What to do?

[C-dub]

I was in a dealer a couple of weeks ago and was rather surprised when I saw 2 corvettes on the floor. One was $100k and the other was $126k.

I hadn't realized they were so expensive.

I don't think they're all that high. They might have been a Z06 and a Z01.

BTW, I heard Dodge was discontinuing the Viper and only making a few special editions before completely shutting down the line.

[Dragonfighter]

You want the car or the guns?
The guns will retain their value much more than the car. That is if you buy quality guns.

That is what I am trying to figure out. I seem to think that quality guns will hold there value and increase in value more so than a 93 Vett. I am looking at around a 10K figure on the Vette, so with that much to put down on some quality firearms ..... Now the next question would be what type?? Wilson new or used, old pre 1900 Winchester rifles, etc. etc. Garands.....????

Happiness is a belt fed weapon.

[tacticool]

Foreign mutual funds.

[tacticool]

Maybe think about taking a once in a lifetime trip to gunsite, blackwater, thunder ranch, etc.

That is a great ideal! I would love to do that and it sure would be fun, but I would want my family to get the funds if something ever happened to me.

In that case, but stuff they want, not stuff you want.

[johnson0317]

Have you thought about adding a nice shotgun to your collection, or a pimped out AR-15? The trips to TAC-Pro and the like would also be very cool. That Vette will turn out to be a collector's item, no matter what, but how much time you willing to wait? The cost of upkeep for several years might start to create diminishing returns.

I like guns.

[JeepGuy79]

Sell it and buy a registered machinegun. They will never go down in value as they were no longer made for civies after 86. Whats out there is all that there is. I would sell the car for 10K, then place a wtb ad on sturm for a HK sear. You can use them in tons of HK and HK clones and the clones are not that bad price. Hell if you never even use it the thing is a great investment. The year your car was built that same HK sear could be grabbed for about $300, now they sell for 12k all the time. If you post a WTB with 10k cash in hand on the NFA boards you can find someone hard up and get one. You may be able to trade your car on one of those boards but I doubt it.

[karder]

If trading your Vette for guns is something you are doing for fun, then more power to you. If you are truly looking for an investment, I am not sure either muscle cars or guns are the best choice. They are certainly a fun choice, but not the best ROI available.

[punkndisorderly]

Guns as tools? Yes. Guns as collectibles? Yes. Guns as "grown up toys" to be used and enjoyed? Yes.

As an investment? Maybe. There's a lot of problems with viewing them that way. They may pay off, but there are a lot of risks.

First is liquidity. Selling one car for what it is worth isn't easy. Selling 10, 20, 50 firearms for full value is a slow painful proposition. The easiest would be to sell to a shop or dealer. They will buy at wholesale, well below their market value. You could sell to collectors or individuals, but have to find a person in the market for exactly what you have for each and every one. You also have to know what they're worth then. We've all heard of family left behind selling their husband or father's guns as a lot for pennies on the dollar because they don't know any better and simply want them gone.

Second, you're gambling on what the market will be for them down the road. What's popular now may not be 10 years from now. What's popular today may not be tomorrow.

No one knows what the demand will be a year from now, let alone when you want to sell. Ammo prices, changes to laws, changing demographics, etc could decrease demand and pices.

If you want to sell a car you don't use to buy guns you will, rock on. They'll give you years of enjoyment.

[PUCKER]

I was in a dealer a couple of weeks ago and was rather surprised when I saw 2 corvettes on the floor. One was $100k and the other was $126k.

I hadn't realized they were so expensive.

Base sticker for a 1LT Coupe is around $48K or so, maybe a tad higher, but you can buy them ALOT cheaper. You were looking at the ZR1 models, sticker for those is in the price ranges you posted. Big price range, eh? There are alot of Vette models and options, I think this covers them, at least for 2011:
-Coupe
-Convertible
-Grand Sport Coupe
-Grand Sport Convertible
-Z06 Coupe
-ZR1 Coupe

I probably missed something...LOL...but I'm "new" to the world of Vettes.

But to answer the original question - keep the vette if you like it but it's a depreciating asset, to a point, unless it's a classic. Good quality firearms should at least hold there value, if not appreciate somewhat. And like one poster pointed out....NFA stuff is good for an investment...the prices are crazy!

[JeepGuy79]

NFA stuff is good for an investment...the prices are crazy!

not all, suppressors never are good investments unless it is something really rare. Machine guns and registered sears go up every year if you shoot the piss out of them or not. I bet a HK sear bought today for 12 goes for 14 in 2 years even if you run thousands of rounds on a beltfed with it.

[my04heritage]

Thanks to all who have shared their thoughts. I have plenty of time to digest and do some thinking.
If I get lucky and hit the lottery I can have the best of both worlds!

[Jumping Frog]

Sell it and buy a registered machinegun. They will never go down in value as they were no longer made for civies after 86.

I am leery of investing that much in a product whose entire market value is dependent upon government. A major change in either direction (re-opening the registry or banning NFA items) could destroy the market value with the stroke of a pen.

[kjolly]

The other day I found a carbine that I felt would fill in a niche in the defense plan and my wife gave me her approval. Stopped and realized I have sufficent weapons for defense but what am I defending. Have elected to spend the money on expanding our food storage and emergency supplies so there will be something worth defending if the system goes down.

[PUCKER]

NFA stuff is good for an investment...the prices are crazy!

not all, suppressors never are good investments unless it is something really rare. Machine guns and registered sears go up every year if you shoot the piss out of them or not. I bet a HK sear bought today for 12 goes for 14 in 2 years even if you run thousands of rounds on a beltfed with it.

Yep, meant to put "machine gun/select-fire", thank you for correcting. My little MAC 11 is on the *bottom* end of the scale but it has probably increased in value at least 6x what I paid for it.