Kerouac

Some of us are watching the Stock Market meltdown with a degree of alarm. But listen -- if you are on this Forum you probably own a Corvette, and if you own a Corvette I can state with certainty that the value of that asset has not moved. What has moved is the number of people with the money to purchase that asset, but they don't matter. You own an irreplaceable piece of art of which there is a finite number. We done good, guys.

Easy Rhino

I'm not planning on making any significant money on my C2, unlike my investments, and in fact, if I count my time, money, and time value of the money I spend on it, it is surely not the best investment for cash returns.

However, it pays good intangible dividends for me.

Frankie the Fink

On its best day a collectible item is a hedge against market volatility - nothing more. Unless its a super rare one-off item purchased for peanuts...

oldgold49er

Now is the time to buy. The high rollers that control the market will not allow it to fail. It always recovers with time.JMO

Frankie the Fink

Peter Lynch (legendary Magellan fund manager) said something to the effect that it isn't always the smartest stock picker that makes the profit; its those with the strongest stomach.

My guts told me the market was peaked earlier this summer so I pulled out a substantial sum and paid off my mortgage and parked the rest for future opportunities -- within days of the market top coincidentally.

Mossy66

The future opportunities will probably happen today!

Peter Lynch worked at Fidelity. He managed the Magellan fund with great success.

Gerry

Frankie the Fink

Yup. Senior moment.

I mis-stated the Vanguard name - Lynch steered Magellan for a long time....fixed it.
I'm not a day trader..... I'll move when I feel the long term trend upward is intact.

corvetteed

An attorney I worked with a few years ago, had bought an Andy Warhol painting/print/art work, for $10k in 1972, kept it in his place hanging on the wall, and sold it a couple of years ago at auction, for $7M. This guy is the only guy in my life I've ever met who was able to do what FTF said.

Frankie the Fink

Such stories come under the heading of:

"Stuff that will never happen to Frankie".

I've worked, clawed and scrambled for every dime I've gotten

biggd

My dad always said "pull out before it's too late"! I never knew he was referring to the stock market.

rfn026

We've been covering the Monterey auctions at Road Scholars Magazine. The good stuff moved up a little. It seems to be a period of consolidation more than anything. There were a lot of #1 cars and a number of #4 cars. Not a whole lot in between.

Dana Mecum tried to play in the Monterey scene and he got burned. We estimated he had $21 million in Ferraris that were No Sale. He had a Ferrari 250 that didn't get a single bid. Dana got the cars but he didn't get the bidders. There was no money at the Mecum auction.

The hobbyist auctions have never done well in Monterey. It's more of a collector car crowd in Monterey. B-J knows this and they stay away. Maybe Dana learned this year.

We're also finding a number of questionable cars in some of the high end collector car auctions. We might be running out of sellers. It's getting more and more difficult to find good cars. If you're a seller though you have a lot more negotiating power than you had a years ago.

The best advice I know cam from a collector who said"

“If you consider buying a car for one million dollars (which is really the entry point for serious collector cars) and if its value were to drop to $600,000 or $500,000, AND if that revaluation would effect your life – do not buy.”

We were the only magazine that actually sat on the floor and watched the action. The whole story is on the RSM link.

Richard Newton

GTOguy

It's all speculative. I've been in the stock market since the late '80's. Am not a day trader or a hands-on guy. The market does what it does. With no way to make money on interest in banking anymore, stocks are part of my portfolio. I've had collector cars for over 35 years, too, but back then they weren't collector cars....just used old gas hogs. Those cars (GTO's)are worth 20X what I paid for them, and I've been driving them the whole time. The '61 I bought in April is a solid investment, because I bought it as a non-runner abandoned/stored car, and was able to bring it back to life myself, without paying anybody to do the work. It all depends on when you buy, what shape, and when you sell. I have never in my life lost money on a car, and I've owned a bunch of 'em.

427/42566 coup

Did not buy my 66 for return on investment Been thru '87' ' 2000' '2008' Down turn Just got to ride it out

scopeli

a lot of corvette prices have still not returned to where they were in 2008 and if the market continues to fall the value of the older corvettes will fall.

Randy G.

Having a few cars as part of your assets isn't a bad way to go. At least they don't go out of business, and they will always be worth something somewhere. Besides, you can't drive a monthly statement to a local cruise night!

ChattanoogaJSB

I bought mine for the long haul, not as an investment. However after watching the value of my spanking new c6 decline before I sold it, I am nightly glad in the back of my mind when I see recurring threads for people who just want to buy an honest driver c2. It's getting hard to find. This is one good reason I elected to repair my car- I'm picky and quality drivers at inexpensive prices are harder to come by than restored cars.

capevettes

I look at them more as an investment in pleasure. Those of us that bought these cars 30 or 40 years ago have enjoyed driving them and have ridden the climb in value as well. Over the years I have met alot of good people and have enjoyed many cruise nights, road trips and just enjoyed cruising around. There have been many "the sky is falling" moments over the years where the cars have dipped in value, but it always recovers. In the meantime, just enjoy them

GTOguy

I agree with you guys, An investment in pleasure, which means less stress, which means better health all the way around. Stress is a killer. If you are constantly worried about monetary value, it would be pretty hard to enjoy anything. In the long term, like 40 years out, it will be a crapshoot. Due to attrition and lack of interest of future generations, as well as oppressive mis-guided government mandates, these cars may be worth a lot less. The garden-variety 1930's and '40's cars have gone down, since most of the Greatest Generation has left us. Not a lot of people around remembering 1935 anymore. Soon, nobody will remember 1965. That said, cars that were 'special' when new tend to remain valuable for the long haul....like Stutz Bearcats, Duesenburgs, Musclecars, and Corvettes. My point? Enjoy these cars while you can, as much as you can!

Frankie the Fink

My cars are about 4% of my net worth. Not much of a hedge. And I couldn't care less about what fat cats are paying for 7 digit pasta rockets.

Gary's '66

The one and only reason I bought my car was for the investment of the pleasure in owning and driving it. Interest is accrued daily as I enjoy it more and more.

Gary