Should I buy a trophy as an investment?

[dann2707]

I'm thinking of buying a clio for a long term investment.

Money isnt massively an issue although it's not v6 territory but I'm thinking of getting a trophy and letting it appreciate over a few years.

Do we think that trophies on mileage less than 70k will go up in a few years plus?

I know cups are up on the rise and after a significant amount of time spent on the for sale section on here for classified ads specifically trophies they seem to be going up.

What are peoples thoughts?

 

[Krarl]

Buy my 182... Easy investment on 69k

 

[RacingBeaut]

I would only consider it an investment if it was mega low mileage and had super history.

 

[Martin_172]

I wouldn't say so, i think a cup would be a better investment given they can just about be had for the £1500-£2k mark if you keep an eye in the right places.

While i think you will make a bit of cash on a trophy over a few years, you end up loosing garage space, say you bought one today for £6k that had all the belts just done etc, kept it 5 years it would need £1k spent on it, its kept your garage full for 5 years, you have spent another grand on insurance, services, tax, mot etc over the last 5 years taking it out on a Sunday, your £6k trophy now owes you £8k, will it be worth more than 8k by then? debatable

 

[dann2707]

Appreciate the comment mate. What about if you didn't consider the cost of insurance and driving etc. If it was purely a car that was hibernated away and belts were done myself (done them before and found the whole thing very easy)

I wonder when trophy territory will creep over the 10k mark?

 

[RacingBeaut]

If you can store it in an air conditioned garage and it’s got insane history and low mileage and has no paint issues etc and is immaculate underneath then yeah it will go up in value I reckon

 

[R-Sport.]

You have missed the boat on trophys
Sure there will be some appreciation now however ownership costs would probably be on the same curve.

 

[SharkyUK]

I wonder when trophy territory will creep over the 10k mark?

Quite a few have already been well over that but I think that ship has sailed (at least for the time being). The Trophy market went a bit mad a few years ago for some reason and I know of two mint vehicles that both sold in the high teens. However, pricing has arguably fallen back to more sensible levels recently. Despite loving and owning a Trophy I don't think they're great investment vessels but I guess it's a question of perspective. I'd rather be out enjoying and driving it than hoping it gains a few thousand pounds over the next 5 or 10 years. A few thousand pounds gain over a few years (maybe) just doesn't seem worth it and doesn't seem like a sensible investment opportunity. All in my opinion of course.

 

[botfch]

Realistically your going to have to hold it at least 15-20yrs before prices really start increasing.

 

[gez 172]

As above - the ship has already sailed for these. Better off buying a Rolex watch as an investment. Takes up much less space..

I just don’t think it’s as easy as just parking a car up for 10+ years. There’s so much stuff that’ll seize and perish over the years - the car would need recommissioning after being sat for so long.

 

[VenomUK]

I'd same more money is to be made in the boggo models. Low mileage 172/182 with Half history or a folder full of receipts picked up for £2-3k never to be driven again in years to come after we have cut and chopped ours into track cars and binned them all off at the track the floor is thin of them. Thats where I think the money is going to be. MAYBE?

 

[Tim.]

The costs wouldn’t outweigh any appreciation so for me it just doesn’t make sense.

If you want a Trophy, buy one and enjoy the driving and ownership experience.

If you want to make money there are much better vehicles (pun intended) to do this but they don’t involve buying a car.

 

[davo172]

Get an ford RS if you want an investment.

 

[Martin_172]

Appreciate the comment mate. What about if you didn't consider the cost of insurance and driving etc. If it was purely a car that was hibernated away and belts were done myself (done them before and found the whole thing very easy)

I wonder when trophy territory will creep over the 10k mark?

I think other than fast fords I'd be looking at an Impreza, everything else JDM has climbed and imprezas have been slow to react.

Trophts I'm sure one day will go the same way the 5gtt and 205gti has gone but it's a long time to wait for a small gain compaired to what fast fords have done over the years

 

[brisa4984]

Nope

 

[Danith]

A car as an investment? Nope.

 

[frayz]

Buy a mens stainless sports Rolex, Submariner, GMT or Daytona.
Far greater investment than a Trophy and much simpler to store.

We’re a long time dead, buy whatever makes you happy and enjoy it. So if it appreciates, great, if not you’ve still enjoyed it.

 

[jameswrx]

Buy an Evo 5 and thank me later (if you can find one clean underneath)

Will be legal for the yanks in 2 years time.

In other news the world economy could collapse soon so you can also thank me in a sarcastic tone.

 

[jameswrx]

Buy a mens stainless sports Rolex, Submariner, GMT or Daytona.
Far greater investment than a Trophy and much simpler to store.

We’re a long time dead, buy whatever makes you happy and enjoy it. So if it appreciates, great, if not you’ve still enjoyed it.

Smart money there is a retail new one and flip it now for your profit.

Anyone buying a new ceramic one for investment is going to lose out long term IMO.

The market is seriously skewed due to the sought after vintage models and people are paying over retail for current models. Trouble is (as you can see on TRF) most people are babying their new Rolexes these days and keeping them mint in their box as an ‘investment’.

The new models will never reach the vintage market heights of today as it’ll be rarer to find a worn one than a mint in box. In 20 years you could have your pick of a million of them perfect in their box!

The vintage ones are so valuable because it’s rarer to find them like that. People see that old boy on antiques RS getting told £75k for his boxed GMT & think “I’ll keep mine like that” But back when he bought it nobody did that so it’s rare and now valuable. This won’t be the case with ceramic models.

 

[frayz]

Smart money there is a retail new one and flip it now for your profit.

Anyone buying a new ceramic one for investment is going to lose out long term IMO.

The market is seriously skewed due to the sought after vintage models and people are paying over retail for current models. Trouble is (as you can see on TRF) most people are babying their new Rolexes these days and keeping them mint in their box as an ‘investment’.

The new models will never reach the vintage market heights of today as it’ll be rarer to find a worn one than a mint in box. In 20 years you could have your pick of a million of them perfect in their box!

The vintage ones are so valuable because it’s rarer to find them like that. People see that old boy on antiques RS getting told £75k for his boxed GMT & think “I’ll keep mine like that” But back when he bought it nobody did that so it’s rare and now valuable. This won’t be the case with ceramic models.

This is true, never going to be antiques road show money, well not in till you’re older than that previous old boy. But you could wear it daily and still make more than a Trophy lol.
You’ll pay big for a vintage one as it is now.

 

[Stefan.]

Id buy an evo 5 or mk1 focus rs if it were me.

Think those are the ones to go up quicker then a trophy.

 

[jameswrx]

This is true, never going to be antiques road show money, well not in till you’re older than that previous old boy. But you could wear it daily and still make more than a Trophy lol.
You’ll pay big for a vintage one as it is now.

Don’t get me wrong if you can find one at retail it’s a good money maker short term. There will also be the time they change them and the older ones spike a bit. I just don’t see them as sensible long term as there will be a huge amount of them in mint condition. Watches also go in fashion waves and the young generation now soon won’t want one. It’ll prob be something geeky like a boxed gen 1 Apple Watch that’s still on its first software

Best long term ceramic sub would be to leave it on the window sill for 20 years. Collectors will be throwing money at you for any patina that may develop.

 

[Chris V6 255]

I didn’t buy mine as an investment but knowing that I was putting my money is in a pretty safe place.

I’m sure if I limit the mileage to 5k per year I’ll be able to sell it for what I paid.

Having said that I will have spent the best part of 1k in 12 months sorting various bits.

Mine on 46k currently & needed 2nd damper refurb [emoji24]


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[frayz]

Don’t get me wrong if you can find one at retail it’s a good money maker short term. There will also be the time they change them and the older ones spike a bit. I just don’t see them as sensible long term as there will be a huge amount of them in mint condition. Watches also go in fashion waves and the young generation now soon won’t want one. It’ll prob be something geeky like a boxed gen 1 Apple Watch that’s still on its first software

Best long term ceramic sub would be to leave it on the window sill for 20 years. Collectors will be throwing money at you for any patina that may develop.

Or as you say, wear the damn thing every day and enjoy it.

Mk1 RS Focus have already sprung up, as have EVO 6s etc. Classic Imprezas now also rocketed up. Personally it’s very hard unless you have a crystal ball to choose an item for appreciating. The JDM stuff hitting 25 years to become US importable is pretty safe on anything special. R34GTRs went nuts when that happened.

Many of these items, by time you’ve waited long enough for it to be of any significant value increase, you’ll likely be too old to enjoy any financial gain anyway. Unless you want the flashest diamond encrusted beadpan in your care home.

Invest in your health, your time with family, children and enjoyment. Tomorrow’s not guaranteed for anyone. 🙂

 

[jameswrx]

Or as you say, wear the damn thing every day and enjoy it.

Mk1 RS Focus have already sprung up, as have EVO 6s etc. Classic Imprezas now also rocketed up. Personally it’s very hard unless you have a crystal ball to choose an item for appreciating. The JDM stuff hitting 25 years to become US importable is pretty safe on anything special. R34GTRs went nuts when that happened.

Many of these items, by time you’ve waited long enough for it to be of any significant value increase, you’ll likely be too old to enjoy any financial gain anyway. Unless you want the flashest diamond encrusted beadpan in your care home.

Invest in your health, your time with family, children and enjoyment. Tomorrow’s not guaranteed for anyone. 🙂

Amen.

My friend has done well out of cars but he’s got no kids and honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if they all rot away for some crazy barn find or get completely eaten by mice (I’m currently replacing seat belts in his Testarossa as a mouse set up residence in there). He never uses most of them and their value now if anything has ruined any ownership enjoyment as he’s paranoid beyond belief. He paid £150k for his F40 which wasn’t a bad touch but the consequence of today’s perceived value is he doesn’t use it now. He used to regularly use all his cars.

I told him the other day he’ll be dead soon and he should be dailying it! Can’t imagine he’ll be laid up in hospital thinking “glad I never used that F40”. It’ll all be left to some dog charity probably (25 cars)

 

[frayz]

Unfortunately not as uncommon as we might think. Granted it’s a little league car, but I’ve said it a million times, I’ll never be on my deathbed wishing I’d driven my Porsche less.
Still, each to their own I guess, as long as you’re happy.

 

[Chris V6 255]

New Suzuki jimny has just gone off sale & they are still selling for more than retail.

You could have put 12k miles on one in the last 12months & sold it for what u paid.

They will be one to keep an eye on in the future once the initial buzz has faded.

Anything limited run, quirky & fun will eventually start to rise, just got to catch it at the right time.

If you have a spare 30-35k the 1m coupe is a good investment prospect at the minute.


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[Chris V6 255]

Back on topic, u can buy mine for 12k [emoji23]


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[gez 172]

I was quite lucky as a kid - my father had an Escort Cosworth when they were ‘run of the mill performance car’. He must have done about 30,000+ miles in it - tuned it to 400Hp, raced it, stone chipped it, took it out in the rain and snow.. Hammered it around the Isle of Mann TT circuit.

He never once says he wishes he kept that car for the values they’re fetching now. He’s glad he had it at a time where value wasn’t considered and enjoyed it.

Memories are better than money.

 

[fixedgear]

New Suzuki jimny has just gone off sale & they are still selling for more than retail.

You could have put 12k miles on one in the last 12months & sold it for what u paid.

They will be one to keep an eye on in the future once the initial buzz has faded.

Anything limited run, quirky & fun will eventually start to rise, just got to catch it at the right time.

If you have a spare 30-35k the 1m coupe is a good investment prospect at the minute.


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I nearly bought a 1m in January but went for the F80 M3 instead. This was a combination of many factors but not wanting to be too precious was definitely up there. I use my M3 a lot more than I would a 1m that's for sure.

I bought my Evo TME in October 2018 for £14,500 and put a couple of thousand into it, refurbishing and some minor modifications. I would want £25,000 to part with it now. It doesn't get driven but its nice to have it sat there as an asset which can be sold off easily, albeit for less than the figure above.

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Put the £5k, or whatever the going rate is today, into your mortgage overpayment.

Will make you more and save more money (interest) in the next decade than a small red French car rotting in the garage will make you.

If, however, as mentioned above.. you want a Trophy.. buy one and drive it.

It's literally what it was made for.

 

[dann2707]

Put the £5k, or whatever the going rate is today, into your mortgage overpayment.

Will make you more and save more money (interest) in the next decade than a small red French car rotting in the garage will make you.

If, however, as mentioned above.. you want a Trophy.. buy one and drive it.

It's literally what it was made for.

Where as I see where you're coming from, the last bit wasn't really what I was asking haha. I have a car that's much better in everyway than a standard trophy so I won't need to drive it. And if I sell that I'd just build another that's better, my main question was, are trophies going to exponentially increase in value like what v6s have done over the years.

 

[plenty]

If you are looking purely to make money then there are better ways to do that, but presumably as a member on this forum you are also interested in driving the cars.

There is a middle ground between hibernating a car away never to see the light of day, and destroying its value ragging it on a daily basis.

Buy well with less than c.70k miles today, own it for 5-10 years enjoying it at weekends putting on an average of say 3k miles per year, and you will very likely get back the costs of maintenance if not more when you sell. Which makes a Trophy a more sensible ownership proposition than a much cheaper 182 for which you'll never recoup the upkeep costs.

ETA Just seen your post above. If you're not looking to drive it, don't bother.

 

[dann2707]

If you're not looking to drive it, don't bother

I don't really understand this point mate.
My original question wasn't should I enjoy the car at the same time as it going up in value.

Why wouldn't I bother if I'm not going to drive it, surely the price of it is going to be worth more at the end in x amount of years if not driven and say, nut and bolt restored. If you've seen any of my build threads you would know what my skills, capability and intricacies are like.

 

[gez 172]

But what you’ll spend on a nut and bolt restoration will completely outweigh the end price...

 

[leeds2592]

So many people missing the point by an absolute mile here.

I'm sure Dan will have plenty of cars that are more fun to drive than a Trophy (like his K20 MR2 he's just built). He was purely asking about whether they're going to go up in value. It's not a case of him buying one, not driving it and 'missing out on the fun' for the sake of a few quid, he asked whether it was a good investment to keep somewhere and sell on in a few years.

If it's not, are there any cars that would be? I'm sure people had the same discussion many years ago regarding stuff like 205 gti's etc and look at them now.

 

[dann2707]

But what you’ll spend on a nut and bolt restoration will completely outweigh the end price...

That's not right at all, there are so many factors to consider before deploying a general sweeping statement like that
Cost of car
End selling price which may be dependable on date of sale
Price of bolts etc - I already have hundreds of various new nuts and bolts in stock here left over from various projects.

 

[plenty]

I don't really understand this point mate.
My original question wasn't should I enjoy the car at the same time as it going up in value.

Why wouldn't I bother if I'm not going to drive it, surely the price of it is going to be worth more at the end in x amount of years if not driven and say, nut and bolt restored. If you've seen any of my build threads you would know what my skills, capability and intricacies are like.

Because as others have pointed out, you'll get much better returns investing your money elsewhere.

 

[plenty]

OP, I'll qualify my comment after re-reading yours. Clearly you are great with spanners. Working on cars qualifies as "enjoying" a car every bit as much as driving. If you would enjoy restoring a Trophy to tip-top condition and don't place a monetary value on the time invested in doing so - Wheelers Dealer stylee - then buying one today with low miles but which needs some TLC makes a lot of sense.

 

[gez 172]

A ‘nut and bolt’ restoration means that everything down to the nuts and bolts are replaced - so I took that as you’ll be under sealing, refreshing lower arms/bushes/suspension/Paint/nuts and bolts etc.

Just going around a car and replacing nuts and bolts, if that’s what you mean. It’s not a restoration..

So it’s not a sweeping statement. The cost of ‘restoring‘ a car properly will outweigh the final sale price.