While it’s certainly true for most cars that they’re liabilities instead of assets, it definitely isn’t true for all cars. There is indeed a grade of cars which fall into the investments bracket, quite aptly named investment cars. Primarily, investment cars are those which appreciate in value instead of depreciating as soon as you’ve completed the purchase, although there are other ways of approaching car trading in a way that qualifies the handled units as investment cars. As a result, the investment cars market isn’t only limited to a handful of people who have some cash reserves to play around with, but rather open to just anyone harbouring the kind of love for cars which will drive their knowledge-acquisition efforts.
Primary Investment Cars
This is essentially what people are talking about when they simply refer to them as investment cars in that it’s merely a car which is known to not only retain its value, but appreciates in value and so qualifies as an asset. The Lamborghini Countach comes to mind as perhaps one of the most famous examples of an investment car which falls into the primary bracket of investment cars. If you buy one now (if you can get a hold of one – that is) you can be sure of it having a higher future value when you decide to sell it off in the future.
As is the case with the Countach, most investment cars derive their value from sentiment, but it’s the sort of sentiment which is bankable. A brand new car is unlikely to immediately earn the status of being an investment car, simply because investment cars usually earn that status as a result of a scarcity-driven sentiment. If Ferrari produces a limited edition super car in 2016 for example and only 150 units are ever made, that would be a good bet on that limited edition super car earning investment car status in the future, but it’s never a 100% sure thing.
Secondary Investment Cars
Primary investment cars such as the Lamborghini Countach are naturally very expensive and by the time they’re graded as investment cars, the average person probably can’t afford to buy one even if they wanted to. That’s where the secondary investment car market comes to the fore, available to just about anyone with an appetite for trading cars as an investment. Even if you have bad credit and need car finance, you can still play the secondary investment car market. It goes beyond say buying a used van, having it branded and then perhaps using it to run a local delivery service. This is indeed a good example of how to operate in the secondary investment car market, but you can go even more direct than that. Certain cars which depreciate in value just like all other ordinary cars are popular amongst wedding planners and for use in other similar events, so buying an old Rolls Royce for example would qualify it as an investment car. Since it’ll probably be used every other weekend or so, the maintenance would be very manageable and you can get quite a good return on investment.