Depreciation resistant contractor's cars?

[PAH]

As the economy enters a new phase of doom are we going to see significant bargains in certain prestige cars and other luxury items?

Seems you can already get an Aston Martin V8 Vantage or DB9 for around £30k. Looking at prices for the older DB7 it appears the baseline for these may be not much less than £20k in another 10 years, so not bad depreciation at all. I've lost 10k on a car in less than a year before now.

Maybe there are certain Porsches and other decent cars that will hold up the same, while not being too costly to run and can still be used for daily driving/commuting without much compromise if not doing many hundreds of miles a week.

Seems a no brainer when you see how much other more mainstream cars costing £20k to £30k depreciate in just a few years. The lower depreciation would offset the higher servicing and fuel costs.

So a brand new Vauxhall/Ford/VW or a 5 year old Aston Martin? That shouldn't even be a question on here.

[also a fun way of storing some of the warchest to protect against bank thievery or sterling devaluation ]

[Freamon]

So a brand new Vauxhall/Ford/VW or a 5 year old Aston Martin? That shouldn't even be a question on here.

As long as you don't mind the fuel costs or maintenance?

[Fred Bloggs]

Probably something like a Hyundai i20 for £8k with a 5 year warranty. It'll probably be worth £2.5 to £3k in five years time so in terms of depreciation and running costs it is difficult to fault it. And you get to keep >£20k in the bank compared to buying the 5 year old Aston. You know it makes sense.

[doodab]

As the economy enters a new phase of doom are we going to see significant bargains in certain prestige cars and other luxury items?

Seems you can already get an Aston Martin V8 Vantage or DB9 for around £30k. Looking at prices for the older DB7 it appears the baseline for these may be not much less than £20k in another 10 years, so not bad depreciation at all. I've lost 10k on a car in less than a year before now.

Maybe there are certain Porsches and other decent cars that will hold up the same, while not being too costly to run and can still be used for daily driving/commuting without much compromise if not doing many hundreds of miles a week.

Seems a no brainer when you see how much other more mainstream cars costing £20k to £30k depreciate in just a few years. The lower depreciation would offset the higher servicing and fuel costs.

So a brand new Vauxhall/Ford/VW or a 5 year old Aston Martin? That shouldn't even be a question on here.

[also a fun way of storing some of the warchest to protect against bank thievery or sterling devaluation ]

They are cheap to buy because of the running costs (fuel, insurance, maintenance)

If you want something like that look into things that will actually appreciate like older Ferraris. 330GTC for example is worth 3x what it was worth 20 years ago.

If you want something with low depreciation get a 10 year old Audi or Merc that only costs £5k to begin with.

[PAH]

As long as you don't mind the fuel costs or maintenance?

As it would be outside the initial warranty (though a decent aftermarket warranty may be advisable, I expect most mechanical bits are costly to replace) then servicing at an independent may be the best bet, assuming Aston don't have any special tools or parts only their dealers have access to.

Fuel averages around 20 mpg on the V8V, so reasonable (and comparable to the VXR8 which is the other monster V8 option on my 'cars to own while I can' list) unless doing mega miles, when a cheap runabout would be better for commuting anyway, keeping the Aston in the garage for weekends and evenings.

As I'm mostly working from home for the foreseeable I don't do that many miles anyway.

Will have to remember to keep the Aston out of permie eyesight when visiting the client. Green eyed monster permies are a surefire way of getting one's contract ended prematurely as they'll tulip stir until the management decide it's the easier life choice.

[PAH]

You know it makes sense.

Ok for what I class as a disposable car. One you can abuse, abandon, and not really give a tulip about. Love bangers for that stress free aspect, knowing I could replace without blinking an eye. Anything under £10k is a 'banger' to contractors.

So I'm thinking of something that has a bit more soul, even if only as a second car. Something you look forward to driving, even if only down to the shops. Though something that won't lose thousands a month while sat in the garage, so a shrewd investment as much as any car can be.

[PAH]

They are cheap to buy because of the running costs (fuel, insurance, maintenance)

According to minimal research done so far these baby Astons are comparable to 911s in terms of maintenance costs, when done at a reputable independent rather than shirt lifting main dealer.

Insurance and fuel is not much worse that most tasty cars that struggle to offer 30mpg.

If you want something like that look into things that will actually appreciate like older Ferraris. 330GTC for example is worth 3x what it was worth 20 years ago.

If you want something with low depreciation get a 10 year old Audi or Merc that only costs £5k to begin with.

There's got to be some that cover both angles (hence me starting this thread), offering huge desirability and that specialness factor, yet not going to be a total money pit.

I imagine classic cars like older Ferraris are more garage jewellery that only get taken out for posing in at weekends when the weather is fine.

I'd prefer something that can be driven daily in relative comfort and style if desired, and have at least some semblance of reliability.

I must have pissed away close to £100k on motors over the last 15 years, so why stop now? You only live once as far as we know, so may as well enjoy it. Can get a boring car when I'm an old fart with no decent income or pension.

[PAH]

Connect four.

[swamp]

Toyota GT 86.

£25K new. Low expected depreciation, very low running costs (though long waiting list).

[VectraMan]

My 12-year old S2000 is effectively depreciation proof. Loads of fun to drive, but with the age, mileage and Tesco-dents (not caused by me), I can't imagine I'd get more than £2k for it. I'll probably just keep it until something becomes more expensive to fix than it's worth.