Jay Leno Offers Investment Advice
Jay Leno showcasing one his investments.
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG NBC
“WHEN I first saw the McLaren F1 I was so seduced by it that I bought a second-hand one for $800,000. It was more than I’d ever spent on a car in my life. Well, now they’re going for $4m (£2.8m)!” Jay Leno wrote recently in The Times.
NBC’s late-night TV personality is the world’s most famous car collector and his collection, that he shares on his popular website “Jay’s Garage,” is one of the most impressive and wide ranging this side of the Sultan of Brunei. Mr. Leno writes periodically for the automotive section of The Times and in last Sunday’s paper he offered investment tips to the well meaning car collector.
His choices for future classics included wide ranging Japanese cars like the Mazda MX5 and the first-gen. Toyota Prius. He also mentioned how used Ferraris can now be had for relatively less and that it’s a buyers market.
“The last time this happened was in 1991 and 1992 (during the last recession). I remember in 1989 a Ferrari Daytona was $160,000, then, two years later, suddenly they were $80,000. That seems to be happening now with mid-level Ferraris and some of the Jaguars,” He wrote.
While we might arguable with the logic of putting money in an asset that will invariably depreciate in the short and medium terms, its the spirit of Mr. Leno’s article that we can’t argue with.
Buy now and enjoy and maybe make some money in a decade or two.
[Linked: The Times]
About the Author: Gunnar Heinrich is publisher of Automobiles De Luxe online and is executive producer of the Automobiles De Luxe Television series on PBS member station CPTV.
Martin | Feb 18, 2009 | Reply
I’m pretty sure that it is not possible make money by buying an old car and to selling it some 10 or 20 years later. At least not when the vihicle is driven and maintained like it shut be. May be this works with some extremly rare cars like Ferrari Enzo or Mercedes-Benz SLR but who can actually affort them?