[nettooran]

Team-BHP endorses pre-worshiped cars and has many treads running around it. Except for my first car, all other vehicles that I have purchased have been pre-worshiped, -owned. This includes a motorbike and 3 cars. I have also got few of my close relatives and friends to re-consider their options when they were looking to buy new cars.

I was reading the thread by GTO the other day on the “Almost-new” cars and how we can take advantage of the rapid depreciation. The thread had many replies on how the depreciation is not significant for mass market cars like the swift, brezza and the like and how few would have actually made profit, after comparing the present showroom price and tax cut. This got me ponder over few instances I personally know where the value had actually appreciated over a period of time. I am penning my experiences here.

1.Bullet Electra CI 4 speed (left side brake) : 2003 model
Purchase price: 26000/- ( in 2006)
Selling price: 78000/- (2020)
Re-purchase: 85000/- (2020)

I must have spent a lot of money on modification (beautification) of this particular bike in the 14 years of my ownership, which would be almost equal to my selling price. So not much profit made there. The funny thing is that I bought it back from him for a premium .That is a story for another day. The premium was also worth it since he has spent more than that is clearing few niggles on the bike.

2.Premier Padmini/- (1984 model)
Purchase Price: 40000/- ( in 1997)
Selling Price: 40000/- (2000)

Though there has been no appreciation as such, the fact that it sold for the same price after 3 years is worth mentioning. I am not sure of the price of this car when it was bought new in 1984. But I am sure, after driving it for around 13 years the original owner must have been happy to sell it for 40k.


3.Maruti 800 DX (the first gen )
Purchase price: 15000/- (somewhere around 2012)
Selling price: 45000/- (within a year after that)

This was actually bought by my friend. His house owner who was very old wanted to sell his car. This was one of the first maruti 800 in kerala and the first in his district as per him. His only son migrated to US and he was too old to drive the car. He wanted to dispose to someone who would take care of the car. He was financially well off and he was just looking for a token amount. My friend actually did not know to drive a car properly, though he had a license. He somehow convinced the man to sell it to him. My friend did his driving practice in this car and kept it as long as he stayed in the old man’s house. He sold it soon after he shifted to a new house for a premium.

Then there was my uncle who used to scout around for good cars at low prices and then do few modifications and sell it for a higher price. Something like the wheeler dealer type. But I guess that does not qualify here. So not including them here. Also there would be many classic cars that appreciates in their value do to its sheer individuality and uniqueness.

Looking forward to similar experiences from fellow bhp’ians.

[GTO]

Any car or bike that has the potential to become a collectible sees its value go up.

- My '97 Classic 4x4 was bought for Rs 345,904 and has an open offer of Rs. 5 lakhs today.

- Well-maintained Yamaha RX100s & RD350s have significantly appreciated in the last 5 - 7 years. Some have gone for 1.5 - 2 lakhs!!!

- Heard of someone who bought an immaculate Mercedes E220 W124 for 2.75 lakhs in 2016. Recently sold for 4.75 lakhs. The demand for these evergreen Mercedes - especially the well kept ones - is picking up.

- Back in the 1970s when Padminis and Ambassadors used to have 5 - 7 year waiting periods, you could use your Padmini for 3 years and then sell it off for a profit .

[akshay4587]

Interesting thread

1) Bought a 99 RE Machismo in 2001 for 37K; Sold it in 2012 for 60K

2) Had got a 1996 Gypsy MG410W in 2000 for 1.62L; Sold it in 2003 for 1.7L

Everything else has depreciated normally.

[WhiteSierra]

My Dad's maternal uncle booked a premier padmini in 1982 and got it delivered in 1984, he sold it for 30 k profit after using it for 4 years and 23k kms. He suggested a Premier Padmini to my Dad after he moved back to India, which is when we bought our first car, a brand new Premier Padmini Deluxe BE in 1990, it had 735kms on the odo and apparently the car was driven from the factory in Bombay to the dealer in Hyderabad. We bought our Premier Padmini for 2.5 lakhs in 1990 and my Dad got an offer for 3 lakhs in 1994. He did not sell it though, we still have the car with us awaiting restoration.






I also see good demand for BS-4 Toyota Innova Crysta 2.8 models these days.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by GTO

Any car or bike that has the potential to become a collectible sees its value go up.

Spot on.

1. The game starts when the importance and "exclusivity" of the target car/bike is felt.

2. People are willing to spend on anything that gives them that kick.

3. Time value of money also plays a role here. Eg.a jeep that cost INR 3.5L in 1997 is equivalent to INR 15L now. So someone who wants the same product won't mind spending 5L.

Originally Posted by nettooran

1.Bullet Electra CI 4 speed (left side brake) : 2003 model
Purchase price: 26000/- ( in 2006)
Selling price: 78000/- (2020)
Re-purchase: 85000/- (2020)

The RE Bullet is another example of a collectible; we all know that owners don't mind spending INR 1 lac on restoring a 1980s Bullet or a Yezdi.

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Had got a 1996 Gypsy MG410W in 2000 for 1.62L; Sold it in 2003 for 1.7L

This is surprising; maybe the timing was just right? Or the buyer wanted a great example?

When I sold my Corollas, one in 2012 and the next one in 2014, the value of this car wasn't felt.

Just a matter of time and this car will also become a collector's item.

[theAutomaniac]

Originally Posted by nettooran

1.Bullet Electra CI 4 speed (left side brake) : 2003 model
Purchase price: 26000/- ( in 2006)
Selling price: 78000/- (2020)
Re-purchase: 85000/- (2020)

A friend owns a 2003 Royal Enfield which they purchased for Rs 75,000.
Someone recently quoted them a purchase price of 2 lakh when the motorcycle was at a mechanic shop for it's regular servicing job!

This seems to be the case for many old REs that they appreciate in value very quickly!
Seems like the face value of RE shares was not the only thing which grew with time!

[v12]

We bought our Toyota Qualis FS B5 model in 2000 for 6.07 lakhs and sold it in 2012 for 3.5 lakhs. Toyota modeIs ( especially the Qualis, Innova and Fortuner) still command a good price in the used car market.

[Jeroen]

I often see and hear about these stories. I must be doing something wrong. Not sure how many cars I have owned, other than it is a very very long list.

But I have never made money on selling any car. Am I the only idiot for whom cars are always a cost, rather than a profit?

I will admit I have made a tiny bit of money on one car once. Although it took considerable effort. We have had a long string of Ford Fiesta’s. When we were living in India, we bought a Ford Fiesta for Euro 750 and just left it sitting in front of our house in the Netherlands. We used to visit almost every few months so it was handy to have a car at home, ready to be used. (my classic cars were all in storage).

Euro 750 for a Ford Fiesta is not just cheap, it is dead cheap, scrap value just about. But this car drove really well and was utterly reliable. So it served its purpose.

My wife took it to visit our holiday home in the UK. In Ipswich a cop car rammed into her on the round about. My wife had stopped to give way and the cop rammed into the back of her. Cop was at fault and he admitted he was directly.

You would think if you get hit by a cop car in Europe, the paper work and settlement of the claim would be handled swiftly and professionally. However, the Suffolk Constabulary proved to be a real PITA. In the end I filed a formal complaint with the Ipswich Mayor and the Chief Constable. That got their attention and the whole matter was settled within a few days. The damage to the Fiesta was estimated Euro 1200 and we were paid the full amount! We never got the damage repaired, I gave the bumper a couple of whacks with my rubber hammer and that was it! Nice profit!

Soon after we traded this Fiesta for another Fiesta and we got Euro 500 back for the old one. So in over fourty years of buying and selling dozens and dozens and dozens of cars, once, only once I made a few hundred Euro’s. Because the cops felt guilty (and they were!)

[Jeep]

Wow - scary and funny at the same time.

A colleague of mine bought a used Vauxhall for £1600, used it for almost a year, got rammed head on by an errant driver. Was written off and since not his fault (was given a top of the line car for interim use) he was paid £2200 by the insurance firm . He then went on to buy a used fiesta. Pretty sweet.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

You would think if you get hit by a cop car in Europe, the paper work and settlement of the claim would be handled swiftly and professionally. However, the Suffolk Constabulary proved to be a real PITA. In the end I filed a formal complaint with the Ipswich Mayor and the Chief Constable. That got their attention and the whole matter was settled within a few days. The damage to the Fiesta was estimated Euro 1200 and we were paid the full amount!

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by nettooran

2.Premier Padmini/- (1984 model)
Purchase Price: 40000/- ( in 1997)
Selling Price: 40000/- (2000)

Though there has been no appreciation as such, the fact that it sold for the same price after 3 years is worth mentioning. I am not sure of the price of this car when it was bought new in 1984. But I am sure, after driving it for around 13 years the original owner must have been happy to sell it for 40k.


3.Maruti 800 DX (the first gen )
Purchase price: 15000/- (somewhere around 2012)
Selling price: 45000/- (within a year after that)

you have to factor in inflation too. So the Padmini was not sold was same price but cheaper

So if you had sold it for about 150,000 rupees it would be sold for same price.

[Entsurgeon]

I would like to highlight the restricted era of 70s through mid 90s. These were the times when the number of vehicles any company can make in a year were controlled by the govt. This was to control the outflow of foreign currency in importing the components from abroad wherever applicable.
Back then, a 2-wheeler with 3k INR price tag would have waiting period of 3 years and a ready delivery premium of 3k i.e. as much as the price of vehicle. Last I saw such premium was on early day HH CBZ which commanded upto 12.5%of her price as premium until the company matched burgeoning demands of disc brake version.
Back then, resale prices were also skewed to sellers side because of followig factors:
1. High inflation
I remember bank FD intt rates (nationalised) to be around 14 15% and home loan rates around 16-18% in late 80s. Chances are, a couple years down the line when your booked vehicle arrived at the showroom, her prices would be one and half time what you booked at and would command an equal premium. Now if you used the vehicle for 2 3 years and went out to sell her, price of a new ready delivery vehicle would be over twice what you paid. Getting one and a half times of your purchase price was the norm.
2. Simple built to last vehicles
The vehicles were simple, easy to service, in most cases with cheap parts and in all cases with cheap labour. Couple that with an easy going life with owners having quite some time to take out for maintaining their vehicles and you had vehicles that would last for very long.
3. Not many models and very few changes to models in years
Take a premier padmini from 1980,85 and 90. There would be very minor changes inside and out and thus there was not much incentive in changing a 1980 padmini or ambassador to get a 1985 model. Things didnt change so often.
4. Owners keeping the vehicles for very long term
There were not many new model launches like today. Most companies were not even allowed to make cars for multiple segments and hence until late 90s, a tata couldn t make passenger cars nor did mahindra. Bajaj could not make a four wheeler. You get the idea. The limited options meant it was mostly diesel ambassador for taxis and govt, padmini for professionals, M800 the light of hope for self employed and businessmen as a lower entry price point car.
All the factors meant people would keep their cars for 10 15 20 years. This was also aided by the fact that one need not run their car as many kms per day as in current times. Cities were smaller, intercity travel by own vehicle was hassle and what not. In fact even until now, i see lots of tbhp members comment that if the owner is selling the car too soon, their might be something wrong with the vehicle. Back then, people would say such things if the owner sold a car in less than 5 years without a genuine reason. Nowadays that period has reduced to 1 2 years at best.
Considering the above factors, cars of that era held their value very well despite modern cars being more reliable.
We booked a premier padmini in 1987 for 110k on road IIRC and bought a used one right away for 80k. Our car was delivered in late 89/early 1990 and price was 125k on road. We sold the used one for 80-85k in 1989 end just before taking delivery of the new car. Most probbly we were being offered 155k to pass on the new car to a new customer. Some era to be alive in.

[Cessna182]

Slightly old versions of the Padmini are shooting up in value. In the late 2000s, someone we know bought a mint condition 1100D for Rs. 25000. He just wanted to learn driving and then scrap it. That car would be worth at least 1.5 lakhs today, had it been running.

Same goes for Ambassadors, Contessas and 118 NEs. It is nearly impossible to find a mint contessa today. About 5 years ago, I saw one mint condition one being scrapped for metal- it still had an original paint and was fully driveable.

[aargee]

Would not use the words "appreciated in value" for a simple reason, the "value" of money has only depreciated although the numbers may go up slightly high. Financially speaking, the vehicle value might remain the same or less most likely.

[piyush350]

We have recently sold our Eicher tractor which we bought brand new in 1990 for 91k for 1.20 L. Pretty good I must say. But as per my father he sold it for cheap to a relative as he had better offers as the tractor was well maintained and rarely abused on road. I believe new ones are 2 lakh plus. The only money spent was on new tyres 7 years ago and a self start mechanism ( they were hand start to begin with )

OT. We got a new John Deere


Old and desirable models command good prices.

I have a Lambretta Mac 175, Jawa, BSA M20 and RD350 which I have owned for many years will surely return a decent profit.

Thanks
Piyush

[Sebring]

My Friend purchased his Yamaha RX 100 in 1990 for Rs. 27,000, and sold it recently for Rs 1,10,000. The bike had it's original paint, faded though. Yamaha RX and RD 350 stories abound in the Bangalore market (A city where two wheelers are most loved, for generations now)