Quote:
Originally Posted by pennsiveguy
At a certain point in the car's value cycle, you hit a point where you have to pick between driving it, and having it retain value. Collectible cars are mileage-sensitive, some more than others; among the collectible Italian exotics they cost $2-3 per mile in lost value, in addition to all the other costs you incur while owning one. If something non-trivial breaks when you're driving it? Well, there goes 3-4 years' worth of "interest" from your investment. And then there's insurance, and...you get the idea.
My advice? Own cars you love to drive and can afford to own. If you get lucky and one of them becomes highly sought-after and you can take advantage of that, that's a bonus. I happen to have lucked-out a couple times, but most cars I've owned have been grin-generating money pits.
I like to think of things in terms of dollars per hour, maybe since that's how I get paid. If I pay $1 for a can opener and use it once for thirty seconds, that's $120/hour. If I buy a car for $100K and drive it 500 hours in 5 years and sell it for $80K, that's $40/hour. A better value.
Which tells me that I NEED TO TRADE ALL MY CAN OPENERS FOR CARS!!!  |
You make excellent points. I have been lucky with my "toys" and sold a few for more than I paid, I've owned a few others that have maintained their value and a few others have lost value. But your points on the maintenance are valid and I suspect that much of this conversation hasn't factored in insurance, fuel, maintenance and repairs. My current toy, a 993 has gone up in value since I bought it, I've spent $2K or so on insurance and probably $3+ K in maintenance. I just ordered a set of RH Techart rims for $2K and just installed a Becker refurbished and updated stereo for $1000......so have I made money? Well if I sold it and didn't factor in anything other than purchase and sale price then maybe.