[kmarei]

I've owned 2 m3 E30s
In both cases I made money on the cars
And their prices are still going up, so it's not too late to jump on
You get a kick ass car, truly one of a kind
Enjoy it for a few years
And sell it for a profit
Can't think of better options out there

But you better jump on soon, because their prices are climbing a lot more now
Soon enough the minimum required to get a good one will be over 50K

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by phyek

The new Ford GT

This was my first thought. Agree with the air cooled 911 also. 997 gt3 and 991 gt3, gt4 and gt3rs fall into category of purchase enjoy and resell at same price as purchased like the e30 kmaeri suggested.

[ShopVac]

For affordable cars that may make a few bucks - gotta start thinking 80's and 90's

Pontiac Fiero - 88 GT
Ford Mustang - 93 SVT, 84 SVO
Buick Grand National GNX
Olds Hurst (3 shifter ones)
Some of those early 80's muscle(less) cars from GM (CamaroZ28/TransAm)


Just my opinion

[purecrema]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

This was my first thought. Agree with the air cooled 911 also. 997 gt3 and 991 gt3, gt4 and gt3rs fall into category of purchase enjoy and resell at same price as purchased like the e30 kmaeri suggested.

Ditto. Most GT.. P-Car's resell at near purchase price

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by ShopVac

For affordable cars that may make a few bucks -

For guys like me that's much more interesting. Most cars listed here are unaffordable for me anyway

[Taskmaster]

Anything with a manual.

[bimmette]

This is on-topic and belongs in the general car forum, not here in off-topic!

[BayMoWe335]

Unless you have like a $20m+ net worth with a ton of real investments like stock, investing in cars is just a stupid idea. You will lose money 99.9% of the time. Cars aren't an investment except in special situations and even then there is tremendous risk.

[G4BR13L]

What about a BMW 2002 Turbo?

[David70]

Even the previous Ford GT's, after 10 years are selling for around double their MSRP (then you have to have paid MSRP) if they have extremely low miles. So without factoring in insurance, maintenance, and repairs and if you almost never drove it (to me why have a car I can't or won't drive) and they averaged about 8% a year. Decent return but not a home run and this is only without figuring in all of the other costs.

If it makes you feel good call it an investment but you better get extra enjoyment out of it or it is a waste of time and money.

[M3Bimmer77]

Investment? Non with new a cars. Few with old cars.
Collectibles? Many specially cars in good shape from the 70s and 80s. Like a 2002 BMW, or a SL MB coupe.

An investment is something you put money into and will give you a profit when you sell it. In the automotive industry I don't think it happens very often. Maybe on a very rare Ferrari like an Enzo owned by Enzo Ferrari?!, or a very good maintained MB or BMW or Porsche or Alfa or....And needs to be all original and at least 30 or 40 years old. Other than something like that it's very rare that you make money out of it. Are there people living out of it? Sure there are. Just watch the Mecum auctions, Barret Jackson, Sotheby's, Concours d'legance auctions, Christies and so on. It needs to be a unicorn which would be like a needle in a haystack and you need to have a bunch of money to play around with.

[tdott]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Unless you have like a $20m+ net worth with a ton of real investments like stock, investing in cars is just a stupid idea. You will lose money 99.9% of the time. Cars aren't an investment except in special situations and even then there is tremendous risk.

Car guys don't really see it as a pure investment, rather they get to own an amazing car and not loose as much money, in some cases making money.

I know a guy that bought the 1M, did European delivery, owned it for 2 years and sold it for a profit. It wasn't his primary car so it had low KMs. The experience he had owning that car and the memories was a great investment in life experience, the profit just made a better story to tell years from now.

A friend bought a GT4, he plans to sell it if the right offer comes along if not enjoy it for a while as a weekend car/garage queen. He already has offers from 10-15k just for his allocation.

There is a bit of a Porsche bubble, most of the GT3s have held their value well or gone up in value. Special models have gone up in value.

For BMWs, E30 M3s, S54 M Coupe/Roadsters, 1M, Z8, have all done great.

[kmarei]

Originally Posted by tdott

Car guys don't really see it as a pure investment, rather they get to own an amazing car and not loose as much money, in some cases making money.

I know a guy that bought the 1M, did European delivery, owned it for 2 years and sold it for a profit. It wasn't his primary car so it had low KMs. The experience he had owning that car and the memories was a great investment in life experience, the profit just made a better story to tell years from now.

A friend bought a GT4, he plans to sell it if the right offer comes along if not enjoy it for a while as a weekend car/garage queen. He already has offers from 10-15k just for his allocation.

There is a bit of a Porsche bubble, most of the GT3s have held their value well or gone up in value. Special models have gone up in value.

For BMWs, E30 M3s, S54 M Coupe/Roadsters, 1M, Z8, have all done great.

part of your ROI is the smiles you get when you drive your investment
sure beats a piece of paper

[adobeee]

Originally Posted by Needbmwpartzz

Cars are poor investments.....period.

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO might have been a good investment decades ago for anyone who has purchased one. I think the most recent one sold for $35m in 2011.

http://www.elitetraveler.com/feature...-ever-built/16

This is a rare exception, but your statement is not 100% true....period.

[Needbmwpartzz]

Originally Posted by adobeee

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO might have been a good investment decades ago for anyone who has purchased one. I think the most recent one sold for $35m in 2011.

http://www.elitetraveler.com/feature...-ever-built/16

This is a rare exception, but your statement is not 100% true....period.

Touché.....but for the most part they are not

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by DJKapeesh

For this weeks fun topic I thought it would be cool to discuss cars that can be bought with the least depreciation or even as an investment for the future.

When we look at cars like the E30 M3 with limited production that depreciated and the went up in value due to some key attributes we can see that buying one of these cars back then would have been a pretty good investment if you liked driving it, holding it, and then reselling it today.

Also there is the case of the 1M which was made in limited production and was the first Turbo M car ever. While the value is high currently and will surely depreciate over time and then may even go back up in value simular to the E30 M3.

I have been considering the E9x M3 for my next car as I feel like the one and only V8 M3 will go down in history as something special.

So my question here is:
In your opinion what are, or will be some excellent cars that you can buy now which will hold their value and possibly appreciate over time.

Broadly speaking, any car that has already shown itself to appreciate in value will most likely continue to do so, or at a minimum not lose value. There are scores of cars that fit that definition. Any car that doesn't fit that definition is anybody's guess as to whether it will hold or gain value.

All the best.

[atinybug]

15 year old civics
buy for $1000
drive for 2 years, spend $100 a month on gas, another $100 a month on insurance
sell for $1000

That's probably the closest you'll get to a car "investment"

[iminhell1]

I think some of you have lost touch with reality, or maybe I just see cars differently. It seems most of you are thinking about pristine cars. I would look at fix-er-uppers. I see a lot more possibility for profit if you save on the initial purchase price. In an investment situation you're not (or shouldn't be) concerned about cost of ownership because you won't be driving the car. It's a project for profit only and that is how you must look at it.

I said it in one of the other recent threads of this type, you also want to look at the number of people who have disposable income to spend on your profit project. The more reasonable the selling price, the more potential buyers, which means the faster the sale and the faster you can move on to the next project ... you don't want to tie money up for too long.
Bearing that in mind, your $100K + cars are not a good choice. Even cars that are $50K are not a wise choice. I would say something in that sub $30K is where the greatest market share lies. And that means the cars you should be looking for to fix up should be half that or less.

And from what I've been told, one way to mitigate the losses from holding onto the cars is to create a museum. IIRC there is something in the tax code that allows for depreciation (more than business use).

[Quicksilv3r]

Z8

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by C5driver

Ah yes...the last of the "that'll be $5000 to pull the motor to change a belt" Ferrari's. Exhaust manifold, brass valve guides, etc...

yea, i was taking a look at 355's because a nice one could be had for about $50k around here, but there is a reason for that- the ridiculous maintenance costs and procedures that keep you from enjoying the car. decided against it.

[1MOREMOD]

I invest in cats, return is gaggle of old ladies wanting to be friends.

[sudheer]

maybe this?