Low Mileage and Values
Discussion
Headline in a recent issue of Sports Car Market was "Miles on, Dollars off" and it referred to a 14k mile Ferrari 288 GTO that sold for about $700k less at a recent auction than if it had been an ultra low mileage example as it was not deemed to be "collector quality". 14k miles on a 35 year old car is an average of 400 miles per year which hardly seems excessive. This mileage focussed mentality however does seem to keep quite a few people from driving their cars as much as they otherwise might. It prompted me to write a short blog on the Tyranny of Low Mileage.
Personally don't understand why people buy cars to just keep them in hermatically sealed garages from which they never emerge.
Personally don't understand why people buy cars to just keep them in hermatically sealed garages from which they never emerge.
I guess stuff that's highly collectible and worth millions is never gonna get driven in anger given the value. Perhaps having something very special sat in the garage is rewarding enough for those rich enough? A 700k difference for 400 miles a yr on the car u mentioned is crazy alright.
willy wombat said:
Can we have the link to the blog please, SSO?
Well worth keeping an eye on with much wisdom & experience sharedhttps://karenable.com/the-tyranny-of-low-mileage/
I agree with your analysis of putting owners of collectible cars into 3 main categories. I would add another category to the type of owners, and that is the category that are intimidated by driving their own cars. So it is less about the mileage, but more about the fact that they simply cannot master a manual gearshift or deal with a non-power assisted steering so its vanity and the fear of looking embarrassing that keeps them from using their cars.
SSO said:
justice. said:
Which begs the question, if the car is being bought by a collector to never be driven again.. why are the miles of any importance at all?
Insanity defined.
Great point. If it just going to sit and slowly decay, what does it matter.Insanity defined.
It is just a commodity to some, the fact it has an engine, wheels and can propel itself is of no relevance.
SSO said:
justice. said:
Which begs the question, if the car is being bought by a collector to never be driven again.. why are the miles of any importance at all?
Insanity defined.
Great point. If it just going to sit and slowly decay, what does it matter.Insanity defined.
Personally, I could never own a car and not drive it irrespective of what it was. I fully acknowledge that a lot of the people that buy them as investments are possibly not petrol heads, but for those that are, get out and enjoy them and invest in some other commodity that doesn't beg to be used.
Edited by Trev450 on Tuesday 15th September 14:58
Imagine having this sat at home and not being able to drive it.
https://www.gtplanet.net/can-now-148-mile-mclaren-...
https://www.gtplanet.net/can-now-148-mile-mclaren-...
It’s like all the paintings that sit in tax free warehousing.
Just investment diversification.
Some people just keep score with money.
Meanwhile, the first time I went on a track day at Silverstone in 1988, in my newly acquired Jalpa, I ended up parked next to Lord Vestey in his old GTO. It was hot. He had the door open. Behind his seat was an old plastic sandwich carton and some confectionary wrappers. I followed him out onto the track. My car had cost me £20k; his, even then, worth rather more.
He absolutely gave it the beans.
Just investment diversification.
Some people just keep score with money.
Meanwhile, the first time I went on a track day at Silverstone in 1988, in my newly acquired Jalpa, I ended up parked next to Lord Vestey in his old GTO. It was hot. He had the door open. Behind his seat was an old plastic sandwich carton and some confectionary wrappers. I followed him out onto the track. My car had cost me £20k; his, even then, worth rather more.
He absolutely gave it the beans.
PompeyReece said:
But do most cars sit and decay? Yes, I read in the Middle East there’s a large “garage” where this happens/happened but don’t most cars eventually make it to the market?
It really depends, quite a few very high value cars change hands privately and never appear in public. There are also all the Brunei cars that are slowing rotting away. Last I heard there are still three McLaren F1s that have been sitting there for years now.Interesting.
I think there are a lot of owners in the “Value Sensitive Supercar Enthusiasts” group, who simply can’t enjoy their cars. They are a One or two year experience ideally without a service cost.
I put myself in the enthusiast driver group. Many people seem to think of them as poser cars, but they actually bloody good drivers cars.
I think there are a lot of owners in the “Value Sensitive Supercar Enthusiasts” group, who simply can’t enjoy their cars. They are a One or two year experience ideally without a service cost.
I put myself in the enthusiast driver group. Many people seem to think of them as poser cars, but they actually bloody good drivers cars.
I disagree with the secondary , subliminal message that the OP,s is suggesting in his blog .
The primary message is that the are distinct disadvantages in not enjoying your car for the moving vehicle that it is because of a fear of losing money .
I entirely agree with that .
The secondary unspoken message is that the car should be used a lot , and this is where I entirely disagree .
The car should be used APPROPRIATELY .
And if circumstances dictate ( time , roads , state of mind ) , and the car is driven little so be it .
I have no experience of the rarefied world of Hypercars , but using any car in an ‘’ inappropriate “ setting purely to use it , and to simply give credence to being a “ Supercar Enthusiast Driver ‘’ , is almost as much of a folly as being the victim of the “ Tyranny of Low Mileage “ club that the OP so enthusiastically denigrates .
Sorry to spoil the party .
Incidentally if you buy a car to keep , mileage and depreciation are totally irrelevant ..... and simply dont appear on the radar .
I think that there might be value in a new thread to examine the PH badge of honour that is
“ just drive it “
OR
“I drive it xxxx miles every yyyy weeks “
I would say “ drive a car ( for pleasure ) in the appropriate setting , so that you have the best chance of extracting some special essence of that particular car “
This ethos is as applicable to an MX5 as it is to a Chiron .
The primary message is that the are distinct disadvantages in not enjoying your car for the moving vehicle that it is because of a fear of losing money .
I entirely agree with that .
The secondary unspoken message is that the car should be used a lot , and this is where I entirely disagree .
The car should be used APPROPRIATELY .
And if circumstances dictate ( time , roads , state of mind ) , and the car is driven little so be it .
I have no experience of the rarefied world of Hypercars , but using any car in an ‘’ inappropriate “ setting purely to use it , and to simply give credence to being a “ Supercar Enthusiast Driver ‘’ , is almost as much of a folly as being the victim of the “ Tyranny of Low Mileage “ club that the OP so enthusiastically denigrates .
Sorry to spoil the party .
Incidentally if you buy a car to keep , mileage and depreciation are totally irrelevant ..... and simply dont appear on the radar .
I think that there might be value in a new thread to examine the PH badge of honour that is
“ just drive it “
OR
“I drive it xxxx miles every yyyy weeks “
I would say “ drive a car ( for pleasure ) in the appropriate setting , so that you have the best chance of extracting some special essence of that particular car “
This ethos is as applicable to an MX5 as it is to a Chiron .
Edited by carspath on Wednesday 16th September 18:49
I think there are broadly two types of supercar owners - those who buy for an investment and those who buy to drive them. Obviously, the former group are reluctant to put miles on the cars in case it impacts the value. The latter use them as much as possible when it's suitable to do so.
I can fully understand a low milage car being kept that way as an investment but there seems no point worrying about mileage if your primary objective is to drive it. You'd be better off buying one with miles already on it if it concerns you that much.
I guess it's a bit like fine wine. Some people buy crates of the stuff to store as an investment - the rest of us just get on and drink it! The only people who actually get the enjoyment out of it are the drinkers - the investors may as well have bought stocks, gold, or supercars - it makes no difference to them!
I can fully understand a low milage car being kept that way as an investment but there seems no point worrying about mileage if your primary objective is to drive it. You'd be better off buying one with miles already on it if it concerns you that much.
I guess it's a bit like fine wine. Some people buy crates of the stuff to store as an investment - the rest of us just get on and drink it! The only people who actually get the enjoyment out of it are the drinkers - the investors may as well have bought stocks, gold, or supercars - it makes no difference to them!
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