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Features

What to buy (and avoid) in 2026

9 months ago

Writer:

Steve Sutcliffe | Journalist

Date:

23 December 2025

Most of us would like to believe there’s gold in them thar hills, right? But if we can assume there sometimes is – at least in the world of second-hand cars – how do you find it? And how do you know where not to dig?

It should go without saying that nothing you are about to read is gospel, so if you do spend money on one or more of the cars listed below and end up losing your shirt please don’t blame me or Ti: none of us has a crystal ball because, if we did, we wouldn’t need to write about cars to earn a living, because we’d already have several hangars full of them. This, then, is merely an honest attempt to identify a selection of what I believe may turn out to be sleeper cars: those that can be enjoyed in the here and now because they’re great to drive, some but not all of which may also make you a few quid in the longer term.

I’ve applied some simple rules. I’m only discussing cars I’ve driven and know well. There’s no exotica because that’s a separate world with a value system of its own. I’m also assuming all the cars I mention are clean, low-mileage examples with full service histories.

There are 15 in total. I believe five will go up in value because they’re fantastic cars that deserve to appreciate. Five will also appreciate despite not deserving to and five are cars that deserve to appreciate but might not. These are the ones that should perhaps be avoided as investments, even if you find them hard to resist.

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