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^^^ My buddy & I bought exceptionally low mileage (but quite different) R53, with objective up front being not to save them for the next owners. Driven for occasional fun only, thus not high mileage accrued but highly enjoyed each time! Think I'm preaching to the choir...
And the current owner has only put ten miles on it ….. great for bragging rights but what a shame to not drive and enjoy it.
For people who do this the bragging rights are their enjoyment, along quite frequently with wild delusions of capital appreciation (until of course bidding spitefully doesn't hit their lofty reserve). The car is wheeled on / off a trailer and the tires never see asphalt, just grass or terrazzo. They miss out on the best part of ownership but they're incapable of appreciating that anyway. All about the money
Very true! It doesn't make sense to me, but I could see the allure of looking at all of your stuff in a big warehouse on lots of lifts. If I had the funds, I'd have the collection, but they'd all be driven!
Car collections as appreciating assets is a thing though; there was a fund created back in the 2010's called IGA Automobile with a 500K buy-in that allowed you to own a share of a portfolio of rare collector cars. In hindsight, a shareholder would have made a serious ROI owning stock from then to now! Does a 4k GP1 count as one though, I'm not sure!
Their was about 16 i think and 6 of them were setting near the hotel at the pier. I don't remember that numbers of each.
I was in front with my car at the MINIUSA tent. They did not even put the GPs near the tent except for the current MINI USA VP GP he was driving.
All the others were back by the hotel or people driving them from Monetary delivery which there was like 40-50 their. Michael Cooper was on the west coast signing the dashes (as John). He did only that event and never came to the east coast event in Jersey city.
Unless you have a crystal ball (and can read it), "investing" in cars is not for the faint of heart. Consider the storage, the insurance and maintenance over time. In most instances, taking the initial amount invested in a good stock with reasonable dividends will beat out the vehicle...But if you happen to pick a "winner" like a real 289 Cobra or a Ferrari 250GT SWB, that's a whole different story.
Unless you have a crystal ball (and can read it), "investing" in cars is not for the faint of heart. Consider the storage, the insurance and maintenance over time. In most instances, taking the initial amount invested in a good stock with reasonable dividends will beat out the vehicle...But if you happen to pick a "winner" like a real 289 Cobra or a Ferrari 250GT SWB, that's a whole different story.
So true.
The inflation aspect is sorta weird to me just because it doesn't jive with my memories, like just this morning scrolling thru BaT looking at an R&T collection the seller added a classified pic in the comment stream from 1984 of a Ferrari 246 GTS Spyder with an ask of $34,500 and then noted that adjusted for inflation it equates to $99,320 in 2023 dollars --- those online inflation adjuster tools just seem inaccurate to me for some reason but I've never had such a great grip on reality either LOL so it may be myself that needs proper adjustment!
To me, I remember prices being affordable even on my somewhat meager salary and went to view/testdrive a good few within grasp, like almost bought a Citroen DS in the early 90's that was under $5,000, most memorable to me though, and sadly, are the missed chances at 105 Alfa GTV's because I've always loved them and had more than several opportunities to purchase back then when values were more down-to-earth since it seems they went so very long as a totally underappreciated classic, like dammit a 67 GT Jr. for 3 grand I'm kicking myself silly now, but most relished experience was a fabulous testdrive with Paul Spruell where I was grannying the car out of caution and he said Why are you driving so slow? Give it the beans! and man what a blast! That particular car was only $4,700 but I passed because it had been badly repainted in a hideous plum color.
My main problem was being wholly satisfied with my Saab and gauging any would-be contenders against it and most always fell short because Swedish aero engineers are rather brilliant and build quality was like a bank vault. My personality quirk of being an obsessive one-marque enthusiast compels me to ingrain myself deeply and wholeheartedly in the singular universe of whatever was won my allegiance, like the R53 for example which brought me into the modern era of automotive technology. Such a trait is both a blessing and a curse in my opinion, on the one hand you get thoroughly acquainted with all the involved esoterica around one certain model to become somewhat of an expert, but on the other hand you tend to stay put in that familiar realm so your intimate experience with other marques becomes more shallow --- I have never been financially robust enough to do both (that is: maintain my one love while also playing the field so to say) and I've never really been interested in flipping rides, so there's that sad aspect lacking of serial car ownership where you get to sample and compare all the differences between various makers.
Anyway,
such stuff is great to stimulate memory lane and reminisce about ye olde golden days --- during the lockdown pandemic I got obsessed with trying to find old copies of Auto Trader just to browse thru them and ended up making a massive thread over on The Car Lounge where I frequently post because it's a generalized all-in-everything sort of place, so if anyone here is of the same sentimental disposition as myself who enjoys such the retro lookback, here's a link to that thread which is too big to reproduce here:
So, WRT the GP in question, the seller was able to get his money back, less BAT fee and his consignor fee. Factor in the cost of insurance, maintenance and the loss of interest or dividends while his capital was tied up in the car, he probably lost a few thousand bucks....and, what's sad, he never got the pleasure of driving it. OTOH, I will venture to say that, had he kept the car in that condition and low mileage for another 17 years or so, he might well have had a decent ROI.
It is indeed rather sad, do hope the the reported 10 miles added in the description he did drive was nice tho!
Nico215 has an incredible top tier car collection,
so it seems that this GP was more of an interesting acquisition as opposed to an enthusiasts instrument.
hi i am wooper 👋
im super excited about my new purchase
its been a minute since ive been on NAM but with the GP purchase I feel like a new owner again so i'm back! 🙌
My OG "WOOPER" is an R53 and is my DD. I've put 115k miles on the clock and I've loved every mile of it
Happy to be joining the elite GP Club! 🎉
Hello fellow owners!
oh and btw small correction.... im a she! 👧🏻♀😀
I've put 115k miles on the clock and I've loved every mile of it
Good for you. And please feel free to do likewise with your new (to you and, literally still new) GP - annoying low mileage trailer queen fetishists everywhere. And welcome.
hi i am wooper 👋
im super excited about my new purchase
its been a minute since ive been on NAM but with the GP purchase I feel like a new owner again so i'm back! 🙌
My OG "WOOPER" is an R53 and is my DD. I've put 115k miles on the clock and I've loved every mile of it
Happy to be joining the elite GP Club! 🎉
Hello fellow owners!
oh and btw small correction.... im a she! 👧🏻♀😀
Congratulations on the purchase! Hope you put a bunch of miles on it and post here about it! Has it arrived yet? Any pics!?