Classic Car Investment Calculator

Classic car investment calculator measures returns from car collecting, factoring annual storage and maintenance costs. 80k 1970s Porsche, current value 200k after 15 years, 2k storage + 3k maintenance annually = 75k carrying cost. Net IRR ≈ 5.5%. Hagerty Blue Chip Index: 8% annualised 2015-2024 - selective categories outperform.

Example: 80,000 classic Porsche purchase. Current value 200,000 after 15 years. 2k annual storage + 3k annual maintenance = 75,000 cumulative carrying cost. Net IRR = ((200,000 - 75,000) / 80,000)^(1/15) - 1 = 3.0%. Modest returns despite tripling in value due to high carrying costs. Most overlooked aspect of car collecting.

Classic car realities: (1) Significant carrying costs (storage 2-10k/year, maintenance 2-15k/year, insurance 500-5k/year). (2) Authentication critical (matching numbers, original parts). (3) Provenance affects value dramatically (celebrity ownership 20-50% premium). (4) Market cycles (1980s cars boomed 2018-2022, then cooled). (5) Driving vs preservation tradeoff (mileage reduces value but enjoyment value not in IRR). Best access for retail: blue-chip classics (1960s-1970s Porsches, Ferraris, Mercedes), avoid speculative modern classics.

Quick example

With purchase price of 80,000 and current value of 200,000 (plus hold period of 15 years and annual storage cost of 2,000), the result is 3.02%. Change any figure and watch the output shift — it's often more useful to see the pattern than to memorise the formula.

Which inputs matter most

You enter Purchase Price, Current Value, Hold Period (years), Annual Storage Cost, and Annual Maintenance Cost. The rate and the time horizon usually dominate — compounding means a small change in either reshapes the final figure more than a similar shift in contribution size. Test this by doubling one input at a time.

What's happening under the hood

Net IRR after deducting cumulative storage + maintenance costs. The formula is listed in full below. If the number looks off, you can retrace the calculation by hand — that's the point of showing the working.

Using this well

What this doesn't capture

Steady-rate math ignores real-world volatility. Actual returns are lumpy; sequence-of-returns risk matters most in drawdown; fees and taxes drag on compound growth; and behaviour changes in drawdowns can reduce outcomes below the projection. The number represents one scenario rather than a forecast.