Help me make bad decisions

"Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
02/09/2016 at 07:45 • Filed to: None

First, a bit of context, I:

am 28 years old and single, no kids

have been working as an engineer since may 2013

have a full shop (no paint booth) and some experience as a mechanic (also my father is a mechanic)

have some experience in flipping cars

live in an appartment in my parents barn (not the wooden type, and at this point it’s more a house + storage facility) for a moderate rent

don’t really have other hobbies other than wrenching and my dog

and thus I don’t spend really much money

I live near the French-German border and speak both languages, so in the past I have bought several cars in Germany to drive them for some time and resell them in France (there is a bigger turnover in Germany, so car prices are generally lower). It all started with a 1992 Peugeot 205 CTI, which I bought for 200€, made some minor repairs, got a French title, and sold for 900€. After that I got another 205 CTI, a 306 cabriolet, a CRX del sol, a RX-8 (which I crashed before selling) a Mégane II RS, an A4, a 307 CC, a second RX-8 (which I kept), a Mazda 6, and a second A4 (which is for sale at the moment). Most of those were driven for about 2 months and resold with profit.

My rules until now have always been to never buy new, never get a loan, and never buy a car that I don’t like (and thus, always manuals).

My current line-up is:
1989 Peugeot 505 2.5 turbo diesel (that I won’t sell, ever)

1987 Mitsubishi Pajero SWB 2.5 turbo diesel (same thing)

2004 Mazda RX-8 (rebuilt and street ported, every time I think about selling it I take it for a spin and forget what I was thinking)

2006 Audi A4 1.9 TDI (for sale)

I have seen most of these cars as fun “short time invests”. Now that I was able to put some money to the side over the time and it’s idling on my bank account I am thinking about a medium to long time invest. Since I have no kids and no girlfriend, I have no use for a house right now. And since those things don’t happen really fast, I could buy something cool in the meantime and ditch it if necessary in 2-3 years. Also, I don’t see myself as a landlord, so no real estate.

I have been looking at different classic cars over the years. My dream car has always been a 59 corvette, red on red with white coves, classic. But there are 2 things holding me back: my fear that the car is way worse than I imagine, and the fact I won’t be able to resell it when the time is right.

I know there have been plenty of articles about cars as an investment, and I have read most of them. But I don’t really know what to do now, let my money idle on a bank account or take the risk to invest in a classic car.
If so, what car? And in what condition? Something I can drive, or something I’ll just store and wait?

I considered a NSX, but finding a manual one in stock condition and not putting too many miles on it will be tough. I considered an Alpine A110, but I couldn’t even drive it (I’m 1,95 m / 6'5" tall). I considered a classic 911, but I want something more original. I considered an Alfa Romeo Montreal but it’s Italian, so it could burst into flames as soon as I turn my back on it.

So I ask the Oppoverse (Opposphere? Oppoworld?): what’s your opinion, and what should I buy and nag about for the next years?

DISCUSSION (9)

Patrick Nichols > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
02/09/2016 at 08:09

Index funds. Seriously it makes sense to invest that money otherwise you’re losing money to inflation. Index funds are generally safer and almost always have a higher yield than inflation.

Think about the running and insurance costs on a classic car. There could be a classic car bubble soon and the only time to buy would be right after prices tank.

MuchWagon > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
02/09/2016 at 08:11

I’ll second index funds but also do some traveling. Come to the States and check out your future Vette in person.

Jewish Stig > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
02/09/2016 at 08:48

Sell everything, except the RX8.

DD it.

And save up for a Vette.

Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction > Jewish Stig
02/09/2016 at 08:58

Petrol here costs 1,30€/L (5,50$us/gal) and I drive 1000 km (620 miles) per week. Sooo, no. Also, I wouldn’t sell my 505.

I could afford the Vette, but there is a big prenium if you try to buy one in Europe. It would be cheaper to get one in the US and import it... heeeyyy!

Cé hé sin > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
02/09/2016 at 09:09

SM. They haven’t become (very) expensive yet.

Jewish Stig > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
02/09/2016 at 09:23

Where i live petrol is a bit more expansive even.. :)

And of course i ment to import a vette from the US.

im a sucker for the RX-8, so i would consider DDing it almost in any case.

Clemsie McKenzie > Cé hé sin
02/09/2016 at 09:42

Yeah I would do that too, considering he has experience as a mechanic! Keep it clean and in a few years it shoud be worth a bit more.

duurtlang > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
02/09/2016 at 10:34

I’m seeing a bit of myself in there. Well, a little bit. I too live just west of the German border and have bought cars in Germany to flip. BMW E30 Tourings. I also currently own 3 cars you’ve owned (205 GTI, 205 CTI, 306 cab), the latter two imported from Germany by a previous owner.

Anyway, you’ve got the luxury problem of having too much money. Do you also have some spare time? If so, fly over to the US, meet up with an American Oppo member and go car shopping there.

Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction > duurtlang
02/09/2016 at 11:20

I regret selling the CTI, that thing was awesome, and they have incredibly gained in value over the years.
That would be so awesome, I don’t have much time though. But it would make the flipping experience that much more intense!