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One of the considerations that tends not to get discussed here is that cars are perishable and have significant costs associated with their ownership. This dulls the luster of justifying them as am investment. Aside from the usual yearly fee for registration and insurance (the latter of which can be a significant sum -- to the tune of a couple of percent per year) there are other real costs too. First, there are transaction costs as a buyer -- inspections, travel, shipping, taxes, and of course upgrades and replacement of stuff that you want to fix right away. Who ever figures that into their report of how much their car appreciated? How about normal maintenance if the car is being used -- such as that $18K engine rebuild that your 911 got last year? You know, the one you did because the valve guides needed replacement, but you couldn't stop yourself because you were "in there anyway." Or look at storage. You might have space in your garage, but it could be used for other useful purposes too -- or you could rent out that space for a couple hundred per month. Maybe you even bought that big garage (with an attached house) so you could store your babies. Then there's upkeep. Tires deteriorate. Oil seals dry out. Paint oxidizes and rubber trim gets old. Fluids need changing. The car needs to be exercised, so it gets some wear and tear, and the odometer miles go up. Stuff happens on the road and in the garage. Of course, most of us drive our cars and get some enjoyment and use from them, which needs to be figured in too. But it should be remembered that a collector car may or may not appreciate each year, but it *will* require expenditure of funds to keep it current. Granted, most investments have some sort of yearly cost associated with them, but I think cars have a particularly high carrying cost that almost never gets mentioned in enthusiast forums like this.
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