For those who love classic cars are a breed of their own, like Gary Hong, the manager of Autobahn Motors, the only full time classic car dealership in Singapore. He is an authoritative source for classic cars information, networking, maintenance and servicing. Enthusiastically, Hong elaborates on his love, "The thing about classic cars is, it's not about buying and selling. It's about passion, its about time, it's about knowledge, it's about commitment. Because of these factors, a lot of dealers find it not worth their while to do it, but for us, it's family owned business and we have a lot of passion about these cars."
"Frankly speaking, our investments in these sorts of cars is not so risky because the pricing doesn't fluctuate too much". In the small fraternity of classic car enthusiasts, there's a limited supply because of regular use and the expensive government restrictions placed on their importation, notes Hong. Demand, on the other part of the price equation, is strong and indeed growing. "There's the influx of expatriates over the past three to four years, and also local young professionals have become a bit more active in the market for these cars because they want a certain lifestyle," says Hong. "The people who for the past two years were investing in shares are now thinking, "Why waste my money on a stock portfolio which will probably go further down? Better to invest in a classic car which will have a controlled depreciation or even appreciate in value."
I have customers who invest in classic Mercedes Pagodas. Daimlers, Alfas, Jaguars and they maintain them well. The highest growth ones are the Mercedes convertibles. During the late '90s, customers bought these cars for $80,000 to $100,000 but now the same cars can go for $150,000 to $170,000." Besides Mercedes Pagodas, older MGs, such as the 1960s models, are good investments. Hong notes that MGAs have appreciated from a price of $16,000, to $17,000 about eight years ago to about $130,000 currently. Pre-1970s Porsches also appreciated from $90,000 about eight years ago to a current value of $150,000.
The world of alternative investments is an unique one. driven by true passion and limited only by the enthusiasm and wallet of savvy aficionados. Start your own exploration and find some true gems worth investing in.
"Frankly speaking, our investments in these sorts of cars is not so risky because the pricing doesn't fluctuate too much". In the small fraternity of classic car enthusiasts, there's a limited supply because of regular use and the expensive government restrictions placed on their importation, notes Hong. Demand, on the other part of the price equation, is strong and indeed growing. "There's the influx of expatriates over the past three to four years, and also local young professionals have become a bit more active in the market for these cars because they want a certain lifestyle," says Hong. "The people who for the past two years were investing in shares are now thinking, "Why waste my money on a stock portfolio which will probably go further down? Better to invest in a classic car which will have a controlled depreciation or even appreciate in value."
I have customers who invest in classic Mercedes Pagodas. Daimlers, Alfas, Jaguars and they maintain them well. The highest growth ones are the Mercedes convertibles. During the late '90s, customers bought these cars for $80,000 to $100,000 but now the same cars can go for $150,000 to $170,000." Besides Mercedes Pagodas, older MGs, such as the 1960s models, are good investments. Hong notes that MGAs have appreciated from a price of $16,000, to $17,000 about eight years ago to about $130,000 currently. Pre-1970s Porsches also appreciated from $90,000 about eight years ago to a current value of $150,000.
The world of alternative investments is an unique one. driven by true passion and limited only by the enthusiasm and wallet of savvy aficionados. Start your own exploration and find some true gems worth investing in.