Do you collect cars for pleasure or profit?

Do you collect for pleasure or for profit? According to a recent survey by insurer Chubb, among collectors, 30 percent of those who might be buying a classic or collector car in the next year say they expect to do so as an investment, while 25 percent say it will be for pleasure. 

Of all the categories reported, art and classic/collector cars were the only ones in which profit outpaced passion. The other categories were jewelry and gemstones, wine, watches, spirits, designer accessories and sports memorabilia.

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The survey also revealed that 79 percent of collectors of objects in the above list have bought or sold using online auctions.

Chubb also offered survey results for the items most enthused or collected by those surveyed. Most popular were wine (51 percent), jewelry (50 percent) and watches (47 percent). Last on the list, at 24 percent, were classic and collector cars. 

Chubb said the survey, its first “measuring collectors’ approaches and behaviors toward valuable articles trends and risk,” included 1,212 people 18 or older with a household income of more than $50,000 a year and who have purchased “a valuable article” in the previous year. 

The survey also revealed that among collectors, 40 percent recently began collecting wine, with spirits also growing in popularity. Reasons given by new wine collectors were love of wine (62 percent), influence of a friend or colleague (30 percent) and excess income (30 percent). 

Those collecting wine reported spending 9 percent of their annual income on the hobby, making it the least expensive of collecting pursuits. For comparison, people collecting cars spent 12 percent of their annual income on the hobby.