So, how do I get started?

[Action Jackson]

I love my supra.

 

I to joined when sub 3k N/A was common place. I dont really have alot of advise on what you should do with your money but its a strange state of affairs when you work out you couldnt afford to buy your own car anymore. The sad fact is if i was looking at a supra now there is no way i could afford mine.

 

My guess is still once the yanks can import them they will sky rocket in price

 

This sounds interesting - I didn't realise rules were different in the US? How long will it be before they can import?

[The Raven]

25 year old cars can be imported.

 

So next few years

[ManwithSupra]

Unfortunately investing in a car like the supra is going to be a bit of a gamble and this is mainly due to its following.

I for one wish that the films like the Fast and the furious didn't feature a Supra, yes it put the car on the map to the masses (a lot of people stopped and took notice of it then) and that's good in some ways (lots of parts, upgrades) and that is totally fine, however in my opinion the car and its pre f&f following got totally screwed over with all the silly outrageous bodykits, stupid mods and with people calling each other bro wearing border shorts, backwards caps and biting their fists which ultimately meant it lost its "pedigree".

 

Another good example is the BMW E46 m3... the standard M3's are cheap as chips and available to the masses, the CSL however is now a collector and is worth mid ££,£££'s

One of my mates made a wise investment on a CSL around 6/7 years ago now when the CSL was at its lowest price due to the economy, the car is now worth double what he paid for it and its still going up.

 

So it very much depends on what model/trim of car you go for, the Market value could increase as they get rarer (for 100% stock UK examples) as purists want to collect them, but the models which I think could suffer like the NA's and Auto TT's etc I cant see really going up that much, not to say they wont but its more of a gamble on those models.

 

I see a lot of people on here saying save up for a house etc and yes that's good advice. Honestly though you also have to be realistic.. saving up a descent deposit on a house on your own with a 25k salary is going to take you a long time. You are a young guy (which I would imagine has a pretty active social life) that 25k is probably not going to go far.

Yep if you do manage to purchase a house, then you still run the risk of loosing or gaining money. Hell you could spend 5 years saving a deposit and finally get a mortgage buy a house and then a year later the housing market collapses..

 

Whenever I have made a big purchase like a car or a house or whatever, I have always checked if I can afford the monthly payment twice over if I am using finance.. because IT IS going to cost you more than just the monthly payment... it always does, no matter what you buy, a house, a car, a wife.. whatever. The nice thing about doing it that way is that anything you don't spend goes into savings.. for those nice holidays, mods etc. Yes it stops you for purchasing things you can actually afford right there and then but it saves you a massive headache when it goes wrong.

 

My opinion... you are young, if you can honestly afford it along with the running costs and your lifestyle and possibly make a little money if it increases in value and likewise can swallow the pain if it does goes down in value, then I say go for it.

If you want to make your money work for you then yes invest it in property however there are risks with that as well.

 

If you want money to work for you, invest in gold, it will always have a descent value and it has been increasing in value again after a short decline (I wish I invested in some gold in 2000, £5k of gold then would now be worth £24k)

[Mike2JZ]

Took me many years to save to up for my Supra, even as an NA, but by the time I was 22 I had enough to go for it. Definitely the best decision I've made, hard to imagine life without owning it. Two years later had plenty of up's and downs and times where I was broke as hell because of it, but so far nothing sorts me out better then tinkering on it followed by "testing" it out on my favorite roads.

 

I'm on a similar pay bracket, similar age etc and all I can tell you is this.

 

If you expect to pay for bills/rent or morgage/insurance/tax/daily fuel costs of supra/maintenance/food/clothes etc then be prepared to make sacrifices to things you previously enjoyed in order to stay afloat, because it will take up a sizable portion of your income. And if you are planning to borrow 8k+ then you will need to take the payback of that into account as well, so play it smart.

 

The only guys I know in their early 20's these days who can afford TT's and serious upgrades are those who are making a lot more than you, still live with their parents/have parents money to burn, or got into the TT game a few years ago when a small loan could land you a decent TT for less than 10k.

 

So hopefully you have something to ease the financial stress of getting one at a young age, otherwise it can be difficult. Especially if the car gets serious mechanical issues.

 

Anyway, I'm not trying to put you off the idea. Even against all that potential hardship I will still be the first person to tell you to go for it, but you need to be dedicated to the cause as it can and will test you from time to time.

Edited September 6, 2016 by Mike2JZ (see edit history)