Investment/Speculative Cars

[screwloose]

Hi, I know this has been covered an awful lot in the past but in search of a bang up to date answer what fun cars/modern classics would you be investing in for a medium turn gain (or indeed break even after running costs) as experienced by the likes of:
E30 M3s
Porsche 964s (esp RSs)
Porsche 993 turbo and RS
70s Porsches
Mk1&2 Escorts
to name but a few.

My thoughts have thus far been along the lines of:
E46 M3 CSL (sub 30k miles)
Mk1 or Mk2 996 Porsche GT3
996 GT3 RS
Ferrari 355

Any more ideas/suggestions? Where would your money be going? Budget up to and around £60k.

The car would be used as a weekend toy so mileage/wear would be minimal.

Thanks

[rallycross]

944 turbo SE/S
968 club sport
Integrale (shocked how much these have gone up in the past 5 yrs)
3 door Cosworth Sierra

Esprit Turbo and V8 model
E28 M5/ E34 M5
635 M Csi 24v
Capri V6
3.0 Csl/Csi
E21 323i

E46 CSL
NSX manual

[screwloose]

doogz said:

I couldn't look at it like that.

If I was spending that on a car, it'd be the one I wanted most, not the one that made the best long term financial sense.

Hi Doogz, in response to your comment the cars I listed as ideas are all cars I've lusted after for some time. With that in mind a final choice would be heavily influenced by my feelings for the car. It would not be a soulless purchase based purely on financials I can assure you.

[RWD cossie wil]

F40 & Carerra GT are both rising steadily..

[cymtriks]

TVR.

There will never be another small independent marque that does so much inhouse. There will never be another car like the Tuscan or Cerbera.

They are well known enough, exotic enough and exciting enough to be worth considering.

[screwloose]

Couple more possibilities:
Clio V6 mk1 or 2
E39 M5

[chevy-stu]

Sagaris

[Bing o]

cymtriks said:

TVR.

There will never be another small independent marque that does so much inhouse. There will never be another car like the Tuscan or Cerbera.

They are well known enough, exotic enough and exciting enough to be worth considering.

Close the thread. You could release the TVR range as new today and they'd still look futuristic.

[Pig Skill]

Bing o said:

cymtriks said:

TVR.

There will never be another small independent marque that does so much inhouse. There will never be another car like the Tuscan or Cerbera.

They are well known enough, exotic enough and exciting enough to be worth considering.

Close the thread. You could release the TVR range as new today and they'd still look futuristic.

.

Did you read the bit about the op including running costs into his speculation? TVR's are a wallet Hoover when they are running well. A family breaker when not.

I would avoid a TVR as an investment like a small child in the road.

Has sir considered a Z3 M Coupe? Strong residuals and strong car.

[dudleybloke]

lotus carltons are creeping up in price.

[Six Fiend]

E34 M5 is worth a shout, especially the 3.8. 6-speed 540 is already rare and a fine car.

Capri V6 as someone else mentioned.

These are both on my list

[DJRC]

Pig Skill said:

Did you read the bit about the op including running costs into his speculation? TVR's are a wallet Hoover when they are running well. A family breaker when not.

Not really. Most of the non chassis related issues are relatively simple fixes, upgrading the electrics etc and relatively cheap. The chassis issues such as replacing the outriggers is a "do it once right and dont do it again" job.

Once sorted a Tiv is usually fairly reasonable, even cheap to run.

[dvs_dave]

Pig Skill said:

Did you read the bit about the op including running costs into his speculation? TVR's are a wallet Hoover when they are running well. A family breaker when not.

I would avoid a TVR as an investment like a small child in the road.

I take it that you've come to that conclusion from experience? And if so it must have been an unfortunate one.

TVR's are WAAAAAAY cheaper to run and nowadays more reliable than anything else from the same era with similar performance.

The Sagaris is flying up in value, and virtually all others are on the up

[S3_Graham]

i'd give Ferrari Testarossa a shout. 360's are still on the tumble but will go up eventually. Also almost any 80's ferrari seems to be creeping up. 308's etc.

As per the PH article i think Diablo's are on the cusp of greatness and will only go one way!

[Pat H]

rallycross said:

Esprit Turbo and V8 model

I own an old Esprit.

I like to think that it is creeping up in value.

But the only way any increase would outstrip maintenance costs would be if I never used it and didn't bother to have it serviced.

The only real advantages to something like an old Esprit or Ferrari 308 is that you can get cheap classic insurance, they are relatively amenable to DIY servicing and that you never suffer any depreciation.

As a result, they are an awful lot cheaper to live with than any new exotic car.

They are also much more interesting than a modern car, they are more fun to drive, cheaper to buy and are an expression of taste rather than a vulgar statement of wealth.

But unless you are a car dealer, you certainly won't make any money out of them.

I would suggest that a plain old 2CV, a Series Land Rover or a Mini would be a better bet. A monkey with a mallet can service them for nothing and there is never a risk of ruinous expense.

[Gad-Westy]

Pig Skill said:

Has sir considered a Z3 M Coupe? Strong residuals and strong car.

This is the sort of thing I'd put my money in. Unique, built in small numbers and always likely to have a keen following. It seems to me that when manufacturers do something a bit mad, nobody wants to know about it but a few years down the line suddenly everybody wants a piece of the action.

So my list right now would be:

Z3 MC
Clio V6 phase 1
Lotus Exige S1 or maybe a 340R

Erm, struggling to think of others that follow this philosophy. Maybe something like a Ferrari 360 CS but they're still very strong money so I think you could be waiting a while.

Edited by Gad-Westy on Wednesday 20th July 08:14

[SuperHangOn]

Six Fiend said:

Capri V6 as someone else mentioned.

They have been rocketing in price despite the recession. Plus won't bankrupt the owner like the Trevors/M's/exotica.

[Bonefish Blues]

Every single good W124 cab/coupe you can find. Should get several for 60K.

[Pig Skill]

DJRC said:

Pig Skill said:

Did you read the bit about the op including running costs into his speculation? TVR's are a wallet Hoover when they are running well. A family breaker when not.

Not really. Most of the non chassis related issues are relatively simple fixes, upgrading the electrics etc and relatively cheap. The chassis issues such as replacing the outriggers is a "do it once right and dont do it again" job.

Once sorted a Tiv is usually fairly reasonable, even cheap to run.

What, like the speed six engine rebuild at 5k miles and countless tubes of evostick to refix trim? :-)
Look, I love all tvr's but as the wants a mid term return on his investment then they are not a dead cert IMHO.
I think a 996 turbo will hold on ok and maybe worth a look.....?

[Sharknose]

I think that BMW's E31 8er will be a good long termer - as long as you can find a decent one.
The best IMHO would be one of the few 840 Sports with the Spanish 'box.

Regarding E30 M3s, with a delivery miles Evo Sport selling for £80K recently one wonders where prices will top out!

E24 M635 CSi values are certainly on the up, with this concours Highline example selling for around £30K.

http://www.4starclassics.com/bmw-M635-CSi-Motorspo...

In Germany I have seen low mileage cars advertised for over €60K. According to a couple of marque specialists, M635 prices are expected to increase significantly over the next couple of years due to the renewed interest in them and the small number of really good examples on the market.

Any '80s or '90s Alpina, especially the E24, E28, E30, E31 or E34 models would be a sound investment, even LHD examples.
Buy the best you can find as they can be very expensive to restore.