Buying a new car as an investment.

[SDRonEbay]

I've mentioned in the past about cars being investments and cars not being investments. Well, I guess it's time to separate the two.

A car, by definition is probably the last thing you would consider an investment. It's sole purpose (unless it's one of those 6 or 7 digit prices on it) is to get a human being(s) and/or cargo from one point to another to another to another until finally it's been used up and is in need of repair or replacement. Disposable. Expendable. And constantly depreciating. There are two types of investments you can turn this burden on your shoulders into and make it very worthwhile and profitable.

The first, quite frankly, is a personal investment. Not in anyway monetary, but delivering returns to you on a more spiritual level. This kind of investment is usually a long-term investment and requires some knowledge. Investors in group A buy a car they are somehow attached to. Be it a fund memory of a family outing as a child or a fund memory of a date back in high school, the vehicle chosen fills a hole in that person's existence. This car represents happiness and must be kept or restored to like new condition. At the very least an ongoing project car. Although brought on by vanity, this investment can be most fulfilling to a person in need of emotional counseling. The car they are putting money into and working on every Sunday becomes a form of therapy if not a therapist. We all get caught talking to our cars sometimes. If your's is like mine, you're usually telling it to imagine itself in the Arctic, nice cool breezes, no heat, no heat...DON'T OVERHEAT!!!

Sorry...

Nevertheless, an emotional investment is typically what most of us hold in our vehicles.

On the other end of the spectrum is a true financial investment. This one takes more money and skill but less knowledge (IMO). Stands to reason that anyone with the funds and a couple of car mags can buy a show car, make minor mods and stick it in a temperature controlled garage under a dust cover and take it 5-20 miles a month. This investor usually buys the car his neighbors or colleagues are talking about and will not have it long enough to break it in. There's not much to be said about this investor because he is not the reason I am here. You see there is a third type that goes unnoticed.

The secret investor is the best investor of all. He's the investor that eyed a 300 sitting in someone's backyard with four flats, a broken headlight and in need of some engine work. He's the investor that goes to the junkyard, discount shops and online parts stores. He's the investor that asks the members of his car club for advice on turning his backyard beauty into a highway hottie. This investor knows the importance of choosing good aftermarket upgrades and knows where to go to find the hard to find must haves. This investor is probably the most underrated investor of them all. Men and women who love their cars genuinely and from this love, create a piece of art that is no doubt admired by others just like them. This investor is called an enthusiast. If you thought you were the first kind of investor but now you want to change that, it's okay. But if you think the second guy can make more money on his car than either of the other two...you're wrong. After all, how much did you really put into your car? Counter the replacement parts you didn't have to buy by adding the aftermarkets you did, I'll bet when you sell that car you'll come out on top...percentage-wise.

The point of all this...some of you out there are really starting to doubt yourselves on those long drawn out projects. You're beginning to wonder if it's worth it at all. There's a thinline between investor A and investor C. Which one will you be?

[PalmerWMD]

Nice thoughtful article.

Fred...

[SDRonEbay]

Thanks guy. I'm gonna get my 300ZTT back if it's the last thing I do. Then I'm gonna find somebody that can fit it in to drive it.