What Did You Pay For It And What Is It Worth Now?

[Glenn]

If you need a car, you need a car, even though you know it's a lousy investment. The value of it plummets quickly, you have to overpay for insurance, overpay for gas and overpay for parking... but if you need a car, bad as an investment as it is, is worth it in it's own, money- draining way... so it makes sense.

 

About a decade ago, the promise of satellite radio was all the rage and when it launched, shares went for about $60 each. Well, reality is that about 2% of radio listeners bother with satellite and now the stocks are worth about $3 a share. Like any stock, satellite radio was a gamble. As far as cars go, they are, in this country in particular, a necessity, so while they suck as an investment, they have a benefit.

 

But then, there are those things that are so incredibly stupid as an investment that it defies logic... take for example the production of currency. It's well documented that a penny is valued at exactly one cent... but it costs 1.9 cents to produce. The nickel is valued at 5 cents, but cost about 9.8 cents to produce. Long and short of it, we lose about $105 MILLION dollars a year producing this stuff.

 

Today's question: WHAT DID YOU PAY FOR IT AND WHAT IS IT WORTH NOW?

[Scott F]

Several years ago when digital video was just coming to the home market, I paid $1,000 for a 4GB hard drive for my computer. Today, a 4GB flash drive can be had for about $5.

[roadwarrior]

Premium adult beverages retain no value once consumed.

[Smokinal]

Premium adult beverages retain no value once consumed.

Doesn't that depend on who's kidneys they are filtered through?

[Raider Nation Fisher]

2500 for a rifle 8 years ago. When I sold it late last year, I got 10000 for it. Wish I had bought 10 of them now.

[Smokinal]

I have been flipping cars for years as a side thing. I love the older muscle cars but you just can't touch them now.

1968 Camaro, 383, 4 spd, posi etc... paid 5k; sold for 7500

1967 Camaro, 355, Doug Nash 5 spd, posi etc... paid 4500, sold for 9500

1923 T Bucket/streetrod paid 8500, sold for 11500

1927 Ford 5 window, 350, custom roof blah blah  paid 4500, sold for 8700

 

Just a few of about, oh I'd estimate around 100 cars over the years. And I'd buy every single one back for what I sold them for if I could.

[slonezp]

$25 to get married. $15,000 to get divorced. 18 years without her...Priceless

[Redlinerobert]

The good:

 

Panerai PAM 217 watch.  Paid $8500 for it.  Sold it for $24,000 two years later. 

 

The bad:

 

Every Dell laptop I've bought.  Paid retail.  Two years later couldn't give them away. 

 

The ugly:

 

Lamborghini Murcielago.  Paid $283,000.  Drove it for a couple years.  Sold it for $235,000. 

[flippin and pitchin]

My first computer: $559.00 Now: will have to pay to have it disposed of.

Glock #23: $354.00 Now: $525.00

Lesson learned? Invest in Austrian technology.

[fadetoblack21]

My first house, right before the market crashed, $86,500. I think we may be near that now since housing has recovered a bit, but we will take a large hit none the less when we sell this bad boy. . . 

[Raider Nation Fisher]

The good:

 

Panerai PAM 217 watch.  Paid $8500 for it.  Sold it for $24,000 two years later. 

 

The bad:

 

Every Dell laptop I've bought.  Paid retail.  Two years later couldn't give them away. 

 

The ugly:

 

Lamborghini Murcielago.  Paid $283,000.  Drove it for a couple years.  Sold it for $235,000.

You spent a house on something tinted out. I would gladly eat a 50grand loss to drive a Lamborghini for a few years. I have to know. Maybe its an ignorant question. Can you finance something like that, or is it cash only? Not that I can do either. I'm just curious.

[Redlinerobert]

Not ignorant at all.  I believe that there are companies/banks that will finance an exotic purchase. 

[deaknh03]

Not ignorant at all. I believe that there are companies/banks that will finance an exotic purchase.

Kind of ironic that raiders asking someone else a question.

[Raider Nation Fisher]

Kind of ironic that raiders asking someone else a question.

You don't learn if you don't ask.

[Root beer]

I once bought 100 shares of stock for 800 bucks, thinking I had found a gold mine. I bought it during dow's lowest level in March of 2009. The previous year this same stock traded as high as $62/share. They made a profit in last 3 years. I sold it two years later at $600 loss and now they've filed bankruptcy. I'm assuming they already been pulled from the exchange. I still think they cooked the book..... To this day, this is still the only investment loss I've taken and I'm sure it won't be the last. 

 

I can't think of any material items. I don't collect anything of value.. I buy something, use it until it no longer useful without any regard of future financial value.  

[Redlinerobert]

You don't learn if you don't ask.

 

Now if you would have asked me if I had at least $50k worth of fun with the car? 

This picture would pretty much sum it up.

 

[Long Mike]

You don't learn if you don't ask.

 

Raider, don't worry about it.  Lamborghini would not sell you a car.  It would be bad for their image.  They sell to Industrial Magnates, Wall Street Wheeler-Dealers, Real-Estate Developers, Professional Athletes, and Drug Dealers.  Anyone who actually works for a living, despite the money in their wallet, would fail to get on the waiting list. 

[Brian Needham]

a few dinners and a movie I think..........couple of doctors visits later and I was fine.

 

money well spent on the doctor at least

[Redlinerobert]

Raider, don't worry about it.  Lamborghini would not sell you a car.  It would be bad for their image.  They sell to Industrial Magnates, Wall Street Wheeler-Dealers, Real-Estate Developers, Professional Athletes, and Drug Dealers.  Anyone who actually works for a living, despite the money in their wallet, would fail to get on the waiting list. 

 

I disagree.  they would sell a car to Raider in a NY minute.  Could you imagine the publicity he could generate? 

 

Raider, I think this one has your name written all over it...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VCBHfbAcxQ

[slonezp]

You spent a house on something tinted out. I would gladly eat a 50grand loss to drive a Lamborghini for a few years. I have to know. Maybe its an ignorant question. Can you finance something like that, or is it cash only? Not that I can do either. I'm just curious.

There used to be a company in my area that did shared leases on exotic cars. Kind of like a time share They ain't around anymore

[slonezp]

I disagree.  they would sell a car to Raider in a NY minute.  Could you imagine the publicity he could generate? 

 

Raider, I think this one has your name written all over it...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VCBHfbAcxQ

I don't see him in yellow. It would clash with his tooth.

 

Watching those cars in movies and videos doesn't do them justice. I've never been in one but spent a lot of time working in the Gold Coast of Chicago. I've seen many a test drive where they have blocked off the streets to give the buyer the full effect.  

[SirSnookalot]

Best investment was my wife, we have had a nice life together.  I'll spare the numbers on the improvement in my income after we got married.

 

Worst investment, hard to say, have done well on some stocks and not so good on others, any investor will make the same claim.  Precious metals was a part of my business, instead of taking the cash I converted to ingot and sat on it in the mid 70's. Maybe for a good 20 years silver and gold both flatlined, would have better doing something else with the money.  I can give many examples of why precious metals are both a good or bad investments, mostly depending on when in and when out.

[Fishing Rhino]

The wife and I bought our first home in 1965 for 18,900 dollars.  We sold it four years later for 23,500 (our net after the realtor took their commission)  Bought our second home on Cape Cod for 23,500, ending up with the same mortgage payment of about 105 dollars per month. 

 

Sold it three years later for 33,000.  Paid off the loan, and put 15,000 dollars in our pocket.  Not too bad considering that we had made mortgage payments of about 8,500 dollars during that seven years.  Left us with a net gain of 6,500 dollars.  And, to make it even better, those mortgage payments included an amount put in escrow to pay the property taxes.  Our net expense for living in those two homes would be heat and utilities less the 6,500 dollars.

 

If memory serves, the heat and utilities per month, back in the day, cost less than  75 dollars per month.  The "profit" we realized from the sale of those two homes would have covered those costs, give or take a few dollars.

 

Got a mortgage for 12,000 dollars, put it with the 15,000 and built the home we now live in, which is valued at over 500,000 dollars.  Oh, the mortgage payment on that 12,000 dollars was 102.50 dollars per month, which we paid off in ten years by paying the next month's principal, sometimes more from the amortization schedule. 

 

Been mortgage free since 1983.

 

Had we rented a home, we'd have a bunch of rent payment receipts with no cash value.  When all is said and done, what the house is worth is meaningless since we have no plans to sell it.  Our kids will reap the benefits of our "investment" when they inherit the house.

[Lund Explorer]

I'm still trying to catch up to a long time client of mine so I can have the same tax problems he did.

 

This gentleman had made the habit of buying stocks in at least one IPO each year.  On most of those, the stocks either failed to grow or in some cases became worthless, except for this one stock he bought quite a few years ago.  Who would have thought that buying two thousand shares of a little company called Microsoft would cause him such a problem with capital gains taxes!

 

My best effort so far was another IPO back ten years ago.  Maybe some of you have heard of them.  Google?

 

I sure wish I'd bought a whole lot more of those shares.

[Chief 2]

Bought a very pricey 38' Fifth wheel back in 2007. Probably couldn't get a third of what I paid for it now.