Why are N/A exotic car owners so paranoid about racking up mileage on their cars

I have been trying to get my head around this for years as I have countless friends and acquaintances that spend 300 to 500k on a car and never drive them more than an 1000km a year because they worry about depreciation.

Assuming you have only 1 exotic car, what is the point of parking it in a garage and not enjoying it for fear of a lower resale. Almost all new cars are a depreciating asset, some will depreciate faster than others but eventually, they will reach a plateau and stay there.

I have rarely seen more than a 20% variation from the bottom price of a specific model based on mileage so, if one can afford the entry price of 200k+ for an exotic, will the extra depreciation because of higher mileage be that much of a deterrent to the enjoyment of the vehicle.

Europeans have no such issues, they drive their cars and I personally would never buy a garage queen at a premium over a car that has been driven and maintained.

 

I would love to hear your thoughts, maybe I am missing something

It's definitely a waste not to enjoy it, you'll burn dollars either way, the only thing which stops me from driving is finding the time.

 

While I don't subscribe to a garage queen experience I chalk it up to multiple factors.

 

1. as you said DEPRECIATION, if you keep the car under certain mileage you get the experience of ownership with less loss of money.

 

2. MAINTENANCE. Major maintenance items on these cars are usually quite expensive, hence why you see cars with deferred maintenance or sold just before 5 figure maintenance bills.

 

3. DIFFICULT TO DRIVE. These are not cars you can often drive on a daily basis. Usually if you have the money to afford one of these cars you are a hard working person and don't have a lot of free time to pull out the exotic and drive it. When you drive it you have to be careful of attention from onlookers and cops. You have to worry about damaging the car, you have to worry about where you park it etc.

 

That's what I can come up with off the top of my head. On my three subheadings there's more to the subjects as well.

 

 

 

While I don't subscribe to a garage queen experience I chalk it up to multiple factors.

 

1. as you said DEPRECIATION, if you keep the car under certain mileage you get the experience of ownership with less loss of money.

 

2. MAINTENANCE. Major maintenance items on these cars are usually quite expensive, hence why you see cars with deferred maintenance or sold just before 5 figure maintenance bills.

 

3. DIFFICULT TO DRIVE. These are not cars you can often drive on a daily basis. Usually if you have the money to afford one of these cars you are a hard working person and don't have a lot of free time to pull out the exotic and drive it. When you drive it you have to be careful of attention from onlookers and cops. You have to worry about damaging the car, you have to worry about where you park it etc.

 

That's what I can come up with off the top of my head. On my three subheadings there's more to the subjects as well.

 

1.Is experience of ownership parking the car ?

2.Some buy cars they cannot afford, how about the guys who can . Cheap I guess

3.I fully understand, I have quite a few useless cars that cannot be driven anywhere and I still manage 3 to 4k a year and I am not a single exotic owner. 1000k a year is 20k a weekend, that is like a drive around 2 blocks.

Like assman said I think it has to do will all 3 of those factors but also maybe cause US roads/people are not as exotic friendly as europeans? Or maybe it seems like Americans hate on exotic owners more than Europeans. Europeans probably see the cars as works of art where Americans think why do they have that car and I dont. Who knows. Just my .02. I never believe in the garage queen theory and drive the shit out of all of my cars as much as I can.

I was driving the Diablo even in winter. Mine wasn't low mileage to begin with but I could care less. A buddy of mine growing up had like 5 corvettes in climate storage and never drove them. I can't understand no driving any car. If you're paying for it, you could die tomorrow, might as well enjoy the shit out of it. Hell, if I had this fuel issue resolved, I'd have driven it down to FL for the Bullfest down there!

I don't get it either. I don't have a great deal of experiences since my DBS was my first, but I drive it as much as I can. Why they hell work hard and get something to only look at it in the garage? Yes exotics are amazing to look at, but the driving experience is even better.

I've always wondered the same. My car isn't an exotic, but before I purchased it, it was only driven 300 miles in between servicing. Then you have people like Jay Leno with 70K miles on a Countach as a daily driver. I think when cars are driven more, (and properly), it leaves ro for less problems to arise from lack of use, (I.e. Dry rot, etc).

In Europe there are way more roads and the winter is more mild. Unfortunately in Canada they salt they hell out of the roads and dump a ton of sharp gravel as well. So it's like shooting your car with a shotgun. We get snow in October and it doesn't get cleaned up till end of May-June. Then I can't take my car to work because of the stigma... unfortunately ppl are not happy to see success here. My father is 65, and Engineer, worked his whole life and has a Porsche 996 Carrera. He took it to work in the summer and the "oh look at him he drives a Porsche MUST BE NICE comment was all that came from it.... So this leaves weekends. Now in Canada I cant drive down to the French Riviera, or Italy or Switzerland in a couple of hours. Our nearest decent place from Calgary is Kelowna which is about 400 miles away..... so therefore the Murci gets driven to weekend coffee and some short drives to Banff with the other car guys.... Also as mentioned, for errands like the mall and groceries the cars get trashed. My Range Rover in 4 years has more dings and scuffs from parking lots then I can count..... ppl have this weird mentality that if its on the road its public property and are to ignorant to realize that a car is an expensive piece of property someone earned... but hey.. whats a guy to do?

It depends on what car your talking about. I'm more inclined to understand these points it if your car is a hyper exotic. If I had a Zonda I would be thinking of these things before each drive. However in the price range LP Daddy mentioned if your worried about depreciation you've made a purchase you cant live with or use. Why not just rent every month?

I've got 50,000 on my lowly gallardo which I love to drive. I'm currently driving it to work every day and around town. I've gotten ten fold the amount of fun and great memories from it than the dollar amount that I paid for so for me I don't understand that if you spend it why not use that $ to invest in great drives, meeting great people, doing rallies and enjoying the car. If you love driving you'll get way more than your purchase price back from it in terms of thrills.

 

 

 

While I don't subscribe to a garage queen experience I chalk it up to multiple factors.

 

1. as you said DEPRECIATION, if you keep the car under certain mileage you get the experience of ownership with less loss of money.

 

2. MAINTENANCE. Major maintenance items on these cars are usually quite expensive, hence why you see cars with deferred maintenance or sold just before 5 figure maintenance bills.

 

3. DIFFICULT TO DRIVE. These are not cars you can often drive on a daily basis. Usually if you have the money to afford one of these cars you are a hard working person and don't have a lot of free time to pull out the exotic and drive it. When you drive it you have to be careful of attention from onlookers and cops. You have to worry about damaging the car, you have to worry about where you park it etc.

 

That's what I can come up with off the top of my head. On my three subheadings there's more to the subjects as well.

 

I just listed the most common, obvious general reasons. I have no fear of miles. My one exotic is purely a pleasure device. Every drive in it is pure fun. In my regular car I can get out of my neighborhood in about 5 minutes. If my lp is already warmed up and the tire pressures checked already, then it still takes me a good 10 minutes to get out of the neighborhood. I have to keep the lift engaged because of the road transitions and I don't get into high rpms because I'm not a shithead that needs the whole neighborhood to hear my car.

 

My exotic is not transportation, it's a toy. As others have said, it represents the achievement of a childhood dream. Just looking at it in the garage makes me happy. I enjoy driving it but enjoy more driving with friends.

I just listed the most common, obvious general reasons. I have no fear of miles. My one exotic is purely a pleasure device. Every drive in it is pure fun. In my regular car I can get out of my neighborhood in about 5 minutes. If my lp is already warmed up and the tire pressures checked already, then it still takes me a good 10 minutes to get out of the neighborhood. I have to keep the lift engaged because of the road transitions and I don't get into high rpms because I'm not a shithead that needs the whole neighborhood to hear my car.

 

My exotic is not transportation, it's a toy. As others have said, it represents the achievement of a childhood dream. Just looking at it in the garage makes me happy. I enjoy driving it but enjoy more driving with friends.

 

For agreed value or stated value insurance policies, there are mileage restrictions. Otherwise i would drive more.

Like assman said.... these are not our first or usually even second cars. When I can hop in the DD and take off a lot if times its easier than fumbling with the lambo.... I have to think out where I'll be going that day. I did drive my Gallardo more than the Murci for sure but still only maybe 6-8K miles a year

As bad as this may sound..... It makes me happy to see my car in my garage every day and makes my life better knowing I own one It's a childhood dream turned reality

I just listed the most common, obvious general reasons. I have no fear of miles. My one exotic is purely a pleasure device. Every drive in it is pure fun. In my regular car I can get out of my neighborhood in about 5 minutes. If my lp is already warmed up and the tire pressures checked already, then it still takes me a good 10 minutes to get out of the neighborhood. I have to keep the lift engaged because of the road transitions and I don't get into high rpms because I'm not a shithead that needs the whole neighborhood to hear my car.

 

My exotic is not transportation, it's a toy. As others have said, it represents the achievement of a childhood dream. Just looking at it in the garage makes me happy. I enjoy driving it but enjoy more driving with friends.

 

 

My old house literally backed up to some of the best driving roads in SO CAL. New one, it's only minutes to some exciting twisties.

 

Drive 'em, otherwise what's the point?

I regret not finding the time to drive mine more often,it's ten years old with only 17k and if I had another 10k on it the value wouldn't change much.

drive them like you stole them!

I have been trying to get my head around this for years as I have countless friends and acquaintances that spend 300 to 500k on a car and never drive them more than an 1000km a year because they worry about depreciation.

Assuming you have only 1 exotic car, what is the point of parking it in a garage and not enjoying it for fear of a lower resale. Almost all new cars are a depreciating asset, some will depreciate faster than others but eventually, they will reach a plateau and stay there.

I have rarely seen more than a 20% variation from the bottom price of a specific model based on mileage so, if one can afford the entry price of 200k+ for an exotic, will the extra depreciation because of higher mileage be that much of a deterrent to the enjoyment of the vehicle.

Europeans have no such issues, they drive their cars and I personally would never buy a garage queen at a premium over a car that has been driven and maintained.

 

I would love to hear your thoughts, maybe I am missing something

 

 

i drive all of mine and don't care so your theory has exceptions

 

Some people are collectors and just have them to collect, much like people with shoe collection or classic toy collection. The joy sometimes comes from the hunt, finding that rare item, like a treasure hunt check list.

 

That being said I say drive and enjoy, use it for it's intended purpose

i drive all of mine and don't care so your theory has exceptions

 

Of course it has exceptions , I am stereotyping and you would be hard pressed to argue that the stereotype is not valid lol

Of course it has exceptions , I am stereotyping and you would be hard pressed to argue that the stereotype is not valid lol

 

Let's just say that most people are idiots period and leave it at that.....and you and I are exceptions in probably most aspects of life

I guess it all depends on the previous owner.

 

If you absolutely pound the hell out of your car every mile you drive it, then no matter how well maintained, a higher mileage car becomes a worry. I guess not personally knowing the previous owner(s) that is the reason people are gun-shy to purchase higher mileage cars.

 

While not an exotic, My Z had 54,000 miles and runs very well. I have paid a fair amount to maintain it thus far though-Full brake job, 2 oil changes, spark plugs, shocks, tires (soon), etc-all in the last 5,000 miles.

I have never heard anyone I know tell me they don't drive their exotics more because of depreciation. It may very well be one of the reasons, but I have never actually heard it said to me. I find it hard to believe that many people would actually admit to that as the reason. I think its just more of a conclusion everyone makes about people who have garage queens with low miles. I would say the biggest reason people don't drive their exotics more is because its a pain in the ass to drive them, and you cant really drive them on the street the way they are meant to be driven. They have become status symbols, something people buy because they think it's just what you do because you have earned it. Only a small percentage of exotic buyers are actual car enthusiasts, and once the novelty has worn off, and they have "impressed" everyone in their lives, they really don't care anymore. They get all the fringe benefits of owning an exotic without really driving it anyways.

 

I don't have that many miles on most of my exotics, partly because I have several exotics (and non exotics), partly because I have changed them out a lot, and partly because I don't really have many places I have to go. Collectively I still put a few thousand miles a year on exotics. I drive them very often, but don't rack up that many miles when I do because I am not taking them all that far since I live close to everything. If someone has a job that is 20 miles away that they drive their exotic to, they could rack up 10k miles a year just in commuting to and from work. The bottom line is, the total mileage isn't the end all and be all measuring stick of who is enjoying their exotic the most, as there are lot of factors to consider.

 

Definitely a waste not driving them.