You have always been crazy about cars. You have always been passionate about automotive engineering, design and art. You do enjoy reading about what each car can do on the road. If you feel all these things, then you will be happy to listen that a car can be a fantastic investment if you can afford it. Classic or limited production cars have been always a fine collectible item with their values being raised on a yearly basis.

The definition of a “classic” automobile depends on whether you get the description from a car club, insurance company, or the motor vehicle state department. For your investment to pick up quickly in terms of value, your car should be a “classic”. The American Classic Car Club (CCCA) has a list of cars that rank as classic. The CCCA’s classic definition applies to cars made between 1925 and 1948, but this long list has many exceptions. The list is very clear about what makes the “classic” classification for each model. Some insurance companies view the vehicle as an antique or classic if it is at least 15 or 20 years of age or older, depending on your residence, garaged when not in use, and driven less than a certain amount of miles. Usually that would be less than 2,500 miles per year, but some insurance companies offer up to 5,000 miles per year.

Over the past decade, the classic car market has done better than collectibles such as coins and stamps, and the large stock index has also been beaten. With a variety of indices, the Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI) monitors the car market of the dealer. Its largest is the HAGI Top 100, which lists Porsche, Ferrari, Bugatti, Alfa Romeo and other brands of classic collectible vehicles. Through August, the Top Index rose 13.78 percent year – to-date and more than 500 percent over the previous 10 years thanks to increasing global wealth chasing a small number of super-collectible vehicles. In the same era, the S&P 500 increased by only 60 percent. Hagerty’s insurance company is running another classic car index.
You’ll find relatively obscure older brands like Hispano-Suiza and Delahaye at the top of the classic car market— those selling for more than $1 million— as well as names that are still well-known today, like Rolls-Royce and Jaguar. Even brands not known for high-end exotics can become collectible: the stunning 2000GT of Toyota (TM), produced between 1967 and 1970, could be bought for more than a $1mln at the auction. Earlier this year, a 1934 Packard Twelve 1108 Dietrich sold for $3.6 million and a 1998 McLaren F1 sold for $13.75 million.

By now you should have a clear picture of how good is an investment related to classic cars. Cars are tangible products and thanks to the large base of car collectors across the world, prices only go up. If you would like to make a profit out of a classic car investment, start searching for your next car.