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This time last year, it was reported that nearly every metric in the UK classic car market had increased in 2022. Despite the climbing cost of living, growing economic uncertainty, and almost weekly political leadership changes in the UK, nearly every segment of the classic car market continued its post-Covid boom. It seemed that collector vehicle values were immune to the realities of the world.

But of course, they weren’t. Throughout 2023, Hagerty has tracked a correcting market where sellers’ expectations were not, in many cases, being met by potential buyers’ willingness to part with cash that had become more expensive to borrow. The demographic needle has also shifted rapidly to point toward millennials as being the new driving force (excuse the pun) behind the classic car market, fuelling (same) the rise in new market segments and more vocal concerns about sustainability. The result was a year of correction, something that many people argued was long overdue.

Interestingly, larger engines became less attractive in 2023: On average, everything over 3 litres either lost value or remained static in percentage terms. Engines 2 litres and under like the MGB on average gained value.

It’s not all bad news. Many of the cars that fell in value in 2023 were those that had risen significantly in the past few years, and a correction was overdue. The fact that the sub-£50,000 enthusiast market is more buoyant, as shown in the relative health of Hagerty’s Classic and FOTU Indices, is a good thing. This includes all 1960s and 70s models of MGB which we concentrate on offering to our customers.

Looking forward to once again offering some more MGBs to our customers this year, and putting smiles on faces!