The Money Mustache Community
Around the Internet => Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy => Topic started by: Exenos on March 15, 2016, 11:08:32 AM
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Was at a BBQ at the weekend catching up with some old friends in my hometown.
Apparently cars are a good investment because it "stops you from wasting the money, as the money is tied up in a valuable asset" and "if you get it on finance (which they have all done, all between £20-30k) then the effects of depreciation are less."
We kept quiet as reason always falls on deaf ears..
Edit: To add a little more context, the conversation was with regards to one of my friends who'd had a 5k windfall, and although wanted to save it (probably just keeping in a cash ISA). However, his father and one of people in this group advised him to use it as a down payment on a 3 year old Audi.
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You are clearly not seeing the possibilities! Once they've paid it off they can live in the car! No HOA, no property taxes, utilities are negligible... and they can go anywhere in those things, whereas you have your money tied up in an immovable pile of bricks and use your own legs to get around. Loser!
Sorry, my allergies were acting up... that always makes me sarcastic.
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Compared to a house cars don't have all of the same negatives.
As an investment a house:
Is stationary.
Requires upkeep.
Has high transaction fees when buying/selling.
Is taxed.
At least a car is mobile so you can move it when you want to sell it.
Not wasting your breath applying reason to deaf ears was a good plan.
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Was at a BBQ at the weekend catching up with some old friends in my hometown.
Apparently cars are a good investment because it "stops you from wasting the money, as the money is tied up in a valuable asset" and "if you get it on finance (which they have all done, all between £20-30k) then the effects of depreciation are less."
We kept quiet as reason always falls on deaf ears..
They way many buy in the market, where they but high and sell low, a car is a good investment.
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I have lived in my car for short periods of time (otherwise known as: less glamorous travel.)
It actually makes for an okay place to live. I could probably do that for, like, a month or two, before I get tired of it.
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Depending on the vehicle, it's possible to view a car as an investment if you like to tinker and improve. My father used to buy cars, fix them up, drive them a while, and then sell them at a profit. It was his hobby. I don't know how much he got out of it on a per-hour basis but it gave him hours of enjoyment.
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Depending on the vehicle, it's possible to view a car as an investment if you like to tinker and improve. My father used to buy cars, fix them up, drive them a while, and then sell them at a profit. It was his hobby. I don't know how much he got out of it on a per-hour basis but it gave him hours of enjoyment.
That's great. Even if your dad broke even it would still be better off than having a hobby like racing horses or starting a foodie blog (nothing against either, but they do cost money).
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I drove for free for years by buying and cleaning up and reselling.
You NEED a new car to drive through the drive-thru grocery store. You wouldn't want to be seen driving a used car there!?!?! ;)
Imagine driving through the grocery store belching blue exhaust (burning oil)....
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Depending on the vehicle, it's possible to view a car as an investment if you like to tinker and improve. My father used to buy cars, fix them up, drive them a while, and then sell them at a profit. It was his hobby. I don't know how much he got out of it on a per-hour basis but it gave him hours of enjoyment.
If you enjoy that kind of work, it's definitely a good way to spend time. "New" cars to tinker with and learn regularly, and if you're good at it, you at least pay for your parts & new purchases. It's hard to spend that much money when you're elbow deep in grease during all your free time...
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Depending on the vehicle, it's possible to view a car as an investment if you like to tinker and improve. My father used to buy cars, fix them up, drive them a while, and then sell them at a profit. It was his hobby. I don't know how much he got out of it on a per-hour basis but it gave him hours of enjoyment.
If you enjoy that kind of work, it's definitely a good way to spend time. "New" cars to tinker with and learn regularly, and if you're good at it, you at least pay for your parts & new purchases. It's hard to spend that much money when you're elbow deep in grease during all your free time...
Sometimes, the markup on the fixed vehicle was high enough to where he not only covered the cost of his parts and materials, but he got to drive free for a while. I rather admire that. And you're right, it kept him busy.
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Yes, I have heard a lot of misconceptions about automobiles lately. My friend just bought a new car last week. In her case, it was a reasonable decision because her previous vehicle (which she had purchased used) was starting to accumulate problems. However, she then told me I should buy a new car because I was "losing value". As in, the trade-in value is dropping. So . . . . I should trade-in my older car for a new car that will depreciate even faster!
My other friend's finance told her she should trade before the warranty ends, because then it will really start to depreciate.
I try not to get argumentative. If people want to buy new vehicles because they want new vehicles/new tech/different cars, that is their choice. But it bugs me if my friends think this is the best financial move. Where are they getting this information?
On further investigation one friend told me that she would rather have a car payment on a car whose warranty covers costs than drive around an older vehicle and never know when an expensive repair she can't afford will be needed. I told her if she saves some of that "car payment" money each month, it should cover basic up-keep and the typical wear-and-tear problems. She says that wouldn't happen. Not having a car payment would be a "shock" to the system.
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Haha, at current values, my 1986 car is a 400% return in 2 years. Purchased a left-hand drive model in the UK (got a great price), exported and reregistered it in France. Could sell it all day long at that value, but it's still appreciating. Free motoring :)
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Yeah, if you want to make serious money on cars, import some skyline GTRs and put them up in warehouses in the US. As soon as they turn 25 years old, sell them for 3x what you paid. And hope you don't get busted in the meanwhile...
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Maybe... if it ended that they were gonna be doing Uber full-time or something... lol.
Investment... so clueless.
Next they are "investing" in TVs, Computers... Jacuzzi... ok that may actually may increase the value of the home :)
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Yes, I have heard a lot of misconceptions about automobiles lately. My friend just about a new car last week. In her case, it was a reasonable decision because her previous vehicle (which she had purchased used) was starting to accumulate problems. However, she then told me I should buy a new car because I was "loosing value". As in, the trade-in value is dropping. So . . . . I should trade-in my older car for a new car that will depreciate even faster!
My other friend's finance told her she should trade before the warranty ends, because then it will really start to depreciate.
I try not to get argumentative. If people want to buy new vehicles because they want new vehicles/new tech/different cars, that is their choice. But it bugs me if my friends think this is the best financial move. Where are they getting this information?
On further investigation one friend told me that she would rather have a car payment on a car whose warranty covers costs than drive around an older vehicle and never know when an expensive repair she can't afford will be needed. I told her if she saves some of that "car payment" money each month, it should cover basic up-keep and the typical wear-and-tear problems. She says that wouldn't happen. Not having a car payment would be a "shock" to the system.
You tried to fight stupidity with logic. I applaud your efforts. I know the feeling too well. I just keep my pie hole shut unless there's real, edible pie in the vicinity.
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Their logic is partially correct in some outlier cases. Cars CAN be an investment, but only given a set of conditions which it sounds like don't apply here:
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2016/01/28/the-man-who-gets-his-cars-for-free/
In general, yes, cars are a depreciating asset. There are exceptions to this if you know how to connect a collectible car to the right buyer who is willing to shell out for it, as happens at some of the more famous car auctions.
Dunno whether I'd have had the same restraint as you in not taking the bait there, though it certainly would have been a Sisyphian task to convince them!
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A car is an investment if used correctly. If it gets you to work and you make more income because of that car.
However in that regard a used prius will be a better investment than a brand new BMW, and if you live close to work a bike will be an even better investment.
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Yeah, if you want to make serious money on cars, import some skyline GTRs and put them up in warehouses in the US. As soon as they turn 25 years old, sell them for 3x what you paid. And hope you don't get busted in the meanwhile...
You can get busted for storing a car that is not driven?
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It's more the grey market import thing than the storing a car thing...
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You can get busted for storing a car that is not driven?
Import laws. It's illegal to own a vehicle newer than 25 years old and does not meet federal standards in place for the year it was manufactured.
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Was at a BBQ at the weekend catching up with some old friends in my hometown.
Apparently cars are a good investment because it "stops you from wasting the money, as the money is tied up in a valuable asset" and "if you get it on finance (which they have all done, all between £20-30k) then the effects of depreciation are less."
We kept quiet as reason always falls on deaf ears..
Edit: To add a little more context, the conversation was with regards to one of my friends who'd had a 5k windfall, and although wanted to save it (probably just keeping in a cash ISA). However, his father and one of people in this group advised him to use it as a down payment on a 3 year old Audi.
Friends of ours divorced many moons ago after a number of bad money decisions including him convincing her that his purchase of a Pontiac Fiero sportscar was an "investment."
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You folks don't know what you're talking about. I have a buddy - we'll call him Vinnie. Vinnie buys cars all day long. And he makes money at it. You say, "Hey, Vinnie, I need me a car - Only for a few hours, see. Me an my friend wanna go pay a visit to this guy, see. We'll give you the car back when we're done, right?"
So Vinne, he gets you a car. I dunno where the car comes from I dunno nothin. Vinnie just gives ya the car, right. You go visit your friend. Maybe you bring him back with you, maybe you don't. I dunno. You come back and drive the car into the crusher, right. You get out, you thank Vinnie, you shake his hand and you leave.
Vinnie hits the button and the car disappears. Boom. That's it.
Vinnie, he has, I dunno, 50 cars? Something like that. Gets paid good money on all of 'em. He's always buying cars. I dunno what you guys is talking about. Losing money on cars. Your doin' sumpin' wrong. One trip and the car pays for itself.
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You can get busted for storing a car that is not driven?
Import laws. It's illegal to own a vehicle newer than 25 years old and does not meet federal standards in place for the year it was manufactured.
Huh. In Canada we have laws that to import a car you have to make certain alterations in order for the car to get plated. I wonder if you imported your dream car to here and parked it for 25 years, then trucked it across the border if you would be legit.
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Wow. Horrible investment.
I learned a fun lesson about why not to buy an expensive car. I know someone who, after a terrible hail storm (20 minutes straight of golf ball to tennis ball size hail) his car has more damage than my car cost new, by more than double. That's just unimaginable to me
A $50k car, two weeks old. $40k in hail damage.
He is waiting to find out if the insurance company is going to have it repaired or just replace the car. That's such an insane amount of money for a car.
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Was at a BBQ at the weekend catching up with some old friends in my hometown.
Apparently cars are a good investment because it "stops you from wasting the money, as the money is tied up in a valuable asset" and "if you get it on finance (which they have all done, all between £20-30k) then the effects of depreciation are less."
We kept quiet as reason always falls on deaf ears..
Edit: To add a little more context, the conversation was with regards to one of my friends who'd had a 5k windfall, and although wanted to save it (probably just keeping in a cash ISA). However, his father and one of people in this group advised him to use it as a down payment on a 3 year old Audi.
My, probably unspoken, response: "Huh... never heard of it put that way. How much do you expect to make on your (car type)?
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Well, between 2014-2015, I drove my 2002 Ford Focus for 35k miles on behalf of my company, being reimbursed $0.575 per mile along the way. $20k - $3k in gasoline = $17k of profit. How about that for an investment? :)
I just bought a 2013 for $10k last December. Chances are, if I drive as many miles this year as 2015, I'll have all my money back by December 2016.
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My car is an "investment" in that it allows me to do things that produce more income than I would be able to without it.
But the same could be said for breakfast.
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My car is an "investment" in that it allows me to do things that produce more income than I would be able to without it.
But the same could be said for breakfast.
Breakfast cereal is the safest asset and where I store the majority of my breakfast assets. Yogurt and waffles get consumed far too quickly.
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1965 Datsun Fairlady. Bought in 2005 for $2,500, book value now $20,000. Plus it was my daily driver for 8 of those years.
1988 Lotus Esprit. Bought in 2011 for $20,000, friend in the club just sold his exact same model for $45,000.
I'd call those assets. Pick the right car, buy when they're priced low, hold. Same as my stock fund really.
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I remember reading this statement last week, but can't remember where:
"If someone receives some extra money and spends it on expenses, they are poor.
If they spend it on a liability and think it's an asset, they are middle class.
If they invest it to turn it into an income stream, they are rich."
There are some words of truth in that.
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1965 Datsun Fairlady. Bought in 2005 for $2,500, book value now $20,000. Plus it was my daily driver for 8 of those years.
1988 Lotus Esprit. Bought in 2011 for $20,000, friend in the club just sold his exact same model for $45,000.
I'd call those assets. Pick the right car, buy when they're priced low, hold. Same as my stock fund really.
That's amazing!
I remember reading this statement last week, but can't remember where:
"If someone receives some extra money and spends it on expenses, they are poor.
If they spend it on a liability and think it's an asset, they are middle class.
If they invest it to turn it into an income stream, they are rich."
There are some words of truth in that.
I really like this.
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1965 Datsun Fairlady. Bought in 2005 for $2,500, book value now $20,000. Plus it was my daily driver for 8 of those years.
1988 Lotus Esprit. Bought in 2011 for $20,000, friend in the club just sold his exact same model for $45,000.
I'd call those assets. Pick the right car, buy when they're priced low, hold. Same as my stock fund really.
Also beautiful cars :-)
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My BIL invests in (aka flips) cars. He finds cars with expensive labor/low cost parts problems that are 5-10 years old. He buys them at like 500-1000. He fixes them, usually for something like $200ish in parts. Then he sells them at like 2-5k. Its more a side job thing, but the cars he buys are investments.
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1965 Datsun Fairlady. Bought in 2005 for $2,500, book value now $20,000. Plus it was my daily driver for 8 of those years.
1988 Lotus Esprit. Bought in 2011 for $20,000, friend in the club just sold his exact same model for $45,000.
I'd call those assets. Pick the right car, buy when they're priced low, hold. Same as my stock fund really.
I sit next to a guy work who owns a pair of consecutive numbered Plymouth Belvederes. he figures that individually they are worth money, and as a pair he thinks they are worth even more. As with any investment dependent on speculation, I remind him that they are worth nothing until a cheque is in his hand. Its like saying every lottery ticket is worth $1,000,000 right up to the moment the winning number is announced.
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My BIL invests in (aka flips) cars. He finds cars with expensive labor/low cost parts problems that are 5-10 years old. He buys them at like 500-1000. He fixes them, usually for something like $200ish in parts. Then he sells them at like 2-5k. Its more a side job thing, but the cars he buys are investments.
I feel like the time is the actual investment, the vehicles are just a vehicle (heh) to turn time into money.
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I remember reading this statement last week, but can't remember where:
"If someone receives some extra money and spends it on expenses, they are poor.
If they spend it on a liability and think it's an asset, they are middle class.
If they invest it to turn it into an income stream, they are rich."
There are some words of truth in that.
It's from Rich Dad, Poor Dad. That's pretty much the only bit of that book which stuck with me.
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Well, between 2014-2015, I drove my 2002 Ford Focus for 35k miles on behalf of my company, being reimbursed $0.575 per mile along the way. $20k - $3k in gasoline = $17k of profit. How about that for an investment? :)
I just bought a 2013 for $10k last December. Chances are, if I drive as many miles this year as 2015, I'll have all my money back by December 2016.
I miss these days. The wife had a gig as a travelling public school teacher, in a rural district with schools all over the place. They paid the standard IRS reimbursement, and she drove a Honda that got 35+mpgs, every month was another sweet mileage check.
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Apparently cars are a good investment because it "stops you from wasting the money, as the money is tied up in a valuable asset
On further investigation one friend told me that she would rather have a car payment on a car whose warranty covers costs than drive around an older vehicle and never know when an expensive repair she can't afford will be needed. I told her if she saves some of that "car payment" money each month, it should cover basic up-keep and the typical wear-and-tear problems. She says that wouldn't happen. Not having a car payment would be a "shock" to the system.
Sounds less like the issue of whether or not a car is an investment and more like some folks are afraid that if they aren't spending all of their money it's going to just fly away.
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Apparently cars are a good investment because it "stops you from wasting the money, as the money is tied up in a valuable asset
On further investigation one friend told me that she would rather have a car payment on a car whose warranty covers costs than drive around an older vehicle and never know when an expensive repair she can't afford will be needed. I told her if she saves some of that "car payment" money each month, it should cover basic up-keep and the typical wear-and-tear problems. She says that wouldn't happen. Not having a car payment would be a "shock" to the system.
Sounds less like the issue of whether or not a car is an investment and more like some folks are afraid that if they aren't spending all of their money it's going to just fly away.
So, buy an expensive car because it'll be a stop-loss against wasting the money even quicker or on something with less staying power? Interesting idea.
RE: the bolded part - I don't even comprehend how people can operate that way.
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So, buy an expensive car because it'll be a stop-loss against wasting the money even quicker or on something with less staying power? Interesting idea.
"That's a bold move cotton, let's see how it plays out."
-Dodgeball
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Being a car guy I see (the right) cars as investments....though, possibly not MMM type investments....
There is a whole lot of 90s turbo japanese vehicles (GTRs, Evos, MR2s, Civics, GTI Corollas) which at the moment are worth next to nothing, when the 'fast and the furious' generation get to middle age they will be worth a pretty penny.
The same thing has happened with eras of cars preceeding them....
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Maybe they are just trying to justify their purchase? I don't think anyone can honestly believe that your typical car is an investment.
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Yeah, if you want to make serious money on cars, import some skyline GTRs and put them up in warehouses in the US. As soon as they turn 25 years old, sell them for 3x what you paid. And hope you don't get busted in the meanwhile...
In Canada the rule is 15 years. I think we just started getting R34s. I've thought about doing this kind of thing myself. Import to Canada a year or so before the newest model update is coming to USA, then export it there at the 25 mark.
Yeesh, these things are going for 50k-100k here. I wonder what they cost to import.
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Cars are obviously almost never an investment, but it does amuse me how much of a whipping boy they are given that they actually have some residual value. Compare that with literally almost anything else you buy that immediately depreciates to near-zero or zero. What's the residual value of jewelry, dinners out, travel, a round of golf, a bike, sporting equipment, electronics, housewares, boats, etc etc etc etc? If you buy a decent used sports car (Miata, Corvette, S2000, Porsche, etc) you can probably drive it a few thousand miles a year and then sell it on for basically what you paid for it, give or take, minus maintenance. Yes, buying a new BMW sedan every few years is a recipe for financial disaster, but being smart about it can mitigate the losses and be a form of relatively cheap entertainment aside from tying up a few grand of capital.
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A friend of mine called buying a pair of waterproof portable speakers as an "investment." I asked him, "What, are you going to be renting it out for parties?"
He laughed and explained that he needs it for when he goes boating or when he's in the garage working on something.
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A friend of mine called buying a pair of waterproof portable speakers as an "investment." I asked him, "What, are you going to be renting it out for parties?"
He laughed and explained that he needs it for when he goes boating or when he's in the garage working on something.
You know what my garage music maker is?
Old WinXP computer running free Mint Linux and piping the tunes through one of those beige computer speaker plus subwoofer combos from the 90s that came with Dells made by Hardon-Karden brand.
Sounds outstanding.
My cost? Free. Nobody wants beige computer equipment anymore.
I'm getting ready to upgrade the computer to a WinVista era HP or Compaq computer. Same free Mint Linux. Same no cost speakers. ;)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clementine_(software)
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1965 Datsun Fairlady. Bought in 2005 for $2,500, book value now $20,000. Plus it was my daily driver for 8 of those years.
1988 Lotus Esprit. Bought in 2011 for $20,000, friend in the club just sold his exact same model for $45,000.
I'd call those assets. Pick the right car, buy when they're priced low, hold. Same as my stock fund really.
Yes, ^^^ this is what we do. Identify older vehicles that are cheap, but rising in value. Fix them up, drive them, and turn them for a profit. IF you know what you're doing, you can make a lot of money. It has worked for us over and over. Best win was a car that sold for more than 18 times what we bought it for -- a world record at the time!
That being said, I agree that for most people cars are not investments the way that they are for us.
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A friend of mine called buying a pair of waterproof portable speakers as an "investment." I asked him, "What, are you going to be renting it out for parties?"
He laughed and explained that he needs it for when he goes boating or when he's in the garage working on something.
You know what my garage music maker is?
Old WinXP computer running free Mint Linux and piping the tunes through one of those beige computer speaker plus subwoofer combos from the 90s that came with Dells made by Hardon-Karden brand.
Sounds outstanding.
My cost? Free. Nobody wants beige computer equipment anymore.
I'm getting ready to upgrade the computer to a WinVista era HP or Compaq computer. Same free Mint Linux. Same no cost speakers. ;)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clementine_(software)
+1. Harman-Kardon. But I'm sure they'd have sold more if they were Hardon.
I too have the beige speakers that came with a subwoofer for my 2000 "Dude It's A Dell" workstation. My parents have it hooked up to a Win10 PC I made for them.
Have you tried Neverware? I used that to convert a HP laptop circa 2006 to a Chromebook. I like LinuxMint but now love the simplicity of Chromebooks, especially when old hardware is repurposed.
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Getting my oil changed at Toyota (I know, but I'm not mechanically inclined, and I don't have time to deal with it on my own.)
Took a walk around the lot to look at trucks (Tundras). Base models are selling for 40k, and as high as 55k. Hole. E Sheet.
I bought a 2006 Tundra six years ago for 17500.00. It is a work truck, it makes me money, and sits on weekends. I believe it's still worth around 10-11k. I just can't believe prices on the new ones, and the mileage is worse!
I can normally justify any expense, but 50k for a truck? Nope. I will be driving mine into the ground.
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1965 Datsun Fairlady. Bought in 2005 for $2,500, book value now $20,000. Plus it was my daily driver for 8 of those years.
1988 Lotus Esprit. Bought in 2011 for $20,000, friend in the club just sold his exact same model for $45,000.
I'd call those assets. Pick the right car, buy when they're priced low, hold. Same as my stock fund really.
Yes, ^^^ this is what we do. Identify older vehicles that are cheap, but rising in value. Fix them up, drive them, and turn them for a profit. IF you know what you're doing, you can make a lot of money. It has worked for us over and over. Best win was a car that sold for more than 18 times what we bought it for -- a world record at the time!
That being said, I agree that for most people cars are not investments the way that they are for us.
Can you give some examples of cars you bought or are thinking of buying, that you think are going up in value?
If you bought anything exotic or very classic in ~2010, you will almost certainly have made out like a bandit by 2015. Fastback mustangs, chargers / challengers, NSXes, ferraris, lambos... some were going for as low as $20k and are now six figures just a few years later, with a pretty minimal investment in doing all the not-done maintenance.
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A friend of mine called buying a pair of waterproof portable speakers as an "investment." I asked him, "What, are you going to be renting it out for parties?"
He laughed and explained that he needs it for when he goes boating or when he's in the garage working on something.
You know what my garage music maker is?
Old WinXP computer running free Mint Linux and piping the tunes through one of those beige computer speaker plus subwoofer combos from the 90s that came with Dells made by Hardon-Karden brand.
Sounds outstanding.
My cost? Free. Nobody wants beige computer equipment anymore.
I'm getting ready to upgrade the computer to a WinVista era HP or Compaq computer. Same free Mint Linux. Same no cost speakers. ;)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clementine_(software)
I'm confused at the relevance of your post?
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A friend of mine called buying a pair of waterproof portable speakers as an "investment." I asked him, "What, are you going to be renting it out for parties?"
He laughed and explained that he needs it for when he goes boating or when he's in the garage working on something.
You know what my garage music maker is?
Old WinXP computer running free Mint Linux and piping the tunes through one of those beige computer speaker plus subwoofer combos from the 90s that came with Dells made by Hardon-Karden brand.
Sounds outstanding.
My cost? Free. Nobody wants beige computer equipment anymore.
I'm getting ready to upgrade the computer to a WinVista era HP or Compaq computer. Same free Mint Linux. Same no cost speakers. ;)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clementine_(software)
+1. Harman-Kardon. But I'm sure they'd have sold more if they were Hardon.
I too have the beige speakers that came with a subwoofer for my 2000 "Dude It's A Dell" workstation. My parents have it hooked up to a Win10 PC I made for them.
Have you tried Neverware? I used that to convert a HP laptop circa 2006 to a Chromebook. I like LinuxMint but now love the simplicity of Chromebooks, especially when old hardware is repurposed.
Nope, never heard of Neverware. WILL be looking at that one. THANKS. Yeah - Harman - not the other version. ;)
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A friend of mine called buying a pair of waterproof portable speakers as an "investment." I asked him, "What, are you going to be renting it out for parties?"
He laughed and explained that he needs it for when he goes boating or when he's in the garage working on something.
You know what my garage music maker is?
Old WinXP computer running free Mint Linux and piping the tunes through one of those beige computer speaker plus subwoofer combos from the 90s that came with Dells made by Hardon-Karden brand.
Sounds outstanding.
My cost? Free. Nobody wants beige computer equipment anymore.
I'm getting ready to upgrade the computer to a WinVista era HP or Compaq computer. Same free Mint Linux. Same no cost speakers. ;)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clementine_(software)
I'm confused at the relevance of your post?
Relevance: Why go buying fancy bluetooth speakers for your garage when you can get sounds just as good from (usually) free computer speak castoffs. If the beige color of said castoff speakers are a bother there is always spray paint.
Those same speakers are turned into bluetooth speakers via a bluetooth transmitter/receiver that can be had for $10 from the internet retailers.
Hi. My name is Jethro and I'm a cheapskate whose forum replies seem out of order b/c I don't sit on the forum and reply real time. ;)
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1965 Datsun Fairlady. Bought in 2005 for $2,500, book value now $20,000. Plus it was my daily driver for 8 of those years.
1988 Lotus Esprit. Bought in 2011 for $20,000, friend in the club just sold his exact same model for $45,000.
I'd call those assets. Pick the right car, buy when they're priced low, hold. Same as my stock fund really.
Yes, ^^^ this is what we do. Identify older vehicles that are cheap, but rising in value. Fix them up, drive them, and turn them for a profit. IF you know what you're doing, you can make a lot of money. It has worked for us over and over. Best win was a car that sold for more than 18 times what we bought it for -- a world record at the time!
That being said, I agree that for most people cars are not investments the way that they are for us.
Can you give some examples of cars you bought or are thinking of buying, that you think are going up in value?
If you bought anything exotic or very classic in ~2010, you will almost certainly have made out like a bandit by 2015. Fastback mustangs, chargers / challengers, NSXes, ferraris, lambos... some were going for as low as $20k and are now six figures just a few years later, with a pretty minimal investment in doing all the not-done maintenance.
Gimp, to answer your question, we select cars from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. Rare or extremely popular models (exotics and classics) -- usually foreign imports.
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I make my cars into investments by renting them out on Turo.
I've had a Honda Civic Hybrid up there for a couple years now, and just added a Toyota Prius. The Civic paid for itself in about a year, and I expect just slightly longer for the Prius.
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Were you the one who had a car or two totaled on Turo, or was that someone else?
Yes, they pay for it, but that's still a pain in the ass, and not something I'd be very interested in because it takes time to get a vehicle into "fully understood" state.
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Gimp, to answer your question, we select cars from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. Rare or extremely popular models (exotics and classics) -- usually foreign imports.
That's what I thought. Basically stuff that's desirable, but for most people, it's out of their means (knowledge and time) to get the car legally imported, certified, registered, titled, etc - but not out of their means (cash) to buy.
And right now the prices for these things are going up like hell.
How many Nissan GTR R32 cars have you imported? I bet you can make out like a bandit on those right now. Or, like I said before, import the R34 and leave it in a warehouse for a few years...
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You can get busted for storing a car that is not driven?
Import laws. It's illegal to own a vehicle newer than 25 years old and does not meet federal standards in place for the year it was manufactured.
It's illegal to register/drive one on public roads, but I don't think it's illegal to own one for collector / racing (i.e. off road) purposes.
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Were you the one who had a car or two totaled on Turo, or was that someone else?
Yes, they pay for it, but that's still a pain in the ass, and not something I'd be very interested in because it takes time to get a vehicle into "fully understood" state.
Yeah, that was somebody else. I have a Civic Hybrid and a Prius on Turo now, both rented regularly.
I had a renter get rear-ended while out with my Civic once, but that was really the biggest hassle. I had a check in a few days to cover the repair, but the damage was so minor I just left it alone.
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Getting my oil changed at Toyota (I know, but I'm not mechanically inclined, and I don't have time to deal with it on my own.)
Took a walk around the lot to look at trucks (Tundras). Base models are selling for 40k, and as high as 55k. Hole. E Sheet.
I bought a 2006 Tundra six years ago for 17500.00. It is a work truck, it makes me money, and sits on weekends. I believe it's still worth around 10-11k. I just can't believe prices on the new ones, and the mileage is worse!
I can normally justify any expense, but 50k for a truck? Nope. I will be driving mine into the ground.
The mileage isn't worse, the measuring stick has just changed. Pre-2008 and post-2008 numbers can't be compared as they changed the speeds (and other parameters) used in the mileage test.
Of course, with a truck it's "shitty" or "shittier" any way you look at it ;)
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You can get busted for storing a car that is not driven?
Import laws. It's illegal to own a vehicle newer than 25 years old and does not meet federal standards in place for the year it was manufactured.
It's illegal to register/drive one on public roads, but I don't think it's illegal to own one for collector / racing (i.e. off road) purposes.
I was unable to import my vehicle at all back in 1998 when I moved State-side due to differences in "safety" standards for that year. Things could have changed since then, but the idea of the USG getting somehow less protectionist makes me giggle.
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Getting my oil changed at Toyota (I know, but I'm not mechanically inclined, and I don't have time to deal with it on my own.)
Took a walk around the lot to look at trucks (Tundras). Base models are selling for 40k, and as high as 55k. Hole. E Sheet.
I bought a 2006 Tundra six years ago for 17500.00. It is a work truck, it makes me money, and sits on weekends. I believe it's still worth around 10-11k. I just can't believe prices on the new ones, and the mileage is worse!
I can normally justify any expense, but 50k for a truck? Nope. I will be driving mine into the ground.
The mileage isn't worse, the measuring stick has just changed. Pre-2008 and post-2008 numbers can't be compared as they changed the speeds (and other parameters) used in the mileage test.
Of course, with a truck it's "shitty" or "shittier" any way you look at it ;)
Learn something new everyday!
Agreed, definitely "shitty" either way.
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You can get busted for storing a car that is not driven?
Import laws. It's illegal to own a vehicle newer than 25 years old and does not meet federal standards in place for the year it was manufactured.
It's illegal to register/drive one on public roads, but I don't think it's illegal to own one for collector / racing (i.e. off road) purposes.
I was unable to import my vehicle at all back in 1998 when I moved State-side due to differences in "safety" standards for that year. Things could have changed since then, but the idea of the USG getting somehow less protectionist makes me giggle.
Was it over 25 years old at the time?