There are a lot of charlatans on the internet, and some members of this special category of people want you to purchase their car as an investment. Anyone who’s browsed the sale ads knows the type of person I’m referring to here:
“No joyrides!”
“Very rare, collectible car!”
“Special opportunity!”
“No lowballers, I know what I got.”
Of course, what they’ve usually “got” is a vehicle priced firmly in loony bin territory. Today we want to know: In the near future, which newer vehicles will be worth far less than what these opportunistic sellers are asking?
This question is the inverse of one asked back in February, where we picked out more recent vehicles that will actually be collectible in the future. I’m going to impose the same two rules as last time, as they seemed to work pretty well.
- Your predicted overpriced vehicle must be 15 years old or less, which leaves it 10 or more years to age into classic status at 25. That means all vehicles are 2004 or newer.
- There should be some real reason your selection(s) might become fodder for bad investment types.
I think there are two categories of sellers who end up with these vehicles. The first is the one who had a “great idea” back in 2005 and purchased so and so vehicle. He stored it in a heated garage wrapped in Saran wrap, waiting. Waiting for some date in the future, when his ride of choice would be unveiled on Bring A Trailer with 5 miles on the odometer (thus funding his retirement). This type of seller is found in the Midwest.
The second category of seller is found, more often, under a rock. They crawl out and buy a car at considerable discount (for whatever reason) and then sell it as a quick flip for profit, with or without some sort of mechanical/restoration work. This seller is also found on eBay at times. Probably in Florida.
“But what car,” I hear you thinking, “might fall prey to either of these, and not be worth much?”
Here’s one — it’s the Cadillac XLR. As the spiritual successor to the Allanté, the folding hardtop coupe rode on the same platform as the contemporary Corvette. Manufactured from 2004 through 2009, the pricey luxury convertible was the halo for the Cadillac brand. Because of Corvette and brand management reasons, the XLR had either a standard 4.6-liter Northstar V8 or a supercharged 4.4-liter Northstar in the super hot V variant.
The standard version XLR in particular seems like prime no lowballers fodder in a few years. It was expensive as new, it was kneecapped by GM to protect the Corvette, and the luxury interior was trash.
What’s your pick for overpriced (not) collectible cars of the future?
[Images: Bigstock, GM]
The SSR and Thunderbird lasted until after 2004, but those aren’t really fair as they are both super obvious (“collectibility” is already happening) and were introduced several years before the cutoff.
For vehicles introduced after 2004, I would say any of the “special edition” muscle cars that aren’t really that special. Hot Wheels Camaro, Bullitt Mustang, Super Bee Charger, any pace car edition etc.
“Special edition Mustangs” was my immediate reflex. I wasn’t even aware of the others you mention.
Pretty much any special edition domestic car marketed to boomers, especially the retro designs. In 20 years there won’t be anyone left to appreciate and buy these cars, they are too generation-specific.
Shelby still seems to carry some steam. The up coming GT500 was originally slated to be called the “King Cobra” apparently Ford felt that the name didn’t hold much weight and would have required a much more expensive ground up campaign.
My guess would be special editions of the ubiquitous.. e.g. Star Wars Rogue or Barbie/Gucci Cinquecento. Say it still has the trooper helmet with standee thrown in from the showroom.
Agreed.
My crystal ball says the Nissan Murano convertible. Even today, it’s a unicorn.
Throw the Acura ZDX into that steaming pile for similar reasons.
And the Honda Ridgeline, whose merits I will defend against the “not a real truck” guys…but whose owners are truly obsessed. Look up the editor of the Ridgeline’s Wikipedia page for proof.
Why my 2017 SS of course. It’s a rare color (Regal Peacock Green) and 1 of 12 as optioned. 6mt, no sunroof. I could probably sell it today at least for what I paid for it if not more. I’m keeping it completely stock, not even tinting the windows.
Of course I may never sell it anyway, so it’s probably only worth something to me. If you want to buy it however, you better have proof of insurance and funds. :)
My wife wants a 3rd fun car and she mentioned the XLR. A quick search found them all to be pretty high mileage in questionable condition. I’d rather take my chances on a C6.
Oh and let me know if you can find a clean Aztek!
I wouldn’t gamble on XLR given the current valuations, much better off in a C6. I don’t know much about them, but I’ll throw out BMW Z4.
date/sale/mileage/condition/transmission/color/auction location
MY05 BMW Z4 2.5 I4
4/4/18 $3,900 123,822 2.56G/A Silver RegularWest CoastCalifornia
3/29/18 $5,000 76,330 2.16G/A Silver LeaseSoutheastTampa
3/28/18 $4,300 99,045 2.06G/A White RegularWest CoastSan Diego
3/21/18 $5,000 55,646- — -/M Gray RegularSouthwestSan Antonio
3/21/18 $6,900 60,046- -6G/A Gray RegularSouthwestDallas
3/15/18 $4,100 85,035 2.16G/A Black RegularSouthwestDallas-Fort Worth
3/14/18 $10,500 *50,578 4.66G/A Gold RegularWest CoastCalifornia
MY05 BMW Z4 3.0 I6
3/29/18 $6,619 49,789 3.06G/A Gray RegularNortheastNew Jersey
3/20/18 $4,000 145,432 3.56G/A White LeaseMidwestSt Louis
3/8/18 $6,000 85,285- -6G/A Gray RegularSoutheastSt Pete
2/26/18 $5,900 121,591- -6CY/A White RegularSoutheastCharlotte
2/22/18 $8,700 31,254 4.66G/A Gray RegularSoutheastJacksonville
2/22/18 $7,000 *116,567 4.26G/6 Gray LeaseMidwestChicago
2/22/18 $3,300 99,760- — -/- – Gray RegularSouthwestTexas Hobby
Ignore the asterisks.
Contrast with XLR:
date/sale/mileage/condition/transmission/color/auction location
MY05 Cadillac XLR 4.4 V8
3/6/18 $12,800 49,264 3.3 8G/A Silver Lease SoutheastOrlando
4/5/18 $10,000 77,895- — -/A Blue Regular SoutheastSt Pete
4/3/18 $15,500 46,218- — -/P Blue Regular SoutheastPensacola
3/5/18 $6,300 142,220 3.3 8G/A Black Regular SoutheastNorth Carolina
2/23/18 $15,500 55,325 4.1 8G/A Gray Regular West CoastNevada
2/21/18 $21,300 23,567- – 8G/A Black Regular SouthwestDallas
So essentially even if the BMW costs you what it was worth in terms of deferred maintenance, you’re still only at where the XLR starts.
I only have two words for my thought on XLR: N!gga please.
The XLR suffers from a bunch of NLA parts….stuff that actually breaks occasionally in the real world like headlights and tail lights.
Those are quite reasonably priced over Bangled Z4, Miata money. The ones I see on eBAY and Craigs List are in the $8-14k range.
This is wholesale. Laugh at anything much more.
None of them? Nah. I expect the Alfas will end up the collectibles, and maybe the Maseratis. They’re rare due to an obsolete reputation and yet are highly desirable for their style and reputed performance. These new Cadillacs? The brand has lost its mojo. Through the ’70s and even into the ’80s they were considered Classics right off the assembly line; now they’re ugly, angular, almost grade-school-looking vehicles where the designers had to use a ruler just to draw a straight line. There’s nothing about the new Caddys that screams ‘Classic lines’ or even Luxury any more.
Point missed.
All of what you are saying could be applied to the last of the Alfas that were imported prior to their return under the FCA umbrella. The Millano with that Angels singing sounding Busso V6, RWD, rear mount transmission and all of that struggles to get to 4 figures. 164’s don’t fetch muchdespite being great looking cars and having an engine compartment almost as as sexy as an SHO’s
But I could see down the road someone inserting the phrase “Ferrari Engine” into a Guilia ad and trying to price it like a 250 GT California.
*Most* of the E60 M5s out there, as offered by the guy coming from under a rock. The majority have been ridden hard and trade at a price that leaves them likely to be modified without regard to addressing their weak points that exist even in stock form, such as the probable need for rod bearings inside of 80K and the terrible SMG transmission that the majority of these cars had. The design is aging poorly, particularly the interior.
I have very good example of one of these; rod bearings swapped, VANOS rebuilt, and has the 6mt. They might be worth some scratch down the road; probably the last naturally-aspirated M car; and the engine is a strange one-off.
The default thinking on these in M5 world is the 6MT examples will be worth money. There’s a couple Europeans I’ve learned about who already have paid big bucks to have pristine 6MT E60 M5’s sent back to Europe given they were never sold there.
But I am somewhat of a contrarian on this. I think the most valuable examples of these cars – assuming they’re ever worth anything as collectibles – will be like-new SMG cars that have original matching part #’s on everything including the transmission. Given how SMG’s hold up, such cars are probably rarer unicorns than the genuine manuals already.
I never liked the E60 from the get-go.
a) how dare you
b) i will never sell mine, after all the money put into the SMG
c) how dare you
d) its the last great M car
I’m still holding out hope that my GTO starts to appreciate… any day now. As is, it has “high” mileage since so many people parked them with the plastic still on the seats. 5 years ago it was easier to find one with lower than 15k miles than it was to find one with over 50k miles. I wouldn’t care WHY people would pay a ton of money for it, I would just want the money.
I was almost the guy you’re describing. I nearly bought a 2006 black on red one with 7,000 miles. But I decided the price was too high for me at the moment and I also wanted one that I would be able to enjoy driving. So I found mine with mid-30k miles for less than $17k. I’ve got around 60k on it now (after 6 years) and I could probably get what I paid for it back but it certainly hasn’t been the sound investment I thought it would be. Especially not considering the maintenance I’ve done.
Stock photo girl…still lusting after the slickster.
Don’t do it honey, he’ll treat you bad….
Nods.
Sales monkey needs a better haircut or more pomade.
I thought this site bid adieu to the stock photo set of undershirt/sports jacket and horseface and rolled out a new photo set. What gives?
Ford Raptor; you can picture the CL ad now, in 2030 professing the joys of the never been off-loaded or abused bro-dozer with mad power.
Any Z06 vette.
I wish the XLR was on it, but the problem is they are holding their value too well… urgh.
I think the C6. It has very few redeeming qualities, and those redeeming qualities are only valued by older people who will be dead in 50 years. thats my opinion.
this is really tough because some cars I thought were going to be real bargains- 2nd and 3rd gen camaros and Fieros have somehow shot up in value. A collector bought my Fiero 4 years ago for 5 grand. I thought I made a killing. the same car is now worth like 15, and it looks like he saw something I didn’t.
I started getting in the circles of car collectors and I realized what they look for now. The big problem is, can you find me ANY car over 30 years old that isn’t worth at least its MSRP? I don’t think so.
So the problem is ALL of them are good investments if you can wait long enough. the problem is that the buyers who are 50 when they buy the vette and leave it unmolested for 50 years are dead by the time it has value ;)
They are only good investments if you don’t consider the “time value” of money.
Given how the BMW 1M held its value (I think around here, they’re still selling for close to original MSRP, over 5 years later), I’d suspect there’ll be some M2s sitting somewhere as someone’s “investment.”
I’m also certain most major metro areas have at least one ’10 Camaro SS, yellow with black stripes, and an Autobots logo sloppily glued to the front fender, which will be locked away, certain people are due to get Baysplosion nostalgia any day now.
The M2 is a good choice for attracting bad investment types because everyone knows how valuable the 1M is but not everyone thinks about how comparatively less rare M2s are, I’d guess.
Air cooled Porsche 911.
Um, those have already been there for a decade.
If I had to guess I’d say the currently sold Alfa Romeo 4C. It seems like everyone expects it to be valuable, but critically nobody seems to adore driving it like a car that compromised should inspire, it has onerous regular maintenance, and its powertrain is not very special on paper. It seems to be overshadowed by a sedan from its own company and they are probably building a two door version of that car with KERS.
If overpriced means that the driving/ownership experience won’t be worth the cost, that’s got to be my guess. Then again I kind of hope they depreciate enough for me to consider one someday, ha. I do love small cars.
Like I said… obsolete reputation. I’m willing to wager you haven’t owned one and don’t have ANY first-hand data on the car’s reliability.
I said regular maintenance not reliability, thinking of things like the bolt tightening service.
If it’s an easy car to service, work on, and find parts for, that’s great. I hope it is; I genuinely would like to drive one and own one someday.
Reliability might be a point in this car’s favor with manual steering and repairs might be cheap if common driveline components are shared with other vehicles. Not sure exactly how far that’s the case.
Given the simplicity of design, I expect the car is quite easy to work on, with the probable exception of the engine itself. Modern engines are so highly computerized that I expect none of them are as easy to work on as they used to be. I expect problems are more often with their computers than any physical issues.
While recalls are not long-term reliability, the Stelvio just got two separate recalls for poor water sealing causing electrical issues (losing horn and turn signals up front, and causing the tailgate to open unprompted at the rear). In addition, I’ve seen a handful of Stelvios delivered with tailgates that wouldn’t close. I don’t know if someone’s told Alfa that their old reputation is obsolete. That said, I don’t think they’re that far off anything high end and European (you’re taking your chances whoever you buy from).
CTS-V Wagon. Rare, unique and already appreciating in value.
Tell me how many of the B&B would not buy one at ‘the right price’?
You’re right on this.
Much like a stopped watch, I get it right occasionally.
And John T, below is just being obstreperous, we all know that he would never turn down a Taurus wagon at the right price. :-)
I wouldn’t. Don’t like wagons. I’m not intending to be disrespectful to those who do, they’re just not my thing.
Actually, Arthur, I’d buy one at the wrong price. It’s awesome.
Civic Type R.
“But, look at ITR prices, bro!”
Yes. The ITR was also a unique car with a unique motor from a unique era. The CTR is being built in higher numbers, and lacks the simplicity and grace of the ITR, and has plenty of contemporaries that perform as well or better (Focus RS, STI, etc.)
Tesla Roadster. They will be considered worn out tech by a generation not really interested in collectable cars, or car ownership in general.
The SLS AMG is a can’t miss.
Agree. The best of the naturally aspirated AMGs, and actually a fair bit nicer for *most* of what you’d use such a car for than its AMG-GTS descendant.
The SLS AMG is a can’t miss.
chevy SS
The final Scion FRS. “Hey it’s the last one before it reverted to Toyota as the 86”.
These might have already been said but my computer is slow this AM and I’m not going to rifle through the comments right now. And my selections are meant in the spirit of not deserving to be collectible.
Any beyond the base V8 version of the Camaro, Mustang, Charger, or Challenger. (Think Charger 392 “shaker” 10 to 15 years from now)
Any unmolested performance version of any BOF SUV or truck. Whether that be a on road or off-road performance version.
Holden/Pontiac G8’s with the Tremec manual (GXP package?).
Manual G8 GXPs and SSes are retaining insane amounts of value.
Yep.
Nissan Juke, because for some reason, people associate weird and ugly with desirable and cool. In the same vein, the Nissan Cube.
Disclaimer: I actually like the Cube, but I’d drive it and use it like any other car, with no intention/delusion of one day using the sale price to fund a luxury cruise around the world.
The Juke will appeal since people like dated ugly vehicles from every decade (original Valiant, Pacer, anything from the 80’s, X90 and Metro Convertible, SSR). The Juke Nismo definitely is a good answer to this question
I like the VehiCROSS a lot.
I have to think low mileage, V6/6-speed Honda Accord Coupes may eventually achieve some sort of collectability. I would like to know Jack’s perspective on this since he owns one now.
How about any Porsche that’s not a 911 Turbo or GT3?
I’m sure that as I sit and type this, there’s some guy in his 50’s who just dropped his kid’s college fund on a Cayenne Turbo who will inevitably try to BS some sucker into believing that it’ll one day see the same stratospheric price jump as air-cooled 911s.
The XLR will probably be somewhat collectible for a while, assuming the 4.4 Northstar actually holds. Eventually it will slow down to Allanté status, so a $1500-3000 car everyone thinks is worth much much more.
The huge failure that was ELR may become collectible, at least if the Volt does the same. The CTS Wagon already is in the status, possibly the CTS-V. The ninth gen Camaro will become akin to the IROC, desirable but not entirely valuable. I don’t see the Alpha Camaro being a collectible outside of the special editions. I can’t think of any more GM stuff of the top of my head.
Dodge Challenger will probably be somewhat collectible, Viper for sure. Wranglers to some extent as well. Ford’s stuff is largely forgettable, maybe Mustang only because Mustang like Camaro is always sought after. Ford Ranger maybe, Panthers will have a cult following but I doubt will be collectible per se.
I believe all Teslas will be collectible, especially after the company folds. The others in the EV graveyard not so much. Prius will probably be akin to the Beetle in the late 60s and 70s, iconic and somewhat collectible. Scion TC’s will probably be collectible, along with Toyota 86.
I’m positive there will be a group of people willing to pay something for the exceedingly rare Performance Package ELR (2016 only) for a long time. How much “something” is, I’m not sure.
I don’t disagree. Niche stuff typically either stays strong or dives in the aftermarket (as evidenced by our other discussions below).
Where do we see the Conti going in this way? Let’s say they only do this generation, or maybe a quickie refresh and cancel as Mr. CEO dislikes sedans.
Possibly Corey, I’ll keep watching it. Last I checked it was doing high 20s but the CT6 was surprisingly besting it.
A lot of you have listed cars that actually will be collectible. Pretty sure the question is about the illusion of collectability, vehicles that will be sold by “i know what I got” guys of the future.
Current Civic Type R, FRS (the last Scion) and one or two year special editions of American trucks and pony cars are great calls. I’d add the HHR SS (other than the Panel, which actually will be collectible), GC/Durango SRT, 45-series AMGS (especially CLA and GLA), M Sport BMWs, new Tahoe RST, any of the half-assed off road versions of current trucks (Rebel, Trailboss), Hyundai Genesis coupe, 4 cylinder and V6 Camaro 1LEs, late model Subaru Forester XT (ie the ones that look like generic crossovers), Cadillac ELR, CVT WRXes, Porsche Macan Panamera and Cayenne, 1st gen Volt, and Kia Stinger
You have understood the question.
Yeah, what we’re after here is crack-pipe collectible asks, like this:
https://norfolk.craigslist.org/cto/d/1987-buick-regal-turbo-like/6541629904.html
“My loss is your gain.”
Perfect.
I live in a city where almost any car more than 20 years old is labeled a “classic”. Many sellers don’t realize that just because a car is somewhat rare doesn’t make it valuable or even desirable. So in the future I can see cars like the Lexus SC 430, Pontiac Solstice, Chrysler Crossfire and Nissan 350Z all being listed for high on weed prices.
Ha, I forgot about those, those are all great examples, especially the Crossfire.
I feel like the SC430 might have some minor collectibility in the same way as a Reatta or Allante
I went back and forth about the collectible status on the SC430.
It’s hurt because they made a lot of them, but is helped by the excellent V8 and build quality. As well, most of them end up well-kept and low mileage by the blonde women who rarely drove them.
I think with low mileage and in the right colors (not gold), they will have decent value for some time to come. They’ll fall much more slowly than the XLR.
The SC430 is already there.
MY05
3/21/18 $8,500 109,965 2.9 8G/A Red Lease MidwestMilwaukee
3/7/18 $4,9001 46,7623.0 8G/A Silver Lease NortheastNew Jersey
3/28/18 $12,600 74,032- – 8G/- – Silver Regular NortheastNew Jersey
3/22/18 $10,700 76,7922.7 8G/A Silver Regular NortheastFredericksburg
3/14/18 $6,500 139,5823.0 8G/A Blue Regular West CoastCalifornia
3/7/18 $5,000 *221,3802.7 8G/A Blue Regular West CoastCalifornia
On XLR, I want to know who is buying these things. Did it somehow become attractive to Zhōngguó rén with more dollars than sense? Baffles me, its just an inferior Corvette, and C6 in MY05 pulls 3-4K *more* than XLR (XLR should really be about half to sixty percent of C6). Are people doing swaps and making a Cadivette which to some would be attractive?
I think on the SC, the ones asking big money are lower miles than those, and not for sale yet. I’m thinking you’ll see a 50k example asking $25-30,000 or something in a few years.
Not sure on the XLR. To me it has no customer except the delusional.
@Lightspeed Nobody don’t never want the GS, which is a shame.
And also good for used customers. Can get a 13-14 (non-predator) GS350 with ~50k on it, for $22-23.
Come on. Of course the XLR is a slower Corvette substantively. But it’s ridiculously pretty, and that’s enough. (Also sounds great in V form with the supercharged Northstar.)
It doesn’t look that great to me, in its early Art and Science iteration styling. The front end is quite dated, and the interior is straight STS.
Gimme an SL any day for luxury cabriolet motoring.
Because the XLR was such a low volume vehicle many parts are impossible to find.(Truly unobtainium.) If you ever see an XLR in a wrecking yard, grab any intact headlamp and tail lamp assemblies and sell them on ebay for $2000 each.
“Pretty” means competing with the vastly superior SC430 in valuation? Really?
I’ve seen this phenomenon before, we used to just refer to it being an “oddball car”. Usually something low volume and niche finds a better aftermarket than the initial market and thus the valuations remain steady (the Nissan CrossCabriolet is a recent example). Typically though in those cases there is not a similar model from the same mfg in the same period which in theory competes to an extent (the C6 Vette). I’d love to have a conversation with someone who sought this out and ask why.
@Corey
“Not sure on the XLR. To me it has no customer except the delusional.”
I agree. Its good to know about the GS400, I am eying up a potential LS460 AWD purchase probably around 2020, it currently trades about 10K-13K more than the GS numbers quoted.
“Gimme an SL any day for luxury cabriolet motoring.”
You really don’t want that unless its a clean classic.
@GS 455
“Because the XLR was such a low volume vehicle many parts are impossible to find.(Truly unobtainium.)”
Allante was/is the same way, although I believe there were more of those produced than the 15,460 XLRs produced. The yards I visit rarely have anything so new, but thanks for the tip.
If you’re buying an out-of-warranty exotic roadster, then “pretty” is probably your first criterion.
@dal
Seems like they’re… flirtin’ with disaster :D
Perhaps its just a recipe for subprime:
1. One cup “pretty”.
2. One cup “stupid”.
3. Two and a half cups “poor”.
4. A dash of impulsive.
Voila!
I feel like we are talking about the S-Type now.
I am surprised at the value of SC430s. My brother has one and it’s holding value far better than my GS400, which is worth nothing, despite having the same drivetrain, quality, and better looks (in my opinion).
S160 platform GS sedans with V8’s are opposite of “overpriced faux collectible.”
They are in the “under the radar gem” category.
Media and owners alike frequently take the SC430 to task for its bulbous styling and harsh ride quality. I daresay the XLR would be the more livable and even enjoyable vehicle to own and drive between them until the Northstar blows up.
Hey MiddleAgedMiataMan…the harsh ride quality of the SC430 is easily rectified by chucking the run flat tires. It’s like night and day. I own one.
I also own a Miata…
The guy who owned my 350Z before me thought it was going to be some kind of collectable… he was wrong. These things are a dime a dozen. The only thing making them even slightly collectable is they are ALL modified (or crashed) at some point so a dead stock, original condition model will be an interesting vehicle in a throw-back kind of way, but only after another 20 years.
The reason most cars today can’t be true collectables is even “rare” cars are mass produced and with option packages. Thus gone are the days when a vehicle could be 10 of 200 made due some odd ball color, engine, transmission or other option combination. Modern vehicles that come to mind are BMW M Coupe and Pontiac Solstice Coupe. These both had low enough production runs that they are really rare vehicles.
I know for certain that you won’t see current regular, mainstream cars like Accords and Camrys become collectables like the Chevelles and Fairlanes from the 60s. The only modern collectables will be the already high-priced, high-performance cars, stuff like AMG Mercs, BMW M-cars, Corvette Z06, that sort of thing.
What I think you will see becoming collectible in a few decades are excellent-condition examples of today’s regular old pickup trucks. When today’s 20somethings are 60something, that is what they are going to be nostalgic about.
And 4Runners, they will always be collectable.
Collectible:
Audi TTRS
Cadillac CTS-V WAGON
Unmolested Hellcat/Demon
Overpriced:
Original Tesla Roadster
Mustang Laguna Seca Edition (remember the M3 killer?)
It’s not exactly old enough to officially be a collectable yet, but something like my ’06 Dodge Ram 2500 could be later on, especially being that mine is one of the few still 100% stock and well cared for. It’s also a fairly well loaded Mega Cab Laramie. I was lucky enough to buy mine off a retiree, which typically seems to be my modus operandi when acquiring my vehicles. I wouldn’t want to buy from someone in my age group.
Other Dodge Cummins trucks tend to be rode hard and put away wet once the price descends below $30k, less so the 1500s and gas 2500s/3500s. It’s hard to do in the drivetrain (the transmission to an extent) so most will succumb to frame damage due to extreme mudding and rally crossing in the desert off canyons. I just tow/cruise in mine.
I’ve always liked the short-bed, single-cab Rumble Bee Dodges, and any day now I am going to yearn for an Intrepid–very few will be around by then. Rumble Bees are collectable candidates, not so sure about the Intrepid, as much as I love the LH cars.
I really like the Ram 3500 Resistol Edition, something Dodge had for a couple years. That’s going to be a collectable for sure. Super nice truck, nicest one I’ve seen or will ever see.
Any Corvette. Not too popular outside of the boomers.
Fast, high performance cars are so ubiquitous today, that I am guessing many will not be as collectible as their owners may think.
Mini Cooper JCW Editions
Fiat 500 Abarth
Honda Civic Type R
Subaru WRX
BMW M3 (F80) and all other turbocharged BMW special editions
C6 ZR1
VW Golf R
Ferrari 360
Aside from the Ferrari 360 and Vette, all of these cars are generally listed by their loving owners with “just testing the market” or “firm” or whatever, and the asking price is usually NADA, KBB or more, depending on their moods. But the reality of these vehicles is that they are overly complicated and often driven hard, particularly the WRX.
In the case of the C6 ZR1, I don’t think it compares favorably for long term collectibility compared to the Z06. The supercharged LS9 is overkill, imo. The LS7 is a gem, and it will wear well.
The Ferrari 360 is not as pretty as an F355 or 458. It’s also severely down on power compared to the 430. However, the 360 is not overkill so it might end up endearing itself. Hard to say. Anyway, most of them are older than 2004, but production continued until 2005 and the last model year was 2004, so I guess it qualifies.
i’ll go out on a probably unpopular limb—-all *collectible* cars that aren’t European super-luxury or some form of V-8 muscle car/truck will turn out like beanie babes.
Collecting semi-normal cars as investments will go extinct like collecting baseball cards as investments.
Tastes change over generations. My father-in-law sees the writing on the wall and has been steadily liquidating his childhood baseball collection over the last few years while the getting is still good
IMHO, the “semi-normal” cars that become collectible end up that way precisely because nobody “invested” in them.
My votes for white elephants: Hummer H3, Pontiac G6 hardtop convertible, and Volvo C30. Honorable mention goes to the Ford Flex.
Audi RS3. Giulia Quadrifoglio. Porsche GT2 RS. Honda CB1100EX. Buy them today, keep em in your private carpeted/heated warehouse-museum and let them age half a century. Most likely only the CB will still work by then and (except for the Porsche) this will be the main reason the German and the Italian will be rare.
PS: GT2RS is rare the moment it is built so that’s a no-brainer.
Those will certainly become true collectibles, but this question is about white elephants that sellers THINK are worth more than they actually are.
Either I’m just getting old, or I’m completely out of synch with you guys.
1. I think it’s going to be prohibitively expensive to get one of those expensive high-falutin’ Eurosleds up and running. So if it isn’t a Ferrari or a Porsche, count me unimpressed with the potential investment potential. Given the number of Audi’s, BMW’s, and Mercedes’s I’m already seeing in the “buy here pay here” lots out in SE Portland, I’m not holding much optimism for those brands, with a few possible exceptions.
2. Domestics? Count me in for a Raptor, a Ram SRT10, any Corvette, Mustang, Charger, 300, Chevy SS… Did I forget anything?
3. JDM. If it’s a Lexus with a V8, I’d probably go thumbs up. Maybe a Nissan GTR, or that Mitsu with the big spoilers on the back (you can tell I don’t even pay attention to that brand anymore).
Trailblazer SS / Saab 9-7x Aero
There was a point in time when the Trailblazer SS had a lot of performance cachet, but everyone I know who’s had a Trailblazer had nothing nice to say about it when it comes to reliability.
2005-2008 Dodge Magnum.
Unique and still turns heads.