3x8's better than gold ?

Gold fell today, and I can still drive my 308GTB for a beer!

So, I say 'yes"....

 

Gold doesn't oxidize. It doesn't fall apart over time. It doesn't need to "run" to be valuable. It doesn't need to be repaired. It doesn't need to be serviced. It's leather doesn't dry out. It's tires don't go flat. Mice won't eat at it's wires. Some loony driver won't run into your gold when you're out on a Sunday drive. You don't worry about the mileage of your gold. You aren't required to insure your gold. Gold doesn't need a brake job or a clutch. Gold doesn't need impossible to find interior parts. Gold won't crack it's windshield from a rock. Even if your gold is in a house fire, you can reclaim your gold.

And, when you sell gold, all the new owner cares about is how much it weighs. They don't care if it's got a door ding or a scratch or what service records you have.

Cars are the worst investment you can make in all but a very few cases. Buy them because you enjoy them because over time, the losses in maintenance, insurance, and upkeep will wipe out most of whatever it gained in the market.

 

Yes, but the value of your gold is subject to the whims of government monetary policy. All the .gov has to do to make your gold worth half as many dollars or lb sterling is raise interest rates 2-3 points. Or conversely, double the $ value of your gold by running teh printing presses more. Raising interest rates won't damage the value of other collectibles, including autos.

And gold eventually will fall into dissolution, though it may take several dozen billion years. Entropy tells up that.

Doug

 

Personal experience speaking here.

FACT: Lost $$$ on the 308, to the tune of (don't ask, NOT including TCO). Sold it and literally got gold.

FACT: Since sale, gold up approximately 22% in value if priced in USD.

 

Its all in perspective. Opportunity costs, economists like to refer to this.

Example: years ago, around the time of Y2K and the tech stocks bubble (1999-2000ish), this guy could have invested(gambled) about $35,000 on tech stocks which were hot, you know? Instead, he decided to but the kids who played piano a new 7 foot horizontal Mason & Hamlin at a real bargain price. The tech stocks he would have bought went down down down within a year, but he still had the Mason (a bricks-and-mortar metaphor?). Did he make money on the Mason? No, but he still has it. Get it?

Gold has only appreciated about 5% over the last 20 yrs. Stocks have done way better (even with the tech bubble). A Ferrari? Youll have to decide.

 

It's been on the wannabe's list for a decade now. I am smack dab in the dead center of that age group that grew up in the shadow of the 308 (I am 41 - high school was 82-86) and I "finally" got mine 12 years ago. The prices are still the same now as they were then.

I have no problem with the prices sky rocketing but I am STILL waiting for that to happen. I have been hearing this rumor since before the new millennium began...

I'll believe it when I see it. Buy the gold, they don't need new belts every 3 years.

 

I would believe that if you got your 308 12yrs ago, you've lost money by now. They are worth less than they did 12 yrs ago (adjusting for the value of the dollar). I'm in the same ball park and would love to see the 308/328 rise in value. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

Ace

 

comparing investing in gold or 308s is plain stupid.

The one is all about money, the other is all about emotions.

 

+1 If you happend to get "lucky" when you own it then great. Bottom line, buy it as a toy and enjoy it.

Scott

 

Im pretty sure at the hour of my death, in case it isnt instant, i will be thinking....Damn, should have bought more gold.....NOT !



Enjoy life guys, we only have one run at this before we are all dust.

My 308 is better than gold

 

Quote: "Enjoy life guys, we only have one run at this before we are all dust.

My 308 is better than gold"

I agree 100%

 

It can't be said better than that!!

 

still confused?

try this on a bar of gold and you know what to choose!
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

all hard assets, including ferraris, have a good chance of increasing in value over the next 5 years or so once the inevitable massive inflation/devaluation of the dollar hits.

 

I am sure "perfect timing" will allow for some great upside for a lucky few. Those with rare cars, highly desirable versions, etc. Bottom line..serious big upside its just not there like in the early 12s...just too many 308/328s manufactured.

I look at it like my house. Great upside in pure dollars. But I have also sunk a ton of money in the house over 30 years. That said, I have also lived in it and enjoyed it.
Same with the 308..lived with a great car and enjoyed it for 24 years, sunk some money in it and essentially sold it in for the same dollars I paid for it (inflation excluded)

If you are living your financial life trying to profit from owning a vehicle and are not a dealer, you are headed down the wrong road.

Buy a car you love, hopefully it will retain its value BUT cars are not get rich quick schemes--especially those with high $$ service costs that you can not provide.

 

If/(when?) everything inflates, then by definition the true value remains the same. Saying your car will cost $100,000 in 5 years means nothing when a big mac sandwich costs $10, a regular size pizza is $30, a gallon of gas is $15 per gallon, and the average salary in the US is $120,000.

 

He's right that the 308/328 are an incredible buy for what you get. Best looking modern Ferraris, relatively inexpensive to maintain, serious fun to drive, etc. And they aren't disposable video games like the F430, 599, California, etc. I would say the 308/328 are the last regular production Ferraris worth keeping for the long term -- but more because of what they are, not "how rich they'll make you".

It's not hard to put $15K-$20K into maintaining an already good car over a decade. That's the problem with all Ferraris. I agree that if the 246 GTS is a $150K car then a 308/328 GTS should be worth a good portion of that, but it will take time. And, by the time a nice red/tan 1989 328 GTS (the "investment grade" 3x8, though not my favorite) hits $100K, you probably will have spent that much buying and owning it.

I'm very familiar with early 911s, and the ones that had the meteoric rise are the 2.7 RS models (kind of Porsche's 'F40') and to a lesser extent well-preserved 911S 2.4L coupes. What they all have in common is that the maintenance on these cars is a fraction of what you'd spend on a 308/328, and odometers are much less of a factor, simply because you can rebuild the engines without a second mortgage. Parts and service are relatively cheap and widely available. They are also very good to drive, and a properly rebuilt 911S 2.4, about 800 lbs lighter than a U.S. 308 and capable of 200+ bhp without rocket science, would be a scary thing for a modern Boxster/S driver to see approaching in the rear view mirror. Whether that's relevant to Ferrari values, hard to say, but it is an additional driver of the old P-car values.

 

look at the issue in a world economy point of view rather than just the US. A Big Mac in the US could inflate to $10 a pop but still be 3 Euro

 

You guys have a thread every week about 3x8s hopefully increasing in value, I wouldn't hold your breath on that. Fact is they made way too many of them compared to a Dino or other older Ferrari, 3x8s can be bought in the low $20s or less and 1 castastrophic failure can cost half or more than the value of the car nice risk reward ratio.

 

Well, apples and oranges. 3x8s found their bottom price years ago, and have been increasing in value regardless of some of the cars having 1 catastrophic failure. The return on investment (individually) has nothing to do with a marque's overall increase in value.

Many were produced, however not all 3x8s are alike, and not all 3x8s have survived through the decades. Some are parts cars selling in the low $20s or less (being touted as needing a little TLC), some are garage queens, and some are fiberglass, some are GTS, some are GTB, while some are Euro QV's, etc.

As for owning gold vs. a 3x8, bdelp is 100% spot on because clearly gold is the better "investment" from a purely monetary standpoint. For this crowd however, how does a bar of gold sitting in a vault exude as much thrilling personal excitement as driving a 3x8?

 

In that case, the car would still be worth exactly the same as the difference between the exchange rate would make up the difference. Counting on exchange rates variance as reason to invest is not much different than gambling.

Bottom line: don't invest in cars. Do you "invest" in a night out at a good restaurant? Do you "invest" in paying for seats at a sporting event? Do you "invest" in a vacation to Hawaii? No, you just go out and enjoy it while you can. Someday, you may not be able. Enjoy the car while you still can.

 

Yes, a car as an investment is a fools game.

Some times you get lucky and buy low before they become collectibles.

In the mid 1970's those old 1960s 250 TR's and GTs and 250 GTOs could be had for around $8K.

Ten years later they were selling for $3 million plus. but OTOH, in the early '90s, those $3 million cars were selling for 1/3 that price, so those taht paid $3 Mil, hoping for a sale at $6 Mil, got disappointed.

I paid $500 for my 1961 Corvette, back in 1973, a couple years ago, it was conceivably worth $50K, and I had only invested about $7K in it up to that time, but after dropping almost $40K into it in the last 18 months making it exactly what i wanted it to be, I would probably break even on a sale, unless I found the right buyer who wants the same thing and was willing to pay the premium.

But it isn't, nor was it ever meant as an investment, as the people selling it will be my heirs.

I don't subscribe to the whoever dies with the most toys wins theory, but I don't want to be the richest guy in the graveyard, either.

Doug

 

Fact is, they made too many Dino 246s (4,000) of them, for those ever to be worth anything.

I agree, no one's going to hit the jackpot on a 308/328, but at the same time the "they will always be cheap because they're cheap right now" argument is about as myopic now as it was when 246s "didn't have enough cylinders".

 

They will increase in value BUT this will happen on the long term side. Let see in 15 years ...

Every single year less cars survive, less cars keep their prisitine condition, so obviously the remaining best examples will considerably increase in value.


Some cars are wise investment, but always on the long term. Meanwhile we are having fun with them. Try to have a blast with gold ...


Cheers!