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The simple answer is that there is no simple answer. The various classic car price guides are exactly that - a guide. Some trend patterns in classic car prices can be determined from monitoring the values that particular models sell for at auction, but that is about it.
Value derives from three things - condition, rarity, and appeal. The first two of these are pretty measurable, the third is entirely subjective. Mini's, Moggie Minors, Escorts, MGB's etc all have "appeal". Austin Allegro's do not - though there are folk that love them and will not hear a word against them. Nevertheless, they are not a "popular" classic.
Dolomites fit somewhere in the middle. They are a classic that is steadily and slowly gaining in appeal. This is for a number of reasons as I see it. Firstly, there is a general renaissance in 1970's stuff from clothes to cars to Ski yoghurt pots. This has been partly fuelled by the popularity of TV series such as Life on Mars that have highlighted all over again the attractions of this era. Secondly, the Triumph marque in general has bloomed in popularity and Dolomites are no longer overlooked so much in the shadows of the sexier sports car models. Thirdly, the number of Dolomites being restored or refreshed into really first class examples has increased greatly in the last ten years, and the efforts of those folk who have undertaken such work is rubbing off in the form of increased general enthusiasm for the cars, and thereby value.
Thus it is to me perfectly plausible that a first class 1300 with an interesting history could be worth £2.5-3K, while a scrappy Sprint struggles to make £500. This has nothing to do with making money, or the ability to make money. Generally, yes, the value curve goes upwards as you move up the range - so the Sprint is the highest and the 1300 the lowest, but condition is the arbiter here. Someone with £2500 to spend has a diverse choice in the Dolomite range - from a concours 1300, via a very good 1500, a nice 1850 to a decent workaday Sprint. Which of those they select is down to individual choice - it does not mean the 1300 is "overpriced", any more than the Sprint is "underpriced". In this respect the remarks of the original poster are somewhat disingenuous.
One of the beauties of the Dolomite range of cars is that, at most given price points (except the very top and very bottom), there is a choice of models available to the buyer, each with its own attractions. The fact that prices for the range generally are on a gentle upwards curve I also consider to be a good thing, as it encourages preservation rather than scrapping.
Yes, but there is a natural ceiling. If you start asking the sort of money for your 1300, that would buy a good triumph 2000, a Rover P5, or even start moving into Stag, TR6 territory. Then most people are going to think, well I might as well get the more desirable glamorous car.