Vintage car ranking: A VW Beetle from the 70s is as expensive as a new Polo

The VW Beetle is Germany's most popular classic car - this is reflected now in a significant increase in value. The market price for VW Beetle Series 1300 (1967 to 1973) last year increased by 45.5 percent: For a car in passable condition buyers have to pay about 13,000 euros. This emerges from the German Oldtimer Index, which has been submitted by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).

Thus, an almost 50 years old beetle reaches the level of a new VW Polo. The is from 13,700 euros to have - before discounts.

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Experts explain the price jump with the fact that beetles in good condition now appeal to wealthier collectors. "The clientele has changed," says Frank Wilke of the Bochum expert organization Classic Analytics, which creates the index with the VDA. From the point of view of a growing number of lovers, a well-kept beetle is part of larger collections.

In addition, vehicles that were reasonably priced in the past required more expensive repairs or restorations because of their age, according to the VDA. That too is reflected in the price.

For years, the Beetle has topped the top ten most popular classic cars in the country. At the beginning of 2018, the Federal Motor Transport Authority registered 36,258 copies with H-plates.

Almost 50 percent increase in value for a BMW

In the ranking of vintage cars with the largest increases in value, another everyday car is a thing of the past: for the Opel Kadett 1100 (built in 1965 to 1971), the experts recorded a price jump of 23.6 percent compared to the previous year. He is usually to have a middle four-digit amount. Wilke observes that in particular tuning fans ask the cadet and equip after purchase with strong engines.

Beetle and cadet are only surpassed by the BMW 3.0 CSi (1971 to 1975): The fast Bayer with six cylinders and 200 hp was the last classic car in Germany with the highest increase in value, the increase was 46.7 percent. The market value of a vehicle in condition 2 (defect-free, with slight traces of use) is almost 70,000 euros. One reason may be the rarity of this type, said the VDA. "Today there are only 441 registered vehicles of the BMW sports coupé."

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The VDA calculates the German Oldtimer Index since 1999 in order to reflect the price development of the most popular automobile classics in the country. Partner is the Bochum expert organization Classic Analytics, which specializes in the market observation of classic motor vehicles. After that, automotive classics have increased by 160 percent over the past 20 years.

Meanwhile, the big hype for many models has abated. In 2018, vintage car prices in Germany only developed moderately according to the VDA. The price increase was only 2.2 percent and thus only slightly above the inflation rate. For this reason, discouraging classic cars as a financial investment is not recommended, according to the VDA. In most cases, increases in value, if any, would be consumed by ongoing maintenance and servicing costs.

The top ten vintage cars with the highest growth in value in 2018 can be seen in the photo gallery.