Perhaps it’s my wealth level's (or lack thereof) inability to provide the proper perspective, but I don't understand people that treat cars as investments.
Obviously I’m referring to the ultra rich that buy super expensive cars and then park them in climate-controlled garages, all in hopes of gaining significant profit some times in the future. The common Honda Accord us plebs buy is not an investment ever.
I am speaking to the sort of well-heeled car enthusiasts that buy a limited-edition Porsche 911R for around $250K then promptly garage it. And why wouldn’t they? A delivery-mileage sample fetches $500K now; no telling how much that’ll go up given enough years. Naturally-aspirated 911s with a stick are a dying breed.
My contention with cars as investment isn’t that it’s driving up prices: capitalism is the best economic system ever and the price anything rightfully ought to be what the market will bear. I complain about the same mechanism going on in housing speculation but unlike houses where you can always build more, there’s only so many Toyota 2000GTs rolling around.
The issue I have is the utter lack of driving these cars. The point of ownership is completely lost to me once these investors lock them up to preserve miles. Can these people even call themselves car enthusiasts? A car isn’t a car unless I can drive it, and often.
I respect the heck out of enthusiasts like Nick Mason who continues to drive his unobtanium Ferrari 250 GTO even though it’s worth deep into the eight figures. Car guys like Jay Leno who’s got a large collection but he drives each and every one, irrespective of what it’ll sell for down the road.
If you're going to buy a car and just park it, why not invest in paintings or sculptures instead? At least those items would be serving its innate function. An automobile's innate function is to be driven and be on the open road.
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