Why You Shouldn't Buy a Supercar as an Investment

[@GWR66]

Bought a 458 Speciale with 815 miles on it a few years ago. Daily drove it and put 15,000 miles on it over a two year period and sold it for the same price I paid for it. Hit the Covid rise at the right time, but really enjoyed the two years I had the car. Definitely not a garage queen!

[@normalguysupercar]

That's awesome!

[@RaphaelLacoste]

the previous owner of my rosso corsa Coupe F430 paid 95k $ for it in 2019, I paid 130 k in 2023... he definitely made a good investment :D

[@normalguysupercar]

It can happen

[@74SD455TA]

I own a 2015 458 Speciale Aperta for about 2 1/2 years. Paid 675,000 for it and it is estimated to now be worth just short of 1M. But I don't care, love the car and its allure as an art piece.

[@normalguysupercar]

Yes indeed

[@ThatDudeMrRoyalty]

If I bought a Ferrari I'm gonna drive the hell out of it and enjoy the experience to the fullest. I know I won't make any profit when I decide to part ways with it but you only live once and I'm into enjoying lifes experiences.

[@normalguysupercar]

That's the right attitude

[@abc2042003]

I'm from Hong Kong, and i got my 2008 F430 in Oct,2022. It was right under 30k km on the clock. And now it's 41k km, and i didn't regret putting a lot mileage on it as every time i drive it, smile is always on my face!

[@matbindi821]

Totally agreed, I owned an F430 spider for 3 years, bought it and sold it at almost same amount, but running costs like garage, insurance taxes, headers pipes and 14k spent on service definitely killed the “break even factor”. Buy it and sell it at good price anyway is gonna make you spend money, maybe 15 or 20 or 25k a year depends how lucky you are on services, better enjoy it and forget about the investment factor, definitely will never drop or grow that much (unless ultra rare models)

[@normalguysupercar]

Exactly

[@abrahamg3354]

You were almost there bro. Learn the Wholesale price. Learn to negotiate on the cars you're looking at. Now learn to do pre purchase inspection to a reputable shop. Negotiate further on upcoming maintenance and repairs. Dealer can pay one thing or they can pay half or how ever you propose the deal. Don't listen to these guys all the way. It is good advice and he is right, but if you also ask an asset manager and tells you differently, he is also right.

[@jiml9855]

I bought my 458 with the thought of it will most likely cost me $10k per year in depreciation. It’s the cost of the driving experience. I’m OK with that, driving it at least once per week!

[@tonymoreton7166]

Doubt you'll lose 10k/y. Nothing like. Last NA mid engine V8 - you'll be fine. And, all the :-)'s

[@EverythingorNothing]

You're 100% correct it's not for everybody but those that are lucky enough to enjoy these cars have to prepare and consider the at least expenses and 10 grand is pretty close to the minimum. Yearly.

[@normalguysupercar]

Yeah paying 10k a year to enjoy a 458 seems like a great deal to me. Lol

[@EverythingorNothing]

@@normalguysupercar agreed 👍

[@ricsu3462]

Yeah u gotta be in the right mind set…. Buy the right keeper cars, enjoy them and hopefully they don’t lose too much. As a car enthusiast they are so much a part of my identity and social circle. One additional thing that I found out over the years is that not many opt to pay capital gains in flipping cars and watches as personal assets, unlike other investments like stocks or real estate u can’t run from it. As long as u don’t get 1M in incoming wire transfers every year…

[@normalguysupercar]

Haha true

[@tonymoreton7166]

Buying a 360 or F430, especially a manual, you'll possibly/probably break even or at least not lose massively; as long as you can afford the running costs while you are using it 'enough' (to stop all the gremlins starting - say a few thousand miles a year). It's still better than buying a brand new BMW or Merc EV and losing mega, year after year after year, in depreciation.

[@normalguysupercar]

Yeah it's a reasonable risk

[@EverythingorNothing]

This is great information and it's funny because most of us justify the purchase of a supercar with our wives by telling them it's an investment. We all know otherwise. What really amazes me are the people that buy these cars and never drive them thinking they are an investment. Funny how most people see a price tag on a used Ferrari and think it's affordable well you better have that same amount of money in your checking account to back up any maintenance that will come along. People don't get. It's about the experience.. So many cars just sit in the garage.. Undriven.. We ended up with the perfect stable. Maserati MC sporting Ferrari f430 Nissan GTR Porsche 981 GT4. Supercharged Dodge Challenger. And several utility vehicles that we drive on a regular basis. The addition of the Ferrari changed. In a really good kind of way it opened up my mind and my eyes to many more opportunities to drive this car well for that matter all of them as much as I can.

[@normalguysupercar]

Yes, absolutely.

[@Electronicai]

I've bought 2014 Ferrari 458 spider w/ 27k miles for 185k, drove it for a year and a half (6k miles was added) sold it for 240k 🎉 (the time when everything was booming). A year later I bought another 2015 Ferrari 458 Spider with 2k miles for 307k. Today it's been a year since I had it, now I have 4.5k miles on it, love the car, waiting for another boom 😂

[@normalguysupercar]

I think it's going to be a while for the next huge run up in value

[@AB-80X]

You're going to wait a long time. 307k? You're going to lose on that. Just drive it.

[@Arthur-ke9vz]

Love you guys!❤

[@normalguysupercar]

Thank you

[@cathrynm]

I think you need 'a car wizard' -- like Hoovie has Omega, like you need a place to take it where you trust what they say. I've never had Ferrari, but I guess, you want to be in a situation where if a $10K thing breaks, you just do it, and it doesn't damage your life. (We have an old Porsche and it's usually less than that) The car breaks, it's a bunch of money, but then you pay that and it gets fixed, and it's just part of the thing. It's actually kinda' satisfying to see these things that are broken get proper fixed, as long as it gets really fixed.

[@normalguysupercar]

I don't like relying on others

[@brianogle3024]

They have Josh if worst comes to worst.

[@cathrynm]

Oops, sorry, I didn't really mean you, I meant more someone like me who doesn't work on cars.

[@renownedfear187]

OK. Buying cars like 458, aventador, SLS, 720s. Ect those are depreciating assets. Pagani, Koenigsegg, one-77, laferrari, Carrera. GT, LFA ect. THOSE will always hold/increase value

[@normalguysupercar]

Well, we hope

[@obelisk9999]

Respect!! However, and unfortunately.. I'm one of those guys that owns a Ferrari and hardly ever drivers it.. a garage queen.

[@normalguysupercar]

That's ok, life can get in the way

[@cyuiyuwyguiyui]

288 GTO, the F40, the F50, the Enzo, LaFerrari and the 458 Speciale. More up than down in 15 years time , i dare anyone to say something else.. Could mention the 1963 GTO too, but .. 😋

[@normalguysupercar]

Yeah

[@supersonique001]

Absolutely correct in every sense, well explained.

[@normalguysupercar]

Yup

[@rays9719]

You didn't mention Tax Title and Registration fees. Here in Iowa the yearly registration is 1% of the original MSRP before options for the first 10 years. For me that was $2810.00 a year for 10 years. Bastards!

[@normalguysupercar]

Yeah that's a part of it but it varies

[@htwSETX]

great chat and just in time. i was playing with this very idea, and once again listening to grown-ups set me straight. was thinking 458 Speciale would be a great investment as the last NA mid-engine Ferrari. (I think it is?) Not sure the BOSS would have bought into that line anyway...:)) Just going to drive my 488 like i stole it and see if taking the Orange County Texas sheriff's deputy for a ride will get me outta any tickets.

[@normalguysupercar]

The special cars do have a better chance of making money then the normal ones

[@organiccold]

Good advice for sure

[@normalguysupercar]

Yes indeed.

[@7doghead]

can you guys do a video on your experience with vehicles that have odometer stoppers used on them? have you guys ever found vehicles with one previously installed? is there a good way to track if one has previously been on there?

[@normalguysupercar]

We haven't run into one or clear evidence of one yet....

[@skittlesgarage]

I’ve lost 20 grand in value since I bought my McLaren 2 years ago. And it was one of the best deals at the time I bought it. But I knew that’s what would happen. People thinking the Pandemic car sales craziness would last forever we’re being naive. It was a short-term bubble. I have gotten $1,000 a month in depreciation and $1,000 in joy from driving the car over the two years and I’m cool with that. Ferraris are a different beast but I’m the old school car enthusiast: we know cars are a money pit but we wanna play with our toys so we pay to play.

[@normalguysupercar]

Amen

[@velocelens]

Doug has been plugging the NA Auto Supra mk4 for months now, time to stock up

[@normalguysupercar]

Lol yup

[@johnbecker70]

Good advice. Your presentation was exactly what I tell others.

[@normalguysupercar]

Glad to hear it!

[@johnbecker70]

@@normalguysupercar Did well with an original Cobra and an ‘05 Ford GT, but both were long-term ownerships. Other cars have come and gone, but all were purchased for a love of the car and not for the potential profit. Still have the Cobra. Traded the GT towards a Dino GTS. Had one earlier and missed it.

[@kiethuu7734]

Dan, Bought my F430 2016. So subscribed when you had under 300 subs. If you kept your F430, was it a good investment if you still have it today?

[@normalguysupercar]

Compared to other returns I could have gotten in other investments? No.

[@rwc22]

Everyone’s a genius in a bull market

[@normalguysupercar]

Exactly

[@CoolHand273]

I always loved those clowns who say they can drive a super car for free. Then they forget to mention that if anything needs to get fixed or you wreck the car you are done. I am not talking about the basic is either such as registration, gas, and insurance. Nothing makes an insurance company salivate than a 25 year old social media influencer with a lambo. A car owned by a sketchy cowboy subtract 20%. Thanks for keeping it real. My pet peeve right now is with prices these days there is very little meat on the bone for the fix/hold/enjoy model of enthusiast car ownership.

[@normalguysupercar]

Yeah the true enthusiasts are having a difficult time trying to buy cars to enjoy because now everyone thinks it's an investment

[@ace1gl]

I was going to get a 458 before they went crazy. My goal was to. enjoy it for a couple years and maybe break even. I am completely out on basically any high end goods right now until the markets all stabilize. Covid cash messed a lot of things up and I am not going to be the one holding the bag when the music stops.

[@normalguysupercar]

Yup

[@FPE93]

Worst car dealer ever but that's a compliment! You guys were spot on and honest!

[@normalguysupercar]

Haha

[@Terranova911RS]

The F40 needs new fuel tanks every 8 years or so, costs 70k€.

[@cyuiyuwyguiyui]

Not if you get the metallic one

[@normalguysupercar]

The US spec doesn't have fuel bladders

[@AB-80X]

It's 10 years. And now a British company offers an alternative to the bladders. The only issue is that you can't Red Book the car if you wish to do so.

[@bmuns6445]

One single Ferrari F40 fuel injector costs - $10,000. YIKES !!!

[@normalguysupercar]

Yeah that sucks

[@meandean3754]

Supercars are meant to be driven! Depreciating assets are bad for investing unless you can hang on to it, keep it in working order, and in excellent condition for decades.

[@normalguysupercar]

Absolutely!

[@JustinTipton]

Here are some sobering stats. In order to have matched the market (VOO), your car's selling price would have to be greater than the price plus sales tax, plus insurance, plus maintenance. Over the last 3 years that's 29% higher. Over the last five years, that's 84% higher. Over the last 10 years thats 206% higher. So if you bought a $350k MSRP Speciale in December 2013, in Texas that is $372k after taxes. Assuming you did no oil changes and no insurance for the last decade, you need to sell the car for $1.13M to have kept up with the market. Oh, and then you pay capital gains taxes of 20% on the sale of the car, so the number is much higher than $1.13M. Virtually no cars are good investments over any long period of time.

[@normalguysupercar]

Yeah exactly!

[@davidperry4013]

I’d buy a supercar to elevate my driving experience and put it through its paces not as an investment. Oil change every 5K, transmission oil change every 10K, spark plugs every 37500 miles, struts every time I get that error “Suspension System Control Failure”, and invest in a ductless mini split for the garage beforehand.

[@normalguysupercar]

Yes indeed

[@Charly_Dont_Surf]

Just toss $100 bills as you go down the road. Kinda like owning a boat 🚤

[@normalguysupercar]

Boats are the worst

[@enzorari]

Bottom line: make up your mind about it, what’s better? To have had and lost (sold?) or to never have had at all,…

[@normalguysupercar]

Yup

[@user-od9iz9cv1w]

Enjoying a Ferrari for 2k per year would be awesome. In retirement, an investment is something that is guaranteed to pay a return with little or no risk. Does not describe a supercar. OTOH, planning on spending a few thousand for an experience is fine. Just do not confuse it with your investment portfolio.

[@normalguysupercar]

Yes

[@southbeach09]

If you get an early allocation for a high demand supercar and sell it within a few months you can own it for free or possibly make money. The thing is though, to be a position to get an early allocation you probably lost a lot of money building up your buy history.

[@normalguysupercar]

Yup

[@AB-80X]

It's not that simple. When dealing with Ferrari, they are now making you hold on to your car for a while. Can't sell my 812 Comp for 12 months. Can't sell my SF90 XX for 18 months. Can't sell my Puro for 18 months. On top of that, you are not allowed to sell your SF90 while you wait for your XX. Ferrari is doing quite a bit these days to protect the market from flooding and flippers.

[@azmike3572]

Maybe the solution is to buy two--drive one often, the other not so much. 🙂

[@normalguysupercar]

If you have the means

[@ickyconcrete5370]

... in 2024. Many people have made bank up until now, Im not one of them.

[@normalguysupercar]

Yeah that's usually how it works out

[@mrsestherhouse99]

So… you’re saying there’s a chance?

[@normalguysupercar]

Lol always

[@dominickberarducci1183]

Drive it almost everyday when it’s not on a lift, wouldn’t change a thing. The decats and Kline carbon tips (normal guy Black Friday purchases!) are going to be sick when they get here with my S line straight pipes and fabspeed headers.

[@normalguysupercar]

Hell yes

[@christschool]

I don't think many people buy them for an investment. You've been saying this for years and I always wonder, whom are you actually speaking too? The 20 guys that do this? Insurance on a Ferrari is actually very cheap in my experience. Agreed upon value and mileage restrictions make it cheap. But if you want to daily one, then hell yeah it's expensive.

[@normalguysupercar]

Eh it's a couple grand a year

[@christschool]

@@normalguysupercar Not the ones I've owned. Wife's Prius was more expensive to insure.

[@davidfung2082]

You guys are simply awesome!

[@normalguysupercar]

Well thank you

[@whatsay8406]

Great video and good advice.

[@normalguysupercar]

Thanks

[@whatsay8406]

@@normalguysupercar from what I understand KZbin pays the most to channels classified as "financial". This was good financial advice. Any chance of giving basic advice like this more often, and get the channel classified as financial?

[@silhouette300]

there are a lot overpriced and hyped stuff on the market right now and this stuff will loose the value soon (for me these are manual Lambos and early AMg cars and othe shitty tuning MBs from 80-90's), but others will up in value (Carrera GT, 996/997 GT3, Manual 360/430)

[@normalguysupercar]

Yeah that's true

[@paulbianchi7877]

Buy it with money you don't need.

[@normalguysupercar]

Correct

[@vivekh7662]

Drive it like you stole it! That's my motto! Track it as much as possible and drive the wheels off of it!

[@normalguysupercar]

Heck yeah

[@Newportslsamg]

So true! 👍🏻

[@normalguysupercar]

Yup

[@mariodesmo]

You make money on a car when you buy it. Not when you sell it..

[@normalguysupercar]

Yup

[@kevinm8715]

About the only way to come close to guaranteeing you profit from a "car investment" is to do an Ed Bolian: buy the worst example of the car at the bottom of the market for 20% less than the asking price, fix it up a bit and (maybe) enjoy a bit of appreciation. If that fails, then find a way to define the market that makes the car ridiculously rare (manual LP640 Murci) after you've already bought a couple.

[@normalguysupercar]

There's cars that are pretty reasonable guess for appreciation but it's always some risk

[@silhouette300]

manual LP640 lost value for the last year

[@kevinm8715]

@@silhouette300 Who cares? Ed Bolian basically started buying them when nobody thought they were special, then he worked out how few there were and basically "created the market" for them. Even if the value has dropped over the past year, they're still worth multiples of when he started. My point wasn't that buying one today was a smart investment. My point was that Ed bought a few, defined the market, and rode the wave up.

[@silhouette300]

@@kevinm8715of course for him situation is ok, but people who bought them on peak hype prices in 2021-2022 lost

[@MrOmar0021]

Even if I can afford one eventually, a Ferrari is not on my list of cars I would like to own nor drive. Now for McL, BenzAMG, GT-Rs, Koeniseig, Pagani, Porches YES !!

[@normalguysupercar]

That's acceptable

[@DoWorkExotics]

Cars are terrible investments. Great video. It’s about time all of these “new car buyers” hear this…

[@normalguysupercar]

Agreed!

[@MTbone7]

That’s BS. I have a friend who bought a new Porsche GT3RS and sold it after a month and made 150k!

[@normalguysupercar]

That can happen

[@cbell5017]

There’s always a friend that’s done it..

[@AB-80X]

A shame he got that allocation.

[@MTbone7]

@@AB-80X no doubt wish it was me who got the flip

[@haroldmclean3755]

When I do buy a Ferrari, I plan on Driving it and enjoying it 👍 Not as an Investment , They are meant to be driven and not hidden, just my 2 cents

[@normalguysupercar]

Yes!

[@Palaemon44]

Successful super car investment is like winning the lottery. Occasionally it might payoff, i.e. if you had bought a McLaren F1 new, you would now have made money on it, but that’s a stroke of luck. I ran a numerical analysis and for the average super car, I’m better off leaving that money with my investment manager. If you want to buy investment objects, you have a better chance with something like miniature Chinese dynasty bronze horses that you don’t have to spend money to keep.

[@normalguysupercar]

Yes indeed

[@hughmann1908]

Cars are a depreciating asset, if you fluke into breaking even or make money and you enjoyed your time with the car, you win 🎉 Just buy a Porsche and drive it! Lol

[@normalguysupercar]

Eh just buy whatever you like that you can afford

[@irdestroyer]

Supercars are expensive. I am in Canada and bought a Ferrari F430 Spyder for $180k in cash. Taxes were $45k on top of that amount. I budget $5k/yr for maintenance on average, and $5k/yr for auto insurance (we get screwed here). If I own the car for 5 years that works out to about $1,600/mo just to have the thing, not factoring in depreciation, or opportunity cost on the $180k... Once you factor those in, now it's closer to $3k/mo keeping in mind there's barely any depreciation at existing prices. While it won't break the bank, $3k/mo of after-tax income is what an average middle class income earner brings in. When you look at it from that perspective it's a waste of money. I could rent a new Ferrari/Lambo for a day each month, abuse the hell out of it, and it would cost less. It would have to go up in value quite a bit to cover the ongoing expenses and turn a profit. There are very few cars where the numbers make sense as an "investment".

[@normalguysupercar]

Yup

[@nbaumg]

im buying a Lotus Emira and i plan on driving that all the time, depreciation be damned. I want to enjoy the car not let it sit! its not a supercar but it sure is going to get mistaken as a Ferrari all the time.

[@normalguysupercar]

Amen

[@markheld995]

Most people have more money then sense.

[@normalguysupercar]

True

[@ChrisLoomisDirtFlix]

My opinion only ( and I'm an expert on my opinion ) is that many guys just tell the wife it's an investment so they can get one

[@normalguysupercar]

That's a reasonable opinion

[@garyleibitzke4166]

I'd never buy a car to have it sit there in a garage. IMO cars are made to be driven and something like a Ferrari or Lamborghini should be driven like you stole it. 😁 If I had the $$$$$$$ to buy one I'd drive the hell out of it and screw the depreciation.

[@normalguysupercar]

Heck yeah

[@opethmike]

Should I invest in tacos?

[@normalguysupercar]

Always!

[@seanm4887]

someone go tell manny khoshbin

[@normalguysupercar]

Right?

[@asdfasdfasdfasdeff]

Isn't it crazy that a video / message like this is even required? People have figured out how to make money but not have to keep it / make it grow. Is it just baked into our society in the US? Keep the capitalist system moving? Just a curiosity.

[@normalguysupercar]

Yeah

[@drivingwithmelissa9757]

Merry Christmas guys!!!!

[@normalguysupercar]

Happy holidays!