Cars are an investment, honest!

[jdwoodbury]

Ok so we known unless you are very astute you are not going to make money on cars if they are your passion rather than your career, but in an argument I had with my wife I did seem to convince her that it was an acceptable investment mechanism...and I though I would share my logic with you in case of such as discussion with your partners

Very rarely have I ever made money on cars and in the main the overall loss has not been insignificant, I sold my latest vehicle and my loss was £1500 in just over 2 years, which I am happy with considering the 10,000 miles of motoring enjoyment it provided me. The vehicle was sold to make way for a pending house purchase, my wife was annoyed as she felt the money could have been saved 2 years ago and we would be better off now...she has a point I suppose!

I looked at the situation from a very different position however, claiming that I could never have the willpower to commit that much to savings without any tangible return during the savings period, for me "investing" my capital in an asset was the sensible choice (assuming depreciation was not too harsh) as it provides me with the motivation I need. So after 2 years I have 10k in the bank, yes it could have been 12k but to be honest I enjoyed my short term "investment" opportunity and that 2k loss easily reconciled in my mind...and in all likelihood I would just have found another way to spend the money earmarked for savings, and be left with far less of a savings pot than I do today.

So in some way my reverse petrol head logic worked its charm, my next endeavour is to convince the wife that a 5yr old 997 C2S offers an equally secure investment potential...wish me luck

[BarnatosGhost]

Just restrict yourself to choosing one of the 2% of cars that are appreciating.

It's not too tough a restriction, after all they're not appreciating because they're horrible...

[mnkiboy]

BarnatosGhost said:

Just restrict yourself to choosing one of the 2% of cars that are appreciating.

It's not too tough a restriction, after all they're not appreciating because they're horrible...

Are there any affordable cars in this list, or are we restricted to 100 year old Rolls Royce's?

edit: oh hang on i've just found another thread asking pretty much the same question.

Edited by mnkiboy on Tuesday 25th January 13:07

[Garlick]

Making money after buying a car? New concept to me.....

[Risotto]

Any car can make you money - all you have to do is pay the right price for it. If you have cash waiting and are prepared to travel long distances at the drop of a hat; you can be the first to view a bargain (i.e. a good car at a cheap price, not a bad car at a realistic price). There's always someone desperate to fund a house purchase or who has a baby on the way. As long as you don't keep the car too long, there's every chance you can sell it on for what you paid, sometimes a little more.

The downside is that in order to secure that first viewing, you have to obsessively scan the classifieds, so it helps if you have a make/model in mind.

Edited by Risotto on Tuesday 25th January 13:11

[McSam]

I very much like the logic - the point isn't whether or not the car makes you money, but that it stops you spending the money on something else that cannot give you as good a return if you sell it again. The car might lose you £2k out of the £12k you paid for it, but I'm damn certain I would spend more than £2k if I had twelve sitting doing nothing

My version is something like the fact that my car, which I paid just under a grand for and is probably still worth roughly the same, might sell for a couple of hundred quid less than it cost me. But I didn't have the money sitting in my account begging to be spent, so I'll come out with £8-900 that I haven't missed much because I enjoyed the car, and would almost certainly never have held on to if it wasn't tied up in some useful asset.

So I can see how this can work

[Xeno]

Bought a 4200GT for £17000, put 8,000 miles on it and sold it for £17,500.
Bought a Pheaton for £9,600, put 10,000 miles on it and sold it for £11,000.
It is, as posted above, about buying at the right price.

[jdwoodbury]

McSam said:

I very much like the logic - the point isn't whether or not the car makes you money, but that it stops you spending the money on something else that cannot give you as good a return if you sell it again. The car might lose you £2k out of the £12k you paid for it, but I'm damn certain I would spend more than £2k if I had twelve sitting doing nothing

My version is something like the fact that my car, which I paid just under a grand for and is probably still worth roughly the same, might sell for a couple of hundred quid less than it cost me. But I didn't have the money sitting in my account begging to be spent, so I'll come out with £8-900 that I haven't missed much because I enjoyed the car, and would almost certainly never have held on to if it wasn't tied up in some useful asset.

So I can see how this can work

This is it, justifcation for an addiction

[BarnatosGhost]

mnkiboy said:

BarnatosGhost said:

Just restrict yourself to choosing one of the 2% of cars that are appreciating.

It's not too tough a restriction, after all they're not appreciating because they're horrible...

Are there any affordable cars in this list, or are we restricted to 100 year old Rolls Royce's?

edit: oh hang on i've just found another thread asking pretty much the same question.

Edited by mnkiboy on Tuesday 25th January 13:07

Once a generation enters its 30's (or 40's for exotics, due to higher starting prices) the cars that those guys lusted-after as children climb in value, because now they can afford them as a 3rd car, purely for enjoyment.

I'm in my 30's. The cars I wanted as a kid were an e30 M3, a MkI Golf GTi, Fiesta and Escort RS Turbo (yes, I know), a Mercedes 190 2.3-16 and E500, an Audi Quattro and S2, a Peugeot 205GTi, a 405 Mi6, a Renault 5 Turbo, Sierra Cosworth, Lancia Delta.

I could have bought any of these when I was 25 for half what they're now worth, but I couldn't afford it. Now my whole generation are squabbling over them and they've become valuable again.

My advice for the next generation: BMW Z3 Coupe, Lotus Elise, that nutter Clio, Ferrari F355 and 456. Maserati 3200. Aston Martin DB7. Late Jaguar XJS. Volvo T5 Estates. Civic Type R. Corrado VR6. Evos and Imprezas. Anything that caught attention when new and had a following. They'll become naff for a decade, then they'll be back as middle-aged family men start to feel old.

The best Mercedes C36 and E55, BMW E36 M3 and E39 M5, if well-kept, won't get any cheaper. Lots are being lost to rust, crashes and electronic maladies, and they're falling into the wrong hands. Those that survive will be prized in 10 years.

[sawman]

I guess the trick is to buy something that has already fallen to the bottom of the typical price range. Typically sought after cars get to a certain level and then assuming they are maintained will hold that value, and possibly appreciate as and when there is a demand.

[BarnatosGhost]

Yup.

Look at the richest, luckiest generation in history - the US baby-boomers.

The cars that were on the posters on their walls when they were teenagers - American domestic muscle-cars of the 60's and early 70's - are now regularly changing hands for over $1m. Just normal cars with big engines, not exotics.

These guys now have all the money and want to own what they wanted when they were penniless kids with dreams. Chargers and Roadrunners that were out in the cold in the 80's are now worth 10, 20, 50 times what they were once available for. Madness.

[FamilyDub]

At a recent Glasgow meet one chap who owns a Landie was offered part-ex of £5.5k for his '04 plate in the summer.

He was offered £9k in the middle of December in the crazy weather up here.

We all said, he should have bitten their hand off and bought a rag top for six months and sell for top dollar