Hello!!!! Looking at a T350 but concerned about depreciation

[cornburn]

Hi all!

I've been lurking around and reading up for about a year, I fell in love with the T350 the first time I saw one and after spending a lot of time trying to pursuade myself that I'd be better off with a sensible option like an exige or M3 it's really just not happening - if I got anything else it really would be second best.

So between now and Christmas I'm keeping an eye out for my ideal car. My main concern is a general car concern, which is why I've stuck this in the general area. If I go out and spend £20k on a car next month, as there obviously aren't going to be any new stocks of these should it hold it's value pretty well? I'm happy to spend money on the car when needed (fully aware of the speed6 niggles) but depreciation would do my head in, as it's really going to be a toy that will do 5k miles a year at most.

Since the company sadly went under what are peoples thoughts on prices and how well they should hold out? Any opinions would be greatly appreciated - tell me I'm doing the right thing with my pot of savings!

Thanks everyone

[Mattt]

You considered an M3, but are worried about a T350 because of depreciation? Erm...

[Targarama]

T350 prices have levelled out. You may lose a few thousand if you put mega miles on it, crash it, or don't maintain it, but you won't lose much.

btw how is a Lotus Exige a sensible choice compared to a T350??

[Don]

I don't think that a TVR, by now, will have a bad depreciation curve.

By now the primary factor in a car's price is condition. Even the more recent cars have lost the big chunk of their value....by now it could be as little as a couple of K a year.

Provided you are not thinking of doing a big mileage..

[blueg33]

IMO there is a bit of depreciation to go on a T350, particularly if you look at Tuscan prices. They will probably reach a plateau in a few years.

After that then prices may well go up. I just sold a 17 year old Ginetta G33 for more than twice what I paid for it, after 5 years of ownership and tripling the mileage. I hope TVR's do the same because I just bought a Tuscan.

I should add that my logic is that if I lose 30% of value in the Tuscan I an still ahead over all.

[cornburn]

I considered E46 M3's, although wouldn't have spent £20k on one, more like £12k so it's already had the biggest drops. From reading up the exige and M3 seem like the safer choices, just because there are far few people complaining about shelling out 000's on putting them back together! Also they're probably also both less likely to stick me in a ditch. But I'm trying to ignore all those points as deep down it's the T350 I want in the garage.

I'm hoping as some have said, most of the drops will have gone already and maybe £2k a year on a £20k car for 5 years at the worst, I can't see they should drop below say £10k because surely someone will always want a nicely kept one for that money and numbers on the road will only decrease over time now they're no longer in production!

[julianc]

If your primary concern is depreciation, doesn't sound like you should be a TVR owner.

Owners tend to be passionate about the cars, not worried about depreciation.

IMHO, of course.

[lazyitus]

IMO there's about 3 years of real depreciation left for T350's but it will be pretty minimal depreciation. They'll level out properly for another 2-3 years then will gain in value.

Pretty safe punt at the moment, I reckon.

[Mattmoss]

Depreciation is going to be less with a TVR than with other more mainstream cars of the same price I'd say.


But that won't matter in the slightest when you have one parked in your garage, you're not going to give a toss when you start it and grin like a loon

do the sensible thing and throw loads of cash at it and dont worry about what its going to be worth in 2, 5 10 years

[LordGrover]

cornburn said:

I considered E46 M3's, although wouldn't have spent £20k on one, more like £12k so it's already had the biggest drops. From reading up the exige and M3 seem like the safer choices, just because there are far few people complaining about shelling out 000's on putting them back together! Also they're probably also both less likely to stick me in a ditch. But I'm trying to ignore all those points as deep down it's the T350 I want in the garage.

I'm hoping as some have said, most of the drops will have gone already and maybe £2k a year on a £20k car for 5 years at the worst, I can't see they should drop below say £10k because surely someone will always want a nicely kept one for that money and numbers on the road will only decrease over time now they're no longer in production!

Both the above can catch you pretty much as badly as a S6 may do; are you familiar with the 'issue' pertaining to the E46 sub-frame cracks for example? SMG clutches and gearboxes? Again, there are scare stories for pretty much every 'performance/fun' car out there and none of them are worth worrying about if you want to enjoy the cars. st happens. Sometimes.
As for ditches, you put you in a ditch, not the car.

[cornburn]

Haha I love the me putting in a ditch comment, very true. I can be enthusiastic about owning a nice car whilst also making sure it makes financial sense, everything has it's value and at the end of the day I'd love the fun and grin a T350 would bring but if bills, insurance and depreciation totaled £10k/year would you have one? I certainly wouldn't, I could have a lot more fun with that much money. Everyone's got to have their price where it's worth having and doing without other things for, otherwise we'd all be driving around in Astons!

Some reassuring comments though thanks, pretty much along the lines of what I was thinking and I'm more comfortable in my decision now. Cheers

[Mattt]

£10k/year - no where near.

[cheapaschim]

[quote=lazyitus]IMO there's about 3 years of real depreciation left for T350's but it will be pretty minimal depreciation. They'll level out properly for another 2-3 years then will gain in value.[quote]

I'm quite new to TVR's as well which TVR's have gone up in value already?

[lazyitus]

cheapaschim said:

I'm quite new to TVR's as well which TVR's have gone up in value already?

Well, sorted Griffs have changed hands for silly money this year but poor condition Griffs are still available at a lowish price. Seems that condition is the real price driver. There's a big gap between rough & mint prices. Wedges are fetching bigger money now, especially bigger 4.0ltr+ jobbies. Sags are sure investments IMO but out of reach for many and there aren't many around, so this is self explanatory. They're all good news from here onwards, whether a new TVR ever arrives or not. I really think that over the next 3-5 years, the prices these cars will command will climb quite steeply, so long as they are in good condition.

[Gazzab]

I would like a T350 but my main concern is that I prefer buses.

[rev-erend]

The T350 is much like other TVR's - they seem to hold their money well because no new cars are being build - so the prices seem to have frozen.

Reliability and running costs should be more of a concern than depreciation IMHO.

[Smooth Smith]

There's a risk with both the cars you've mentioned so a T car is no different. I think with the e46 M3 it's the Vanos units which are £1800 a piece if they fail!!

I think there's still a bit of depreciation for T350's but don't think they'll fall much. If you look at the Tuscan prices, they are holding their own & have even increased in value over the last couple
of yrs. I also think that there may be more interest in the S6 cars once the likes of Power start offering 100k warranties on their rebuilds. They may then be of interest to people who have previously discounted them.

There also seems to be renewed interest in Tams. Most of those available have been sold & there are very few coming to the market. This can only be a good thing for values.

Edited by Smooth Smith on Thursday 14th October 23:21

Edited by Smooth Smith on Thursday 14th October 23:22

[Geoff Ashcroft]

I think you're worrying over nothing really. Just do it - you owe it to yourself, while you can. Depreciation happens with almost all motors - be prepared to lose some dosh, and if you don't then you're on the right side and its a Brucie, as it ain't work a w**k in the bank. Those with Sags have been lucky in the way the market has risen over the last two years, as this isn't representative of cars generally. When I bought my Tam, I could have bought a Sag for about £28-30k, but I didn't want one. Still don't, as I enjoy the roof off experience with my Tamora.
Before I bought mine, I was told to allow £2k year in running costs, which is not unreasonable for such a bonkers high performance car. Nearly two years into TVR ownership, it still excites and scares me - but the grin I get from turning the key and waking up the Speed 6 is akin to a child's first visit to a toy shop. The admiration from bystanders and other motorists is great too, while the knowledge and help from other TVR owners is probably unlike you'll find anywhere else. Oh, and I intend to keep mine for a long time, which is probably until the grin wears off.
I lost £16k on a BMW 535d Touring over two years, so I split the dosh from its sale and bought a five year old C-class and put the rest towards my Tamora - I'll never lose that amount with my Tam or the Benz Go on, you know you want to........

[blackiepaul]

don't buy one then

[DonkeyApple]

Gazzab said:

I would like a T350 but my main concern is that I prefer buses.

I thought it was your wife who wanted the RRS?