Mini Cooper, Renault 15 And Cortina V6: What They Sold For At Reeman Dansie

Three of the garage-find classics we’ve been following went under the hammer at Reeman Dansie today — and one of the results surprised us more than the others.

The 1963 Austin Mini Cooper 997cc, 1973 Renault 15 TS and 1981 Ford Cortina 2.3 GL V6 had all appeared on UK Barn Finds in the run-up to the sale.

We’d also had the chance to inspect all three in person.

Now we know what the market thought of them.

1963 Austin Mini Cooper 997cc – £9,200

Estimate: £6,000–£8,000
Hammer price: £9,200
Approx. price with 12% buyer’s premium: £10,304

The early Mini Cooper, registration UGV 889, comfortably beat its top estimate.

We’d hoped it might go a little further.

Having seen the car in person, it appeared remarkably solid underneath and came with a huge quantity of spare parts. It was still very much an unfinished restoration, but there seemed to be a lot to work with.

There was one important detail announced before bidding began, though.

The engine identification plate was missing.

That doesn’t prove the engine isn’t original to the car, but without that plate it becomes much harder to establish the sort of matching-number provenance that can matter considerably on an early Cooper.

Could that have taken a little edge off the bidding?

Possibly.

Given the sheer quantity of loose parts accompanying the Mini, we also couldn’t help wondering whether the missing plate might still be lurking in one of those boxes somewhere.

Either way, £9,200 hammer was a solid result for an incomplete project that has been off the road since 1984.

Read our full feature on UGV 889

1973 Renault 15 TS – £4,800

Estimate: £1,000–£2,000
Hammer price: £4,800
Approx. price with 12% buyer’s premium: £5,376

This was the fascinating one.

The Renault 15 TS, registration BGV 959L, didn’t merely beat its estimate. It smashed straight through it.

And judging by the bidding, plenty of other people had reached the same conclusion we had: how do you value something this rare when almost nothing comparable comes to market?

There was interest from the room, telephone bidders, commission bids and online bidders, which is about as good an illustration of genuine demand as you could ask for.

At £4,800 hammer, the Renault made nearly five times the bottom estimate and well over twice the upper guide.

After the sale we also met the vendor, who was understandably delighted with the result.

We can see why.

This was always going to be difficult to price. It had spent decades in storage, the engine was seized and there are only a tiny number of Renault 15 TS models left on UK roads.

There simply isn’t a steady stream of comparable cars from which to establish a neat market value.

Now, at least, we have a very useful real-world result.

£4,800 at the hammer.

For the next person trying to value a long-stored Renault 15 TS, that figure may prove rather useful.

Read our full feature on BGV 959L

1981 Ford Cortina 2.3 GL V6 – £1,300

Estimate: £600–£800
Hammer price: £1,300
Approx. price with 12% buyer’s premium: £1,456

The Cortina also comfortably exceeded its guide.

Registration JON 866W arrived at Reeman Dansie while we were there earlier in the week, and its condition was impossible to ignore.

There was significant visible corrosion, it had apparently been off the road for many years and this was a long way from being a straightforward recommissioning project.

On the other hand, it was a 2.3 GL V6.

There were useful and interesting parts on the car, and that specification gives it an appeal that a more ordinary Cortina project might not have.

At £1,300 hammer, though, we’d say it probably made all the money — and perhaps a little more.

What happens next will be interesting.

As a restoration project, somebody has a lot of work ahead of them. As a source of parts, there is certainly value there too.

And we’d be lying if we said the hammer price didn’t make us slightly nervous.

It’s perilously close to the sort of money at which an old rear-wheel-drive Ford can attract interest for purposes other than restoration.

We hope we’re wrong.

Time will tell whether JON 866W has found somebody prepared to save it.

Read our full feature on JON 866W

Which Was The Biggest Result?

On percentages alone, there’s no contest.

The Renault 15 TS was the standout.

A £1,000–£2,000 estimate became a £4,800 hammer price, despite the seized engine and decades spent sitting dormant.

That tells us something useful about genuinely scarce classics.

When a car is rare enough, conventional valuation becomes difficult. Sometimes the only real way to discover what it’s worth is to put it in front of several determined buyers and let them decide.

The Mini’s £9,200 result was respectable and above estimate, although we suspect a fully documented early 997 Cooper with clearer engine provenance could have generated a different conversation.

And the Cortina at £1,300?

We’ll be very interested to see where that one turns up next.

Three Very Different Garage Finds

That’s perhaps what made these three cars so interesting to follow.

The Mini had significance, a large pile of parts and an unfinished restoration behind it.

The Renault had rarity on its side and almost no obvious market comparison.

The Cortina was rough, desirable in specification and cheap enough to attract several very different types of buyer.

All three beat their estimates.

And once again, that’s why we enjoy watching genuinely unusual cars go through a live auction room.

You can study guides and previous results all you like.

Eventually somebody has to raise their hand and decide what the car is actually worth.

Got Something The Motoring World Should See?

We’re always interested in hearing about unusual cars, motorcycles and pieces of motoring history with a story behind them.

It doesn’t have to be immaculate, valuable or even running. Sometimes the forgotten things are far more interesting.

Whether you’re a private owner with something tucked away, or a business with an unusual vehicle, motorcycle or piece of motoring history for sale, we’d like to hear about it.

If it’s something our audience would be interested in, it’s newsworthy to us. Get in touch with UK Barn Finds and tell us about it.