Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Oughts Cars That Have Appreciated In Value

EH-NADA-appreciatedWe’d all like to make money on the cars we buy. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, “things that get used, get used up.” Automotive depreciation is a fact of life for most vehicles we spend money on. But there are those special vehicles that become worth more used than they were new. Of course, if you wait long enough, nearly any car will appreciate in value simply due to the combination of monetary inflation and the general rarity of antique cars over a certain age. I’m talking cars that appreciate in value fairly rapidly—say, a decade old, give or take five years. Therefore, today’s Hoonatic task is to list cars from the Oughts* that are worth more now than they were new.
*Just to be clear, the Oughts encompass the 2000–2009 model years, fer all you young whippersnappers!
BUT WAIT! I am sure you’re aware that there are always caveats, and today’s is a real doozy! Since any discussion of car values is likely to be rife with subjective opinion and groundless speculation, and the Encyclopedia is about objective lists, we must nail things down with hard, impartial, third-party data. Therefore, today’s assignment is to go the National Automobile Dealers Association used car price guide [NADAguides.com], find a MY 2000–09 vehicle whose current AVERAGE RETAIL value is greater than the listed ORIGINAL MSRP value, and then post a link to that page in the comments below. Of course, including a photo is worth extra cred points and always much appreciated, but the important thing today is the NADA values.
Difficulty: As hard as finding a kitten in a thunderstorm. (Yeah, I’ve never known what the heck that means, either.)
How This Works: Read the comments first and don’t post duplicates. Bonus points for adding photos. Remember, you can simply paste in the raw image URL now, thanks to the magic of Disqus.
Image Source: Screenshot from NADAguides.com …duh.

By Peter Tanshanomi

Tanshanomi is Japanese [単車のみ] for "motorcycle(s) only." Though primarily tasked with creating two-wheel oriented content for Hooniverse, Pete is a lover of all sorts of motorized vehicles.

0 thoughts on “Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Oughts Cars That Have Appreciated In Value”
  1. The lowest hanging fruit is the Ford GT. (numbers are NADA results for a 2005)
    Original MSRP: $151,245
    Low Retail: $222,200
    Average Retail:$270,300
    High Retail: $402,900

  2. While the Ford GT was the first that came to mind, another well known vehicle from the aughts to appreciate is the Enzo. (numbers are NADA results for a 2003)
    Original MSRP: $643,330
    Low Retail: $1,130,600
    Average Retail: $1,447,700
    High Retail: $2,225,500

  3. 2003 Ferrari Enzo
    Base Price
    Original $643,330
    Low Retail $1,130,600
    Average Retail $1,447,700
    High Retail $2,225,500
    Not just up, potentially quadrupled.

  4. 2000-03 BMW Z8 (02 numbers shown) So long as you’re high retail.
    Base Price
    Original $130,000
    Low Retail $99,500
    Average Retail $128,100
    High Retail $159,400

  5. I’m pretty sure a base 09 wrangler goes for more used than it did new. I find this fascinating because there is literally nothing special about an 09 Wrangler.

  6. Porsche Carrera GTs when new sold for $440,000+ The correct examples now are selling for $800k-$1m.
    Too small of volume for NADA I assume.
    Same reason the Maserati MC12, Porsche Boxster Spyder and few others aren’t listed.

    1. Just goes along the same lines as everything else: If you have a lot of money to start with, it’s easy to multiply that – and even to have fun along the way. That includes large service, insurance and storage bills.

  7. I was somewhat surprised that G8 GXPs and Solstice GXP Coupes aren’t appreciating because of rarity and desirability. Although, I guess the market for Pontiacs is pretty small right now. They’re still too new to get the kind of orphan car chic that AMCs do today.

    1. Yep, I’d love to find someone selling a 2009 Solstice GXP Club Sport Coupe for under $14k.
      The one listed as a “nearby example” for me is $36,000 with 7500 miles on it.

  8. 2009 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sports have appreciated within the rules of this game. The regular Veyron must be too pedestrian because it has only appreciated on the high end of the used market.

  9. According to NADA the 2009 ZR-1 Vette is in High Retail form, $8k above original MSRP.
    I could see that one going one of two ways. People know it’s special, and it’s a Corvette so it will have a loyal following and desire for years to come, but too many people with think it’s too special, so low mileage, moth-balled examples won’t be impossible to come by.

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