Cheap fun car as an investment

[Spare tyre]

Looking at buying a cheap fun car as a semi investment, not expecting to make 1000s, just something that would rise slowly, ideally I'm thinking 10 years owning it minimum


At the moment I am thinking Clio trophy or s2000

It will be garaged

Any thoughts on the those two or anything else

Thankyou

[NDNDNDND]

Dutton Melos.

It's a dead cert.

[FN2TypeR]

I imagine that inflation along with the running costs of either of those vehicles, the Honda in particular, would decimate any rise in value that may occur.

The S2000 prices seem to have firmed up well, good cars too, earlier ones can be a handful though - be warned! I crashed one whilst driving like a bit of a tit on a damp road, nobody was injured but my pride was about as dented as the farmers fence - he wasn't impressed!

Do your research on them and any potential foibles (there are a few) and ensure you are fastidious in checking any potential purchase over or it may just diddle your wallet.

[rb5er]

Classic impreza like an RB5. I'd not be surprised if it were to double in value over 10 years.
Skyline R33 GTR also although these are 12k +
Evo 6, currently undervalued IMO.
Racing Puma if you can find one.
Mk1 focus RS
Escort RS Turbo
R5 Turbo

[Spare tyre]

NDNDNDND said:

Dutton Melos.

It's a dead cert.

Haha

[Spare tyre]

FN2TypeR said:

I imagine that inflation along with the running costs of either of those vehicles, the Honda in particular, would decimate any rise in value that may occur.

The S2000 prices seem to have firmed up well, good cars too, earlier ones can be a handful though - be warned! I crashed one whilst driving like a bit of a tit on a damp road, nobody was injured but my pride was about as dented as the farmers fence - he wasn't impressed!

Do your research on them and any potential foibles (there are a few) and ensure you are fastidious in checking any potential purchase over or it may just diddle your wallet.

A couple of people I know have been stung by repairs etc, I guess the Clio over all is simpler to maintain, but will it need more maintenance?!

[Spare tyre]

rb5er said:

Classic impreza like an RB5. I'd not be surprised if it were to double in value over 10 years.
Skyline R33 GTR also although these are 12k +
Evo 6, currently undervalued IMO.
Racing Puma if you can find one.
Mk1 focus RS
Escort RS Turbo
R5 Turbo

Skyline too complex for me and too price you
Evo - yup
Racing puma - good call
Mk1 focus - yup, finding a sensible one might be tricky
Rs turbo - would be worried about it getting pinched
R5 - been studying these, they do seem dirt cheap

[GrumpyTwig]

The Clio's dampers need servicing every so often, but I don't think that is exactly bank breaking though. Not that I'd think they're much of an investment, some people seem to rave about them but I can't see them being the investment a nice V6 is/was.

[itcaptainslow]

S1 Elise. Values are already starting to creep but they'll go nuts within the next few years I reckon, especially for low mileage, standard, original cars on MMC discs and 111S/Sport 135/160 cars.

[dai1983]

Timing belts on a RS Clio costs about £600 every 4 years with Aux belts every two years. The Renault timing tools are £150 and aftermarket ones are meant to be crap/missing essential components.

[mike9009]

I would keep an eye on VX220s. Niche getting rare and not horrendous in maintenance (except for tyres!).........

Or slightly cheaper - Smart roadster
Or slightly older - mk1 MR2

Edited by mike9009 on Friday 23 September 07:12

[TheJimi]

EP3?

I may have a vested interest

[Spare tyre]

dai1983 said:

Timing belts on a RS Clio costs about £600 every 4 years with Aux belts every two years. The Renault timing tools are £150 and aftermarket ones are meant to be crap/missing essential components.

Would I be correct in thinking a 2005 trophy isn't as bad?

[Dan_M5]

Nope the same

[SEE YA]

What about a Boxster S, MX5, and a Honda as mentioned before in this topic

[MikeT66]

Biased... but if I had some spare room for a couple of cars, I'd buy the best non-rusting 1.7 Puma/Racing Puma that I could right now. 20 years old next year, Ford (always has a following), legendary handling and amazing to drive, cheap parts and easy servicing.

[VonSenger]

Alfa gtv.

[FN2TypeR]

Spare tyre said:

FN2TypeR said:

I imagine that inflation along with the running costs of either of those vehicles, the Honda in particular, would decimate any rise in value that may occur.

The S2000 prices seem to have firmed up well, good cars too, earlier ones can be a handful though - be warned! I crashed one whilst driving like a bit of a tit on a damp road, nobody was injured but my pride was about as dented as the farmers fence - he wasn't impressed!

Do your research on them and any potential foibles (there are a few) and ensure you are fastidious in checking any potential purchase over or it may just diddle your wallet.

A couple of people I know have been stung by repairs etc, I guess the Clio over all is simpler to maintain, but will it need more maintenance?!

About as tough as it will get on one of those is the timing belt change - ensure it has been done if it is due/overdue, or make sure you're in a position to do it yourself/pay for it if need be!

[patmahe]

Of all the choices here and looking from an investment perspective, I think the smart roadster is a good choice. Rare, slightly unusual, good fun to drive.

[culpz]

I'm not sure that the Clio Trophy will be a future investment tbh. They're not radically different than a standard 182 really. I think they'll hold their value well but i don't think they'll appreciate. They just not special enough compared to the V6's and just look how much they're going for.

S2000's should go up though. I don't think there's too many left on the road now. What about a VX220? Don't know much about them but they're on the up it seems. The Ford Racing Puma seem to me fetching decent amounts too.