Collectable Cars In Your Portfolio

[GravitySucks]

I see the Beach Front Condo thread is quite active.
To further muddy the waters of the border between Lifestyles and Investments I'd like to hear of any adventures in investing in classic vehicles.
My own experience is I lost about $1,000 on a 1978 Airstream motor home and about broke even on a 1973 Ranchero. That's not including registration and insurance costs. I was lucky in not having to pay any storage fees. Both were more play thing purchases than investments, but I'm thinking of going in again at a bit of a higher end vehicle as a speculative investment.
Your experiences?

 

[CRLLS]

I tend to more mundane vehicles. I have had MG's and Triumphs over the years. If I get to use them for a few years and sell for about the same as what I have into them, I'm happy. I always purchase a lost-soul and coach it back to life. I enjoy that process. I currently am working on a '74 Cushman Truckster that is about finished. I have a '69 MGB-GT waiting in the wings to be brought back from the dead. Cars are meant to be driven not investments IMO.

Investment vehicles are a totally different arena than I am familiar with. Good luck in your choices. Even some of the "expert investors" lose occasionally. They make it up in volume.

 

[braumeister]

Based on the experience of a guy I know, the higher end the car, the better its appreciation will be, so I would say get the best you can afford, but look at the whole transaction (storage costs, refurbishment, maintenance, security, etc.).

My acquaintance owns extremely rare and valuable cars. They are worth far more than he paid for them, but they do cost him quite a lot just to store securely. Actually, he has no intention of selling them; he enjoys them too much (and keeps them all street legal).

 

[imoldernu]

Learning my lesson...
Sold my 1972 VW Westfalia Camper "Victoria von Volkswagen" for $900... and now see the same vehicle currently selling from $21K to $38K.

but... Will keep forever my 1996 Cadillac SLS... 'til they pry it from my cold dead hands.

 

[RunningBum]

I didn't buy it as an investment, but my 97 Miata seems to be starting to creep up in value, after years of slow depreciation.

 

[W2R]

For me, collectible cars are in the same category as high end antique jewelry or jewels like the Hope diamond.... something I do not want, do not own, and feel would be an utterly senseless, useless albatross dragging me down, nearly impossible to sell for what it is supposedly worth, and doing me no good whatsoever.

I know, I know... let me tell you what I REALLY think of collectible cars.

Whether correct or not, my perception is that the owners of collectible cars may be out of their minds, much wealthier than I am, or both. YMMV

That said, whenever we see an antique car parked by the side of the road, we pull aside and stop so that F can get out and look at it. Looking at them is free.

 

[CaliKid]

Learning my lesson...
Sold my 1972 VW Westfalia Camper "Victoria von Volkswagen" for $900...

High end V-dub vans go into the $75k+ range. They are extremely popular right now. I believe V-dub is bringing them back to the states in 2020 or 2021 perhaps.

 

[GravitySucks]

High end V-dub vans go into the $75k+ range. They are extremely popular right now. I believe V-dub is bringing them back to the states in 2020 or 2021 perhaps.

And there is the hard part of this type of 'investing'. Who would have thought these 70hp things would jump in value as they have?

I'm thinking GenX or Millienials will be driving up the price of 80s and 90scars as the boomers drive up muscle cars. Toyota Supras maybe?

 

[joeea]

Both were more play thing purchases than investments, but I'm thinking of going in again at a bit of a higher end vehicle as a speculative investment.
Your experiences?

I don't collect plaything vehicles.

In the early 70's I once collected a used 1964 VW Beetle. It was my first car.
I drove it every day until it was stolen.

 

[jazz4cash]

I have a hobby car that is NOT included in the portfolio. I never use car and investment in the same sentence...oops. They’re fun to own and drive but unless it’s something really special, knowing what will appreciate is a crap shoot. The market is very volatile also. I love to look and went to Barrett Jackson Scottsdale this year. Fortunately all the cars i could afford were sold on day 1 before I arrived.

 

[Bamaman]

I have a Jaguar XK8 convertible that sold new for $85k. You can buy'em right used with 50k miles. It is.Norman investment.

I.still kick myself for not buying a friend's Porsche 911 Targa during the Air Traffic Controller strike for $6,000.

 

[Car-Guy]

Lots of cars (and collectables) in my past. There is absolutely no doubt that I have spent a lot more on them than I'll ever get back in dollars. The difference is probably in the high 6 figure range in the past 20 years or so. But the memories are priceless, to me. I have sold off "most" of my collectable cars in just the past year but I'm keeping my high new performance vehicles.


I was never in it for the money. It was an enjoyable hobby (still is but it has evolved). I have made money on some collectables but overall, as mentioned above, it's been an expense.

 

[Texas Proud]

Saw this on the TV the other day... it was owned by someone from Microsoft... when asked which had a better return he said the car!!!


BTW, from what I understand he would drive it in races!!!

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for $48.4 million at RM Sotheby’s annual Monterey collector car sale — a world record for any car ever sold at auction.


Cars have sold for far more in private transactions than at public auctions. Another Ferrari 250 GTO, a 1963 model, recently privately sold for the widely reported price of $70 million.
​

https://cw39.com/2018/08/26/this-fe...le-car-ever-auctioned-it-sold-for-48-million/

 

[imoldernu]

High end V-dub vans go into the $75k+ range. They are extremely popular right now. I believe V-dub is bringing them back to the states in 2020 or 2021 perhaps.

A little off topic, but the memories... OMG... Bought "Victoria" in 1979 for $1400 when we moved to the Chicago area. Coming off 75 to 80 hour weeks in Albany, a normal work-week and freedom. Jeanie prepared meals for our weekend travel which started after the train came in from Chicago to Lisle @5:45 PM... then off for the weekend... We "DID" every public campground in Illinois and every one in the lower 2/3rd's of Wisconsin. From early March, to (sometimes) mid December. (a live fire gasoline heater that burned between the two front seats. Spark plug lit... always with a scary "Boom" that Jeanie hated.) I rebuilt the engine, without instructions @ 80K miles, with only five or six parts left over. Got caught in Galena Il on a one lane road up a mountain... engine wouldn't make it, even in low gear so with a few dozen cars behind us... Turned around and put Victoria into reverse, and crept up to the top... backwards.
We did the camping thing right through 1989.

One more...
One of my best friends (a few years ahead of me in school) owned a 1948 Jaguar XKE120...in 1952 through 1954 in High School... it meant hours of enjoying elegance for this poor soul. One of life's highlights.

sorry about the off topic, but couldn't resist.

 

[mrfeh]

Classic cars is a volatile market. You're better off buying something you enjoy and hoping it is worth more when you are ready to sell than buying something purely as an investment.

 

[DFDubb]

There is big money in collectible cars, but you need to know what you're doing, you need a lot of skin in the game, and you need to look out at an extended horizon. For instance, if you were full of dumb luck and held an old VW bus for 50 years, yes you could make some money, but who has the foresight to do that?

I currently have 2 collector cars. First one is a mid 60's fastback mustang #'s matching original vehicle. It has had a complete frame off restoration (which actually hurts the value a little) and is probably worth upwards of 100k. I've probably got about 40k into the car and a WHOLE lot of time and energy. I also have a mid 2000's Shelby GT 500 Mustang. I bought this car new as a weekend car as well as investment. The car is now over 10 years old, with extremely low mileage, and worth about what I paid for it new, Only recently has it's value beginning to creep up. It will take another 10+ years of me holding on to this car, keeping miles off of it, and maintaining it flawlessly before I can make any real money off of it. No matter how you look at it, it's not a great investment even though I will make some coin off of it.

The market is red hot right now and I'm actually thinking of selling both. I would take the ~140k and hold on to the cash. When we enter into our next recession, I want to make a move into the exotic car market (Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc...). When the market tanks is the time to buy cars like these. You can buy an exotic for pennies on the dollar when some paycheck to paycheck living tech moron loses his job and can no longer afford the payment, but it requires having the cash on hand.

Trying to get in the game with a 10-20k car is pointless and you would have better luck trying to time the stock market.

 

[CaliKid]

And there is the hard part of this type of 'investing'. Who would have thought these 70hp things would jump in value as they have?

I'm thinking GenX or Millienials will be driving up the price of 80s and 90scars as the boomers drive up muscle cars. Toyota Supras maybe?

You are so right. It's a wild guess really. Maybe 1970's American van conversions will pop next!? Those were pretty cool back in the day... with the carpet on the walls and CB radio. Lol!

Supras are already expensive. I could see them going up. They are similar to Nissan/Datsun GTRs and those have a HUGE world wide market.

 

[DFDubb]

I'm thinking GenX or Millienials will be driving up the price of 80s and 90scars as the boomers drive up muscle cars. Toyota Supras maybe?

Those 4th gen turbo Supras (93-02) are going for crazy money right now IMO. Who knew back then? Definitely not me.

 

[Breedlove]

Be careful on car values ,not always what you think . There is a monster car show every weekend in the Woodlands Texas ( Nifty Fifties ) . Last spring we were there and a guy had an early 60s split window corvette for sale . He had it on a flatbed wrecker and of course everyone liked it . He wanted a cool 100K for the car . A lady we were talking with said she was going to buy the Vette . She grabbed her husband and later at the end of the night she bought the corvette . Now a 100K corvette as we were congratulating her she said she got it for 75k . Then she asked me if I wanted to buy her 1957 Chevrolet black red leather convertible . I said how much , she laughed and said ….I will take 150 k

 

[eytonxav]

My 96 C4S Porsche is now going for 2-3X what I sold it for. Still miss that car.

 

[DFDubb]

Be careful on car values ,not always what you think . There is a monster car show every weekend in the Woodlands Texas ( Nifty Fifties ) . Last spring we were there and a guy had an early 60s split window corvette for sale . He had it on a flatbed wrecker and of course everyone liked it . He wanted a cool 100K for the car . A lady we were talking with said she was going to buy the Vette . She grabbed her husband and later at the end of the night she bought the corvette . Now a 100K corvette as we were congratulating her she said she got it for 75k . Then she asked me if I wanted to buy her 1957 Chevrolet black red leather convertible . I said how much , she laughed and said ….I will take 150 k

Split window coupe was only made in 1963 and there were only 10k built. 75-100 grand for that is a good buy and I might have tried to make it happen as well if I'd have seen it.

 

[Breedlove]

Every weekend in The Woodlands Texas Nifty Fifties has a couple hundred pre 1980 cars . And as they say every one is for sale . We looked at a 1928 Lincoln sedan 28K also a Cord , not the expensive one for 30K . Both cars were show quality.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Got caught in Galena Il on a one lane road up a mountain... engine wouldn't make it, even in low gear so with a few dozen cars behind us... Turned around and put Victoria into reverse, and crept up to the top... backwards.

Those are bluffs around Galena ... they only want you to think they're mountains.

(Blame Prairie Home Companion for that one)

 

[Oz investor]

now i was always a difficult child and always in trouble .. so one punishment included confiscation of my toys .

now that i have outlived my parents , i have recovered those toys ( some are in hardly played condition ) and they fit easily in my safe , as well

https://www.historicvehicle.org/top-five-most-valuable-matchbox-cars/

who knew being bad had an upside

 

[TriumphTR3fan]

We have two vintage cars. They aren’t great monetary investments. However, they are huge memory generators. Earlier this month we taught our grand niece how to drive them while she spent a couple of weeks with us. She learned how to use a clutch, how to push start a car & driving in a rain shower with the top down. Those experiences she will have for the rest of her life. Few if any of her friends know how to use a stick shift automobile. These kinds of experiences are why we keep them.