Julian Edgar, 50, has been writing about car modification and automotive technology for nearly 25 years. He has owned cars with two, three, four, five, six and eight cylinders; single turbo, twin turbo, supercharged, diesel and hybrid electric drivelines. He lists his transport interests as turbocharging, aerodynamics, suspension design and human-powered vehicles.
Don’t spend the cash now – just wait…
One of the weird things about cars is that they depreciate so incredibly fast. We’ve all heard how you lose 10 per cent (or more!) of the value of the new car the moment you drive out of the dealership. That’s bizarre enough, but the fact that sometimes the most expensive cars in the world are nearly worthless 20 years later is also quite amazing.
I can remember the 1988 BMW 750iL being released; to me it represented a pinnacle of automotive excellence: a dream car of enormous expense. My priorities have changed, but even with my love of efficient hybrid cars, I’d still have a 750iL in my garage, if only just for cruising. But of course the sting in the tail is that, these days, pretty anyone can afford to buy the big BMW. (You’ll need about AUD$8000, probably nearer half that at wholesale auctions.)
So in my memory of cars, I’ve seen cars drop 90 per cent or more in value: it’s what happens with nearly all cars. And it happens even more so with those cars fundamentally over-priced when they’re released. In Australia, that means the mid-sized and large Europeans.
Time has a way of stripping away the bullshit and leaving just what is worthy; when a top of the line V6 Camry (Aurion today I guess, but I haven’t driven one) goes as well, stops as well and has similar equipment level to some expensive prestige Euros, well….. time will catch up with the value of the latter.
But hey, look on the bright side. If you have your heart set on a car, you almost certainly will one day be able to afford it – except for those exotics made in very small numbers, that sentiment applies to any car.
