Ferret - investment and costs

[brh]

I am now 98% decided that I will buy a Ferret (especially after the rave reviews I have had to previous posts).

 

Is owning a Ferret an investment i.e. will they hold their price in years to come - will I get back a good % of what I pay assuming condition the same as when I buy? (this could be a persuasion factor for SWMBO)

 

Buying a Ferret is one thing but what about the annual upkeep/maintenance costs of the vehicle.

 

Assuming a reasonable roadworthy purchase and assuming no major catastrophie what would a good guestimate of annual costs be?

 

I already see that insurance costs will be around £100 for a basic policy. Would I need to seriously consider a recovery option as well?

 

Thanks again

 

Brian

[MiketheBike]

Brian,

 

since I started contemplating buying one a few years ago, they appear to have steadily increased in value, although I am not looking at it as an investment I am pretty sure i will get my money back plus more if i ever sell.

 

I have just joined AA roadside recovery, as the Ferret is less than 3.5 tons they will cover you on a standard policy.

I will still carry a full compliment of spares, as they will most likley not carry the ferret specific stuff (like points, rotor arm etc). But its not like "the black box blew up" in a modern car....its going to be something kinda obvious that you can fix, or get trailored.

I guess there are going to be some things where AA roadside assistance might help, just from another pair of hands point of view...like changing the wheel :-) or fan belt, as that looks like a mare!

 

Mick

[sirhc]

Brian,

 

Ferrets have been steady at around £5000 for the past 4/5 years or so. The price of restoration projects has gone up slightly as the number has gone right down. People are now restoring Ferrets in far worse condition than most of the vehicles broken up for spares in the 90s. If you buy a good one you almost certainly wont lose money, there are more potential buyers than vehicles and the hobby keeps growing. Military vehicles are not like cars. They are mostly only produced in very small quantities and relativley few make it into preservation. The value tends to go up rather than come down, unlike cars.

 

Running costs will depend entirely on how much and how far you drive it. Your biggest expenses will be petrol, oil and time. Tyres are a problem at the moment, but I'm investigating a way round that. I'm not using original tyres and they're doing a great job of eating up the miles. Of course if you hardly drive it you won't end up spending money on it, but they do leak oil and they do need topping up before going very far. Providing you look after it you shouldn't experience many major failures, and if you do the parts are out there. You can get engines, gearboxes and wheel stations if you manage to kill one.

 

It would be worth having a recovery option, especially when you first get a vehicle. I've never had breakdown insurance on mine, but I know it inside out and have confidence in it. I would reccomend a new owner who didn't know Ferrets and had an unproven vehicle to sign up to the roadsure recovery scheme. Quite a lot of people break down first time out with a new vehicle!

 

Hope this helps,

 

Chris