[The Rationalist]

Originally Posted by fine69

And how exactly did you conclude that?

Land at times has given a return much better than anything else imaginable in the world (except art maybe). I've had a colleague who built a guest house in DLF phase-2 (Gurgaon) after purchasing land and within 4 years the land itself was more than 3 times the overall cost (land + construction). Period 2009 to 2013!

Please check the historic inflation rate and real estate returns over long periods in India. We have a property that appreciated from ₹ 20000 to ₹ 1.5 crore in 30 years. That was plain luck, that doesn't mean the average returns on real estate is like that. I'm a very aggressive equity investor and I know what I'm talking. In Kerala last 4-5 years most properties have stagnated at 2011 prices and some have depreciated.

The real estate is a very cyclical business, so if you happen to buy property at the bottom of the curve you make a killing if you sell at the peak and if you make the buy at the nadir you lose a lot and if you stay invested for long you would get around 8% appreciation and if you find out the real time inflation rate in India over the past 50 years you will find the answer.

Nowhere did I mention that cars appreciate like real estate. But that would be comparing apples and oranges. I have equity investments that have appreciated 300% and I can very well compare that with real estate, but again it will be an apple to orange one.

The one who buys the farm house at triple the original cost is gonna burn his fingers in most places, there can be exceptions like the heart of a city. Not everyone can just go out and buy such property in the first place, say you want to buy a plot in Bandra. 99.99% percentage of Indians will never be able to buy a plot in Bandra. Just because some rare examples fetch you great returns doesn't mean you can buy land anywhere and expect the same results.

My handle wasn't kept just like that, I'm one!

[VaahanYogi]

Yamaha bikes, RX100, RX135 & RXZ, can also be added to this list. Maruti Zen may enter this list some day

[ToyotaFan]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

We bought Innova G in 2007 for about 8.75 lakhs. I was planning to sell it(which I dropped for now) and have got quotes ranging from 7-9 lacs. I haven't heard of car appreciating after using it for 10 years!

The GX Innova Crysta is now going to cost me 18.75 which I plan to take delivery this week. 8.75 to 18.75 in 10 years.

I have a Toyota Innova G2 model from 2005 vintage done 1 lakh Km and not in excellent condition. I was getting 7L offers in 2013 when I bought the Fortuner even Toyota pre owned was evaluating it for 6L. Did not want to sell it then. Have been thinking of selling it since 2015 having got new tyres and battery in 2014 but due to the NGT ban in delhi I am getting offers of 2-2.5 L in delhi which is too low for a car that runs perfectly and can work for a few lakh kms more. I bought the car for 8.02 lakh on road in 2005 but disappointed that how new rules from the government can impact the automobile scene.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by GTO

1. My '97 Mahindra Classic 4x4 was bought for Rs. 3,45,904. She's not on sale, but I have received many offers in the 4 - 5 lakh range. Now, that's appreciation!

Likewise, I have been offered more than what I paid for my RS5, no she is not for sale(much to clear a lot of rumors and queries I get from Tbhp references..Haha). I will be holding on to it for some time and I think she will hold her value as NA v8s are a dying breed. Purist will always pay a premium for such an engine free of bells and whistles.

[dhruvtanwar]

Sold my grandfather's 1969 Ambassador Mark II (bought at INR 19k in Bareilly ) in 1995 (at INR 20k in Delhi). That after 80k kms, and two generations growing up with it!

[sgiitk]

Was standard practice till about 1970 or so. Cars were at a Premium, so Depreciation was on the actual effective price.

[gkveda]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Back then there were many people who preferred the Qualis over the Innova apparently. I forget why.

Even I had this question. During my discussion with various people who are interested in buying Qualis, I could gather that Innova scratches ground with fully loaded people but Qualis won't.

So, I believe this is true because, till date, my Qualis has not got any scratches from road humps or ground objects(Touch wood). Sorry for

[PM - B]

My parents bought a used Standard Herald 4 door floor shift - in 1989 - for INR 13k and we sold it in 1993 for 25K

[rrsteer]

When i started working in 2006 I bought a Royal Enfield from one of my friends for Rs 27K. I used it for about 2 year and sold it for about 40K.
(This incident was a trigger for me to buy the stock. Got to say buying that bullet was the best buying decision ever. The stock has risen 5000% since!!)
In other words, somebody paid me to ride a bullet for 2 years!
It is another matter that I still miss it today.

In terms of cars, I think only the previous generation Innova can help its owners realize such a deal. Luckily I have one and I am not going to sell it ever. It's a shame really that the same can't be said about the Crysta.

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

A distant relative of mine also had a Qualis and he sold his for a fat profit right after the Innova was launched. Back then there were many people who preferred the Qualis over the Innova apparently. I forget why.

Rightly said, the Innova when it was launched, did not have many takers as many people found the car to be not very comfortable as compared to Qualis, looked ugly and some also said it has a turbocharged engine, whereas the Qualis had a NA engine, so they felt it will have reliability issues.

I used to work with GM and later with Toyota when the Innova was launched and hence, heard most of the above straight from the horses mouth

[YoungSaint]

Now this is an interesting thread!

Vehicle Name: Royal Enfield Bullet
Year of Manufacture: 1996
Year of Purchase: 2009
Buying price: Rs. 32000
Sold it in: 2017
Total years of ownership: 8
Total Kms: 65000
Selling price: Rs 68000 (sold it after demonetization that is why got less price. I used to get offers of around 90000 before demonetization)

[PetrolRider]

Who ever had SS80 in 90s and kept it for at least 10 years must have had seen this. My dad had one and we too got more on resale and dad also got double the money, when he sold his Rajdoot for Hero Honda CD100 in 1985 , yes the 1st lot .
Inflation was pretty high in last couple of decades, but started getting leveled slowly. We don't / won't find the kind of inflation we went through in early millennium. Which means getting these kind of deals are also getting narrower.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

This is true in the sense of absolute numbers , however this does not take inflation into account.

While I completely agree with you, it's still a huge achievement . Almost all of us are accustomed to selling our cars used for a fraction of what we paid for it new. E.g. a Maruti Esteem was bought around the same time that we got the Jeep. We'd paid somewhere between 5.5 - 5.75 lakhs for it and she sold for a lakh (or might be in the high 5 figures, don't remember).

Originally Posted by VaahanYogi

Yamaha bikes, RX100, RX135 & RXZ, can also be added to this list.

RD350 too. I hear prices have skyrocketed in the last decade.

Originally Posted by rrsteer

This incident was a trigger for me to buy the stock. Got to say buying that bullet was the best buying decision ever. The stock has risen 5000% since!

Congrats! Hope you put all you had into the stock. I sure wish I had!

[rahulp]

Originally Posted by GTO

RD350 too. I hear prices have skyrocketed in the last decade.

True. I've followed up with a few. The ones who have it don't want to sell at any cost, and neither do they use it. Their refusal to sell drives the asking price up.

Yezdi's are also going this way. My dad sold his in 2003 for ten times what he paid but that is purely attributed to inflation. I wish he hadn't sold it so I could ride it now. The Yezdi and the RD350 are the only two bikes I would want to ride.

Back to topic, our old family Premier Padmini (bought pre-worshipped) sold for 10K more than we got it in the early 2002 after 7 or 8 years. Inflation again!

Some interesting times those early millennium years were.

[Parth46]

Interesting thread. Shows the purchasing power of INR as well.

Does a bike count? Bought a Yamaha 5-speed RXZ (blue color - disc brake) model for 52K in 2001.

Got many, many offers for 50-60K till early last year before the 15-year registration window expired. This is in Bangalore, which has a crazy market for 2-stroke Yamahas.

Never selling it though, mom's gift to me.