$5M to invest in classics for long term..

[Penguinracer]

I think he'll find that older is better - as there is a sense of romance & nostalgia around the '50's & 60's. Top cars of this period can provide enough performance to be interesting to drive, look beautiful & often have have an association with Hollywood films of the "Golden Era" - which again impacts values.

Enzos & Carrera GTs are of such massive performance with race-related electronic technology that their appeal may be limited to anyone other than a dedicated petrol head who has a strong interest in trackdays and racing.

I also believe that a smaller number of rarer high value cars will be a better "investment" than trying to buy cheaper more modern stuff & sitting on it longer in the hope of better ROI.

Life's too short to wait 30 years for something to go up in value - that's half of your adult lifetime if you're fortunate enough to live into your mid-80's, not something any should assume or expect.

I'd look at:

Ferrari 275GTB/4 cam
Lamborghini 350GT
Aston DB2 III roadster
Aston DB4GT
WO Bentleys (provenance is king with these!)
Dusenberg SSJ
XK SS

[Chunkychucky]

I would have just tried to find a Porsche 917/K for the $5m, but in line with what you already have, perhaps an F40 might be worth a look? Then if you want a 60's Ferrari IMO a 250 Lusso will probably be a decent investment purchase

[GreatGranny]

Aston Martin V8 Vantage?

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C447005

1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint?

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C383261#

[T70RPM]

289 Cobra
Going up by roughly 100K P.A. at the moment.
Anything with bulletproof period competition history
Race winning cars with famous drivers
Anything Clark, Hawthorn, Whitmore drove etc etc

[CO2000]

Not exotic but potentially very profitable...Buy up all available Mk1 & Mk2 Escorts over a year or 2 then sit on them, watch the market take off (as basically controlling it) even more and double his money in 5-10 years as they are drip fed sold - simple He'd need a big shed though!

[mph]

If they're purely for investment and he's not likely to drive them I'd stick to buying one or two cars only.

Anything with a racing pedigree or one of the blue chip Ferraris.

Blower Bentley, D type Jag .... whatever

[thegreenhell]

RichB said:

ETA just read that these are going to sit in storage in Germany so forget everything I said about trying to tempt him into using the cars, indeed forget everything I said. Get a shed full of Ferraris...

Exactly. As these are cars are effectively going to sit somewhere, undriven, unseen by public, and unavailable for anyone else to buy for many many years, we shouldn't be encouraging him to buy the rarest and most exotic cars and take them out of circulation. Leave those for a genuine enthusiast who will actually use them, and allow others to get enjoyment from seeing them being used.

[DonkeyApple]

thegreenhell said:

Exactly. As these are cars are effectively going to sit somewhere, undriven, unseen by public, and unavailable for anyone else to buy for many many years, we shouldn't be encouraging him to buy the rarest and most exotic cars and take them out of circulation. Leave those for a genuine enthusiast who will actually use them, and allow others to get enjoyment from seeing them being used.

It makes more sense to encourage the concept of buying up every AM Cygnet and cornering the market.

[TooMany2cvs]

DonkeyApple said:

It makes more sense to encourage the concept of buying up every AM Cygnet and cornering the market.

If you're going to manipulate the laws of supply & demand, by controlling the supply, there has to be some demand...

[RichB]

I'm sure we could work up a case for doing it!

[lowdrag]

Personally I'd go a tad further back and look at this. The prices have risen sharply over the years and they were made in limited quantity - about the same number as the 250 GTO IIRC. A truly thoroughbred and usable classic.

http://www.fiskens.com/pages/showroom/model.aspx?p...

[RichB]

How much would a "Low chassis" be going for these days Tony?

[SprintSpeciale]

As others have said, investing in cars when you don't have any interest in cars is probably a bad idea. They have performed well as an asset class in the recent past, as have other so-called "collectibles", but that is arguably because of the combination of (i) historically low interest rates and (ii) a prolonged recession in the western economy. People have had money to invest, but it has been very difficult to find yield. We seem to be reaching a turning point in relation to both (i) and (ii), and it will be interesting to see whether the collectibles boom will survive that.

Having said that, I have myself "invested" some of my money in metal. The difference is I love old cars and do (and will continue to) use them and get a lot of pleasure out of that.

I recently bought a Maserati 3500GT to restore, having previously restored an Alfa Sprint Speciale. Both were in shocking condition when I acquired them, and needed 18 months or so of work. Bringing them back to life is a real pleasure in itself - and it looks like I could sell the Alfa today for more than the combined cost of buying and restoring it, so lucky me. But I have no intention of selling it, because I love driving it.

I thought long and hard about what to get after the Alfa, and the Maserati seemed like a good long-term bet. At the time it was made, Maserati had a fantastic reputation in motor sport; the car was more expensive than contemporary metal from Ferrari and Aston Martin; and to my mind it looks great. The current prices are a fraction of the comparable contemporary cars. Maserati has set up a Classiche department (who were very helpful and accessible when I was buying my car), and is working hard to exploit the "heritage" card - not least through the centenary celebrations this year. All of this makes me thing that the car is a decent long-term punt - but all along, my approach has been "which of the cars that I want to own and drive am I willing to sink some cash in". If I wasn't going to enjoy the ownership and driving experience, there's no way I would be investing!

[TooMany2cvs]

SprintSpeciale said:

They have performed well as an asset class in the recent past

When you take the storage and maintenance costs into account, have they? Sure, _some_ have. But they're definitely the exception.

[lowdrag]

RichB said:

How much would a "Low chassis" be going for these days Tony?

Sadly about three or four times the value of my XKSS Rich. It won't be long before they are nudging the one million mark in my view, but at the moment a mere £700,000 should get you a nice one. One of the truly iconic pre-war cars, and what to me is astounding is that they only stand as high as a GT40.

[SprintSpeciale]

Some good advice towards the end of this article:

http://www.wealthdaily.com/articles/investing-in-c...

[lowdrag]

I am combining two threads here, one about cars that have aged gracefully and those that are of investment potential - if such a car exists. I well remember my Ferrari days (well actually I bought in 1992 when the market had crashed) and a club member who got into difficulty because he lived like the millionaire he was - until the market crashed.

A slight question on cars such as the Z4 coupé and other moderns which may well, or on the other hand may not, prove to be investments. Will the electronic boxes be available when the cars come to be revived from their slumber in the future? I mean, it's my domain but I know that one can build an E-type from scratch, everything being available should one desire. Mercedes have a long tradition of providing support, but not so much BMW for example, and as regards Alfa, I'd be surprised if they do support even 10 year old cars. I think that any proposition must be either old enough or rare enough (Z8 is a good example) that support will be there. On that basis, and perhaps I am wrong, I'd discount the Z4M from any list. The 406 coupé has been mentioned and for sure it is a very pretty car and I love it, but with the best will in the world it is a rotbox Peugeot of mass production. Will panels and parts be available? Maybe we should select a Rover 75 on the basis that since they went bust and part supplies dried up survivors are rare and rose-tinted specs will prevail in the future? I know these cars are way below the price threshold of the OP, but a price tag doesn't necessarily imply investment quality. That's why I mentioned the Invicta Low Chassis for example - rare and much sought after, and has been for many years through thick and thin.

A provocative argument for sure, and I'd love to see your thoughts.

[DonkeyApple]

lowdrag said:

I am combining two threads here, one about cars that have aged gracefully and those that are of investment potential - if such a car exists. I well remember my Ferrari days (well actually I bought in 1992 when the market had crashed) and a club member who got into difficulty because he lived like the millionaire he was - until the market crashed.

A slight question on cars such as the Z4 coupé and other moderns which may well, or on the other hand may not, prove to be investments. Will the electronic boxes be available when the cars come to be revived from their slumber in the future? I mean, it's my domain but I know that one can build an E-type from scratch, everything being available should one desire. Mercedes have a long tradition of providing support, but not so much BMW for example, and as regards Alfa, I'd be surprised if they do support even 10 year old cars. I think that any proposition must be either old enough or rare enough (Z8 is a good example) that support will be there. On that basis, and perhaps I am wrong, I'd discount the Z4M from any list. The 406 coupé has been mentioned and for sure it is a very pretty car and I love it, but with the best will in the world it is a rotbox Peugeot of mass production. Will panels and parts be available? Maybe we should select a Rover 75 on the basis that since they went bust and part supplies dried up survivors are rare and rose-tinted specs will prevail in the future? I know these cars are way below the price threshold of the OP, but a price tag doesn't necessarily imply investment quality. That's why I mentioned the Invicta Low Chassis for example - rare and much sought after, and has been for many years through thick and thin.

A provocative argument for sure, and I'd love to see your thoughts.

I'd say that there are two concerns over modern 'classics'. Firstly the disconnect between the road cars and the race cars which today tend to have body panels that look similar but underneath have nothing in common so you lose the race car effect that is behind many a price rise.

Secondly, all the modern electronics and the cost of maintaining them. You see a bit of this in the classic F1 arena where some great cars are left off the grid because of the huge expertise and cost re the electronics. You also see this I think in the falls in cas like the Veyron.

It'll be interesting to see how the market evolves to solve this over the next twenty years. Right now, buyers are avoiding this area so enormous sums are concentrating in a narrow periodic window.

Add in the debt collateralisation, wealth protection and cash transporting use of the classic car asset that has evolved in the last 7 years and you could also fce a most massive implosion as some debt obligations fail to be met.

[wattsm666]

One of these

http://www.frankdale.com/3-not-for-sale/30/1954-be...

[KrazyIvan]

Do they have to be road cars? if not, how about a Michael Schumacher F1 car. Regardless of what many may think of him, he IS one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time, and I can hardly see any car run by him losing money in the long term.

A quick call to Ferrari should see him with one in a few months.

5th gear showed a guy doing exactly this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXanWA1U7aE