[PrideRed]

Good investment to me should let you enjoy(give returns timely) and at the same time, appreciate. Cars are depreciating assets, however there are some cars which appreciate a wee bit or have minimum depreciation. Some cars that fall in this category are Innova, Swift, Bolero etc. These are in no way performance cars but have good resale, due to reliability, utility or cheaper cost of running/maintenance. You list these cars for sale and will keep getting numerous calls everyday, even after the car is sold.

Other than these well known resale champions, there are few other cars which command good resale value primarily because of the performance aspect. These cars were sold in limited numbers and hence not easily available. Of course, beyond certain period, these car lose value due to lack of spares, cheaper/newer cars offering similar or better performance. Some of the cars in this category:

1. First gen City Vtec
2. First gen Octavia vRS
3. Palio GTX/1.6
4. Fiesta 1.6 S
5. Polo 1.2 GT TSi/ GTi
6. Ford Endeavour 3.2(Not limited edition, but still commands decent resale despite Ford exit)
7. Octavia RS230/245
8. i20/Venue N line(Too early may be?)
9. BMW 330i
10.Duster AWD


Even though these models didn't set sales chart on fire, well maintained cars command good resale. Not to forget, good discounts offered by dealers on some these cars makes for sweet deal. These cars offered performance which was unheard of in the segment and have been enthusiasts favorite. While buyers enjoyed driving these cars, they also got a decent resale despite some of the cars not performing well in terms of sale. Of course not everyone would have got good price, which would vary depending on car condition, demand in your area, years/KM's of usage etc. What are your thoughts ? Do you think these type of cars offers perfect balance while letting you enjoy the car without huge depreciation?

[cs_rajesh]

Well my colleague, and neighbour too, has picked an Octavia RS230/245, made in germany tag and he is extremely happy with that car and even shows off in his relatives and friends' circle. The car's performance is extra-ordinary with no such similar sedans on the market and everyone loves to have an opportunity to drive and some want to pick similar one too. Unfortunately the imports are too less and rare.

[GTO]

Buy performance-oriented cars for the joy of driving + driving pleasure. All cars are money-losing pits (with very rare exceptions). In fact, some of the cars on your list are expensive to buy and very hard to sell, because few people are interested in them.

Get a good car and drive the pants off it . The fun, memories created, laughs & grins are your ROI.

[sunikkat]

Atleast in India, the resale is driven by reliability, ease of maintenance, the service support etc. and not by whether the car is very enthusiastic to drive or not. I guess VRS 230/245 is an exception to this.
From my experience, I can say Fiesta 1.6s did not command any additional resale value atleast in 2010. Now with Ford shutting shop, I would expect it only to go down.

[Mortis]

Pretty much all these cars aren't really collectors cars in the true sense.
As such there is a 50-50 risk that you will get either better than usual or worse resale on these due to various factors.
Also you will only get the benefit in resale if you sell the car "early". But if you keep the car for a longer period of time and actually enjoy it then the difference in resale between a similar car will have reduced to a much more insignificant degree but it will be better value as you would have gotten a lot more miles of smiles.
As GTO said. Enjoy the car while owning it rather than thinking about the resale value. That aspect is more relevant to aam aadmi cars rather than enthusiast cars like putting on seat covers on day one to save the seats for the next owner

[Shreyans_Jain]

Cars are not investments. Period.

They are all depreciating assets. They WILL loose value over time, that is a given. No matter what you buy, you will not get any kind of monetary growth out of them. They cannot be considered as or compared with investment.

In general, performance oriented models have worse resale in India due to perception of high maintenance, abuse and low sales, which makes them depreciation disasters. Exceptions are very rare.

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Good investment to me should let you enjoy(give returns timely) and at the same time, appreciate. Cars are depreciating assets, however there are some cars which appreciate a wee bit or have minimum depreciation. Some cars that fall in this category are Innova, Swift, Bolero etc. These are in no way performance cars but have good resale, due to reliability, utility or cheaper cost of running/maintenance. You list these cars for sale and will keep getting numerous calls everyday, even after the car is sold.

Investing in any of these cars while hoping for returns will be like gambling in a casino. While you hope to get good/great returns, odds are always against the player and in favor of the table. In extremely rare cases, players get lucky and come back with more money out than in. Otherwise, it is always about having fun at the table rather than making money.

[Aroy]

With the current hype about pollution, it is very diccult to retain and drive older cars, performance, luxury or not. Even Rolls Royce, Mayback and Bentlies have been denied permission to run after the stipulated age.

So even though you may get these cars at a reasonable price, you may not be able to drive then in most cities in India. As older cars are pushed off the road by legislation, they may not be worth the trouble.

In Europe older cars are allowed, but only after passing stringent fitness tests regularly and have a much heftier tax imposed on them. So except well heeled owners they are a pain to own.

[jbpanda]

You may like to add Abarth Punto to the list. It did not sell in numbers but as a proud owner I can assure you that it’s very hard to find a suitable replacement today even if you are willing to spend double or triple the price for which it was available for. I understand that well maintained Octavia vRS and Abarth Punto have a decent resale value. Unfortunately, in India we all aspire to own a Horse but when it comes to putting in our money, most of us settle for a Cow.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Other than these well known resale champions, there are few other cars which command good resale value primarily because of the performance aspect. These cars were sold in limited numbers and hence not easily available. Of course, beyond certain period, these car lose value due to lack of spares, cheaper/newer cars offering similar or better performance.

True. You will find more buyers for the Fiesta 1.6 over the 1.4l. Polo 1.2TSI/1.5TDI/1.6TDI over the Polo 1.2 MPi/TDI anyday. Like wise with the 3.2 Endeavour over the 2.2 Endeavour. It is same as the lure of higher variants in the used market over the lower variants. Unlike in a new car purchase, the cost difference would be far less in the used car market. People would go for the 1st gen Honda City Vtec, over the 1.3l and normal 1.5l versions. The S-cross 1.6 over the 1.3l. Mostly it would be features that would have been too expensive to buy or run when new, but desirable in the used market. Especially when the new market doesn't offer these, even if you are ready to pay more. AWD,RWD, performance over fuel efficiency tuning, higher spec suspension,more cylinders count, everything matters.

So your Innova 2.8 would have more resale value and demand than the 2.4. The Grand Vitara/ Hyryder AWD will have more demand than the normal FWD 1.5l NA version. So unless you are not much concerned about the upfront cost and running costs, the higher spec/ performance version will give you more smiles in your ownership period and will find more buyers when you sell it. (unless the super budget end of used car market, where thanks to stupid insurance policies <1500cc cars are preferred irrespective of size.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by DicKy

True. You will find more buyers for the Fiesta 1.6 over the 1.4l. Polo 1.2TSI/1.5TDI/1.6TDI over the Polo 1.2 MPi/TDI anyday. Like wise with the 3.2 Endeavour over the 2.2 Endeavour. It is same as the lure of higher variants in the used market over the lower variants. Unlike in a new car purchase, the cost difference would be far less in the used car market. People would go for the 1st gen Honda City Vtec, over the 1.3l and normal 1.5l versions. The S-cross 1.6 over the 1.3l. Mostly it would be features that would have been too expensive to buy or run when new, but desirable in the used market. Especially when the new market doesn't offer these, even if you are ready to pay more. AWD,RWD, performance over fuel efficiency tuning, higher spec suspension,more cylinders count, everything matters.

So your Innova 2.8 would have more resale value and demand than the 2.4. The Grand Vitara/ Hyryder AWD will have more demand than the normal FWD 1.5l NA version. So unless you are not much concerned about the upfront cost and running costs, the higher spec/ performance version will give you more smiles in your ownership period and will find more buyers when you sell it. (unless the super budget end of used car market, where thanks to stupid insurance policies <1500cc cars are preferred irrespective of size.

I guess good investment may be a wrong terminology, but this is what I was trying to convey. Yes the performance variants will depreciate too but market trend is changing, especially in Metros. While it may be easy to sell 1.3 SCross, a person who is looking for 1.6 SCross is willing to pay premium for a well maintained car. When selling my Endeavour many potential buyers rejected since it was not 3.2 . 6 months ago was looking for a compact hatchback and was surprised to find premium quoted for 1.2 TSi(well maintained) compared to TDi and 1.2 MPI. These may not be collectors car, but mechanically, these cars haven't become outdated in market. The 3.2 Endeavour engine is right up there with 2022 Fortuner interms of power, same with say Octavia vRS. Yes couple of years down the line, a Virtus might make as much power and we may see Scorpio with 500NM torque, that's when cars mentioned above start lose their USP. Features get outdated in a year or two, where as a good engine stays relevant in market much longer.

[vredesbyrd]

Well, with the MBA state of mind (or the kind of advice those two-bit finfluencer gangsters on LinkedOut force feed the masses), anything that makes you happy and isn't generating wealth is a depreciating asset (especially the happy ones).
But if enthusiasts had that LinkedIn mindset then we would never ever see a single 3.2 Endeavour or vRS 230/245 even move off the shelf (a.k.a. the mass market mindset).

Now I did read your most recent comment and you are absolutely right about it. I recently got a new job offer with a juicy package and was rubbing my hands with glee, thinking about a 3.2.
I open OLX and what I get is a solid gut-punch. Forget lower prices, 2016 3.2s are perhaps 2-3L more expensive than they were a year back.

So yes, enthusiast models can earn you a little extra compared to the mass market ones. Some examples that come to mind:

- 4x4 Fortuner vs 4x2
- 3.2 Endeavour vs 2.2 (from other posts)
- 2.8 Crysta vs 2.4
- 1.8 Octavia vs vRS
- 530d vs 520d
- E350cdi vs potato (E250cdi)
The list goes on.

The 2019 Civic is somewhat holding prices while the 2013 CR-V has only now started to lose it.
Let me tell you, when they hit the used market, XUV700 AWD and Scorpio-N 4x4 AT would be very pricey and the poor supply will only add accelerant to the fire.

OT: Is a 5-6L loan spread over 3-4 years okay for a 2016-17 Endeavour 3.2 costing about 18L?

[sunilch]

Not for India market but on similar lines. At the end of the day, it will require knowledge, time and money to keep the cars in good shape so as to be able to ask a better price later

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkllFjtGRrI&t=157s

[anoopGTkrish]

I have seen quite a few cars/ bikes listed at ridiculously (sometime laughably) high resale prices.

1. Bullet STD 500
2. Classic 350
3. Versys 650
4. Abarth Punto
5. Endeavour 3.2
6. Octavia VRS
7. Mini coopers of all sorts

Listing is one thing, but most of these cars are endlessly listed online for long periods while gathering more depreciation. I believe cars no matter how exclusive they are, will not fetch a good return on investment ever.

Toyotas are the only exception I guess.

[svsantosh]

I saw performance and investment in one line and came to see what has changed now, Thank God nothing that I missed.

If at all an investment, it is a cheap investment for the 2nd and 3rd buyer and so on in India where top end wheels drop prices at a high rate Y-O-Y. That way expect to save around 50% on a top class car which is 3-4 yr old and low Kms on ODO and company maintained.