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do Aster locomotives still hold in value overtime?

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#21 ·
GNSteamer said:
I totally agree, Aster locomotives should only be purchased as an investment in fun and entertainment. On a different note, any air/oil cooled Porsche 356/911 have seen obscene increases in value in the last couple of years!!
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Forget Porsches, have you seen what Ferrari 250 GTO's have done? More than doubled in a few years. The last GTO to sell went for over $50 million. Imagine if you'd been the lucky ******* to buy one back in 1966 when it was a tired old racecar no one wanted.
 
#23 ·
You guys are going at this all wrong. The Schools sold in Vancouver, BC in 1975 for $450 to $500, I have seen sales posters. Now they sell for around $1,500 to $2,000. I think it's great value when you consider that you can sell it for more after playing with it for 39 years.
 
#24 ·
Dan Pantages said:
You guys are going at this all wrong. The Schools sold in Vancouver, BC in 1975 for $450 to $500, I have seen sales posters. Now they sell for around $1,500 to $2,000. I think it's great value when you consider that you can sell it for more after playing with it for 39 years.
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I like Dan's line of thought. As to investments: What can make this, “what’s it worth?” thing somewhat painful… Let’s say you invested that $750 in the S&P 500 Index via and Index Mutual Fund, the total return, with Div. and Int. reinvested, would be worth about $14,903.

Then came the crash of 2008.... most lost about 50% or more of their investments (depending on the portfolio) but we still had our trains!
 
#26 ·
Yeah, but even if you lost 50% of your investment you'd still have 10 times the original investment.

Still... I am glad I have my Aster engines and when I am dead and gone the kids can find out how much they are worth (but I need to buy another one so the 3 kids won't fight over the 2 engines!)
 
#27 ·
Semper Vaporo said:
Yeah, but even if you lost 50% of your investment you'd still have 10 times the original investment.
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Yes and no..depends on one's situation. If you were retired at that time with no other income and you are counting on a return of investment to meet the day to day obligations then life just got very uncomfortable (as the base of ones remaining funds slowing disappear over the next few years withdrawals). In desperation one might consider selling the Schools and make 300% on your original investment (that number could make one feel better).
 
#28 ·
Guys,
I think some of us tried to make this easy on Nate and many of you. I'm not sure what Nate is going to do after this discussion. Maybe he'll switch to rare German and Italian cars.....:) Hopefully, he'll focus on the important piece--not the cloudy investment potential but the simple and clear enjoyment of owning a live steam engine.

Perhaps we can all recommend to Nate make an engine selection based on that....everything beyond that is gravy...

Sam
 
Discussion starter · #29 ·
Hi Sam and All,

Thank you everyone for your response…very much appreciated your advices and opinion. I too agree with most of the comments. Fundamentally speaking, 90% of things that we purchase will depreciate overtime. And Aster locomotives won’t be the exception but majority of them do hold value really well comparing to other toys.

I recently purchased the RTR 241P, and I know I will never get that money back if I decided to sell it someday. But as of this moment, was it worth the money…sure it was!!! Do I enjoy it..yes I do!!!

I received 3 locomotives this past week. It was **** a lot of unpacking, checking, and cleaning. I’ll try to snap some photo this weekend and share with everyone.
 
#30 ·
Charles said:
I like Dan's line of thought. As to investments: What can make this, “what’s it worth?” thing somewhat painful… Let’s say you invested that $750 in the S&P 500 Index via and Index Mutual Fund, the total return, with Div. and Int. reinvested, would be worth about $14,903.

Then came the crash of 2008.... most lost about 50% or more of their investments (depending on the portfolio) but we still had our trains!
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If you mean we had our trains to provide comfort during the 2008-09 market crash I agree. As well as through 1987 and 2000 market turmoil.

As to the $14,903, I meant if you invested $750 in 1975 and left it untouched, through market ups and downs from 1975 to 2014 $750 would have grown to $14,903.

Still you are right trains are there for you in good times and bad, through thick and thin.
 
#34 ·
Just registered here, but I have been lurking for quite some time.

I have enjoyed reading this thread thus far and the opinions offered by the sage folks among you are consistent with my own expectations - and limited experience.

I have an Aster Henschel HF110c model; (in other words I own a Frank S,) an Aster Schools and most recently I just finished building a BR(WR) Castle.

If I were to sell the Frank S or the Schools I am fairly certain I'd get what I paid for them. Which means, as has already been discussed, I'd lose money, but not too much.

The significant intangible is the pleasure we experience during the period of ownership. One may look at the difference between time-adjusted cost at time of purchase and the realized selling price adjusted for time, down the road, as the cost of renting the loco during the period of ownership and in that case, the monthly or annual rental premium may be said to be quite low. ;)

I look at Ebay daily; (I've seen Applegeekz list items there,) and from what I can determine, any Aster purchased recently will have to be sold at a loss - perhaps a small loss - if one were to sell it shortly after acquiring it.

There was a fellow in Canada who listed several Asters all at once and he was looking to get his purchase price back. I believe he listed for three or more weeks and none of his listings resulted in a sale. Recently, someone offered a factory-built Castle for the price of a kit-built Castle and he or she did not sell it. The Castle listing was flawed and this probably did not help.

On the other hand, a dealer in the Philadelphia area listed a K4 for about $5,500.00 obo and I believe he sold it for over $5K. He had to re-list it three times to sell it. I was, at one time, the high bidder, but I had not met the reserve. Was $5+K a good price for a K-4? Was it a real money-maker?

So far, the only folks who have insisted to me that Asters are good investments are the folks who were trying to sell me one. ;)

Cheers,

Joe
 
#35 ·
Joe
Welcome..
"down the road, as the cost of renting the loco during the period of ownership and in that case, the monthly or annual rental premium may be said to be quite low. ;)"

That perspective puts all things in good order! None of really own anything just keepers for the next person the items we hold so dear.
 
#36 · (Edited)
Me with too much data, always data.

12-31-2010
MLS Live Steam Forum;
http://forums.mylargescale.com/18-live-steam/16866-accucraft-h-8-alligheny-live-steam.html

JEFF RUNGE said:
FWIW the kit price on the Aster H8 was $17,650. and 21,590 factory built, per a "SouthernSteam Trains" price sheet I have. I don't know what people actually paid for them, but I doubt you can buy one for that today. like most Asters they have held their value pretty well when kept is good order.
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5-16-2014
Sunset Valley Railroad
http://www.sunsetvalleyrailroad.com/used.html

Locos for Sale
Aster Allegheny kit. This is a rare and beautiful engine, only 97 made worldwide, and there are only a couple of kits left. It can be built to order if you desire. (PN) $17,900


The effects of inflation; Twelve years 2002 to 2014;
2002; $17,650 Kit / $21,590 RTR.
2014; $23,260 Kit / $28,451 RTR.

Now what would be the reverse? If the Allegheny costs $17,650 today what would it have cost in 2002? $13,465. It's called the Discounted Cash Value.

Calculating Discounted Cash Value;
The CPI for 2002 = 179.9
The CPI for 2014 = 235.8*
Use the following formula to compute the calculation:
2002 Price = 2014 Price x (2002 CPI / 2014 CPI*)
$13,465 = $17,650 * ( 179.9 / 235.8)

* BLS Estimate
 
#37 ·
Ok I made the joking Ferrari comment, so I'll try to be a bit more serious. I will say that when it comes to entertainment expenses, trains are a fantastic investment. Many things we spend large amounts of $ on are over in a matter of hours, days, or weeks (although can admittedly provide years of memories), whereas I'm still running trains that I was given 25 years ago. The LGB LG&B Mogul I spent $250 on 15 years ago is still being run on a regular basis, and I see no reason not to expect that to continue for a very long time. $250 being spent on something that provides decades upon decades of entertainment value is not a bad "investment" at all, even if you won't see an actual inflation adjusted return on your $.
 
#38 · (Edited)
Austion of fine locos ended

Just looked at some prices of what those great engines sold for. Big Boy 12,500.00 with bp
Allegehny 11500.00 with bp
Aster Shay 2500.00
Looks like there were some great buys on the site.
Total of all his goodies came to a little ove 900,000.00 dollars

Challenger went for less than 7000.00 ouch
 
#40 ·
My cousin told me he is happy to get a staff discount because he puts $200 over the bar at the local each week.
It makes me feel a lot better about my steamaholic habit because my drain cocks are not always leaking.

Andrew
 
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