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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jan/02/bye-buy-to-let-tax-changes-alternative-investments
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| Bye bye buy-to-let … but where next for your money? | Bye bye buy-to-let … but where next for your money? |
| (6 days later) | |
| Investing in buy-to-let has been the easy way to make money for two decades. But from this year a raft of tax changes will make it far less profitable. Are there alternatives that could make similar sums for investors in the years ahead? | Investing in buy-to-let has been the easy way to make money for two decades. But from this year a raft of tax changes will make it far less profitable. Are there alternatives that could make similar sums for investors in the years ahead? |
| We took the typical amount of money that an average buy-to-let investor puts down on an investment property – around £40,000 – and looked at some of the options. But it is important to note that many, if not all, of these investments carry high levels of risk. Like buy-to-let, some are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme; like property they can fall in value. But for those willing to take a long-term view – and diversify their investments – there can be rich rewards. | We took the typical amount of money that an average buy-to-let investor puts down on an investment property – around £40,000 – and looked at some of the options. But it is important to note that many, if not all, of these investments carry high levels of risk. Like buy-to-let, some are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme; like property they can fall in value. But for those willing to take a long-term view – and diversify their investments – there can be rich rewards. |
| Peer-to-peer | Peer-to-peer |
| The investment You lend money to individuals or small businesses over the internet using a “peer-to-peer” lender (dubbed P2P) that matches your savings with a borrower. | The investment You lend money to individuals or small businesses over the internet using a “peer-to-peer” lender (dubbed P2P) that matches your savings with a borrower. |
| Anticipated growth rates Generally about 5%-7% a year. Most P2P lenders lock your money away for a period of between three and five years. The longer you are willing to leave it locked up, the higher rate you earn. For example, RateSetter was this week paying 3.3% on one-month accounts, rising to 5.9% on money put away for five years. Zopa was offering 3.8% on two- and three-year loans, and 5% on four- and five-year loans. Funding Circle, which lends to businesses rather than individuals, so is considered higher risk, was offering 7.1% on a spread of loans, though it can be much higher if you are prepared to lend to individual businesses. | Anticipated growth rates Generally about 5%-7% a year. Most P2P lenders lock your money away for a period of between three and five years. The longer you are willing to leave it locked up, the higher rate you earn. For example, RateSetter was this week paying 3.3% on one-month accounts, rising to 5.9% on money put away for five years. Zopa was offering 3.8% on two- and three-year loans, and 5% on four- and five-year loans. Funding Circle, which lends to businesses rather than individuals, so is considered higher risk, was offering 7.1% on a spread of loans, though it can be much higher if you are prepared to lend to individual businesses. |
| What you might get If you put £40,000 into RateSetter and earn the 6.1% it has averaged over the past year, it would turn into £75,700 after 10 years and £185,000 after 25 years. This is the gross (ie, without tax) return and assumes you obtain the same rate all the way through – which you almost certainly won’t – and that you constantly reinvest your interest. If you were able to obtain Funding Circle’s 7.1% over 25 years, your £40,000 would be worth around £220,000. That’s the magic of compounding, but remember this does not take into account inflation or large defaults. | What you might get If you put £40,000 into RateSetter and earn the 6.1% it has averaged over the past year, it would turn into £75,700 after 10 years and £185,000 after 25 years. This is the gross (ie, without tax) return and assumes you obtain the same rate all the way through – which you almost certainly won’t – and that you constantly reinvest your interest. If you were able to obtain Funding Circle’s 7.1% over 25 years, your £40,000 would be worth around £220,000. That’s the magic of compounding, but remember this does not take into account inflation or large defaults. |
| Tax position The interest you earn is taxable, but from April P2P loans can be put in an Isa, which means up to £15,240 a year can be placed into a P2P loan and the interest will be tax-free. So if you were investing £40,000 it will only take three years before the interest is accumulated tax-free. Also, remember there is the £1,000 tax-free personal savings allowance (£500 for higher-rate taxpayers) also starting in April. | Tax position The interest you earn is taxable, but from April P2P loans can be put in an Isa, which means up to £15,240 a year can be placed into a P2P loan and the interest will be tax-free. So if you were investing £40,000 it will only take three years before the interest is accumulated tax-free. Also, remember there is the £1,000 tax-free personal savings allowance (£500 for higher-rate taxpayers) also starting in April. |
| Cons There is no Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) coverage for P2P loans. Individual borrowers and businesses may (and some will) default. Bad debts at Funding Circle have averaged 1.8% a year, and for its riskiest “E” grade loans it is 8%, but it says its 7.1% rate currently on offer is after defaults have been taken into account. | Cons There is no Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) coverage for P2P loans. Individual borrowers and businesses may (and some will) default. Bad debts at Funding Circle have averaged 1.8% a year, and for its riskiest “E” grade loans it is 8%, but it says its 7.1% rate currently on offer is after defaults have been taken into account. |
| This is a largely unregulated industry which has attracted lots of new entrants, some with very limited track records. In October it was reported that a Swedish P2P lender suspended operations and reported itself to police after discovering “serious misconduct” including misuse of client money. | This is a largely unregulated industry which has attracted lots of new entrants, some with very limited track records. In October it was reported that a Swedish P2P lender suspended operations and reported itself to police after discovering “serious misconduct” including misuse of client money. |
| Pros These are fantastically high interest rates compared to the “best buy” deposit accounts at banks. They should also rise as the Bank of England base rate rises. Three of the companies are now very well-established: Zopa, the trailblazer, is 10 years old, while RateSetter has more than 30,000 customers and says it is the only major UK platform where no individual lender has ever lost a penny. Funding Circle has funded just short of £1bn in loans to business, including £40m from the government, which is an endorsement of sorts. Unlike buy-to-let, opening an account and investing the money only takes a matter of minutes. | Pros These are fantastically high interest rates compared to the “best buy” deposit accounts at banks. They should also rise as the Bank of England base rate rises. Three of the companies are now very well-established: Zopa, the trailblazer, is 10 years old, while RateSetter has more than 30,000 customers and says it is the only major UK platform where no individual lender has ever lost a penny. Funding Circle has funded just short of £1bn in loans to business, including £40m from the government, which is an endorsement of sorts. Unlike buy-to-let, opening an account and investing the money only takes a matter of minutes. |
| Community finance projects/renewable energy | |
| The investment Sounds nice and green but too woolly and not likely to make much of a profit? Not at all – many are hard-nosed schemes designed by financiers to give steady long-term returns. They are usually structured either as 15- to 20-year “debentures”, which are a form of loan to a company, as five-year bonds, or as share offerings through a “community benefit society” (similar to a co-operative). | The investment Sounds nice and green but too woolly and not likely to make much of a profit? Not at all – many are hard-nosed schemes designed by financiers to give steady long-term returns. They are usually structured either as 15- to 20-year “debentures”, which are a form of loan to a company, as five-year bonds, or as share offerings through a “community benefit society” (similar to a co-operative). |
| Anticipated growth rates Abundance, a crowdfunding platform for renewable energy schemes, reckons that rates on future solar and wind projects, even without government subsidies, could be around 6% a year. It will shortly open the first local authority-backed solar scheme, from Swindon council, with an anticipated “internal rate of return” of around 7% a year. It will be one of the last solar schemes that will still benefit from high “feed-in tariffs” so is likely to be snapped up quickly when it opens for investment in February. | Anticipated growth rates Abundance, a crowdfunding platform for renewable energy schemes, reckons that rates on future solar and wind projects, even without government subsidies, could be around 6% a year. It will shortly open the first local authority-backed solar scheme, from Swindon council, with an anticipated “internal rate of return” of around 7% a year. It will be one of the last solar schemes that will still benefit from high “feed-in tariffs” so is likely to be snapped up quickly when it opens for investment in February. |
| So-called social investments can be found on Ethex, a not-for-profit ethical investing platform. Current schemes include 4% on bonds issued by Golden Lane Housing for Mencap, 7% on bonds from TLS Hydro, and a forecast 7% dividend on shares in Nottinghamshire Community Energy. | So-called social investments can be found on Ethex, a not-for-profit ethical investing platform. Current schemes include 4% on bonds issued by Golden Lane Housing for Mencap, 7% on bonds from TLS Hydro, and a forecast 7% dividend on shares in Nottinghamshire Community Energy. |
| What you might get Abundance says investors can double their capital over 20 years, so a £40,000 investment might become £80,000, with the £40,000 capital returned as tax-free instalments and £40,000 as income. This means you are returned your money more rapidly than with other investments, but you may then want to find somewhere else to invest it. TLS Hydro’s 7% bond matures after five years, turning £40,000 into £56,700, assuming the company stays afloat. If you were to see 7% returns every year for 25 years (unlikely), the £40,000 would turn into £230,000. | What you might get Abundance says investors can double their capital over 20 years, so a £40,000 investment might become £80,000, with the £40,000 capital returned as tax-free instalments and £40,000 as income. This means you are returned your money more rapidly than with other investments, but you may then want to find somewhere else to invest it. TLS Hydro’s 7% bond matures after five years, turning £40,000 into £56,700, assuming the company stays afloat. If you were to see 7% returns every year for 25 years (unlikely), the £40,000 would turn into £230,000. |
| Tax position At Abundance, the capital return is not taxed, but the income is liable for tax. But from autumn the Innovative Finance Isa becomes available, allowing debt securities such as debentures to be free of tax if kept in an Isa wrapper. Community finance projects may also be eligible for the new social investment tax relief, though this has been withdrawn for investors in community renewable energy schemes. Under the SITR, when you invest in the enterprise you can claim 30% tax relief in that year, but still retain all the upside of the investment as it matures. For example, if you invested the £40,000 into an enterprise you can claim back £12,000 against your income tax, so you have only really invested £28,000. If the enterprise pays, say, 5% interest you will receive £51,300 over five years, equal to a gain of more than 80%. | |
| Cons None of the above schemes are covered by the FSCS, though Abundance makes a big deal of the fact that it is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). | Cons None of the above schemes are covered by the FSCS, though Abundance makes a big deal of the fact that it is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). |
| You are investing in enterprises which can, and do, go bust, leaving you at risk of losing all your capital. A venture called Secured Energy Bonds offered investors 6.5% returns but turned into a horror story. These were “mini-bonds” that invested in solar assets and had a firm called Independent Portfolio Managers as the security trustee, yet the money was siphoned off to an Australian company, and around 1,000 investors have been left penniless. | |
| Pros These sorts of investments should give decent returns for the risk involved, as well as helping the environment or good causes. The new SITR tax relief is hugely generous. | Pros These sorts of investments should give decent returns for the risk involved, as well as helping the environment or good causes. The new SITR tax relief is hugely generous. |
| Unit trusts/oeics/investment trusts | Unit trusts/oeics/investment trusts |
| The investment A pool of company shares, usually at least 40, often 100 or more. Choose between cheap index trackers which match the performance of indices such as the FTSE 100, or pricier “actively managed” funds. Opt for income funds that pay out dividends each year, or capital growth funds which roll up the money and reinvest it. | The investment A pool of company shares, usually at least 40, often 100 or more. Choose between cheap index trackers which match the performance of indices such as the FTSE 100, or pricier “actively managed” funds. Opt for income funds that pay out dividends each year, or capital growth funds which roll up the money and reinvest it. |
| Anticipated growth rates The FCA allows advisers to set maximum investment return projections at 2%, 5% and 8% per annum for tax-exempt business such as inside a pension or Isa, or 1.5%, 4.5% and 7.5% otherwise. | Anticipated growth rates The FCA allows advisers to set maximum investment return projections at 2%, 5% and 8% per annum for tax-exempt business such as inside a pension or Isa, or 1.5%, 4.5% and 7.5% otherwise. |
| What you might get We asked Jason Hollands of advisers Tilney Bestinvest to do the figures. He assumed an average net return of 7% a year, which some might argue is rather punchy. If the £40,000 that might otherwise have gone into a buy-to-let does achieve 7% a year, and the money is held in an Isa, then after 10 years it would be worth £59,024, and after 25 years £168,156. But he says that if the investor put some into an Isa and some into a pension, thus obtaining tax relief at their marginal rate, the returns could be as high as £111,242 at 10 years and a whopping £316,922 after 25 years. | What you might get We asked Jason Hollands of advisers Tilney Bestinvest to do the figures. He assumed an average net return of 7% a year, which some might argue is rather punchy. If the £40,000 that might otherwise have gone into a buy-to-let does achieve 7% a year, and the money is held in an Isa, then after 10 years it would be worth £59,024, and after 25 years £168,156. But he says that if the investor put some into an Isa and some into a pension, thus obtaining tax relief at their marginal rate, the returns could be as high as £111,242 at 10 years and a whopping £316,922 after 25 years. |
| Tax position The Isa allows you to invest £15,240 a year, with the gains being tax-free. The pension gives you tax relief as you invest – so 40% if you are a higher-rate taxpayer – but you have to pay tax when you take it out, and you are not allowed to access the money until you are 55. You can take money out of an Isa whenever you like. | Tax position The Isa allows you to invest £15,240 a year, with the gains being tax-free. The pension gives you tax relief as you invest – so 40% if you are a higher-rate taxpayer – but you have to pay tax when you take it out, and you are not allowed to access the money until you are 55. You can take money out of an Isa whenever you like. |
| Cons They can largely be summed up as performance and fees. The average UK “all companies” fund has earned a miserable 2.7% over the past year, though over five years it would have turned the £40,000 into £55,680. If you had taken a gamble and five years ago put the money into a typical global emerging markets fund – betting on the continued rise of China, India and so on – you would have fallen flat on your face as your £40,000 would now be worth just £32,800. The FTSE 100 has had another poor year, starting at around 6550 and ending the year at 6242. Fifteen years have passed since it hit its peak of 6930.20 on 30 December 1999. | Cons They can largely be summed up as performance and fees. The average UK “all companies” fund has earned a miserable 2.7% over the past year, though over five years it would have turned the £40,000 into £55,680. If you had taken a gamble and five years ago put the money into a typical global emerging markets fund – betting on the continued rise of China, India and so on – you would have fallen flat on your face as your £40,000 would now be worth just £32,800. The FTSE 100 has had another poor year, starting at around 6550 and ending the year at 6242. Fifteen years have passed since it hit its peak of 6930.20 on 30 December 1999. |
| These are figures for gross returns, which have a habit of being rather worse after fund managers and advisers have paid themselves handsomely. Expect to lose 1%-2% of your investment every year to feed them, or closer to 0.5% if you buy an index fund. | These are figures for gross returns, which have a habit of being rather worse after fund managers and advisers have paid themselves handsomely. Expect to lose 1%-2% of your investment every year to feed them, or closer to 0.5% if you buy an index fund. |
| Pros Equities generally outperform over very long periods of time, and over 10-25 years a diversified portfolio of funds should do well, so long as you reinvest dividends. Some of the “star” fund managers have massively outperformed the averages: Woodford Income is up 16% this year, while Terry Smith’s Fundsmith Equity is up around 110% since Guardian Money highlighted it at the end of 2010. | Pros Equities generally outperform over very long periods of time, and over 10-25 years a diversified portfolio of funds should do well, so long as you reinvest dividends. Some of the “star” fund managers have massively outperformed the averages: Woodford Income is up 16% this year, while Terry Smith’s Fundsmith Equity is up around 110% since Guardian Money highlighted it at the end of 2010. |
| This is a highly regulated industry, with a huge number of competing online services for both the DIY investor and the amateur. | This is a highly regulated industry, with a huge number of competing online services for both the DIY investor and the amateur. |
| Structured products | Structured products |
| The investment Bonds that promise high payouts after five or six years, depending on how indices such as the FTSE 100 and S&P 500 have performed. If the indices drop below certain levels you can lose some or possibly all of your money. Some plans allow investors to take gains after two years. | The investment Bonds that promise high payouts after five or six years, depending on how indices such as the FTSE 100 and S&P 500 have performed. If the indices drop below certain levels you can lose some or possibly all of your money. Some plans allow investors to take gains after two years. |
| Anticipated growth rates According to advisers at Lowes Financial Management, which specialises in structured products, a mix of such products should give an investor a return of around 8.4% a year. | Anticipated growth rates According to advisers at Lowes Financial Management, which specialises in structured products, a mix of such products should give an investor a return of around 8.4% a year. |
| What you might get Growth at 8.4% would change an investor’s £40,000 into £60,000 over five years and £90,000 over 10 years, but it is subject to lots of caveats – the main one being that markets have to perform in a certain way. Lowes says the average return achieved by the 723 FTSE 100 linked structured products that have matured over the past 10 years is 8.41% per annum. Unless you are a very confident investor you will need to take financial advice, the cost of which will reduce the return to something like 7.5% a year. Where no advice is sought there is a 1.65% arrangement fee, which on £40,000 works out at £660. | |
| Tax position Most structured products can be put into a tax-free Isa or pension plan. The ones that pay income are usually subject to income tax, while those structured for growth are subject to capital gains tax. | Tax position Most structured products can be put into a tax-free Isa or pension plan. The ones that pay income are usually subject to income tax, while those structured for growth are subject to capital gains tax. |
| Cons These can be almost comically complex instruments with fancy names and even fancier structures. For example, on Lowes’ recommended list at the moment is the Investec Dual Index Step Down Kick-Out Plan 8 (Collateralised) which, if all goes well, will pay out 10% a year – providing both the FTSE 100 and Euro Stoxx 50 indices “close above a reducing reference level, subject to five day averaging”. | Cons These can be almost comically complex instruments with fancy names and even fancier structures. For example, on Lowes’ recommended list at the moment is the Investec Dual Index Step Down Kick-Out Plan 8 (Collateralised) which, if all goes well, will pay out 10% a year – providing both the FTSE 100 and Euro Stoxx 50 indices “close above a reducing reference level, subject to five day averaging”. |
| The investment provider can become insolvent, as anyone who bought one backed by Lehman Brothers learned to their cost. FCA research suggests most consumers find it difficult to understand how structured products work in practice, which it says “often leads to overestimation of the potential investment return”. | The investment provider can become insolvent, as anyone who bought one backed by Lehman Brothers learned to their cost. FCA research suggests most consumers find it difficult to understand how structured products work in practice, which it says “often leads to overestimation of the potential investment return”. |
| Pros If you are rich enough, and can diversify across many separate structured products (usually a minimum investment of £5,000 in each), they can potentially be a very good investment. There have been few defaults, and you can choose “defensive” schemes such as the Meteor FTSE Defensive Supertracker or the Société Générale UK Defensive Growth plans to reduce risk. | Pros If you are rich enough, and can diversify across many separate structured products (usually a minimum investment of £5,000 in each), they can potentially be a very good investment. There have been few defaults, and you can choose “defensive” schemes such as the Meteor FTSE Defensive Supertracker or the Société Générale UK Defensive Growth plans to reduce risk. |
| FSCS protection is similar to conventional investment funds, in that if a loss arises for any reason other than inherent investment risk, then the FSCS is there to compensate you, up to £75,000. You can see a list of plans on offer and learn more at CompareStructuredProducts.com | FSCS protection is similar to conventional investment funds, in that if a loss arises for any reason other than inherent investment risk, then the FSCS is there to compensate you, up to £75,000. You can see a list of plans on offer and learn more at CompareStructuredProducts.com |
| Alternatively … turbo-charged returns can hit 399% | Alternatively … turbo-charged returns can hit 399% |
| Classic cars | Classic cars |
| The investment When even the humble Austin Allegro can become a sought-after model, it is clearly possible to make money from investing in classic cars. Nobody can quite agree when and why a particular car becomes a classic, although for vehicle excise duty purposes HM Revenue & Customs says it is anything built before 1 January 1976. | The investment When even the humble Austin Allegro can become a sought-after model, it is clearly possible to make money from investing in classic cars. Nobody can quite agree when and why a particular car becomes a classic, although for vehicle excise duty purposes HM Revenue & Customs says it is anything built before 1 January 1976. |
| Anticipated growth rates Returns have been seriously turbo-charged in recent years, though there is much debate about the quality of statistics in the world of Ferrari-nomics. Coutts, bankers to the rich, runs an index of “passion investments” and found that in the nine years from 2005 through to 2014 classic cars made a 399% gain. This was more than double the next best investments: coins (up 176%), jewellery (150%) and fine wines (134%). But the index also found that some collectables have made miserable returns, with 19th-century art falling by 7% and rugs and carpets up just 7% over the nine years. Returns are incredibly volatile: fine wines soared in the years up to 2012, but dropped in price in 2013 and 2014. | Anticipated growth rates Returns have been seriously turbo-charged in recent years, though there is much debate about the quality of statistics in the world of Ferrari-nomics. Coutts, bankers to the rich, runs an index of “passion investments” and found that in the nine years from 2005 through to 2014 classic cars made a 399% gain. This was more than double the next best investments: coins (up 176%), jewellery (150%) and fine wines (134%). But the index also found that some collectables have made miserable returns, with 19th-century art falling by 7% and rugs and carpets up just 7% over the nine years. Returns are incredibly volatile: fine wines soared in the years up to 2012, but dropped in price in 2013 and 2014. |
| Hagerty, a specialist insurer for classic cars which has data on private as well as auction sales, says price gains stalled in the latter half of 2015. “The feeling was that the market was just getting a bit too silly,” says John Mayhead of Hagerty. A year ago there were around 20 Ferrari Testarossas on the market; now there are about 100. He also warns against just looking at advertised prices – he sees cars with price tags of £300,000 selling for little more than £180,000. | Hagerty, a specialist insurer for classic cars which has data on private as well as auction sales, says price gains stalled in the latter half of 2015. “The feeling was that the market was just getting a bit too silly,” says John Mayhead of Hagerty. A year ago there were around 20 Ferrari Testarossas on the market; now there are about 100. He also warns against just looking at advertised prices – he sees cars with price tags of £300,000 selling for little more than £180,000. |
| What you might get If you invested £40,000 and repeated the 399% gain recorded by Coutts you would be looking at around £200,000, but no one expects that sort of return going forward. The good news is that the best action may be in the more affordable 1970s and 1980s “emerging classics” being snapped up by men in their 40s and 50s as icons of their childhood. | What you might get If you invested £40,000 and repeated the 399% gain recorded by Coutts you would be looking at around £200,000, but no one expects that sort of return going forward. The good news is that the best action may be in the more affordable 1970s and 1980s “emerging classics” being snapped up by men in their 40s and 50s as icons of their childhood. |
| “We do think there has been a shift towards more modern classics,” says Mayhead, citing the BMW E30 M3 from the mid 80s, with prices up 15% in the past three months alone. | “We do think there has been a shift towards more modern classics,” says Mayhead, citing the BMW E30 M3 from the mid 80s, with prices up 15% in the past three months alone. |
| Many mass-market cars from the 1970s have all but gone from Britain’s roads, making the few left potentially valuable collectables. According to the Honest John website, 642,340 Austin Allegros were built from 1973 to 1982, but fewer than 300 taxed and Sorn’d examples are left on the roads. Of 224,942 Austin Princesses, only about 100 survive, with the Hillman Avenger, Austin Montego and Vauxhall Viva also in danger of extinction. | Many mass-market cars from the 1970s have all but gone from Britain’s roads, making the few left potentially valuable collectables. According to the Honest John website, 642,340 Austin Allegros were built from 1973 to 1982, but fewer than 300 taxed and Sorn’d examples are left on the roads. Of 224,942 Austin Princesses, only about 100 survive, with the Hillman Avenger, Austin Montego and Vauxhall Viva also in danger of extinction. |
| We asked Hagerty’s expert to name a “best buy” for investors. At around the £10,000 mark he says go for a bay-window VW Camper van (below right), or for a little bit more a 1970s Datsun 240Z (below left). Further up the price scale, a Jensen Interceptor Mk3 (below centre) can be found for around £40,000, less than half the price of a similar top-end British sports car of the same era. | We asked Hagerty’s expert to name a “best buy” for investors. At around the £10,000 mark he says go for a bay-window VW Camper van (below right), or for a little bit more a 1970s Datsun 240Z (below left). Further up the price scale, a Jensen Interceptor Mk3 (below centre) can be found for around £40,000, less than half the price of a similar top-end British sports car of the same era. |
| Tax position One major attraction of classic car investment is that profits don’t attract capital gains tax as they are classed as “wasting assets”, with a predicted useful life under 50 years. | Tax position One major attraction of classic car investment is that profits don’t attract capital gains tax as they are classed as “wasting assets”, with a predicted useful life under 50 years. |
| Cons Investment fashion changes; British saloon cars from the 1950s have struggled to maintain their value. The late 1980s saw a spectacular boom and bust in classic car values. You will also have to store and insure the vehicle. You should also have some knowledge about what happens under a bonnet. | Cons Investment fashion changes; British saloon cars from the 1950s have struggled to maintain their value. The late 1980s saw a spectacular boom and bust in classic car values. You will also have to store and insure the vehicle. You should also have some knowledge about what happens under a bonnet. |
| Pros Classic cars are something you can enjoy as well as invest in. “Buy something you love, then it’s a bonus if it also goes up in value,” says Mayhead. Hagerty’s website has a car valuation tool, while classiccarsforsale.co.uk and carandclassic.co.uk are the two main specialist sites. | Pros Classic cars are something you can enjoy as well as invest in. “Buy something you love, then it’s a bonus if it also goes up in value,” says Mayhead. Hagerty’s website has a car valuation tool, while classiccarsforsale.co.uk and carandclassic.co.uk are the two main specialist sites. |
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