July 30, 2025 • 13 mins
Are you passionate about cars? Have you imagined collecting, rebuilding or showing them? Classic cars have been appreciating rapidly and if my emails or anything to go by, quite a few of you have caught the fever.
Hannah Elliot is the super car reviewer for Bloomberg, and has been covering the auto industry and exploring car culture for over 15 years. She also drives a 1975 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow.
Each week, “At the Money” discusses an important topic in money management. From portfolio construction to taxes and cutting down on fees, join Barry Ritholtz to learn the best ways to put your money to work.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Are you passionate about cars? Are you interested in collecting, rebuilding, racing,
or showing them? Have you ever considered having more cars
than you could reasonably drive in a given week or month?
Classic cars have been appreciating rapidly, and if my emails
or anything to go by, quite a few of you
(00:40):
have caught the fever. If you've ever wondered what it's
like to build and own a car collection, well then
I have the perfect guest for you. Hannah Elliott is
the supercar reviewer for Bloomberg. She's been covering cars, the
auto industry, and exploring car culture for over fifteen years.
She also drives in nineteen seventy five Rolls Royce Silver Shadow.
(01:05):
So Hannah, let's start broadly. How does a person who's
passionate about cars find themselves with a collection. Is this
an ill advised idea?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
That's a great question. I think the quick answer is no,
it's not an ill advised idea. If you like cars
and you want to have joy in your life, buy
an old car, buy a vintage car. It's fun. Now.
If you are hoping to that this is going to
bring you a lot of money along time down the road.
(01:40):
Probably not the best investment class, but there are a
lot of other values that you get from owning old
cars that aren't just about the money.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
So, since you brought up the money, what separates a
passion project from an asset class for the average car
guy or car gal? Is this a hobby or is
this an investment?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
For the average person, this is a hobby for sure.
There are a lot of expenses associated with owning old
cars on top of the initial purchase price that you know.
Of course, you've got to think about storage, You've got
to think about insurance, you've got to think about maintenance, repairs, gas. Obviously,
there are lots of things that are going to come up.
I think it's important to think of it as a relationship.
(02:21):
This is a give and take thing. There may be
a little bit of dysfunction. It's not just going to
be you know, right off into the sunset and you
pay upfront and you never pay again. For most people, yes,
it's a hobby. It costs money, but you have a
lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
So where does one begin. Do you go with the
models that excite you, or do you try and pick
those cars that are going to appreciate over time.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
For somebody just getting involved in owning old cars, I
would really strongly recommend you buy things that you genuinely like.
Buy things that genuinely excite you. Sometimes, if you're really lucky,
maybe those things will retain their value. Maybe they will
even gain value over years if you hold something for
a long time. But here's the thing. If you buy
(03:08):
something that you really like, even if it loses a
bit of value over the years, you still get the
value of owning something that you genuinely like. Whereas if
you buy something simply because you think it might gain value,
if it loses value, you're kind of out because you
didn't necessarily like it and you didn't make a lot
of money on it, So it's kind of a lose lose.
(03:28):
At least, if you buy something you like, you know
you will enjoy it, and if you make a little
money on top to even better.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Let's talk budgets. What do you need to become a
hobbyist and what are some of the costs that you
should budget going forward.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Okay, I would like to say there is a vintage
car for every price point. You can buy an old
Porsche now I'm not going to say an air cooled
nine to eleven. But you can buy an old Porsche
from a swap meet in Pomona, California for eight grand
ten grand. It's gonna need some work, but you know,
(04:05):
I buy old rolls choices. I have bought them for
ten grand. Now that maintenance costs a little bit more
on that, and we can talk about that, but I
just want to illustrate there is an entry price point
for every budget, of course, and I would say I
don't think there's necessarily a correlation between spending a lot
of money and having a lot more fun on a
(04:27):
car that's perfect, and spending less money and you're gonna
have less fun and the car's gonna need a lot
of work. There's not necessarily a correlation. You can spend
a lot of money on something and it's not great
to drive and it requires a lot more maintenance. Obviously,
registering a car is a one time thing. Insuring a car,
there are many vintage cars insurers like Haggerty for instance,
(04:49):
that have pretty great insurance policies, and you can even
get less expensive insurance policies on classics if you don't
because you don't drive them as much because they're not
daily drivers. So it's worth going with a insurance provider
that specializes in classic cars that will charge you less.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
When people used to ask me for suggestions for a
fun car to start with, I used to say, hey,
check out the Honda S two thousand convertible stick shift,
ton of fun. But those have been appreciating, So now
the answer I give people is find a well sorted
out Mazda Miyada, also with a convertible, a stick shift.
(05:28):
So much fun for so little money, and you could
go from there if you want.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
You know what, As you said, Mazda Miyada, I was
typing Mazda Miata, so we are completely tracking. You're so right.
It's it's such a fun car. Parts are readily available.
It's very predictable. You know, it's not gonna need a
lot of maintenance. You can get a manual and I'm
looking right now on Haggardy's price values. You can get
(05:55):
one and driving condition for eighty one hundred dollars.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
That's amazing. You get a nice one for ten twelve
thousand dollars. They're very reliable, they're very tossible. It's just
a beautifully balanced car. And they have some history. That's
the car that sort of brought back the resurgence in convertibles.
So the other question I wanted to ask is how
important is it to have a theme or a focus
(06:20):
for your interest or collection. And I ask that knowing
your husband specifically collects air cooled nine to elevens from
the sixties and seventies. Some people have a broad assortment,
like Jay Leno, But for the average person thinking about
adding a car or two, where.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Do they go? You know, it's nice to have a
theme or a focus because it creates efficiencies. For instance,
if you have a great mechanic who works on your Mercedes,
he'll be able to take on more Mercedes vehicles, Whereas
if you bring him something else a Miata, for instance,
there may not be as much of It's kind of
(07:00):
nice to have a specialist. You know, I've also got
a seventy seven C three Corvette. You know that car
goes to one guy, The rolls Royces go to another guy,
the Porsches go to another guy. So when you do
have a theme, it creates more efficiencies. You can send
them all to the same person to work on him.
You can swap parts. That's also a nice efficiency. Also,
(07:22):
you can get involved more deeply in the local culture
of whatever that make is, which is really fun because
when you start talking to other people who own similar makes,
or even if you're just going to say all British
cars or all you know Alfa Romeos for instance, you
kind of it's fun to get involved in a culture
(07:43):
that focuses on that thing. You talk to old timers
who have a wealth of knowledge who can give you tips,
You start to learn who the trusted mechanics are. It
just makes it easier. So I do really like the
idea of having a particular theme to it.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
So you men earlier the local car community or the
enthusiast community. How important is it to get involved with
your local bing MW or mead or Porsche club in
your neighborhood.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
It's important. I think it's a nice value added thing
to get involved with other like minded enthusiasts in your
era I think area. I think you know that is
some of those clubs can be really picky, of course,
I'm thinking of Rolls Royce people.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
You know.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
I sort of deliberately avoid some of the Rolls Royce
clubs in Los Angeles because those guys are They know
their stuff, which is great and not great. They I
don't drive mint conditioned cars, so you know, they certainly
are friendly. But they also can tell me everything that's
wrong with the car. So you know, I tried. It's useful,
(08:50):
it's useful. The broader answer is yes, of course, get involved.
The more people you have around you, Hey, at some
point you're going to break down, you need to phone
a friend, and triple A is great, but you know,
you just want people around you who are a network,
a support network. They'll lead you to again, the right mechanic,
the right place to find a part. Maybe you end
(09:10):
up getting a second car, and the same theme. They're
gonna they're going to know who wants to trade, who
wants who can you know, lead you down a path
deeper down the rabbit hole of whatever your drug of
choice is.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
And you mentioned garages, but there are other options for
storing a car. It's not just your own garage. What
are some of the other storage car clubs.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Car clubs can be a little bit expensive, but again
it's an investment in the hobby. There are many car clubs.
I just know Manhattan and LA because that's where I live.
But there are some great car clubs, of course, across
the south. In Arizona. Car clubs are great because again
you pay a price per month for them to store
your car. Often they will also maintain the car for
(09:54):
you in house, which is a great benefit. And again
you get exposed to similar people, like minded enthusiasts who
are keeping their cars there. It's all, at the end
of the day, about building this community of people, friends,
colleagues who enjoy what you enjoy.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
So you mentioned Haggarty and you mentioned bring a trailer.
What other resources should potential car collectors know about.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
The third one that comes to mind is K five hundred,
which is an index that Simon Kitson runs out of England.
Very good on really high end. Now this is like
an advanced move K five hundred. You need a membership
to subscribe, but again they have amazing data on values, trends, history,
(10:38):
They will have specific pedigrees and lineages of particular cars.
This is for the really high end stuff. But I
also look at K five hundred just as educational. They've
got they cover all of the auctions, they've got analysis,
they've got experts. Steve Wakefield is Simon Kitson's sort of
top analyst. Those guys are really great. They're out of England.
(11:00):
I recommend it ever.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Play with auto Tempest as a web sole now. So
it's just a giant relational database that lets you search
for any year or group of years for any marquee
and specific car and specific variants, and then you can
refine that search for all. Right, show me just the convertibles.
I want to see, just the cars with the sticks.
(11:21):
Just show me this color and it really allows you
to hone in and it pulls in stuff from tons
and tons of other celles Auto Tempests auto Tempests. So
last question, let's talk about documentation. How important is it
to make sure that you're not only getting clear title,
but seeing the service history of any vehicle you're thinking
(11:41):
about purchasing.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
I think it's important. Obviously, you want to make sure
you see the title with the seller's name on the title.
For some older cars and race cars, a bill of
sale is also used. Some cars don't have titles if
they're really old, so a bill of sale is used.
If you're buying a car from Europe, that can be
pretty complex to confirm. To transfer a bill of sale
(12:03):
into like an American style title, so you might want
to consult a professional about that. The more maintenance records
the better. Obviously, the longer ownership span that a car
has by a single owner generally the better. You don't
want a car that's been flipped, you know, every two years,
because generally that car there's a reason it's being flipped
(12:24):
and it may not have been maintained so lovingly as
someone who owned their special baby for twenty years. So
the more records you can have, the better.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
So to wrap up, there's a lot of common sense
involved in this. You don't need a ton of money.
You could start with just something very basic like a
Miata or an old sl but find the cars you
really like, do your homework, get to know your local
enthusiast club or that particular BMW or Porsche club, and
(12:56):
learn from the experts how to make a good decision
with a car that will bring you pleasure and maybe
a little money for as long as you own it.
I'm Barry Ridolts. You're listening to Bloomberg's at the Money
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Are you passionate about cars? Are you interested in collecting, rebuilding, racing,
or showing them? Have you ever considered having more cars
than you could reasonably drive in a given week or month?
Classic cars have been appreciating rapidly, and if my emails
or anything to go by, quite a few of you
(00:40):
have caught the fever. If you've ever wondered what it's
like to build and own a car collection, well then
I have the perfect guest for you. Hannah Elliott is
the supercar reviewer for Bloomberg. She's been covering cars, the
auto industry, and exploring car culture for over fifteen years.
She also drives in nineteen seventy five Rolls Royce Silver Shadow.
(01:05):
So Hannah, let's start broadly. How does a person who's
passionate about cars find themselves with a collection. Is this
an ill advised idea?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
That's a great question. I think the quick answer is no,
it's not an ill advised idea. If you like cars
and you want to have joy in your life, buy
an old car, buy a vintage car. It's fun. Now.
If you are hoping to that this is going to
bring you a lot of money along time down the road.
(01:40):
Probably not the best investment class, but there are a
lot of other values that you get from owning old
cars that aren't just about the money.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
So, since you brought up the money, what separates a
passion project from an asset class for the average car
guy or car gal? Is this a hobby or is
this an investment?
Speaker 3 (02:00):
For the average person, this is a hobby for sure.
There are a lot of expenses associated with owning old
cars on top of the initial purchase price that you know.
Of course, you've got to think about storage, You've got
to think about insurance, you've got to think about maintenance, repairs, gas. Obviously,
there are lots of things that are going to come up.
I think it's important to think of it as a relationship.
(02:21):
This is a give and take thing. There may be
a little bit of dysfunction. It's not just going to
be you know, right off into the sunset and you
pay upfront and you never pay again. For most people, yes,
it's a hobby. It costs money, but you have a
lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
So where does one begin. Do you go with the
models that excite you, or do you try and pick
those cars that are going to appreciate over time.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
For somebody just getting involved in owning old cars, I
would really strongly recommend you buy things that you genuinely like.
Buy things that genuinely excite you. Sometimes, if you're really lucky,
maybe those things will retain their value. Maybe they will
even gain value over years if you hold something for
a long time. But here's the thing. If you buy
(03:08):
something that you really like, even if it loses a
bit of value over the years, you still get the
value of owning something that you genuinely like. Whereas if
you buy something simply because you think it might gain value,
if it loses value, you're kind of out because you
didn't necessarily like it and you didn't make a lot
of money on it, So it's kind of a lose lose.
(03:28):
At least, if you buy something you like, you know
you will enjoy it, and if you make a little
money on top to even better.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Let's talk budgets. What do you need to become a
hobbyist and what are some of the costs that you
should budget going forward.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Okay, I would like to say there is a vintage
car for every price point. You can buy an old
Porsche now I'm not going to say an air cooled
nine to eleven. But you can buy an old Porsche
from a swap meet in Pomona, California for eight grand
ten grand. It's gonna need some work, but you know,
(04:05):
I buy old rolls choices. I have bought them for
ten grand. Now that maintenance costs a little bit more
on that, and we can talk about that, but I
just want to illustrate there is an entry price point
for every budget, of course, and I would say I
don't think there's necessarily a correlation between spending a lot
of money and having a lot more fun on a
(04:27):
car that's perfect, and spending less money and you're gonna
have less fun and the car's gonna need a lot
of work. There's not necessarily a correlation. You can spend
a lot of money on something and it's not great
to drive and it requires a lot more maintenance. Obviously,
registering a car is a one time thing. Insuring a car,
there are many vintage cars insurers like Haggerty for instance,
(04:49):
that have pretty great insurance policies, and you can even
get less expensive insurance policies on classics if you don't
because you don't drive them as much because they're not
daily drivers. So it's worth going with a insurance provider
that specializes in classic cars that will charge you less.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
When people used to ask me for suggestions for a
fun car to start with, I used to say, hey,
check out the Honda S two thousand convertible stick shift,
ton of fun. But those have been appreciating, So now
the answer I give people is find a well sorted
out Mazda Miyada, also with a convertible, a stick shift.
(05:28):
So much fun for so little money, and you could
go from there if you want.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
You know what, As you said, Mazda Miyada, I was
typing Mazda Miata, so we are completely tracking. You're so right.
It's it's such a fun car. Parts are readily available.
It's very predictable. You know, it's not gonna need a
lot of maintenance. You can get a manual and I'm
looking right now on Haggardy's price values. You can get
(05:55):
one and driving condition for eighty one hundred dollars.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
That's amazing. You get a nice one for ten twelve
thousand dollars. They're very reliable, they're very tossible. It's just
a beautifully balanced car. And they have some history. That's
the car that sort of brought back the resurgence in convertibles.
So the other question I wanted to ask is how
important is it to have a theme or a focus
(06:20):
for your interest or collection. And I ask that knowing
your husband specifically collects air cooled nine to elevens from
the sixties and seventies. Some people have a broad assortment,
like Jay Leno, But for the average person thinking about
adding a car or two, where.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Do they go? You know, it's nice to have a
theme or a focus because it creates efficiencies. For instance,
if you have a great mechanic who works on your Mercedes,
he'll be able to take on more Mercedes vehicles, Whereas
if you bring him something else a Miata, for instance,
there may not be as much of It's kind of
(07:00):
nice to have a specialist. You know, I've also got
a seventy seven C three Corvette. You know that car
goes to one guy, The rolls Royces go to another guy,
the Porsches go to another guy. So when you do
have a theme, it creates more efficiencies. You can send
them all to the same person to work on him.
You can swap parts. That's also a nice efficiency. Also,
(07:22):
you can get involved more deeply in the local culture
of whatever that make is, which is really fun because
when you start talking to other people who own similar makes,
or even if you're just going to say all British
cars or all you know Alfa Romeos for instance, you
kind of it's fun to get involved in a culture
(07:43):
that focuses on that thing. You talk to old timers
who have a wealth of knowledge who can give you tips,
You start to learn who the trusted mechanics are. It
just makes it easier. So I do really like the
idea of having a particular theme to it.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
So you men earlier the local car community or the
enthusiast community. How important is it to get involved with
your local bing MW or mead or Porsche club in
your neighborhood.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
It's important. I think it's a nice value added thing
to get involved with other like minded enthusiasts in your
era I think area. I think you know that is
some of those clubs can be really picky, of course,
I'm thinking of Rolls Royce people.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
You know.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
I sort of deliberately avoid some of the Rolls Royce
clubs in Los Angeles because those guys are They know
their stuff, which is great and not great. They I
don't drive mint conditioned cars, so you know, they certainly
are friendly. But they also can tell me everything that's
wrong with the car. So you know, I tried. It's useful,
(08:50):
it's useful. The broader answer is yes, of course, get involved.
The more people you have around you, Hey, at some
point you're going to break down, you need to phone
a friend, and triple A is great, but you know,
you just want people around you who are a network,
a support network. They'll lead you to again, the right mechanic,
the right place to find a part. Maybe you end
(09:10):
up getting a second car, and the same theme. They're
gonna they're going to know who wants to trade, who
wants who can you know, lead you down a path
deeper down the rabbit hole of whatever your drug of
choice is.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
And you mentioned garages, but there are other options for
storing a car. It's not just your own garage. What
are some of the other storage car clubs.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Car clubs can be a little bit expensive, but again
it's an investment in the hobby. There are many car clubs.
I just know Manhattan and LA because that's where I live.
But there are some great car clubs, of course, across
the south. In Arizona. Car clubs are great because again
you pay a price per month for them to store
your car. Often they will also maintain the car for
(09:54):
you in house, which is a great benefit. And again
you get exposed to similar people, like minded enthusiasts who
are keeping their cars there. It's all, at the end
of the day, about building this community of people, friends,
colleagues who enjoy what you enjoy.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
So you mentioned Haggarty and you mentioned bring a trailer.
What other resources should potential car collectors know about.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
The third one that comes to mind is K five hundred,
which is an index that Simon Kitson runs out of England.
Very good on really high end. Now this is like
an advanced move K five hundred. You need a membership
to subscribe, but again they have amazing data on values, trends, history,
(10:38):
They will have specific pedigrees and lineages of particular cars.
This is for the really high end stuff. But I
also look at K five hundred just as educational. They've
got they cover all of the auctions, they've got analysis,
they've got experts. Steve Wakefield is Simon Kitson's sort of
top analyst. Those guys are really great. They're out of England.
(11:00):
I recommend it ever.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Play with auto Tempest as a web sole now. So
it's just a giant relational database that lets you search
for any year or group of years for any marquee
and specific car and specific variants, and then you can
refine that search for all. Right, show me just the convertibles.
I want to see, just the cars with the sticks.
(11:21):
Just show me this color and it really allows you
to hone in and it pulls in stuff from tons
and tons of other celles Auto Tempests auto Tempests. So
last question, let's talk about documentation. How important is it
to make sure that you're not only getting clear title,
but seeing the service history of any vehicle you're thinking
(11:41):
about purchasing.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
I think it's important. Obviously, you want to make sure
you see the title with the seller's name on the title.
For some older cars and race cars, a bill of
sale is also used. Some cars don't have titles if
they're really old, so a bill of sale is used.
If you're buying a car from Europe, that can be
pretty complex to confirm. To transfer a bill of sale
(12:03):
into like an American style title, so you might want
to consult a professional about that. The more maintenance records
the better. Obviously, the longer ownership span that a car
has by a single owner generally the better. You don't
want a car that's been flipped, you know, every two years,
because generally that car there's a reason it's being flipped
(12:24):
and it may not have been maintained so lovingly as
someone who owned their special baby for twenty years. So
the more records you can have, the better.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
So to wrap up, there's a lot of common sense
involved in this. You don't need a ton of money.
You could start with just something very basic like a
Miata or an old sl but find the cars you
really like, do your homework, get to know your local
enthusiast club or that particular BMW or Porsche club, and
(12:56):
learn from the experts how to make a good decision
with a car that will bring you pleasure and maybe
a little money for as long as you own it.
I'm Barry Ridolts. You're listening to Bloomberg's at the Money
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.