DECISIONS, DECISIONS
From where I’m sitting, it would seem the holidays are over. The car needs cleaning, the ‘stuff’ needs sorting and storing, and the bank balance needs some attention. Body and soul are supposed to be rejuvenated, and we’re all looking forward to a very happy and prosperous 2019.
Hopefully, most of us are feeling that we have enjoyed our holiday period and that we can now get on with some of those projects we have been promising ourselves we will work on this year.
Just deciding what to do can be a problem. For example, do I accept the inevitable loss that one almost always takes when changing cars? That means: do I sell the now 8-year-old car, accept the loss that comes with that, and replace it with something newer and more expensive, just so that I can repeat the exercise again in four or five years?
I look sideways at the prices of plenty of classics, and reflect on the possibility of buying one of those and then selling it for a healthy profit when the time comes. The trouble with that idea, though, is that a ‘daily driver’ is rarely a classic and the type of car that is going to escalate in price. As well, there’s the question: does the price of this type of car really just keep on going up?
Perhaps then, one could ‘invest’ in owning a classic car. There are various funds where you can buy the ‘back wheel’ or similar of a classic car, much like those syndicated racehorse-ownership schemes. Owning all or a bit of a racehorse is something I know less than nothing about, but I believe that it’s an almost sure-fire way of losing money, and lots of it. From my light weight, I would say that the risks of part ownership of a classic car are similarly weighted. Prices of classic cars seem to move faster than the proverbial fiddler’s elbow. The prices one can read of are staggering for some cars and depressing for others, especially if you are the owner.
While some unique and marvellous cars seem to double in price in a very short space of time, others stay where they are or even go backwards.
Reports from various international sources seem to indicate that for the moment some prices are retreating. I guess this just goes to show that buying a car should not be an investment but mainly because you want to own it — maybe it’s because of what it looks like, maybe the performance, maybe the memories it invokes. In that sense, buying a car probably resembles buying art, and it would seem to be folly to buy a car as an investment.
If you do wish to own a classic car and have no experience, then it would be wise to begin slowly, both literally and figuratively. There are plenty of ‘rising’ classics one can buy to begin to learn how it’s done. The Ellerslie Classic Car Show on 10 February gives you a great opportunity to see hundreds of classics in one place and get a feel for what’s hot and what’s not. If you’re not confident about making the choice without help, get advice from a specialist classic dealer, learn through car club membership, or by following a particular make and model in the marketplace. Your new classic doesn’t need to be an expensive or exotic piece of machinery. Plenty of people start with something like an Austin A30 or similar — you see, slow in both senses of the word. If you buy carefully, you’ll almost certainly never lose money on such a car — or, if you do, it’s not going to be a lot.
So, looking ahead to 2019, am I going to change the daily driver or buy something that is more of a ‘ hobby’ car? I’m not sure, but we’re going to keep writing about some of the more interesting cars around. Maybe we’ll leave the ownership to you; we’ll just report on them.
Speaking of that, our next issue will carry a full report on the Ellerslie Classic Car Show. New Zealand Classic Car will be there — we sponsor this event. We look forward to seeing you. Come and say hello.