ZL-1 future money maker

[Kluch]

Cars as investments =

Plenty of V wagon guys on the cadillac boards think the same thing because Jay Leno said the car would be collectible. While it is nice to know you are driving a car thought of in this way, that's where it should end. Enjoy the car now, and in 40 years enjoy your hover sled.

[Frankzl1]

Originally Posted by VTXrider

Good luck if you are buying it as an investment.

1. remember that you can't drive much if at all. Most 40 year old colector cars sell with under 5,000 miles on them.

2. maybe in 40 years it'll be worth more maybe not but you have to also add you costs of owning the car, financing interest and insurance

3. weigh that return vs other investments over that time period. It'll need to be worth at least 10x what you pay for it assuming that you have no cost to own it, no insurance, and no financing cost just to keep up with an investment that earns 6% over 40 years.


Maybe it'll be better just to buy it and recognize that it is an expense/cost of driving such an awesome car!

I am not buying this car for collectible purposes, however when it come to miles that is not longer correct, take it from Jay Leno "Buying any car and putting it into storage for years gets you nothing. It's a bad idea. You won't be buying something you like--you're just trying to make money."

Read more: Jay Leno Predicts Future Collectible and Classic Cars - Popular Mechanics http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars.../4312877:w00t:

[Ltespd]

Originally Posted by midnighter

There won't be too many of them in 30 or 40 years. And there will be even less in original condition.

It will still be too many to be considered a collector. Original condition? Yeah if you put it in a garage and never drive it. If they only made 1000 or 547 like they did the GNX...then yes it woud be a collector.
GM is going to make as many of these cars as they can sell. As a whole they are not going to be collectibles.

[stymie]

The ZL1 was built to be driven, not to sit & collect dust. What's the point in owning such a sweet machine if you're not going to enjoy everything that it has to offer? I've got a crazy Bengal cat who's a lot of fun; I could have bought a Steiff.

[midnighter]

Originally Posted by Ltespd

It will still be too many to be considered a collector. Original condition? Yeah if you put it in a garage and never drive it. If they only made 1000 or 547 like they did the GNX...then yes it woud be a collector.
GM is going to make as many of these cars as they can sell. As a whole they are not going to be collectibles.

Well that just ripped my post a new one.

[Blown355]

[QUOTE=Kluch;4401762]Cars as investments =

If you are looking for a good investment, buy $50k in gold, NOT a car! What was the price of gold 40 years ago.

[super60]

The 2012 ZL1 will definitely be a unique Camaro As for collector status i guess that's for history car buffs to figure out !

But we're building them guys , so drive them and enjoy as not everyone will be able to get their hands on one of these babys No sense having them collect dust in your garage ! Treat them with respect and they'll last you a lifetime Enjoy

Mike Judge
Super60

[VTXrider]

[QUOTE=Blown355;4404217]

Originally Posted by Kluch

Cars as investments =

If you are looking for a good investment, buy $50k in gold, NOT a car! What was the price of gold 40 years ago.

In 1979 the price of gold was $700 in 1980, today 32 years later it is 1750 so it has gone up on average 2.9% per year, less than inflation over this time. It all depend on when you buy gold and there is not guarantee that we are not at a long term top. I am not saying we are at a top just that gold is not the worlds greatest investment over the next 40 years just because it has been for the last 5. In fact, in my opinion the fact that it has done so good the last 5 years makes it more likely that it will NOT be a good investment over the next 10-20 years.

[mmarx82]

Originally Posted by super60

The 2012 ZL1 will definitely be a unique Camaro As for collector status i guess that's for history car buffs to figure out !

But we're building them guys , so drive them and enjoy as not everyone will be able to get their hands on one of these babys No sense having them collect dust in your garage ! Treat them with respect and they'll last you a lifetime Enjoy

Mike Judge
Super60

Agreed, mine will be a daily driver!

[kbar4782]

[QUOTE=Ltespd;4400801]it will take a very long time for a ZL1 to become a collector car. If ever. There's going to be too many of them. It's not limited production.[/

You may be right for upcoming MY, but I think the 2012 numbers will be low enough that it will make them special

[OldScoolCamaro]

Originally Posted by Ltespd

it will take a very long time for a ZL1 to become a collector car. If ever. There's going to be too many of them. It's not limited production.

Honestly, I'm not convinced of that...my feeling is there won't be that many of them produced. It's not billed as a "limited" production, although the quantities will be limited. There appears from "chatter" previously disseminated and discussed to be some underlying intent to keep the bloodline tight on this car beyond what has been publically stated. I just keep seeing too many indicators this may in fact be true. And the key phrase as I recall was "make every effort" to meet demand. Only time will tell how many will be produced and for how long. Make no mistake, this is one special Camaro, and History will reflect that. It's unmistakable handwritting on the wall. I'm not going to miss the boat. Congrats to all those who have secured an order!

[WheelmanSS]

It also listed the Buick Regal GS.... Yea, I stopped reading after that. Dumb article.

[GoldenBear]

Over the years, most vehicles that have become highly prized collector vehicles were not thought of as collectible when they were initially produced and sold. Prior to the late 1970s most people purchased cars for daily driving, pleasure driving, or racing, and not collecting. People rarely purchased vehicles because they believed that the vehicles would be worth a lot of money in 20, 30, or 40 years. In fact, prior to the late 1970s very few people thought of cars as investments, and that is still the case today.

In general, for a vehicle to have a high collector value it must meet two requirements. The vehicle must be desirable, and it must be relatively rare.

The first vehicle that I recall that was thought of as being "collectible" when it was first produced and sold was the 1978 Corvette with the Indy Pace Car replica option (6,502 were produced), which added a whopping $13,653 to the $9,351 base price of the Corvette. Many thought that those Indy Pace Car replicas would be worth a lot of money in 25 plus years and, therefore, many 1978 Pace Car replicas were purchased well above MRSP and then stored in garages waiting for them to appreciate. Well, the appreciation hasn't occurred. I have seen a few of them for sale relatively recently with less than 100 original miles on them and they didn't even bring their original MSRP adjusted for inflation. The fact is that 1978 Indy Pace Cars aren't that rare, when compared to high dollar American collector cars, such as 1967 to 1969 L88 Corvettes (216), 1969 ZL1 Corvettes (2), 1969 9560 COPO Camaros (69), 1970 LS6 Chevelle Convertibles (~95), 1970 Hemi Cuda Convertibles (14) or even 1967 427/435 Corvettes (3,754 Coupes and Convertibles), and the 1978 Indy Pace Car replicas aren't particularly desirable today, as they weren't exactly high performance vehicles.

When thinking about a vehicle as an investment, one also must take into account the total cost of ownership of the vehicle over the years as well, including insurance, gas, maintenance, etc.

The new ZL1s may ultimately have better value than the 1978 Indy Pace Car replicas do, but new ZL1s will be produced in significant enough numbers, I believe, that new ZL1s will not be rare enough to elevate their prices to those similar to today's prices of rare and highly sought after muscle cars from the 1960s and early 1970s. I think that given the new ZL1's likely production numbers, the best case appreciation for the new ZL1s in 20, 30, or 40 years would see their values similar to that of the 1965 to 1967 Big Block Corvettes today with values of the Coupes and Convertibles tracking much as the Corvette values do.

The new ZL1 was designed to be driven, whether it's on the street, the track, or the strip, and I think that most ZL1 owners will derive more pleasure from driving their ZL1s in their preferred venue, rather than waiting for their ZL1s to appreciate while they are stored and idle in their garages. I believe that the best way to honor the new ZL1, its creators, and legacy is to drive the ZL1 and enjoy it as it was intended to be.

[radz28]

The only thing my ZL1 will be making is smoke and a fat grin across my face