Missed opportunity or dodged a bullet?

Between 2010 to 2012 I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, with money in my pocket to snap up some classic bargains.

A rusty Ferrari 308 for 17k, a smart Jaguar XJ-S 5.3 V12 coupe that had sat for two years at a grand on the nose, and a tidy Porsche 928S that wouldn’t start for 1200 quid. All three cars were well known to me, I had driven them and I knew what was wrong with them.

All three are fairly collectable and worth much more now.

Problem is, I didn’t buy them. I passed the possibly lucrative opportunities on for no good reason other than being sensible, and perhaps not understanding how much of a passion I actually have for cars. I was scared. How would I maintain them? Where would I store them? The tax, insurance, and besides, I already had a couple of old BMW’s. What if they were all deeper money pits than expected?

I am sure I am not the only one who has turned down opportunities like these.

Am I looking back through rose tinted glasses, casting aside all costs and hard work that would have come with the cars? Or was I simply too scared and missed out?

Why don’t we buy a car when we have the money?