How much did cars cost in the 60s?
The cheapest car for sale in UK in 1965 was the Fiat 500. You could buy one for £470. There was even a sunroof included! In today's money that would have been £5,600. You would struggle to find a new car for that price in Britain today.
The most expensive cars were two Italian super-cars, the Ferrari 275LM and the Ferrari Superfast PF Coupé. The manufacturer's price for each car was £11,519. In today's money they would have cost £158,000.
An average house cost £3,400 in 1965. You could have bought three houses for the price of the Ferrari.
Most cars cost from £500 (£6,800 in today's money) for small cars such as the Mini and Ford Anglia, to around £1000 (£13,600) for the large Fords, Vauxhalls and Austins. Cars were much cheaper in the 1960s than today. Try finding a new BMW 5 series for £13,000.
This table shows a range of well-known cars and their prices in 1965.
| Cost | In today's money | |
|---|---|---|
| Austin/Morris Mini | £470 | £6,400 |
| Reliant 3 Wheeler | £487 | £6,700 |
| Ford Anglia | £492 | £6,700 |
| Hillman Imp | £509 | £7,000 |
| Vauxhall Viva | £538 | £7,400 |
| MG Midget | £624 | £8,500 |
| Austin 1100 | £644 | £8,800 |
| Volkswagen Beetle | £650 | £8,100 |
| Triumph Spitfire | £666 | £9,100 |
| Ford Cortina (four door) | £668 | £9,100 |
| Hillman Minx | £680 | £9,300 |
| Vauxhall Victor 101 | £690 | £9,400 |
| Morris Oxford | £782 | £10,700 |
| Austin 1800 | £833 | £11,400 |
| MGB | £855 | £11,700 |
| Ford Zephyr 6 | £900 | £12,300 |
| Triumph TR4A | £968 | £13,200 |
| Vauxhall Cresta | £974 | £13,000 |
| Austin Westminster | £998 | £13,700 |
| Humber Hawk | £1,095 | £15,000 |
| Austin-Healey 3000 | £1,107 | £15,000 |
| Rover 2000 | £1,298 | £18,000 |
| Jaguar MkII 2.4 litre | £1,389 | £19,000 |
| Jaguar E-Type | £1,867 | £25,000 |
| Aston Martin DB5 | £4,412 | £60,000 |
Source:'Motor' week ending 16 October 1965, pages 180-82
Used cars
Used cars up to about five years old held their price well. For example a 1961 Austin Cambridge was offered for £390. The equivalent new car was £772.
