This Is The Worst Classic Car To Restore

If restoring a classic car gives you thrills, turning one spanner at the Aston Martin Lagonda is enough to snap you out of the pipedream.

Restoring a classic car is no less than a pipedream, and while most of the classic cars are as happy as us when we tinker with them, some are not. Let’s just say that some of them are less forgiving. These classic cars are not only hard to work on but are also relatively less rewarding, and hard to come by. Even if you get your hands on them, you can’t find the required components in your local shops. Their spares are expensive or worse, scarce, often with months of waiting. There are quite a few classic cars like this. However, one deserves a special mention: the infamous Aston Martin Lagonda. Lagonda was a four-door full-size luxury sedan produced between 1976 to 1990. It was manufactured by the British brand Aston Martin. Fun fact: The Lagonda luxury brand was founded in 1904, and Aston Martin acquired the group in 1947 as per their website. We think the Lagonda is overall the worst (or the closest to it) classic car to restore. The only good thing that can come out of it is the money returns as its prices have skyrocketed in value.

Back in the mid-70s, Aston Martin was facing a financial crunch due to the global crisis, like every other auto company. However, Aston Martin was struggling a lot worse than the others. America was its largest consumer market, and the financial crisis had dealt a heavy blow to the US economy. There was an extreme dearth of funds, and the brand needed a new model desperately to pump up the cash reserves. They say desperate people do desperate things, and there is no better example than the Lagonda. Designed by William Towns as an extreme version of the classic folded paper style, Lagonda descended as a savior. The public went mad for the oddball design, stunning looks, and futuristic specs. Even though it was not as successful as the other Aston Martin models, the Lagonda is still quite popular. So, what makes Lagonda the worst car to restore?

If restoring a classic car gives you thrills, turning one spanner at the Aston Martin Lagonda is enough to snap you out of the pipedream. Restoring this handmade oddball of a car is simply not worth the hassle.

If you are eyeing a bruised Lagonda at tempting prices, stop and scroll through this first. Read till the end to find out why we think Lagonda is the worst classic car to restore. Which classic car do you find difficult to work on? Drop-in your thoughts in the comment section.

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Hard to Find Parts And Spares For The 80s Aston Martin Lagonda

Classics Revealed: The 1984 Aston Martin Lagonda rides again
via: YouTube

Launched in 1982 in the US, Lagonda is so rare that it is almost impossible to spot one in your state, forget about your neighborhood streets or shops. Of course, most people have never seen one, and it is extremely hard to find its spare parts.

The Aston Martin Lagonda was the most shocking car in the world in the 80s, and rightfully so. Amidst all the financial chaos, when they should have played safe, the designers took a risk and launched the bold Lagonda. With a flat body and an extremely long front, its design was daring, to say the least. A 5.3-liter V8 engine that churned around 280 horsepower and about 300 pound-feet of torque at 3,000 rpm was mated with an automatic transmission and placed in front. It was around 4 feet longer than regular city cars. The car weighed 4400 pounds. Lagonda was fast for an 80s car and handled well but had a reputation for being unreliable and complex, which was why it was discontinued in 1990. Only 645 units of the Aston Martin Lagonda were ever produced during the entire period of 12 years according to The Drive. Adding to it, the fact that it was one of the most expensive cars in the 80s, finding spares or replacements is nerve-wrenching.

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80s Aston Martin Lagonda Costs A Fortune To Restore And Not Worth The Hassle

Aston Martin Lagonda West London.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
via: Wikimedia Commons

The Lagonda was insanely priced even in the 80s with an estimated price of $170,000. That translates to over $360,000 in today’s money if you consider inflation. Restoring this crazy car is going to be just as crazy if not more. Whether you outsource the job to a mechanic or do it yourself, it will cost an arm and a leg. Not to mention, it is pretty difficult to tinker with this car. Almost everything in Lagonda is made out of hand and built from the ground up. It was not a mass-produced car. Lagonda was the first car to have electronic controls for engine management. It was also the first car to get digital controls and screens for a user-friendly interface. All of this is a good thing but they also make way for overwhelmingly complicated mechanics straight from the 80s, which means restoring one is going to be ridiculously expensive and difficult.

Having said all this, Aston Martin Lagonda is a pinnacle of hands craftsmanship. It is also the weirdest thing ever manufactured and not worth all the hassle. However, since it’s so rare and exotic, with its prices shooting through the roof lately, a restored Lagonda will pretty much sell itself, provided you come out of it alive.

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