By ROB HULL, MOTORING EDITOR and JOHN MAYHEAD
Updated: 09:17 EST, 16 November 2025
67
View
comments
With Britons preparing to protect their savings from a tax-raising Autumn Budget, a classic car could be a far more interesting alternative to piling money into cash and investment Isas or pensions.
And the good news is that as it stands for most owners, profits on a classic car are tax-free.
But that's only if you identify the motors that are both good value but also incredibly collectable - and therefore ripe for a boom in value in the years to come to promise a strong return on investment.
To help you pick out some of the best options is classic car insurer Hagerty and its unique 'Collectability Algorithm'.
This takes into account more than 20 factors, from the size and shape of a car, how powerful it is, whether it was popular with celebrities and how well it sells today.
Each car is compared with contemporaries and weighted for importance to recommend those with the most potential for longevity in the eyes of collectors.
Daily Mail and This is Money has teamed up with Hagerty to name modern classics that are under 25 years old and still available for under £25,000 - which seems more than suitable in the year 2025.
Prices listed are quoted are from the September 2025 UK Hagerty Price Guide for vehicles in ‘excellent' condition...
A classic car could be a more interesting alternative to an Isa or pension - and gains are tax-free. Here's 10 modern classics for under £25k that should go up in value
John Mayhead, editor of the Hagerty UK Price Guide: Collectability has always been a subjective thing when it comes to cars: for one person, a car can be beautiful, evocative and thrilling, for another dull, predictable and ugly.
Fortunately, here at Hagerty, we have huge amounts of data covering everything from the two million classic and collector cars we insure worldwide and public sales we track through to studies of celebrity cars, demographic information and race data.
So, we decided to make the process more objective, and created the Collectability Algorithm, a tool that assesses a huge number of factors about a car, weights them, and places the model within a percentile compared with all the other cars we track.
Here then are the top ten scoring cars from that list that were produced in the past 25 years and can still be found for under £25,000:
Hagerty ‘excellent’ value: £20,900
Collectability Percentile: 54.5%
The E46 is arguably the greatest generation of BMW's iconic M3 - especially if you can find one with the incredibly engaging manual transmission
There’s a huge amount of love around for the E46 edition of the BMW M3, and with concours examples topping £30,000 (and rarer CSL/CS much more), it is no surprise this car is on our list.
The model scored highly for the M3’s competition pedigree, for its S54 straight-six engine that dominated its peer-group in period, and for having desirable two-door form.
Today, low-mileage cars that have been well maintained are becoming collectable as they balance a classic look with a very spirited driving experience.
Hagerty ‘excellent’ value: £7,200
Collectability Percentile: 55.7%
Skip the 4.0-litre Jaguar XK8 from the turn of the Millennium and head for the 4.2 V8 instead
The early 4.0-litre versions of Jaguar’s XK8 gained a reputation for expensive bore wear failures and although that (and other niggles) were addressed by the time the 4.2-litre upgrade arrived in 2002, values continued to be affected.
That means the XK8 in later guise is the least expensive car on our list despite scoring well for engine power and limited production numbers and now seems to offer good value for money.
Hagerty ‘excellent’ value: £10,700
Collectability Percentile: 56.9%
Achingly good looking, the Alfa Romeo Brera was one of the best looking coupes of its era. Find one fitted with Alfa's astonishing V6 engine and you should be onto a winner
The 3.2 JTS V6 that powers the Brera may not be the legendary Busso V6 that was fitted to its stablemate coupe, the Alfa Romeo GT, but with a power output 256bhp it made the Brera a quick car on the road and increases its collectability.
That said, it is the body by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign that sets the Brera apart, scoring this car highly and placing it in the top ten.
Now rare, even the 500 specially enhanced by Prodrive are still relatively affordable.
Hagerty ‘excellent’ value: £24,900
Collectability Percentile: 58.3%
The 500 SE was the last in the generation of TVR's soft-top Griffin - and the one Hagerty says has the highest collectability factor
With the same 340bhp 5.0-litre V8 and five-speed manual gearbox as the preceding Griffith 500 but with a Chimaera dash and Cerbera seats, various external modifications and a ‘Special Edition’ plaque, the final 500 SE is a very special car indeed.
At a Hagerty Guide price of £24,900 it just sneaks into our list, and with top-quality examples being offered by dealers for much more, that’s a lot of car for the money.
The 500 SE scored highly for very limited production figures (100, all numbered) and engine performance.
Hagerty ‘excellent’ value: £24,600
Collectability Percentile: 58.4%
The Zenos E10 is a roofless track car powered by a Ford Focus engine. While this doesn't sound all that desirable, it is one of the best handling cars you can buy
The Zenos E10 was intended as the evolution of the lightweight British sports roadster, the natural successor to the Lotus Seven and Elise.
In many ways, it achieved its aim: under 800kg with even the windscreen marked down as an optional extra, the car was a rocket ship, especially when powered by the 2.3-litre 350bhp Ford EcoBoost from the Focus RS in E10R form.
Made in tiny numbers before the company went bust in January 2017, the Zenos E10 punches above its weight in our collectability list.
Hagerty ‘excellent’ value: £22,300
Collectability Percentile: 61.3%
Loved by footballs of the era, the Maserati GranSport combined beautiful looks, raw power and - some - practicality
A trident badge on the front, limited build numbers and a redesign by Frank Stephenson: it’s not surprising the GranSport scores so well on our collectability scale.
The ultimate production version of the 4200 V8 grand tourer has aged well and will still turn heads, as will the sound of that wonderful 4244cc V8.
Today, values start in the teens and even low-mileage dealer examples are rarely advertised at over £30,000. As with all older Maseratis, consistent service history is very important.
Hagerty ‘excellent’ value: £24,900
Collectability Percentile: 76.6%
As production of the original Mini came to a close in the early 2000s, the Cooper Sport was one of the last creations. These are destined to jump in value
The smallest car on our list, both in terms of physical dimensions and engine CC, the last of Sir Alec Issigonis’s original Minis nevertheless punches well above its weight.
Just 500 examples of the Cooper Sport were made in 2000 and 2001 to mark the end of production of this iconic car.
Fitted with a ‘greatest hits’ spec of flared, arches, Minilite wheels, Rallye-style foglamps, silver roof and turned dash, this numbered edition is now prized by collectors: a delivery-mileage example in Solar Red sold for £57,500 at an RM Sotheby’s auction in 2022.
Hagerty ‘excellent’ value: £24,900
Collectability Percentile: 88.2%
The 996 generation 911 was a massive departure for Porsche's flagship model - and the Targa is the rarest of the breed
The 996 model Porsche 911 launched in 1996 marked a huge departure for the brand: not only was it the first water-cooled version of the iconic model but also featured the controversial ‘fried egg’ headlamps that characterised the cheaper series 986 Boxster of the same year.
A string of catastrophic intermediate shaft (IMS) bearing failures didn’t help its early reputation, but time has been kind to the 996, and it is now gaining in popularity.
The Targa, launched in 2002 and fitted with the 3.6-litre engine scored highest of all 996 submodels due to its rarity, and is more a hatchback coupe with a large sunroof than the metal hoop Targas of old, but it’s a cool-looking thing.
Hagerty ‘excellent’ value: £24,900
Collectability Percentile: 91.3%
Hunt hard enough and you can just about find a Porsche 911 (997) for less than £25,000. Not only will it be great to drive and - relatively - reliable, it should provide a sold return on investment
Another Porsche 911 outperforms the 996 Targa, and it’s the model’s successor: the 997.
Just the cabriolet, always the least desirable of the 911 body styles, creeps in under our £25,000 limit and then only the earlier Gen I guise rather than the later, more desirable Gen II but this is a huge score for a relatively affordable iconic sports car.
Like the 996, this model scored highly thanks to the Porsche crest on the bonnet and all the cultural weight that comes with being part of one of the greatest automotive dynasties, plus it has a relatively young ownership demographic – something that suggests future collectability.
But remember: Porsche enthusiasts are sticklers for the detail: the right colour, top spec, low mileage and matching numbers are essential.
Hagerty ‘excellent’ value: £19,000
Collectability Percentile: 91.81%
You'll have to look very hard to find one of the 50 right-hand-drive examples on the road, but find one and it is bound to increase in value
Top of our list is a very unexpected car: the Jaguar XK-RS 4.2, released in 2009.
Just 200 of these supercharged V8 Coupes (50 in right-hand drive) were created by Jaguar, then the fastest production XK with a top speed limited to 174mph.
With a reduced ride height compared with the XKR, unique body kit and special Alcon braking system, they scored highly for exclusivity, design by Ian Callum and a strong performance at auction.
High-mileage examples have been sold for under £10,000 but with the later 5.0-litre XKR-S prices starting at four times that, the XK-RS 4.2 now seems great value and the algorithm says it deserves its place in the collectability list.
The This is Money Motoring Club is designed to make car ownership cheaper and simpler for This is Money and Daily Mail readers.
Powered by MotorEasy it's the place to keep on top of tax, MOTs and servicing - and manage important documents and receipts that keep your car’s value.
You can also save money on maintenance and repairs.
All new members will receive a one-off gift of £20 in reward vouchers to spend.
You can use this for a raft of motoring discounts, including getting £20 off an MOT with one of MotorEasy's listed providers.
> Find out more about the This is Money Motoring Club
Share what you think
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.
Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?
Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual.
Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?
Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual
We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook.
You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.
