Car Collecting: Make Sure Your Fleet Doesn’t Lose Money!

Like almost everyone who ends up on this blog, I’m sure you’ve had fantasies of starting your own car collection at one point or another. Imagine opening the door of a colossal garage, and being able to stroll leisurely around all your gorgeous, spotless models, mulling over which one you’ll work on or take for a spin today. While car collecting can be a wonderful experience, it certainly isn’t cheap! Here are by best tips for making sure yours won’t lose money.

Don’t Cheap Out on Maintenance

When it comes to the collective value of any car collection, maintenance is everything, so make sure you’re not penny-pinching when your cars need work! I’d love to write out a universal guide here, but because every car is different, staying on top of maintenance can be tricky. Some models will need absolutely no maintenance in the space of a month, whereas some will need thousands of pounds’ worth. No matter what kind of cars you’re planning on buying, make sure that a large chunk of your budget gets set aside for maintenance. Keeping your cars in good condition is essential to making sure they retain as much of their value as possible.

Save Thousands by Understanding the Market

Image: Wikimedia

As with pretty much everything, the auto market is in a constant state of change, with countless different factors all dictating how much a car will go for in different markets. If you’re planning to start a collection that’s not going to end up as a massive financial loss, then it’s imperative that you do your homework beforehand. Unless you’re planning to hold onto every last vehicle for the rest of your life, you need to understand depreciation rates, and common threads between cars which still fetch great prices decades after they first roll out of the factory. If you’re planning to go for a particular niche and attend car shows, it’s also important to think about the cost of spaces, multiple covered car transport, and detailing that you’ll need to account for. You may just want to start a collection for the sheer love of cars, but without putting the time in to learn all about the market, you’re almost certain to make a loss.

Know When to Cut your Losses and Sell

This is closely tied to my previous point. Again, a sheer love of cars often isn’t a good enough reason for throwing yourself into the world of car collecting once you consider all the financial aspects. If you’ve got the kind of income to support a very, very expensive hobby, then you can go ahead and skip over this. However, if you want to make sure that your little fleet doesn’t end up being one big money drain, it’s important to avoid getting too emotionally invested in the cars you buy. Yes, that original Silver Ghost is gorgeous, but if you’re not going to be able to make your money back then it’s not worth buying. Before you put any money into your collection, make sure you know when to sell!