Rapid Depreciation of Exclusive Cars
If you buy an expensive exotic car that is not part of a limited series, the probability that it will lose value immediately after hitting the road is very high.
Owners of such cars often face rapid depreciation, but even despite this, the first owner of this Aston Martin DB12 was probably shocked by how quickly their investment depreciated after only 2,700 miles of driving.
Initial Cost and Additional Options
This particular DB12 was ordered new through the Aston Martin Naples dealer in Florida with a retail price of $328,700. To this already substantial amount, additional options worth over $80,000 were added.
Among them were a $10,000 Bowers & Wilkins audio system, $14,500 carbon-ceramic brake discs, $11,900 Neutron White paint, and a lower carbon fiber kit that costs an impressive $13,000.
As we have seen many times, the cost of expensive additional options rarely improves the resale value of such cars.
Auction Results
After being recently listed for sale on Bring a Trailer auction, the car was sold for only $212,000, which is less than the base MSRP of the DB12 without additional options at $245,000.
In one year, it lost $116,700 in value, which is almost enough to buy a new BMW M5, whose MSRP is just under $122,000.
As always, someone’s loss becomes another’s fortune, and in this case, the buyer got an almost new Aston Martin with a significant discount—over 35% off the original price.
Technical Specifications and Equipment
Although the DB12 does not hold its value very well, it cannot be denied that it is a beautiful car. Equipped with a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine producing 671 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque, it is also quite fast, capable of accelerating to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and reaching a top speed of 202 mph.
The interior features black semi-aniline leather with 12-way power-adjustable seats and dark aluminum trim. There is also a heated steering wheel, a 10-inch digital instrument cluster, and a 10-inch infotainment display.
Luxury Grand Tourers are rarely better than an Aston Martin with a V8 engine. It’s just a pity that for the first owners, they do not hold their value as well as they could.
This case illustrates a common trend in the exclusive car market, where even the newest models can lose a significant portion of their value in the first years of operation. For potential buyers of such cars, this can be an important factor when deciding whether to purchase a new or used model, especially considering the possibility of getting an almost new car with a significant discount.