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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Classic cars as investment


nolizma
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Hello!

 

Well as the title suggests, do you think investing on cars is a sensible thing to do?

You have to be no Einstein to know that spending money on cars is a great waste of money, but this is not always the case. There are some "classics" that have multiplied their value over the years.

Most (including me) would think that this is a privilege of the very wealthy and no simple folk can afford to gamble like that.

 

I am not rich, not even close. I am not English either, I am only living and working here for the past 1,5 year although I was studying in the UK for three years before that. I get by and can afford to run and take care of my na but thats as far as it gets.

Thing is it was always my dream to own a lot of cars and the idea of having a precious collection of cars really excites me, but still far far away from that.

 

So I came across a car that interests me a lot. It is for sale back at my hometown, Athens which I am visiting next week and I am planning to go see it. Back home I have a safe place to keep it but again, that's as far as it goes. Due to the situation there I think I can get the car in a very good price and also the exchange rate is pretty good atm.

I am 99% that this will be a valuable classic in the future, but of course it is not going to be cheap to maintain and that future might be quite distant. As I am living here now I am not that bothered about keeping the car in full working order and I am happy to just store it for the time being.

 

As I have never done anything similar in the past I decided to post this thread here hoping to get a bit more insight from any of you who did this in the past and just tell me if Im completely out of my mind.

 

Thanks in advance

Manos

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If you aren't going to be using it, you have somewhere safe to keep it, and it won't need to be moved, then it is pretty easy and cheap to prepare a car for long term storage. There are plenty of guides around, but basically it will be a course of inhibiting the shell and the mechanical components from any corrosion, internally and externally.

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Indeed a good investment but people only look at the prices that have risen, a well valued car is one that has been looked after and has had money spent onto it with an extensive history. This is what buyers are looking for.

 

If you can find such a car and ensure it is stored away in a good environment that doesn't perish any parts then worth pursuing.

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What is the car in question?

 

There are lots of cars that will appreciate in value due to rarity, condition, cult status etc. Supras, Ferraris, BMW M cars, NSX, R34 are generally pretty good, but they have to be a bit special to make serious money.

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What is the car in question?

 

There are lots of cars that will appreciate in value due to rarity, condition, cult status etc. Supras, Ferraris, BMW M cars, NSX, R34 are generally pretty good, but they have to be a bit special to make serious money.

 

Supra is a little ambitious ;) .... there are just too many! But if the newbies continue to crash them, that might change!

 

Subaru 22b has been holding steady for years

Old porsches are on the up massivley

Old mercs are on the up - specific ones

Old ferraris definitely

Not so classic, but holding well are the lotus Elise/Exige and the TVR Sagarius

 

My chancers are Mini Coopers, Ford Escorts (MK1 and MK2) and some of the classic Jap cars (240z, hakosuka, etc)

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Supra is a little ambitious ;) .... there are just too many! But if the newbies continue to crash them, that might change!

 

Are you sure? When I was first looking for a Supra back in 2006 you were spoilt for choice. There were hundreds for sale across here, Autotrader & Pistonheads - there was a good selection of decent examples in those as well. Now there are nowhere near that amount and decent examples are harder to come by. Then move to the importers like Jurgen, he has said before that Supra prices are going up and are getting hard to come by.

 

I remember looking at a very clean black UK TT6 for under £10k in 2006 with full extensive service history, how much would that be now?

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Are you sure? When I was first looking for a Supra back in 2006 you were spoilt for choice. There were hundreds for sale across here, Autotrader & Pistonheads - there was a good selection of decent examples in those as well. Now there are nowhere near that amount and decent examples are harder to come by. Then move to the importers like Jurgen, he has said before that Supra prices are going up and are getting hard to come by.

 

I remember looking at a very clean black UK TT6 for under £10k in 2006 with full extensive service history, how much would that be now?

 

+1

 

I used to lurk the classifieds back in the day when I was still a dreamer, always a fair few popping up, some really nice examples too.

 

Not much at all these days, they're only going to climb in value IMO, I think even stock auto TT's will be quite valuable in the future if left unmolested :)

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Looking into the future is what you need to be able to do with classic cars, who'd

have thought 20 + year old Range Rovers would be selling for what they are now.

 

Some i've seen have sold for what they cost when they were new in 1994/95 and in

theory as more of them rust to pieces the few good ones that are left will only increase

in value.

 

All i can suggest is do a lot of research on the car your looking at, are parts available to

keep it on the road or to restore it if required, custom made parts can cost lots of money

and then you lose the originality which wont help its value as far as the purists are concerned

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Thanks for all the replies guys!

 

I think I will go ahead and start looking into it more seriously.

There are so many cars considered classics these days and some of them are guaranteed profit due to their popularity but they also demand a bigger investment. The one I am looking at is of the other kind. Not really popular but was produced in small numbers and has a very good heritage. Its not going to break the bank to get it in the first place and after having it I can look into spending money on it later when things are better. Im 100% that parts prices are going to be ridiculously high for this car though.

 

Are there any sites online or any trustworthy sources to find information about older cars part availability? Google is not very helpful.

 

 

What you're saying about Supras going up in value, I agree! Also I believe the US market is going to affect that a lot. R34s and Supras are like unicorns over there and people seem to really like them and are prepared to spend some serious money to have them. Even my SRZ is going to go up in value! Wait and see ;)

 

Regarding cars that are going to be worth more in the not too distant future the Honda NSX looks like a very good investment if you have the moneys.

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Cars and old wine are two of the best places to put your money, but you need to know what you're doing! Understanding the market is crucial, and so is being ready to snap a car up immediately. You'll pay for the former, and you'll have to have faith in your own knowledge for the latter.

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r34gtr still holding strong money ,rare to find a stock one even with the release of the r35 prices did not move and wont move with the r36 release if you have a stock low mileage or a nur /vspec 2 I can only see prices going up

 

Especially the special editions! Z Tune, NUR, etc.

 

Old Porsche 70's 911 have tripled in value in ten years according to Quentin,he says the 80's ones will go the same way,also M5's and wild card was Mini 1275gt:)

 

70s 911s have gone silly!!! Rusty shells with no parts are going for 25k.... Mini is a wildcard on my list as well ;)

 

Decent Supras will hold a premium soon. It's just a matter of patience I suppose.

 

Thats optimistic.... there were no really special editions, etc. NSX, R34, etc have a better chance

 

I have a Subaru P1 with 35k on it fsh etc, I use it every now and then but should hold its value, or even increase, only around 400 left apparently :)

 

P1s are doing quite well, still the 22B is the 1 to have. But yours sounds rather nice, keep it clean :)

 

Are you sure? When I was first looking for a Supra back in 2006 you were spoilt for choice. There were hundreds for sale across here, Autotrader & Pistonheads - there was a good selection of decent examples in those as well. Now there are nowhere near that amount and decent examples are harder to come by. Then move to the importers like Jurgen, he has said before that Supra prices are going up and are getting hard to come by.

 

I remember looking at a very clean black UK TT6 for under £10k in 2006 with full extensive service history, how much would that be now?

 

Of course I am not sure, we are all guessing right now and sadly you guys are just a little biased ;)

 

Looking into the future is what you need to be able to do with classic cars, who'd

have thought 20 + year old Range Rovers would be selling for what they are now.

 

Some i've seen have sold for what they cost when they were new in 1994/95 and in

theory as more of them rust to pieces the few good ones that are left will only increase

in value.

 

All i can suggest is do a lot of research on the car your looking at, are parts available to

keep it on the road or to restore it if required, custom made parts can cost lots of money

and then you lose the originality which wont help its value as far as the purists are concerned

 

As this man says, you need a rather good crystal ball to get these things exactly right.

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Simple test. Was the car on kids' bedroom wall posters in the seventies and eighties? Yes? Probably an excellent investment *FOR THE SHORT TERM* Prices of iconic exotica are crazy high right now. Come a sea change in the financial market, (and despite what the politicians are trying to tell us about how were are on the up, our GDP is falling and borrowing increasing, as a nation), or the start of a war (not at all unlikely), your investment may drop in value overnight. It's probably a bit late to get on the bandwagon, with hindsight perhaps ten to fifteen years back a decent cash sum that might have bought a decent house could have bought a good few exotic motors, and the increase in value over the interim would have favoured the cars, by a good margin.

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  • 2 months later...

Thought I'd resurect this to hear your thoughts..

 

This didn't work out for me in the end.

Both because money is a bit tight but I also had second thoughts about this ending up as a very valuable classic. Just curious what you think..

 

Car was a Lancia 832

 

http://hooniverse.com/2014/12/19/hooniverse-obscure-muscle-car-garage-the-lancia-thema-8-32/

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Thought I'd resurect this to hear your thoughts..

 

This didn't work out for me in the end.

Both because money is a bit tight but I also had second thoughts about this ending up as a very valuable classic. Just curious what you think..

 

Car was a Lancia 832

 

http://hooniverse.com/2014/12/19/hooniverse-obscure-muscle-car-garage-the-lancia-thema-8-32/

 

 

I used to have one, it was a lemon years ago, with excrutiatingly bad electrics, shocking build quality and even then, when they were in production, spares were patchy. God knows what spares would be like now with no Lancia dealer network. The owners club were less than useless. The engine sounded nice but wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. I would say a Lancia Gamma Coupe, once engine issues were addressed (and most "issues" have been engineered out by enthusiastic owners) would be a better buy. Or a Monte Carlo. All are for the brave with a good tin basher available on minimum wages to patch up the holes :)

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I used to have one, it was a lemon years ago, with excrutiatingly bad electrics, shocking build quality and even then, when they were in production, spares were patchy. God knows what spares would be like now with no Lancia dealer network. The owners club were less than useless. The engine sounded nice but wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. I would say a Lancia Gamma Coupe, once engine issues were addressed (and most "issues" have been engineered out by enthusiastic owners) would be a better buy. Or a Monte Carlo. All are for the brave with a good tin basher available on minimum wages to patch up the holes :)

 

Awesome! After some more research I heard stories like these before which is one of the reasons I lost interest tbh, but never from an actual owner! Classic.

Where they at least any good to drive?

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