200. Moving to the unusual, Coys sold a rare TB for £9,000 and 1961 MGA Twin Cam for £13,000. Suitable Triple M restoration projects have seen an NB and NA emerge, the former at Brooks Goodwoood sale, where it made £13,500 and the NA at Christie’s at Beaulieu, where it sold for £12,500.

Two particularly significant cars recently offered for sale have been discovered by Barry Walker. The first of these was a 1948 MG TC, with a genuine mileage of 6,480. Formerly owned by the Kellogg cereal family, the car had not been driven since 1951 and it remains in virtual ex-Abingdon condition, with its original Ivory paint and green leather interior. A car that could genuinely be described as totally original, it has since been sold to an Italian collector on the understanding that it is not restored. As if one such discovery was not enough, visitors to the MG Spares and Restoration Show at Sandown saw another timewrap car. This was a 1934 MG PA 4-seater, which had remained in one ownership from new. Complete with all its documentation, including tax discs, MG Car Company Guarantee, Instruction Book, Tool Kit and almost exactly as it left Abingdon, the mileage was an unbelievable 41,000. The car was put on blocks in 1957, probably as a result of petrol rationing following the Suez crisis, and not used since. The asking price for this unique item of Abingdon history was £20,000.

The MG market place remains busy, with all manner of cars changing hands, from the rare to the commonplace. Overall, there is evidence of stronger prices, although not at the inflationary rate of the 1980s, which should ensure that the cars stay within the enthusiast domain.