Will any of my cars ever fund my retirement?

[Geordie]

So, I was enjoying reading this thread....

retrorides.proboards.com/thread/179591/investment-cars-future?page=1

...and it got me thinking whether any of my three cars will end up being worth stupid money in a few years. I see them all as 'keepers', as they are all a bit different in their own ways, and whichever one I'm driving seems to attract attention. Not sure whether it's because they are nice colours (in the case of the Primera and Merc), or 'old', or just plain different to the monotony of bland modern stuff that clog up our roads. Just wondering whether people thought that I might be sitting on any golden eggs of the future. I'll certainly not take offence if anyone says they're forever going to trundle along at the bottom end of the market. There were lots of Boxsters made, the Merc is seen as a 5 litre petrol drinker to most (although I easily get 30mpg on a steady run with the cruise set at 70mpg), and the Primera is, well, a Primera. Yes a car that won the BTCC 2 years in a row, but a Primera all the same haha.

Anyway, here they are...

1997 Porsche Boxster, 2.5

retrorides.proboards.com/thread/174902/1997-porsche-boxster-2-5





It's just turned 18 years old, miles at 90k, full Porsche history (main dealer & independent specialist).


1999 Nissan Primera GT

retrorides.proboards.com/thread/174894/1999-nissan-primera-gt





16 years old, low miles (76k). Full history.


2000 Mercedes CL500







15 years old, miles sitting around 162k, but feels like a quarter of that. Full service history.

[bagss2]

No. (IMO, although I like them all). Sorry...


Cheers, Baggers.

[ettorebugatti]

Well, if you have lived 30-40 years earlier.

[1eighteen]

Unfortunately, I would say NO sorry.

Is that Boxster really 18 yrs old ? !!! WOW.

[Mystery Machine]

It all depends on when you're thinking of retiring?

Next year? Most likely not.

15 years time? Possibly, but most probably not.

40 years time? They might go some way towards it....but I wouldn't go expecting to book regular cruises or holidays in the Med whilst sipping Cristal all day long.

60 years time? Will you still be here?

Enjoy today, not wait for what might never come.

[niwid]

I'd imagine all of them are probably currently at there lowest value, so will only ever appreciate, and I imagine both the porsche and the merc will one day command very good money. However you'd have to keep them in perfect condition for decades for them to be worth anything big, and who knows what will happen to classic car values when petrol becomes so scarce it is only available to the very well off.

Enjoy them as they are, and if money is a big thing for you then keep them until they get old and rare, then sell them all and buy something even older and rarer.

[colnerov]

Hi, it depends how long you intend living after you retire. On average your cars will conservatively maintain their position in the market as far as value goes, so how long would they provide your present salary for if sold?

Colin

[composimmonite]

I retired just over 19 years ago on health grounds. My retirement (pension) funds my cars - not the other way round

[qwerty]

If you look at the price of Porsche 924/944's, Nissan Bluebirds and Merc 500SEC's I would say unfortuantely probably not.

You need to stockpile Mk3 Fiesta's, Saxo VTR/S and the like.

[Geordie]

Thanks for all the comments so far. To be honest, the thread title was a bit tongue in cheek, as I know there's nothing around that will keep me into retirement, and it's more likely that I'll be funding them. By the by, I'm currently 45, and I'm planning on putting my weary limbs up to rest at no later than 60.

I'm just interested in peoples thoughts about how these cars of 15 to 20 years old will appreciate, if at all.

Now, more pressing for me right now is the fact that I've just got to work and realised I left my wallet in my big coat (which I didn't bring because of the positive weather forecast for today), I've got 50 miles of fuel left in the Merc and I've got 65 miles to get home this afternoon.....

[93fxdl]

Something else to investigate could be SIPP.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-invested_personal_pension
Classic cars are allowed as a pension investment, not being a financial expert, I don't know where that could go, but looks like your cars can be your pension
Ttfn Glenn.
Ps can't give any advice on you fuel shortage though

[g40jon]

Early Boxsters are already on an upward curve. a year ago, you could easilly obtain an early one for aroud £3.5k, now for the same car, people are asking closer to 5. I know this because I wasted weeks looking and considering if I should ditch my mx5 in favour of one. Mercs are funny cars as they seen to drop really low on price for a good few years, then suddenly rocket in value. I don't see either car making you super rich though as the boxster is too common and well built, so numbers are still good. The merc is too niche in my opinion to become super valuable. The nissan is also a very niche car, so it will only have a limited market which will result in the value staying pretty stable.

If you want to buy cars as a long term investment, the best ones are cars which people get really nostalgic about, hence why cars like mk1 scorts, jags featured in 70s cop shows and that sort of thing command such good money.
Unmolested examples of cars such as the saxo vtr/vts or any other popular late 90s hot hatch, popular high spec exec cars, sport cars, basically anything popular, that is becomming hard to find, but still fairly cheap to purchase should make a good investment. Even buying into already popular classis can give a good return, but this of course comes with additional risk, as purchase prices are higher and there is always the risk of the market crashing and actually wiping value off of your classic.

I recently sold my polo g40 and after a decade of owning it, I didn't really make anything on it. Yes, I sold it for £500 more than i paid for it. But over a decade I spent way more than that on it. It was however very cheap, fun motoring for the time I owned it for. It just never had the wide appeal to make it valuable, like say a mint mk2 golf gti or a series 1 escort rs turbo.

[VIP]

*Possibly* the Boxster will appreciate in the future, but the Primera and probably the Mercedes will never appreciate by much. There are lots of old cars now that are still worth nothing.

Old and/or rare does not equal value.

[Midland Performance & Retro]

In 20 years time all of them will be worth a lot more than they are now.

I don't think any of them will be massive value cars, but if kept in top condition just think of it like this:

What does a 35 year old high spec Mercedes Coupe fetch now compared to what a 15 year old one fetched 20 years ago?

Do the same with the Porsche and take any Japanese Family Saloon for the Primera.

I'd suggested sourcing some original wheels for that year of Boxster if you don't already have them though. Even if they're not fitted to the car it'll be worth more that far down the line with original wheels present.

The Boxster is one of the earliest and purest, so in my opinion will gain value more than most.

[VIP]

Jun 10, 2015 9:14:13 GMT Midland Performance & Retro said:

In 20 years time all of them will be worth a lot more than they are now.

I don't think any of them will be massive value cars, but if kept in top condition just think of it like this:

What does a 35 year old high spec Mercedes Coupe fetch now compared to what a 15 year old one fetched 20 years ago?

Do the same with the Porsche and take any Japanese Family Saloon for the Primera.

I'd suggested sourcing some original wheels for that year of Boxster if you don't already have them though. Even if they're not fitted to the car it'll be worth more that far down the line with original wheels present.

The Boxster is one of the earliest and purest, so in my opinion will gain value more than most.

Only older Japanese RWD stuff is worht money now. If you look at early FWD Datsuns/Toyotas et al they are not worth much at all. Same goes for that Primera.

The Boxster has the best potential to be a future classic, as said above look at the prices of old SECs, they are still in the gutter in the main despite classic status.

[colnerov]

Jun 10, 2015 6:05:12 GMT Geordie said:

Now, more pressing for me right now is the fact that I've just got to work and realised I left my wallet in my big coat (which I didn't bring because of the positive weather forecast for today), I've got 50 miles of fuel left in the Merc and I've got 65 miles to get home this afternoon.....

Hi, I'm confused, Why has a gentleman from the north, a geordie no less, got a big coat?

Colin

[montythemole]

As above I'd say with exception of the Porsche then the other's aren't going to do much.

I managed to pick up two Porsche 924 for £100 a piece 5 years ago and made one decent car out of them. I regret selling it and started to look at buying another. Good early examples I've seen for nearly £10k so I started to look at 911. The early 80s stuff is shooting up now, so I'm kind of convinced to get a £15k 'modern' 911, enjoy it and see what happens to the value.

Looking at how values of 205GTI and the like have gone I'd be tempted to invest in 106 or 306 GTI (and Rallye), maybe even the early BMW Mini Cooper. In terms of investment I think smaller hot hatches and the like that people will be nostalgic for a good bet. I could also see simple fun basic convertibles like the early MX-5 and BMW Z3 going up as pretty dirt cheap now. Mk3 MR2 are also cheap as chips currently, often cheaper than a Mk2 and Mk3.

[tdk]

If you like 'em, then that's all that matters. I can't see any going up in value significantly for a decade or two, but who knows.

[Geordie]

Jun 10, 2015 12:37:50 GMT colnerov said:

Jun 10, 2015 6:05:12 GMT Geordie said:

Now, more pressing for me right now is the fact that I've just got to work and realised I left my wallet in my big coat (which I didn't bring because of the positive weather forecast for today), I've got 50 miles of fuel left in the Merc and I've got 65 miles to get home this afternoon.....

Hi, I'm confused, Why has a gentleman from the north, a geordie no less, got a big coat?

Colin

I live down South now, well East Cleveland anyway! That's my excuse....

All very interesting views above. Personally, I think if you compare the current value of generally unloved 30 year old Japanese FWD stuff like Sunny's etc, the Primera will never appreciate much. Great car that it is (and infinitely better than the Sunny), it'll never be loved by a huge amount of people so values will more than likely stay flat.

I think it might be a different story with the other two. The badges alone carry more kudos than the Nissan, and there will always be huge followings for Mercedes' and Porsches. Another tick in the box for each is that they are RWD. The CL500 isn't a common sight on the roads, probably because it was a £70k car when new, so rarity will also increase desirability I think. The Boxster was, of course, made in bigger numbers than the Merc, but it's a convertible with a Porsche badge, which will surely be quite desirable, and therefore appreciate accordingly as it gets older.

Really, it's all moot anyway. I should have titled the thread "Will any of my cars significantly appreciate" rather than slightly mislead by mentioning the funding of retirement. Of course, it's not about that, but more just curiosity as to whether I own something that will be looked at in the same way in 20 years as these elder relatives....







Keep the opinions coming. Love it.

[loudandproud205]

I don't see this 205 thing, sure there is plenty for sale at high prices but its rare to see one sell for what they are asking.

The Mini I can see but the John Cooper Works edition is the one to have, the normal Cooper S will do ok but the Cooper Works is a proper special feel and are limited numbers around like the Megane R26.R.

Saxo/106, Corsa, Golf, Escort/Focus there all the same it will be masses of years before there sort after as cars arn't built like they were in the 70s they had the ability to be used daily with out needing looking at while actually sustaining a decent life span before requiring work add to that there are alot more made in the first place unlike there 70s counter parts. When was the last time you see a 104 or Visa command daft money?

Am with many of the above enjoy the cars and how they make you feel.