As of: February 1, 2024, 9:30 a.m
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Youngtimers are cars with potential to increase in value that are less than 30 years old.
But no one takes it that seriously.
The cars in our selection appear younger than they are.
It's the same thing with investments.
Profits are not guaranteed with stocks, real estate or precious metals.
You can also get really into garage gold.
Nevertheless, youngtimers in particular offer good opportunities to refinance later when selling.
They are often not as unattainable to purchase as many classics and have already lost their value.
Most of them are between 15 and 30 years old.
Some particularly popular types even increase in value every year.
These five have long since achieved cult status and are a safe bet.
Even if they don't necessarily meet the criteria of a classic car.
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Mercedes-Benz W124 E 500 (1990 to 1995): The devil's taxi
There was an almost completely normal E-Class at the Paris Motor Show in 1990.
Slightly lowered, the fenders bulged just on the edge of respectability.
The devil raged under the hood of the W124 series sedan: a five-liter V8 with 326 hp.
In a plain taxi dress.
Mercedes boss Werner Niefer was the father of the 500E.
He helped out neighbor Porsche, who was struggling with sales problems these days.
The bodyshell went to Zuffenhausen via a low loader.
Porsche assembled all the different parts there, the painting was done in Sindelfingen, and the V8 was assembled again at Porsche.
Only 10 to 15 cars were built per day.
The E 500 exceeded all expectations.
The production was sold out for three years in no time.
The new Mercedes Benz E500 cost 134,520 marks.
Today prices are around 50,000 euros.
© Mercedes Benz
The wild taxi cost 134,520 marks at the time.
Without extras.
Even though fuel prices are different now, this type is hotly sought after again today.
Because he takes understatement to the extreme.
0 – 100 km/h in 6.1 seconds, top speed 250 km/h.
The press once wrote “Good-natured like a fairytale uncle, nimble like a sports car.”
It is now difficult to get an untouched five-hundred car with few kilometers in good condition.
The range is shrinking and the power sedan in standard trim is becoming increasingly rare.
The prices are accordingly: you can hardly get anything under 30,000, 50,000 is more the norm.
In euros, not marks.
VW Bus T3 (1979 to 1992): Everyone dreams of the block
When a car has rough edges, it is said to have character, or better yet, the T3.
As if cut from the rough block with an axe, the third VW bus was born in 1979 with an inflated number of right angles.
The last Volkswagen with a rear engine, particularly popular for loading kites, sleeping bags and surfboards in the back because the unit folds completely flat under the loading area.
The T3 is significantly more spacious than the T2 and is fun for everyone.
A true multi-tool that crossed hot deserts as a Syncro, mastered the lowest temperatures in the Arctic and grew in the hearts of generations of campers as a rolling holiday home.
The VW Bus T3 is still a real all-rounder today.
© Volkswagen
Always solid, mostly reliable - which cannot be said about the T6's engine.
Hard drinking like a sailor and never quiet.
It was available with a platform, a double cab, a box, a station wagon and a bus.
He transported sick people, soldiers and dropouts' dreams, extinguished fires for the fire brigade and worked as a lift truck on assembly lines.
1.3 million times by 1992. Then it was over.
The second career has long since begun.
Hardly any other classic car is so sought after, especially by young globetrotters.
There are many.
Many with rust.
His biggest weakness.
That's why the price range is extreme.
It starts at a few thousand euros for hobbyists, up to 50,000 euros for converted motorhomes in top condition.
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BMW M3 (1986 to 1991): From the racing track to series production
BMW fans agree that the joy of driving was born with the M3 at the IAA in 1985.
BMW brought the super sports car directly from the racing track to the road, from the touring car championship directly into series production (5,000 units).
The M3 with the abbreviation E30 cost 58,000 marks at the time.
The engine and body were virtually one-offs.
Two-door, with thick jaws that accommodated a wider track.
Aprons all around, the tailgate made of lightweight GRP, inside sports seats, suede steering wheel and, as a medal, a plaque with the respective model number behind the gear knob.
The first gear was, as is typical for racing, at the bottom left.
The BMW E30 made the leap from the race track to the road - albeit in strictly limited editions.
© BMW
The thing looked as sharp as it drove.
The sophisticated 2.3-liter four-cylinder produced 200 hp.
A slim 1,200 kilos gave the M3 a power-to-weight ratio of just 6.15 kilos per horsepower.
Took 6.7 seconds to reach 100 km/h and 235 km/h top speed.
Stunning for the time.
But things got even better.
In 1989 the M3 came as a convertible, in 1990 the M3 Sport Evolution.
Only built 600 times and 238 hp.
Such an engine was auctioned in the USA in 2020 for over 200,000 euros.
The “normal” M3 has also long had cult status.
You have to expect 60,000 to 70,000 euros.
Volvo 240 station wagon (1974 to 1984): The do-gooder among the classics
Do-gooder station wagon, flying brick, friend of eternity - a foray through the internet brings to the surface various nicknames for the Volvo 240 station wagon.
The square, practical family friend has always been a character type who left no one indifferent.
Presented in 1974, the US safety authority NHTSA declared the Swede a car “with by far the best occupant protection” and 17 years after its market launch, the 240 was still considered the safest car on the US market.
Keyword Swedish steel.
The Volvo 240 station wagon has a clear edge and is, strictly speaking, a classic car.
© Volvo
The exhaust gas purification was also exemplary.
Volvo was an early adopter of catalytic converters and was the first manufacturer to introduce the lambda sensor in 1976.
Like the practical Ikea furniture, the 240 also became an export hit.
The heavy northerner with its rigid rear axle was less suitable for driving at high speeds; he preferred to cultivate his phlegm.
But he could also do something different.
With 154 hp and turbocharging, the Volvo 245 became the fastest station wagon in the world and the two-door 242 won the European Touring Car Championship in 1985.
Long ago.
Today the Alt-Eko is a popular lifestyle buddy.
Early, well-maintained models are rare, later ones are available at moderate prices for under 10,000 euros.
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Honda Civic CRX (1983 to 1987): A hot flyweight
The Civic CRX has made it easy for fans to love.
When he was introduced in 1983, he weighed 800 kilos and was one of the flyweights in the industry.
Honda built 38 percent of its compact design from plastic; the oil crisis was not long ago.
The rest of the CRX was a high-volume Civic, enriched with the ingredients of a small, affordable station wagon at a starting price of 19,490 marks.
When the Honda Civic CRX came onto the market in 1983, it became a kind of citizen Porsche.
©Honda
A bourgeois rebel for everyone who dreamed of the 911.
Elaborately constructed, flat, tightly sprung and well trained.
Bumpers, headlights and door openers were integrated into the body, the windshield was glued, the side windows were frameless like on a convertible.
With 100 hp, the AF type achieved 190 km/h, you sat on firm check cushions very close to the action and cranked without a servo.
Inside, the CRX was simple and tidy, and the dowry was generous.
An objective reason to buy back when German car manufacturers were still really stingy with equipment.
Anyone looking for an original CRX from the first hour needs luck, patience and at least 15,000 euros.
(Tomas Hirschberger/SP-X
)