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When is the last time that you
hopped in your $100k on a hot January evening and took it for a spin? When
you take your family out on a Sunday drive in your stock portfolio, do
people honk their horns and give you the thumbs up?
Silly suggestions, yes, but buying a classic car as an investment truly
allows you to enjoy your investment while that investment grows. How much is
that worth to you? Can you put a price on the admiration of your friends and
neighbors or the smiles on your kid's faces as your cruise in your classic
car?
Obviously museum quality, rare classic cars have their special place as an
investment.
This article deals with classic cars below that specification, that the
average person can buy. The stock market, for example, averages around an 8%
return over an extended period of say 10 years. However, in any given 1-3
year period, the market may even average a negative return on your
investment. Classic car values have remained stable and are increasing each
year. An example of how a classic car can be used as an investment could be
the purchase of a Valiant Charger 10 years ago for $8,000, these cars are
now selling for around $25K.
By investing in an appreciating classic car, your return could be in excess
of 20% per year, plus, you and your family will have fun in the process.
That is a return on your money that rivals an average stock market gain. Now
I'm not suggesting that each year you can expect to gain such a return or
that you would even want to part with your prized possession, but it is
fairly certain that most classic cars will not lose their value over time if
they are well maintained. I am not also advocating selling all of your stock
and trading it in for a stable of classic cars, but classic cars can be a
part of your overall investment strategy and bring you a satisfaction that
money can't buy.
The purpose of this approach is to lend transparency to the sector and
enable market participants to make informed decisions based on data driven
fundamentals.
Since many affordable classic cars are now over 30 years old, prices on
similar year makes and models vary greatly. It is important to remember that
the car is worth only what someone else is willing to pay for it (or sell it
for). That is true for any other item in the collectable market, including
antiques, baseball cards etc. Doing your homework in researching car values
and recent sale prices can help steer you in the right direction. It is
important to remember to buy a car that you want and love regardless of its
investment value. You can't expect to buy an obscure make and model that is
not in high demand by buyers to sell for a huge profit as soon as you put
the for sale sign on it. If you are buying solely as an investment in order
to turn the car over in a shorter amount of time, it would be wise to find a
more popular model. While there will be a greater amount of these cars
available, there will also be a greater amount of demand to buy one. If you
buy the more obscure model, do it because that is the one you want
regardless of the investment value.
Read
more from
Donald K. Burleson......
http://www.travel-golf.org/classic_car_investing_tips.htm
 Christie's head of motoring, Rupert Banner, says: "We think the market will
maintain its ground because people have bought for nostalgia and recreation
- not just for financial gain. Having said that, most people who have bought
a [classic] car in the last 10 years would have seen a rise on the value of
their car."
Another booming area is in the US, particularly American sports cars of the
1960s and 1970s. A 1971 Ford Falcon recently sold in Australia for A$683,650
(£285,000), and cars such as Chevrolet Corvettes, Ford Thunderbirds and
Pontiacs have probably doubled in value over the last three years.
One area of the market that Skilbeck thinks is somewhat undervalued is that
of Edwardian cars. "This could be an area that's ready for a surge. It's
been a fairly static market for 20 years or so but people are realising that
these cars [1905-18] are enormous fun to drive," he says.
"The great thing about a car compared with other things that people purchase
as an asset is that there's an awful lot you can do with it," concludes
Banner. "It might enable you to have the greatest day of your life on a
rally, or to meet a new business partner. It might be the greatest thing
that happened to that person to own such a car."
http://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-save/classic-cars-are-a-sound-investment-445527.html
A good reference location for valuing American Classic Cars can be found
here. On this site, you can check the value of that American Classic you
have always wanted.
http://classiccars.com/resource-guide/83CC-information-price-guides-nada-price-guide.html
By having the restoration work
done within NZ, you will benefit not only with having your car worked on by
highly skilled technicians (currently $50/hr), but also take advantage of the favourable
exchange rates New Zealand has with other countries. Use the tool below to
show current exchange rates, and view graphical representation of the
historical trends.
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Check with
Phil Collins
who will then find a suitable car for you using his extensive resources.
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