Investment pondering - Jap Orientated

[williamtjones]

What up party peeps! I have saved up give or take £12,000 and I would like to invest in a solid car to 'hopefully' bring me a future return. I finally have garage space available to treat her nicely but each time i scrap the idea of one car, another one pops into my mind so i would like to open this up to see if you lot have any ideas or reactions to this fun ultimatum

As the market has already had a big bang in the last few years, a lot of personal icons i once grew up drooling over are out of reach. Not to say i am only interested in Jap cars (this is an open forum baby!) but it would be nice to have some fun whilst also considering a physical financial investment People are talking about things like the Rover 75 & Citroen C3 but quite frankly i don't want these in my garage

The three i currently have are as follows, any advice or alternatives welcome
Honda Integra UKDM DC2
Honda S2000
Mitsubishi Evo V

I'm looking forward to this Thanks all

[MyVTECGoesBwaaah]

Integra DC5 or Civic FD2 also good options I would think, may just get in with that budget?

[liner33]

Evo 5 would be a good way to turn £12k into £6k after maintenance costs and corrosion repairs

[Jaybmw]

There's something wrong with people over here ( ireland ) but the AE86 goes for silly money. Regardless of my thinking over the car they seem solid investment wise if you can source a cheap one

[designforlife]

DC5 or FD2 should definitely be on the list.

£10k will net you a pretty much immaculate pre-facelift DC5 (wouldn't let mine go for less than this and it's on 70k), very clean low mileage facelifts can be had for £11k+. Bought mine a year and a bit ago for 9k, prices are rising nicely.

FD2s seem to start at around £13k and will absolutely increase in value.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say take a close look at RX-7's they're on the move & you may even be late to those.

[aka_kerrly]

What about the more forgotten Jap cars of the era....

Nissan Zed cars - not just the 300ZX but previous generations after the 240Z
Mitsubishi 3000GTO
Lexus Soarer - still a very cut price Supra in my opinion.

[Integroo]

I'm no expert, but is the problem that some of the above (DC5, FD2 etc.) are already pretty expensive for what they are? Surely money is to be made by buying cars that are currently relatively inexpensive for what they are and will rise over time.

[designforlife]

Integroo said:

I'm no expert, but is the problem that some of the above (DC5, FD2 etc.) are already pretty expensive for what they are? Surely money is to be made by buying cars that are currently relatively inexpensive for what they are and will rise over time.

ideally you buy at the bottom of the curve, and hope it'll rise.

350z is a prime example of something decent which has hit rock bottom prices wise, and may rise in time.

The fast hondas are more of a current safe bet, you know you won't lose money, and you stand to make a few grand if you hold onto it long enough...and they'll keep gradually rising.

Expecting to double your money or something probably isn't realistic, but in this day and age, something depreciation resistant is almost as good as an investment in terms of car buying and use.

DC5s have never really dipped below £6k even when they were cheaper...same with FD2s, i don't think they ever dropped below £10k.

When you consider both these cars were only in the mid 20s brand new, that's some very very solid value.

[Integroo]

I wonder about Mk1/2 MR2's - if you can find one that isn't rotten.

[anonymous-user]

Always fancied Nissan Pulsar GTi-R but again trying to find a straight one tht has not been tuned to it's death might be hard.

A few others

Subaru Turbo 2000 UK

Subaru Impreza P1

Nissan 200 SX

[culpz]

Integroo said:

I'm no expert, but is the problem that some of the above (DC5, FD2 etc.) are already pretty expensive for what they are? Surely money is to be made by buying cars that are currently relatively inexpensive for what they are and will rise over time.

Yes, but it's all guesswork as to which cars will rise over time, that can be bought for a relatively low amount of money right now.. Buying any of those examples above, expensive or not, are almost guaranteed to continue to rise in value, making them a given for a sound investment.

[designforlife]

culpz said:

Integroo said:

I'm no expert, but is the problem that some of the above (DC5, FD2 etc.) are already pretty expensive for what they are? Surely money is to be made by buying cars that are currently relatively inexpensive for what they are and will rise over time.

Yes, but it's all guesswork as to which cars will rise over time, that can be bought for a relatively low amount of money right now.. Buying any of those examples above, expensive or not, are almost guaranteed to continue to rise in value, making them a given for a sound investment.

culpz has it in one.

[nunpuncher]

A car at this level can rarely be called an investment. Cars at this level don't suddenly become worth a fortune and if they do increase at a rate that offsets the cost of insurance, tax, maintenance etc it's usually only the very low mile immaculate ones that command top dollar and they only manage that by not being enjoyed.

If you've always wanted a specific Jap hero car then just buy that car with only one eye on the possibility of any return. At best hope for it to cost you nothing to own. Although my experience of Japanese cars is that they tend not to last many UK winters and usually have turbo bits that have invariably been fiddled with by someone who didn't know what they were doing.

[nunpuncher]

culpz said:

Yes, but it's all guesswork as to which cars will rise over time, that can be bought for a relatively low amount of money right now.. Buying any of those examples above, expensive or not, are almost guaranteed to continue to rise in value, making them a given for a sound investment.

You can try to make an educated guess though.

Buy something that loads of 18-22 years old were either buying or lusting after 15 or so years ago. Because when they all hit late 30s/early 40s they'll be looking for that car they always wanted that will let them relive their youth. Even better if in that time gap loads of those cars have been killed by rust, engine failure or crashed making them rarer. The thing going against the DC5 and the FD2 is the grey import nature (not many people ever had them so not really nostalgic) and the fact Hondas never die. The EP3 is probably more nostalgic for that generation. But again, I don't think a single one has ever broken down or died so still loads about.

Maybe fill a barn with EP3s and leave it 30 years for a good return on your investment.