What has better ROI Classic Cars or the S&P?

TGR Staff

A new graphic from Kwik-Lift proves investing in a classic or future classic car can offer a better return than sinking your money into the stock market. Based on five of the most expensive vehicles Barrett-Jackson sold in January 2018, the folks at Kwik-Lift ran some numbers and verified that collector cars are indeed a solid investment. These results were calculated by using a dollar amount invested into Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index, a series of funds commonly used as a benchmark for the U.S. stock market, and comparing it to the same dollar amount to purchase a vehicle.

There’s always someone who thinks to restore a car is wasted money, so we tried this little experiment to prove the value of the classic car hobby, whether or not it actually proves our point, having the conversation and creating this chart was a lot of fun.

Jason Peters, director of Kwik-Lift

Using models from 1968 through 2015, here’s how the team calculated the return on these motor vehicle investments:

1. Start with the MSRP of each vehicle. These numbers are based on historical or actual vehicle records.
2. Take that MSRP amount and consider an investment placed into an S&P fund on January 1 of the car’s model year.
3. Take the 2018 value or the price it fetched at auction, for each vehicle. Subtract the MSRP from that number. There’s the return on the car.
4. Using the DQYDJ S&P Periodic Investment Calculator, the team calculated the return of the MSRP investment that would have been deposited Jan. 1 of the specific year. The chart represents the returns on the S&P investments as of March 31, 2018.
5. The caveats: These calculations do not account for vehicle maintenance nor insurance costs for the cars. The calculations for the stocks do not include taxes.

“Every car on the chart looks like a good investment to me,” Peters says. “I couldn’t believe the ’69 Camaro brought in returns more than 50 percent higher than the S&P. This graphic is a handy illustration for anyone who needs to convince their significant other that buying a classic car is a good idea.”