12 replies to this topic

[Ferguson]

Just curious, as I am considering the purchase of a second-hand Opel Speedster here in Switzerland. It's likely purely speculation, but does anyone have any good idea of which direction the VX/Speedster value is likely to go in the future? Lotus brand snobbery will probably keep the Elise at healthy levels, but what about the GM twins? Will the production stop increase the desirability? Prices here for early examples seem to be around 50% of the new price, and I'm wondering if this is the bottom, or if it will keep sliding. Although depreciation is only one factor I am considering in my search for my next toy, it is worth considering. To draw an extreme apples-and-oranges example, for the same money as a 2002 Speedster I can pick up a clean mid-80s Porsche 911, which are definitely now stable in price, if not appreciating. Appreciate any opinions. Stephen

[Foxy]

Send a PM to "SpeedyK"

[jules_s]

depreciation only really counts if you intend to sell the car in the future.... Im never going to sell it, so ICRGAS

[SPLAM]

ICRGAS

?

I Crave Really Girly Arsed Sailors?

[CupidKnewRap]

[ianrm]

Sam ?

[jules_s]

ICRGAS

?

I Crave Really Girly Arsed Sailors?

Hey,

Sam said it not me

personally I thought it meant ' I could roger girls alouds singers'

but hey, each to their own lads

[Sicey]

Send a PM to "SpeedyK"

Like Foxy says speak to keith our resident Swiss owner, he will give you the hi's and lo's and what he thinks of 911's oh and he's an expert on depreciation as he bought a new one

[speedyK]

he's an expert on depreciation as he bought a new one   

Long version:

Where's the crying smiley?

I would like to think that one in good condition would not go much lower, but...

Bought mine new in April 2001 (tried to order 2 years earlier after test driving the nearest thing – the Elise S1 111R, but book only opened in Spring 2000) – yes, I was that keen!

With all options, mine was over SFr54,000 new.

I have "tried the water" on trade-in prices several times:

In spring 2003, at 2 years old and only 6,000km, before test driving the Turbo I hasten to add , Opel dealer offered me SFr30,000.00 against a new Turbo for 64,000

In Spring 2004, at 3 years old and 11,000km, Lotus dealer didn't want to take it AT ALL! He thought an Opel dealer might give me twenty-odd k...

In Autumn 2004 at 14,000km, Elite Garage, Zuzwil told me absolutely NOBODY wants a Speedster – they would be really doing me a big favour in giving me 25,000 against an NSX.

BTW, I thought too that I would never sell – but that was before I found how limited the tuning possibilities are in Switz. and before I tried the 111R/Exige S2 with great ABS, far better build quality and neat detailing.

And, now that Bemani have the 263bhp supercharger for that engine...

Now I am in the position that I can't sell, because it is beyond all reasonable justification* to effectively buy the same chassis by paying Sfr.70,000 and also "giving away" the Speedster for Sfr20,000, simply to get the extra performance.

*Well, I have so far very easily suceeded in failing to justify it to my wife and daughters. Quote from the 12-yr old, "Daddy, you are NOT selling the Speedster... I want to drive it!"

Put it this way, for twenty-odd K a Speedster is an amazing driving machine that will offer you more smiles-per-mile than a crummy old hedge-hunting, squashed Beetle – sorry, "classic" 911 (with lead in the front bumper to aid the balance – real engineering excellence! )

At this price the Speedster has no competition if you value pure driving pleasure (mine is standard and more fun on road and track than my 340bhp 300ZX). And the previous owners have taken the vast majority of the depreciation hit, as I personally doubt if a well-maintained one will go much under SFr12-15,000. So, if you kept one for 10 years, you would perhaps loose 10k. Any half-decent new car loses that when you drive it out of the showroom, so how can you go wrong? You get the best smiles-per-mile at the price (or almost any price – we'll leave the S/C Exige out of this) and least tears-per-year through lost cash.

Short version: Won't lose much more now – BUY ONE!

Ferguson, where are you in Switz?

[NOEXCESSBAGGAGE]

................ICRGAS

I Couldn't Really Give A Stuff Sh*t

[iceman]

................ICRGAS

I Couldn't Really Give A Stuff Sh*t

..strange because normally i can never work these out (anyone know where the thread is explaining them??)..but i got this one straight away

[Ferguson]

SpeedyK, I am in Bern. I will drop you a pm to find out more about the Swiss situation without boring everyone else. Just for context, my list of possibilities is all over the place for now. I sold my old MX-5 last year but have the itch again for something fun. Shopping list includes everything from Lancia Fulvia HF coupés to Mini Coopers to the Speedster. If I were back home in Canada, I would probably pick up a clean MX-5 and pop for forced induction. I have friends with his setup, anywhere from a mild 200 rwhp to almost 370, and it's a convincing car. Having said that, the pureness of the Speedster / Elise ("adding lightness" for performance) is very appealing.

[andyr]

I've recently bought a second hand VXT which had lost (from new inc options) around 9k in just over 18months having said that someone has obvioulsy took the hard hit and whilst I expect further depreciation I'm sure it will slow to a point where it will lose no more. From my experience so far I think I'll be holding onto it that long