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Joel from Fairfax, Virginia, participated on a recent episode of “The Ramsey Show” with a bold question: Would trading in his written off 2023 Ford Bronco Sport for a classic muscle car really help his net worth?
“I know that when you buy a new car, it loses value as soon as you drive it off the dealership,” Joel said. “My question is, what about restored classic muscle cars?”
Joel, 56, earns $95,000 a year, has no children, never married and said he got into investing late. He is currently in David RamseyIt is “Baby Step” 4 and contributes 25% of your income to retirement. His net worth is around $194,000, and that includes the Bronco, $25,000 in savings, and more than $143,000 in his two 401(k) accounts. He currently rents and has no plans to retire.
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“Honestly, I have no plans to retire,” he said. “I’m going to keep working until I practically can’t.”
But could a classic car change that equation? Not quite, according to the co-hosts George Kamel and Ken Coleman.
“Should I invest in a classic muscle car? No,” Kamel said flatly. “Under no circumstances would we consider it an investment. It’s a liability disguised as a hobby.”
Coleman agreed, explaining that while some classic cars have sold in the millions, they are only the extremely rare ones with famous backstories and certainly not daily drivers. “A 1962 Shelby Cobra…sold for a record $13.75 million,” he noted. “But it was the first Shelby Cobra ever made and it was owned by Carroll Shelby.”
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Joel clarified that he would not sell cars for profit; he just wanted to drive a nostalgic car like the one his father had, ideally a 1971 or 1972 Buick GS convertible. He found some in the $30,000 to $40,000 range.
“That’s a cool dream,” Kamel said. “I’d just separate it from… well, two birds with one stone: getting a cool classic car, driving it, and it becomes my retirement. That’s silly.”
Instead, both co-hosts urged Joel to slow down his retirement contributions and redirect that money toward a house. Coleman suggested cutting your investment rate from 25% to 15% and using the difference to save the down payment.