Thoughts on value of CO Vert

[subobo0411]

Carguy much?

I love cars, the culture is a part of my life. If I wasn't a car guy, I wouldn't have been one of these people that paid $30K+ for a rare, low mileage, terminator myself, and instead hoarding ever dollar I made and investing it all. Just say what I'm saying as there are some people out there that I don't don't realize this. Not caring is one thing, not realizing it is another.

 

[01yellercobra]

Apparently people don't like what I'm saying here...

Did you not see the part about conservative estimate, there's so many factors (sq ft, where you live, what temp you want to keep it at, etc.). OK, so make it a $1,000/year. Opportunity cost goes up to $2.2 million...



Again conservative estimate if you do your own work on a 500 mile car that doesn't ever seen the road... how much maintenance could there really be...

It's not that we don't like what you're saying, just that most of us are already aware of the situation. I've never purchased a car with the intention of making money. And I'm sure most on here are the same way. There was really no need for the post.

What do you consider maintenance though? I put about 5-6k on my car in a year. So I change the oil about once a year. That's roughly $70. Do you consider registration part of the maintenance? It is a cost for owning the car. I get what you were saying, I just think your costs are way off and not really helping your point.

Sadly nobody ever wants to know these details. I have my 60th vehicle on order and that has been since 1974. I have never bought one car for an investment because they are not investments. I buy my cars/trucks because I love the hobby and I am obsessed/addicted. I made money on a few cars over the years but you always have to add in the ownership costs. Its just like houses. I laugh at people who say I made 200K selling my house. No you did not. If you add up the costs of interest, maintenance and other things over time its probably in the minus. I paid 69K for my new house back in 1983. Its worth about 275K now. When I sell it in the next few years I can say yes I made some money but when the 35 years of costs are added up I doubt very much money is made if any. The only investment that has made me big money is the stock market and I have been invested since 1991. Love the markets.

I don't think you can say we don't want to know the details. We're well aware of them. We just don't care. As you said, it's something we enjoy. Pretty much all hobbies are horrible investments. Unless your hobby is the stock market. But if we worried about getting a return on the money we invested in the car then we'd never enjoy the hobby. I spin wrenches and drive my car to make me forget about my day to day life. I don't do it hoping the next part will increase the value of my car X%.

Anyway, that's just my opinion on things. I'm going back to the go fast stuff.

 

[Goose17]

Buy a Cobra because it's something you really want and will enjoy, not because of what you will think it'll be worth one day. I'm sorry, but you guys are delusional if you think any of these cars are a good investment no matter how rare they might be. Let's look at the numbers to prove it out:

2004 Mystichrome Cobra Convertible (new): $40,000

Annual cost of ownership (conservative estimates)
Insurance: $750
Maintenance: $100
HVAC for Garage: $300
Cost of garage: unknown, but pretty significant if it's part of your home or an addition
Total: $1,150

Let's assume once these cars are 50 years old that's when they're going to be worth "big money" and we're all going to be rich (lol). $40,000 + 50 x $1,150 = $97,500 total investment.

Now, lets say instead I take that $40K and put it in an S&P 500 fund, assuming a conservative return of 7% and each year I deposit $1,150 in that account. You know what that amount is in 50 years????? $1.8 million dollars! I love terminators just as much as anyone here, but sorry, 99.99% of Mustangs of any model are not going to make you that kind of money.

Shorten the time period to 15 years (2004 - 2019), all else equal, your investment would be worth right around $144K. I don't see any terminators coming even close to that. Maybe in 35 more years you'll get $150K, but still far less than what you could have.

Totally get what you are saying... there are far better investments than cars. Having said that, a few things to point out:

A Mystichrome Terminator vert was actually the most expensive Ford car in 2004. It stickered at $43,225. If you bought it new and drove it at all, you still would not be above sticker price in value. This is obviously a bad financial investment. However, if you bought the car second-hand and got a fairly decent deal, you could drive the car for awhile and sell it for more than you paid for it. The low price point for these cars has come and gone. I did this with 2 of my Mystichrome verts. Yes, there are costs associated with ownership, but don’t forget the “value” that comes from enjoyment in ownership. Whether you are out on the streets ripping through gears or your car is more like garage art, there is satisfaction in ownership. If you can sell it later and make a little money, that’s a win/win!

I have a growing collection of SVT Mustangs. Although most are appreciating in value, these are not my “investments.” I have financial investments that are making much more money. I own the cars because I can afford them and enjoy the heck out of them.

On the subject of garage AC, there is a wide variety of options and prices. For my 3-car house garage, I bought the largest 110v window unit I could find. It does a great job keeping the garage cool in our triple-digit TX heat. For my big garage, I spent $8k for a 2-headed heat pump and I think it was another $8k in spray foam insulation if I recall correctly. This route was considerably more expensive than the house garage, but the garage is waaaaay bigger and has a roughly 18’ peak ceiling.

So, moral to the story... there are much better investments than cars, but cars are fun as hell and can appreciate if bought correctly and garage AC options don’t always have to be big money.

 

[BlckBox04]

Again conservative estimate if you do your own work on a 500 mile car that doesn't ever seen the road... how much maintenance could there really be...

I hear ya, I was only breaking balls.

I don't think anyone who is a fan of these cars is buying them with the intentions of one day selling them for a profit of a collectors car.

 

[04MysticCobra]

It's not that we don't like what you're saying, just that most of us are already aware of the situation. I've never purchased a car with the intention of making money. And I'm sure most on here are the same way. There was really no need for the post.

What do you consider maintenance though? I put about 5-6k on my car in a year. So I change the oil about once a year. That's roughly $70. Do you consider registration part of the maintenance? It is a cost for owning the car. I get what you were saying, I just think your costs are way off and not really helping your point.



I don't think you can say we don't want to know the details. We're well aware of them. We just don't care. As you said, it's something we enjoy. Pretty much all hobbies are horrible investments. Unless your hobby is the stock market. But if we worried about getting a return on the money we invested in the car then we'd never enjoy the hobby. I spin wrenches and drive my car to make me forget about my day to day life. I don't do it hoping the next part will increase the value of my car X%.

Anyway, that's just my opinion on things. I'm going back to the go fast stuff.

I know that most of the people in this hobby know the details and they don't care. I would not be on my 60th car if those details about cost bothered me. I was a hobbyist in 1974 with my first car at 16 a 1969 GTO Judge and have never looked back. Some people would get bothered by the cost of owning a high performance vehicle and should not be in the hobby. That is all.

 

[plumbcrazy]

I've been looking for a Terminator vert for almost a year. Started looking at collector quality cars in the $30K+ range on down, and have seen some of the cars I considered end up being purchased and put for sale for those doing a flip on here.
My experience has been that most people are asking for the moon and their cars are sitting for a VERY LONG TIME.
I finally considered I was going to look for a ""good deal"( whatever that might be) and I didn't want a car that I was going to be afraid to drive or get scratched. I'd like to have two of course- one to drive and one to keep, but maybe later...
Also, I didn't want a car with 10 owners or one that had been modded into oblivion.
Two weeks ago I bought this for $13,800 from a dealer who had just traded it and was putting it out for $17k.
I negotiated the car before it went through the shop and they made a quick buck and I got a 2 owner car that's been cared for, but no perfect.Has almost 90k, but I'll only put 1000-1500 a year on the thing and it sits in the garage. In five years, This car will still be worth $15k and I have a really cool car that I can enjoy.
I LOVE driving past other old guys in their late model GT convertibles as they crane their necks as I drive by.
Their cars a re a dime a dozen, but a Terminator will always be special.
Dude that said here that you have to buy what you like.
I'm glad to be a member of the club....
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