Vehicle Investment

[ptaylor_9849]

Sorry if this post doesn`t belong in this section but I wanted a large audience to view it. I recently stopped by my local Ferrari repair shop and looked around a bit. When I asked the owner/mechanic if it was expensive to own a Ferrari he said something that I thought was interesting. He told me that although Ferrari`s are expensive to purchase and maintain , he then said "But you don`t lose the major depreciation that you do on many other cars like Porsche, Mercedes, BMW and my precious corvette". So here`s my question. Overall, is a Ferrari a better "Investment" than the other cars listed or does the cost of maintenance eventually balance out the loss of depreciation? Please know that I am not talking about vintage Ferrari`s that are clearly sound investments. I`m talking about average ones like a 2001 360 Modena or a 550. Your thoughts please.



Patrick

[Clean Dean]

If you are looking to purchase a Ferrari as an investment this is a MUST HAVE to start:



Amazon.com: Illustrated Ferrari Buyer`s Guide (Illustrated Buyer`s Guide): Dean Batchelor,Randy Leffingwell: Books (http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Ferrari-Buyers-Guide/dp/076030243X)



I have it, and it really explains to unique differences in each vehicle and breaks down its collectibility and the production numbers. Remember simple supply and demand when looking at collectible cars, because they are not making them anymore. Look for rare cars with low production numbers and styling that is unique, and of course performance measured against the other performance cars of that era.



If this thread was about collectible Mercedes Benz cars, I can go on all night.



I am a old school benz nut, and have own some real gems over the years.

[04yfz]

I learned a lot from this thread regarding Ferraris, and buying them used and their values, you might find it interesting. Look on the 2nd or 3rd page.



http://autopia.org/forum/click-brag/105966-more-than-you-can-afford-pal.html

[Rob Tomlin]

There is no question that Ferrari`s are better investments than the cars he mentioned (to varying degrees).

[8Banger]

if you buy a vette, porsche benz or bimmer you`re typically going to drive the piss out of them, while a ferrari is going to be a biweekly car if that.



two different kind of investments - apples to oranges, IMO.



but then again what you do with each car is also affected by your income, so it can be case-to-case

[ptaylor_9849]

Clean Dean, thank you for the link regarding the book. I can`t say that I`m a Benz nut any longer. I`ve been trying to sell a 2004 C320 4matic for three months now that my girlfriend bought 8 months ago for 25k. I can`t give this car away for twenty grand and it`s spotless. I also can`t sell my friends E63 AMG that he just paid 86k for. This is exactly what I`m talking about. I`m tired of buying cars, making them sparkle beyond belief and then being unable to sell them without taking a major hit. I know that cars are a bad investment but I was wondering if I bought a 1999 or 2000 Modena 360 for let`s say 100 grand, I wonder if I could sell it 5 yrs later for 90k? That I could live with. On the other hand, maybe I should just keep this.



http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii101/ptaylor220/Corvette-1.jpg





Patrick

[baseballlover1]

To answer your question about do fcar owners buy from private parties or dealerships. I think that some buy from dealers on the sole cause of the f dealerships dont sell new cars to "NEW" clients. They require some knowledge of the person, be it the owner knows them or they have bought a used fcar from them. That is the reason a good friend of mine in PA bought a used ferrari.



the way this is being explained is it might be smart to buy an older fcar and drive it EXTREMELY little.