Resale value

[Taters]

I am new to this sight. I am interested in a Superformance cobra.
The price difference between new or used is almost about the
same. My main concern is resale down the road. How well
will these cars hold their value in the future?

[mrmustang]

My advice, don't look at the car as an investment, but instead a weekend toy......Resale values go up and down with the market. Something like this will not be a good "investment" item.........


Bill S.

[BlueRooster]

When I bought mine I was worried about the same thing. Now that I own one, I think I was more worried about getting ripped off and losing half of my money on the car. While Bill is right about the investment thing, I think you are more worried about the goings on when its time to sell. If you buy a car that was made correctly, it doesnt matter which brand, you shouldn't lose too much on resale, and you may make some.

If you build it new, you WILL lose money. If you buy it 2nd......I'd say the range of potential loss is around 10,000/25% if you buy a SPF 2nd hand around 45,000.

BTW the price difference between new and used is not the same Tater.

[Hal Copple]

i have enjoyed reading the sale adds in the back of Autoweek for many years. It is my impression that the first owner does take some depreciation on an "exotic", but that after that, the car pretty much retains a stable value. Unlike an ordinary car, whose value decreases with each new year's model, exotics don't tend to change much, one year often looks pretty much like the next. Unless it is a big change, like in the Lotus cars, going from turbo to V8 engine, or a Ferrari model number change, the sale price of most high end cars only slowly drift down. I think this applies very well to Superformance cars, as the changes are not very visible, things like dropped floors, and such. So one SPF pretty much looks like another.

Unless you are bidding at Barrett-Jackson on a true collector car, i would not consider any car an "investment", wherin the purchaser hopes to have the value increase.

On the other hand, life is short and unpredictable. I happen to drive my SPF every day, now about 60,000 miles. I am slowly wearing the "moving parts" out, but my car looks like i bought it yesterday. If i were to offer it for sale, with my miles, it would not very desirable to anyone, and would not return a really high percentage of my original cost.

I don't care. I don't intend to ever sell it, and i have had many hundreds of hours of enjoyment sitting in the seats. I could not care less what my SPF is worth. I only know that it is priceless to me.

A friend of mine several years ago bought a 1966 Mustang. It had something like 4K miles on it, it was just like it was built the day before. Perfect. He was in a quandry. He told me if he drove it, it would greatly decrease in value. I told him to decide if he wanted money in the bank, or wind in his hair. He couldn't have both. I told him that since he had always wanted a new Mustang, and now had one, then he should live his dream, and drive that sucker. So he did, and never regretted his decision.

In short, SPF's retain a high percentage of their value, and are great cars to own and drive. Get one, and head on out.

What price is your pride and happiness? My son and i have spent countless hours in our car, sharing life's experiences. I can't put a cost on that.

[Mr.Fixit]

The higher end replicas do hold their value better than the entry level kit cars. Starting with the second owner of course.

[luke-44]

Do the comments about first-time-buyers losing money apply mainly to turnkey's only?

It seems to me there is also a school of thought that says you can invest some sweat equity - some guys claim to have 'built' multiple cars and have been able to sell at a modest profit....maybe not SPF, but other brands where assembly of some components is an option...

[bmalone]

Taters, I think you answered your own question. If the used ones sell for close to the price of a new one, they must hold their value pretty well. Buying a used car is not a bad way to go--you can usually get a pretty good deal, although it may take longer to find exactly the car you want.

[Hal Copple]

Buying new vs. Used is a valid comparison. When i finally convinced my wife (actually, my kids wore her down for me), a used SPF was available not too far from me. I was beaten to the punch by someone who got their money there first. So i bought a new one, right off the floor, i had it in my driveway in less than a week.

In retrospect, i am very glad i paid some additional for my new one. For one thing, in my state, my new one was legally registered by me as a '65, as it came on an MSO, and SC lets us do that only with SPF's for some reason. So i pay about a buck a month on taxes, whereas the one from NC would have been a '99, and by now i would have paid more in taxes than the difference in price was. Plus, i benefited with a newer car, with the upgrades the factory does as time passes. I was able to very carefully break in my new motor, so that the other day i had 173-178 psi on all eight cylinders, and my motor burns less than a forth quart of oil per 1000+ miles. My new car came with a warranty, too.

There are important considerations to new vs. used, but for me, it turned out to be the best decision to go new. I believe SPF's hold their value about as well as any car does, although that part of the equation was never of interest to me. I have never gotten "tired" of my car and wished for something else.

Now if you read the Porsche forums, there you will see the laments of depreciaton!! I think if you make the right decision for you initially, you won't worry about depreciation either.

[Excaliber]

Depreciation Blues? Try buying a new Corvette these days! Boy are those guys taking a loss at sale time!

I'm so happy with my Cobra after I sold it for what I paid for it I bought it back and had to pay MORE for it than I had sold it for!

An exception to the rule I guess.

Ernie

[TampaRMC]

I'd think that if you want to buy or built one its because you WANT one. I have no plans to sell mine, perhaps if someone offers a ton of BS&T money on top of my investment in the components I used I'd be tempted... only to build another.

Imagine how much it would cost to RENT one for a few years and then start deducting your guess from the price you paid. You might actually make money driving it!

Rich

[bill32]

Look at it this way. I bought a new 99 Mustang GT Convertible, $28,000. It is now 4 years old and is worth about $13K.

I have spent $28K building my FFR and it is my daily driver. In 4 years it will still be worth $20K +, so that is a lot better than any other car you can buy that you intend to actually drive regularly.

[decooney]

IMHO - Advertised prices should not be confused with "actual" selling prices.

People advertise beyond what they expect to get quite often, just building in that buffer. Unless you call up several ex-SPF owners and ask them to tell you the truth about what they actually sold their cars for after it's sold, it's hard to tell. The same applies for any of these replica Cobras.

As for value, to me, "sometimes" a good used replica Cobra with low mileage is better than a new one because all the bugs are sorted out. And, just remember, it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If 10 people are standing in line to buy it, it's probably under priced or priced right. If no one is calling to buy it, it's probably over priced or so specific that it requires that special buyer to come along... I've seen several cars that were priced right, did not sell for a long time, and then one year later had several people interested in the same car at the same price. ??? Hard to say... It fluctuates and varies throughout the year and depending on who's looking at the time for any given type car. One thing seems more certain now these days... the more good replicas that get continue to get built, the more used selection there is out there, and that creates competetive pricing for new and used replica Cobras. That's my .02 cents on it. Good Luck.

[SCOBRAC]

My car has about 1200 hours in polished aluminum alone. I smile and think about the guy who built it every time I look at it.

If you buy a quality piece you are going to pay more. But it will always be worth more. It is entirely likely that you can find a really nice SPF for 45-50k. I know you can get a pretty nice one for 38k, but things like a 427 or any big block verses antyhing else particularly a 302 or 351 small block are worth the money it costs to do it.

[REAL 1]

As cars go these things tend to hold value pretty good. My ERA held its value. My CSX has gone up in value based on a recent appraisal.

If you buy right you will probably do fine at time of resale.