Comfort sells badly ...
09/10/2022
What seems to be a contradiction to today's buying behavior and consumer thinking is at least partly true for classic cars. In many cases, anyone buying a classic car wants to have the most authentic and original driving experience possible and a reasonably reliable car. For this reason, cars with a manual gearbox are preferred to those with an automatic, and air conditioning or an electric soft top are dispensed with, as are electric windows or seat adjustments. Even a radio is not a must, after all, you want to hear the engine.
Of course, this is not true for everyone who wants to buy a classic car. But there must be a reason why more is paid at auctions for cars with a manual gearbox than for an automatic version. And that owners of paddle-controlled automated gearboxes spend a lot of money to upgrade to a classic manual center shift.
With other comfort features, however, it is often also a question of reducing complexity and potential maintenance costs, according to the motto: what isn't there can't break.
The "accountant" equipment of the time, which the new car buyer had once bought cheaply by forgoing many crosses in the surcharge list, was not worth much on the used car a few years later, but today it can fetch higher prices as a classic car than a "full option" car, especially if not everything works anymore.
