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.