But you need not spend that much just to acquire a supercar. Some supercars cost more than a million we know that. However, you need not shell out a million to make your car look like a million!
Some cars really do cost more than $1 million, but you don’t have to spend a million to look like a million.One way to avoid ultra-expensive car is to purchase an entry-level car built by a dependable automaker. Take Porsche Boxter. The legendary Porsche performance is in it. The styling is unmistakably Porsche’s.
As a fact, Porsches of today are not far from their counterparts from the yesteryears. Even if the mechanical components and interiors have changed, we can’t deny the distinctive aura and performance of Porsches.
Another strategy is to purchase a used car from supercar manufacturers. “We call this ‘look rich for cheap,’” jokes Keith Martin, publisher of Sports Car Market.
Sports Car Market, based in Portland, Ore., publishes pricing guides and shopping advice for car collectors. One of the company’s most widely used products is a database of auction results for collector cars, ranging from a 1962 Ferrari 330 priced at $9.3 million in May to a 1972 Ford Mustang for $5,599.
“We tell people to buy the best example you can, within your budget,” says Martin. “Buy the best Jaguar XJ6 you can for $30,000, and not a mediocre Rolls-Royce that’s got a few dings and dents in it, and it’s all chewed up. Because if you start out already having to explain to people what a good deal it was, then you already look like a loser, right?”
Another reason to buy used is that few things depreciate as fast as a new car. The average new car depreciates 40% the instant you drive it off the lot, or 55% at the end of three years, said Automotive Lease Guide in Santa Barbara, Calif.
“That’s a pretty good motivation to look at collector cars,” says Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book. Nerad’s personal favorite is a 1962 Corvette he’s had for many years. “I can be pretty sure that any money I put into it, I’ll get it back when I sell it, and maybe more. There are people who have done a lot better [investing in] cars than they have in similar attempts in the stock market.”
Kit cars offer a third way to step up to supercar looks without breaking the bank. Kit cars have an unsavory reputation in the auto industry, thanks to companies like the one that grafted fake Rolls-Royce grilles onto old Volkswagen Beetles, for the reverse snob appeal.
Martin says the best advice for the casual collector who does not intend to spend a lot of money on restoration is to buy the best car that you can afford and that you love, and then drive it, instead of merely hanging onto it: “At least that way, you’ve enjoyed it for a few years.”
Credit: BusinessWeek
