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Price opinion from advertisements and recorded sales. Not an inspection or a certified valuation.
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Reference photograph of a Alfa Romeo SZ Zagato
Valuation · Alfa Romeo · ES30 · 1989-91

Alfa Romeo SZ Zagato

3.0L NA Busso V6 · 154 kW / 245 Nm · 5sp manual · RWD
BUYRated within the $30k to $100k band · 13 of 94 at this money
Model value
$82,000
Must gain each year to break even
+11.6%
The projection does not clear it, and nor does most of the library.
CarQuant score
59/100
Scored against the $30k to $100k band, not the whole library
Evidence grade
Thin
One to three recorded Australian sales
$82,000
$53,969 lowhigh $152,135
Calibrated to a thin record
One Australian sale, $77,000 in October 2024. Left-hand drive only, so every local car is an import
Measured across this library, a value resting on a single Australian result runs high about six times in ten, by a median of five per cent.

Looking at an SZ for sale?

Put in the asking price and the odometer reading. You will see what this model should make at that reading.

Should make, typical example
$82,000
At about 25,000 km. Enter an asking price to compare.

Odometer only. Colour, options, history, condition and the photographs move it further, and that is what the report reads.

A person reads the advertisement and its photographs. Usually back within 48 hours. Read a real listing report

Price history

Today $82,000 · modelled median at five years $90,781
Solid line: the value this library has carriedDashed from 2026: modelled · even money $71,418 to $123,053
The green band is the even-money range and the one to plan on: half of outcomes land inside it. The pale band behind it bounds eight in ten ($53,969 to $152,135). The path is this model's own: it starts along the momentum of its recorded history and bends toward its projected median as the horizon lengthens, so no two cars share a future curve.

The verdict

Strong within its price band. Scores 59/100, ranking 13 of 94 in the $30k to $100k band. Scarcity is the strongest input, liquidity the weakest.
Running it costs about $9,750 a year (11.9% of value), which is what the economics score measures. All in, including the projected value change, it is $9,550 a year.
The model's five year median is $90,781, a +10.7% move, with the tenth percentile at $53,969.
Value calibrated to a thin record. Treat the level as provisional.
Evidence
Thin1 recorded sale
Off its peak
-15%
Value band
wide
At least one recorded transaction plus a source. Direction is sound, the exact level less so.
Scored against every recent Australian sale this library holds, half its values land within 11.2 per cent of the price paid and the rest miss by more, in either direction. Projections are therefore damped toward flat in proportion to how little is known, and the plausible band is never narrower than the error the model is known to make.
Short term (1-5 years)$9,550 a year all in, +10.7% median value move
Long term (10-15 years)Scarcity case already formed
Negotiate from$82,000

Recorded sales

Every recorded observation, and when
2 rows on record
$85k$80k$76k
20252026
the value this record published, year by yearnow $82ksoldasking1 row sits off this scale. Open the list below to see them.
Every row, with its price and note (2) ↓
2026ASK$134,990Asking
ASKING. 1991 SZ Zagato, 34,455km, dealer VIC. A listing, not a transaction
Oct 2024Collecting Cars$77,000Sold
SOLD. 8 Oct 2024, Helensvale QLD, 54,650km indicated, LHD. Build #514 of 1,036 confirmed by console plaque and certificate of authenticity. UK-delivered 1992, then Japan, imported to Australia 2023. Major service Jul 2024 at 54,350km including an engine and gearbox mechanical refresh. The first and only Australian auction result for the model
1 completed Australian sale of 2 rows. Rows marked asking, no sale, or context are shown for honesty but do not count toward the evidence grade: an ask is not a transaction, a pass-in is a refusal, and a provenance or overseas result does not price the ordinary local car. The badge on every row is computed by the same rule as the grade, so the two cannot drift apart.

Score breakdown

Against the $30k to $100k band median
94 cars in band · ink tick marks the median
Ownership economics30% of total
59/100+4
Scarcity25% of total
100/100+47
Demand durability20% of total
70/100+4
Liquidity15% of total
0/100-52
Risk resilience10% of total
26/100-10
Sub-scores run 0-100 before weighting; the weighted total is 59/100. Medians are computed live from the 94 cars currently in the $30k to $100k band, so this picture moves when the library does.
The working behind each factor: baseline and drivers ↓
Ownership economics30% weight
59/100
Baseline74 pts
− 11.9% of value a year to run-15 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)59 pts
Scarcity25% weight
100/100
Baseline88 pts
+ 1,036 built worldwide, a documented figure+14 pts
+ An estimated 6 in Australia, all private imports+14 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)100 pts
Demand durability20% weight
70/100
Baseline64 pts
+ A Zagato-bodied composite-shell Alfa with nothing shared with a volume car+18 pts
− Left-hand drive only, which narrows the Australian buyer pool sharply-12 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)70 pts
Liquidity15% weight
0/100
Baseline4 pts
− One sale a year at best and an estimated 180 days on market, the longest in this library-16 pts
− One Australian result in the model history-4 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)0 pts
Risk resilience10% weight
26/100
Baseline40 pts
− Composite body panels are effectively unobtainable, and left-hand drive limits resale-14 pts
Sub-score (baseline plus drivers, clamped 0-100)26 pts
Model output, not advice or a valuation. Verify independently before acting.

What it costs to own · about 2,500 km a year

Annual cost of access, excl. fuel
$9,750a year
Share of value per year
11.9%
Scheduled servicing$2,60027%
Tyres, annualised$1,10011%
Registration and CTP$8509%
Insurance$2,40025%
Sinking fund (failure table)$2,80029%
All-in annualised (a different number)
Purchase (model value plus duty)$85,280
Running costs × 5 years$48,750
Median exit, net of selling cost$86,281
All-in annualised over 5 years$9,550/yr
Share of value per year11.6%
Cost of access is what the car costs to run. All-in annualised adds depreciation, duty and selling costs across a five year hold. They answer different questions and are labelled separately for that reason.
Break-even appreciation, 5 year hold
11.6%a year, only to get the money back
This library projects
+2.1%a year
The projection falls 9.5 points a year short of the hurdle. On these assumptions this car is a cost, not an asset, which can be an entirely rational thing to buy but should be bought knowing it.
Purchase$82,000
Stamp duty$3,280
Running costs x 5 years$48,750
Selling cost at exit, 5.5% of the salescales with price
Sale price needed at +5 years$141,812
Storage
Bought at
No forecast is used to compute the hurdle. It is the purchase, the duty, any premium and 5 years of running cost, grossed up for the cost of selling and spread back over the hold. The projection it is measured against is the weakest number in this product and is drawn that way in the chart above. Transport, finance and any restoration spend sit outside it.

Specification

Engine3.0L NA Busso V6
Power / torque154 kW / 245 Nm
0-100 km/h7 s
Transmission5sp manual
DriveRWD
Kerb weight1,256 kg
Built worldwide1,036
Delivered to Australia6
Effective AU survivors6
Australian sales / year1
Typical days on market180 days
Launch priceNot established

What moves the price on this model

Colour hierarchy
Rosso Alfa (the standard colour)0%
Black (one car)+25%
Options
Documented Australian compliance+12%
Original Zagato build documentation+10%
Matching-numbers Busso V6+15%
Odometer sensitivity±2.6% per 10,000 km vs 25,000 km
Applied on top of these

Condition, history, originality, ownership, delivery and modification multipliers apply to every car in the library. They are applied automatically when an advertisement is analysed, and the schedule is set out once, on the analyser page.

Projected value in five years

Projected value at five years
$90,781
+10.7% on today
The model's figure. Today it is $82,000.
Even odds it lands between $71,418 and $123,053.
$53,969 lowhigh $152,135
The shaded range is even money and 72% wide; the outer figures bound eight outcomes in ten. Band width follows the evidence - a model with a tight measured record carries a tight band.
A stronger five year outlook than 60% of the library.
-26.6% weakest projected move in the librarystrongest +73.1%
Five-year cost of ownership
Value change alone: +$8,781 across five years.
Running costs over the same period: $48,750.
Duty and expected selling costs: $7,780.
Net cost of five years of ownership: $47,750, or $9,550 a year.
The projected value rise offsets part of the running cost. It does not make the car free to own.

The case for and against

The case for

1,036 built, a Zagato-designed composite body, and a drivetrain shared with nothing in volume production. An estimated six in Australia. European values have risen steadily for a decade as the car's significance became clear, and the one Australian result shows how little of that travels here.

The case against

Left-hand drive only, so every Australian car is an import and the buyer pool is narrower again than the six-car population suggests. One sale a year at best and the longest expected time on market in this library. Composite body panels are effectively unobtainable. The single Australian result, $77,000 in October 2024 for a documented and freshly serviced numbered car, sits 38 per cent below what this record was carrying and 56 per cent below what it carried a year ago - the gap between European appreciation and an Australian left-hand-drive import market, measured.

Known faults and risks

Risk 1Left-hand drive only; the Australian buyer pool is very narrow
Risk 2Composite body panels are effectively unobtainable
Risk 3One Australian transaction only, and it landed 38 per cent under the carried value
Composite panel repair$12,000
Busso V6 timing belt service$2,600
Transaxle rebuild$9,000

Similar cars, and what they cost to run

Evidence behind this valueThin · 1 recorded sale
Carried value
$82,000
Historical price
2016 · $72,0002026 · $82,000
Thin
At least one recorded transaction plus a source. Direction is sound, the exact level less so.
An Australian auction result exists and it is 38 per cent below what this record was carrying

$77,000 at Helensvale QLD on 8 October 2024. Build number 514 of 1,036, confirmed by the console plaque and the accompanying certificate of authenticity, 54,650 kilometres indicated, originally delivered to the UK in 1992, then many years in Japan, then imported to Australia in 2023. A major service by Revolution Automotive in July 2024 at 54,350 kilometres included a mechanical refresh of engine and gearbox with new seals, mounts and radiator, and a folder of Japanese invoices runs back to 2013. This is a documented, freshly serviced, numbered car - not a distressed one.

Read the rest of the evidence notes (6 more)
The arithmetic

At 54,650 kilometres against the 25,000 this record expects and 2.6 per cent per 10,000, the odometer adjustment is minus 7.7 per cent, so the sale normalises to about $83,400.

The value moves $125,000 to $82,000
This record predicted its own correction and should be read that way

The bear case already said the value rested on European appreciation this library does not convert, and the entry had already been cut once, from $185,000 to $125,000, on the strength of a dealer ASK of $134,990 - on the reasoning that an ask below the carried value is near-decisive. It was decisive; it was just not decisive enough. The full move from $185,000 to $82,000 is 56 per cent, and every step of it came from replacing European inference with Australian evidence.

The Structural reason is unchanged and is the point of this entry

THE SZ WAS BUILT IN LEFT-HAND DRIVE ONLY. Alfa Romeo never made a right-hand-drive car, so every Australian example is a private import into a market that overwhelmingly buys right-hand drive. European values do not travel.

What is established

1,036 SZ coupes built between 1989 and 1991, alongside 278 RZ roadsters. A Zagato-designed and Zagato-built composite body over Alfa 75 running gear - the Busso V6 and a rear transaxle. An estimated six cars in Australia, and that figure is inferred, not sourced.

One sale a year at best,

And an estimated 180 days on market, the longest in this library.

This page prices the model.
The report prices the car in the advertisement.

Send the link. A person reads the advertisement and its photographs and sends back what that Alfa Romeo SZ Zagato is worth, what to offer and when to walk away, with five years of costs at the distance you drive.

Read a real listing report

The evidence on this model is thin and the report says so on its cover. Read a complete one on a real car first. Seventeen sections, no account, nothing to pay.

This model, today$82,000
Half of sales are further out than$9,167
The report$249
37×
the price of the report: what half of real sales of this model sit further from this page's number than, on this car
Watch this model
Told when the next one is called.

One line of email when this desk publishes a call on a Alfa Romeo SZ Zagato, or records a new Australian sale of one. Nothing else, no schedule, and on a quiet model you may hear nothing for months, which is itself worth knowing about a car you are chasing.

Free. One address, one model, and no account.
SZ for sale?Priced by a person, $249