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The conclusion to last month's article,
"Good
Investment?", was that the answer is "Yes".
Auto literature has been a good investment and indications
are that it will continue to be. So what should a person
buy? Are there good and bad literature investments?
From the article, which covered a wide range of makes
and years, it appears that all automotive brochures
are good and some are really good. All beat the DOW
Jones Industrial Average. And we can use common sense
to pick out some of the best ones for the future.
First, purchase literature on makes and subjects that
you like. Buying literature just because you think it
is going to be valuable in the future may be smart and
worth doing, but the most important thing in this hobby
is to enjoy the literature and the cars. If you enjoy
certain makes, the odds are that other collectors do,
too. Consequently, the literature will be sought after
for a long time. When a model year ends so does the
printing of its' brochures. Collectors who did not get
the literature during that time will then have to pay
for it later. Naturally prices will increase as demand
increases and, with time, your investment value will
increase. It is that simple, but few think about it
in those terms.
So what do you look for in order to find the most impressive
investments?
Literature on some makes of cars is simply more common.
Corvettes are nice, but the literature can be obtained
at most Chevrolet dealerships and nearly every town has
a dealership. Porsche dealers are more reluctant to pass
out literature and their dealerships are usually only
in large cities. Consequently, Porsche literature is more
valuable even though both cars are very well admired and
desirable. Using this logic, you would think that Aston
Martin, Lotus, Lamborghini and Ferrari ought to be even
better investments. You would be correct.
Nostalgia plays a big part in investment
potential. What auto enthusiasts loved yesterday and
today are keys to a profitable collection in the future.
Good buys can be found in literature produced over the
last 10 or 20 years. It will soon have nostalgic value
and greatly increase in price. Although it does not
appreciate much in the first 10 years, after 20 years
the demand increases and is difficult to find. It is
then very collectible. Now is the time to buy recent
brochures while they are still plentiful and can be
found in excellent condition.
Popular makes over the last 10-20 years, with great potential,
are the sporty or luxury makes/models — Mustang,
Camaro, Firebird, Cadillac, etc. Don't overlook the press
kits and special Anniversary or Limited Edition models.
SVT Mustang and F-150 Lightning brochures are already
increasing in value. Add Hurst or Shelby to the name and
again you have a winner. Upscale makes like Alfa Romeo,
Viper, Rolls-Royce and Bentley are all investment winners.
In the last twenty years collectors have discovered press
kits. They are rarer, even more interesting than brochures
and contains lots of information. Individual model press
kits do better than full line press kits, in
general. Concept press kits can be of particular interest
and are often packaged in unique forms that make them
very desirable to collectors. GM, Ford Motor Company and
Chrysler Corporation each present three or more concept
models every year at the Detroit Auto Show. European makes
display their concepts at the Paris or Frankfurt Motor
Shows. These cars generate intense excitement as journalists
decipher them for clues to future models. The press kits
can be difficult to find, but the memory of these concepts
will linger in the minds of enthusiasts for years and
become gold in the future. If the cars goes into production,
like the new Mustang has, then the concept press kit becomes
even more valuable as collectors fight over the ones that
still exist. |
