Yes possible after hearing the reasoning. I remember back in the Carter days with inflation rampant, people were buying like crazy because they weren’t sure they would be able to afford it if they waited. I waited and paid 18% on a car for my trouble.
I guess my main concern would be with the fuel for 5 years. It’d be nice to have it run for 30 miles or so once a year. I wonder what the museums do with the fuel in the tanks?
I still think this is a logistical nightmare. Who can OP trust enough to “mind” his car for 5 years while he’s gone? “Take good care of it; don’t let anyone steal it or vandalize; NO you can’t drive it!”
Maybe let a good, well-trusted friend have the use of it while you’re gone, in exchange for a small payment–the car will likely be in as good condition or better, and you’re at least getting some money out of it.
What will the OP do if after 5 years he really likes it there and does not return to where the car has set for all that time. It would be interesting if the OP told us where he lives.
Where do you live now? What country? Were you going to pay cash for this car or finance it?
You come home, you have a 5 year old car with little or no warranty, it will need a need battery and probably tires, fluids changed…The cars being sold 5 years from now are likely to be much improved over the one you left in storage…It’s a bad idea…A big downside, no upside…
@handsomepirate, it does make sense to invest the money in an economy that is stable and wait to buy when you return in 5 years. The US dollar is strong now, and it might make sense to invest your money here if you are able to. If you can’t get the money out of your country, as is sometimes the case for economies with high inflation, you might consider buying something that will likely keep pace with local inflation. I don’t know what that might be in your country, but it should be something that others outside your country find appealing. That will ensure appreciation that could keep pace with inflation. Things like art, rare coins, rare stamps might work for you. If it something small, keep it in a safe deposit box to make sure no one has access to it.
I, for one think it’s a great idea…and you can store it at my house. I’ll even take it for a spin now and then to be sure everything stays lubed and does not freeze up, and use up all that nasty old gas before it goes bad.
I’ll even sing it the only pirate song I know…but it’s a dirty song!!!
I should watch what I say…they don’t still make Yugo’s do they.
Yosemite
It seems counterintuitive, but it’s very hard on a car to sit for long periods of time, not being used. Tires get flat spots, rubber and neoprene seals loose their form, etc. So the best thing you can do is to try to get a friend to take it out on the road and drive it a minimum of a couple miles once a week.
I agree with @Bing; invest the money and when 5 years are up you will have more than enough for a new car. And you will have saved all that storage and insurance expense.
Car prices on the whole have been remarkably stable; You can buy a stripped down car for less than $10,000, and a good compact with most popular options for $18,000 or so.
Due to worldwide overcapacity the car industry is very competitive.
I bought a new Toyota in 2007, and today that same car sells for only a little more.
Not sure what “stupid country” you live in.
I would go so far as to say invest the money, add the amount you’d be paying for storage and whatever other monthly costs, and in 5 years buy whatever that money will get you, even if it’s a 5 year old used car. Unless the new car is stored very carefully, problems will occur, as George describes.
If there are currency issues, I bet folks in your country have legal ways of getting around them.
If the OP lives in Venezuela or a country with similarly ridiculous inflation rates, this is why buying a new car now would make sense:
We in the USA have a hard time imagining that the value of a used 2012 Camry could double to nearly $40k in a matter of months. That’s what hyper-inflation does, coupled with a severe shortage of vehicles.
““I think this must be the only country in the world where a car drives out of a dealership and goes up in value,” said Rosa Rosales, sales manager at one Caracas car lot.”
If you have enough money now to buy a car that you won’t need for 5 years and live in a country with crazy inflation, buy gold. It is an obvious solution, even if the price of gold doesn’t co up worldwide it won’t depreciate like a 5 year old car.
Like I said, don’t listen to the TV ads. Gold and silver and copper is heading down. How far no one knows but its certainly not a safe haven unless you just want to make sure you don’t lose everything.
Gold and silver and copper is heading down.Really? Copper already is pretty low. Seems you'd have the "buy low" part of the equation handled nicely; hopefully with the option to "sell high" later on. I'd feel much better about buying now, vs 3 years ago when stuff was at the peak.
Suit yourself meanjoe, but Buffet among others thinks its stupid. From Forbes:
Yeah, but that article’s talking about an investment vehicle. OP is talking about physically possessing something tangible to retain value over time, when currency is not up to the task. I don’t own metals, but then US inflation is controllable. The intrinsic value of metal is why it has historically been used as a guarantor of currency value.
At any rate, beats the hell out of a car that’ll rust. If OP does live in Venezuela, ownership in a capitalist venture is quite possibly frowned upon…