Walk around the glitzy venue of any high-end car auction or browse the latest online auction sites and it’s often the cars with delivery mileage that draw the crowds and clicks. Collectors will peer through the glass at the unmarked gearknob, the untouched pedals still wrapped with protective plastic film, and may even get a whiff of the interior still fragrant with that factory-fresh aroma, and ponder whether the value of the car will climb like the V12 singing at full throttle.

You wouldn’t have to travel too far back to reach a time when a car with delivery mileage would only exist because it had failed to find a buyer, and the dealer needed to get shot of the stock at all costs. Today, delivery-mileage, or very low-mileage cars are seen as investments that are traded like other assets, an alternative to stocks and shares, gold, Bitcoin, artwork or property.

The temptation is to assume that these cars must always command a premium price in years to come. To a large degree that has been borne out in recent sales, where delivery-mileage Ferraris, Porsches and Lamborghinis have crossed the block at figures far beyond their better-used counterparts.

For example, the world’s only brown-on-brown McLaren F1, sold for a stunning $20,465,000 (£14,825,000) at auction in 2021. Not bad, when you consider McLaren had trouble selling them new, as the £540,000 asking price (£1.1 million in today’s money) smarted a little during a global recession, in 1995. Sales fell far short of McLaren’s target of 300 cars – only 64 standard production road cars found homes.

A rung or two further down the food chain, a 2011 Ferrari SA Aperta, one of 80 made, went to auction in 2023 with close-to-delivery mileage (130 miles). When new, that car cost £360,000 in the UK – £503,000 adjusted for inflation in 2023. Care to guess what it sold for at the Villa Erba sale? Nope, higher… It fetched  £1,317,586. The seller made a tidy profit of nearly £815,000.

And it’s not just the obvious brands that are attracting long-sighted speculators. In July, the sale of an apparently humble Honda (at least, humble to the uninitiated) set chat rooms and social media ablaze. The car was a 2001 Acura Integra Type-R. It was as yellow as a jar of Colman’s English mustard but that wasn’t what got bidders excited: the odometer had a mere 4800 miles on it.

When new, the high-revving coupe cost $24,450. Adjusted for inflation, that’s equivalent to $44,750. Yet it sold for $211,704, via Bring A Trailer.

Over in the UK, there have been plenty of eyebrow-raising sales of 'modern-classics'. A Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 with 5192 miles sold for £590,000, in 2023. That’s a tidy chunk of change above its 1987 list price of £19,950. Even the auctioneers, Iconic, didn’t think it would get anywhere near that figure, setting the estimate at £150,000 to £180,000.

So, for anyone looking to use a car as an investment device, it appears that buying a low-mileage rarity is a no-brainer. But as ever in the collector car world, things are not quite that simple. 

There are clear advantages to buying or preserving a car with extraordinarily low mileage, yet there are also hidden costs and compromises. Unless you have won the lottery – or you’re looking for an imaginative way to launder money – it can be wise to start small. A relatively affordable ‘modern classic’ can serve as a proving ground before you take the plunge on a multi-million-pound gamble.

The allure of low mileage

The appeal of a car with little use is easy to understand. Minimal wear on seats, steering wheel and trim means the interior looks (and maybe even smells) like new. Mechanical components may seem fatigue-free, and the original paintwork hasn’t been battered by tens of thousands of miles of dead bugs and stone chips. For the investment-minded, there is also the reassurance of rarity. When auction catalogues make much of a car showing just a handful of miles from new, buyers pay attention.

Market evidence suggests this does translate into real money. Hagerty’s Price Guide, The Classic Valuer and the results pages of major auction houses all show premiums achieved by ultra-low-mileage examples. In the right circumstances, they can far exceed the values of identical models with more use.

Last year, Hagerty – the best-known specialist car insurer in America – charted the biggest risers of 2024. In just a single year, on average, the Audi Sport Quattro clawed up 30 per cent in value, the little old Saab 99 rose 89 per cent (helped in part by strong results for the 99 Turbo), and everyone’s favourite hot hatch, Volkswagen’s Golf GTI MkII, rose 40 per cent. And those are just the averages of all cars sold; if you had a delivery-mileage example ready for sale, the chances are it would be a spectacular result if enough buyers came forward to compete.

The risks of low-mileage cars

Yet there is a less glamorous side to cars that have sat idle for years. Seals, gaskets and hoses harden if they are not exercised; brake components seize, fuel goes stale, tyres flat-spot. A car with delivery mileage may look pristine, but it can also hide expensive recommissioning needs. Buyers are increasingly wary of these pitfalls, and without careful documentation the supposed advantage of low mileage can unravel.

Even when the condition is beyond reproach, low-mileage cars raise philosophical questions. Are you truly a car enthusiast? Because if you are, are you genuinely comfortable treating a car as an asset rather than a machine to be enjoyed? For some, the joy lies in driving ­– joining events, sharing the road with like-minded enthusiasts. Others relish the sense of preservation, the pride in owning something as close to new as possible.

Neither view is wrong, but they are fundamentally different approaches to ownership.

Can you resist the urge?

One of the greatest challenges for an owner is resisting the temptation to drive. Buying a delivery-mileage supercar, locking it away and never experiencing it on the road demands iron discipline.

A more pragmatic path is to find a balance: enough use to enjoy the car, not so much that it loses its edge in the marketplace. Many in the trade suggest that somewhere between 5000 and 10,000 miles is a sweet spot.The car retains the aura of originality, but the owner has created memories behind the wheel. Push beyond that and the car risks blending into the crowd; stay beneath it and you may feel you’ve deprived yourself of the experience you bought it for in the first place.

Guidance from specialists

Another safeguard is expert advice. Long-established marque specialists understand their market better than anyone and can advise which cars truly benefit from ultra-low mileage. Most even manage purchases and storage on behalf of clients. This comes at a cost, of course, and the terms must be clearly set out from the start. And, you should always seek a second opinion. But for those contemplating serious investment, such guidance can be invaluable.

Equally important is a maintenance plan shaped by age rather than miles. A reputable specialist will recommend servicing, fluid changes and inspections at calendar intervals even if the car has barely turned a wheel. To a future buyer, a file of invoices showing this commitment is far more reassuring than an untouched service book.

Storage, insurance and the hidden costs

Low-mileage ownership is as much about where the car spend sits time as how it is used. The environment matters. Without climate-controlled storage, careful monitoring and routine attention, the investment is at risk. Facilities like Racing Green Car Storage exist to provide exactly that: protection from sunlight, humidity, dust and vermin, with scheduled maintenance to keep cars healthy even in hibernation.

Insurance is another consideration. If you never intend to drive the car on the road, notifying your insurer can significantly reduce the premium by eliminating road-risk cover. Conversely, if you plan occasional outings, the policy needs to reflect limited mileage while still offering full protection. The value of the vehicle will need to be agreed, and should be evaluated on an ongoing annual or even six-monthly basis, depending on what you are seeing play out in the market place. Factoring these elements in alongside servicing and storage costs is essential when calculating whether the numbers add up.

Reading the market

Spotting the moment when a future-classic begins to appreciate takes vigilance. Monitoring auction results, trade listings and price guides is key. Websites like The Classic Valuer track market trends, while Hagerty provides insight into which models have passed through the depreciation curve and started to climb. The specialist Simon Kidston offers membership to K500, a market-watcher’s toolkit for collectors of the world’s most exclusive cars. The sooner you can identify that tipping point, the better placed you’ll be to buy well.

Yet markets can be fickle. What seems certain today may not be tomorrow. A car bought purely for its low mileage premium could stagnate in value if tastes change – perhaps because of generational shifts in taste – or other examples like your car come to market. That’s why enthusiasts are often urged to choose cars they genuinely like. If appreciation comes, it is a bonus; if it doesn’t, at least they have owned something they enjoyed.

Head over heart

In the end, low mileage is both a blessing and a burden. It preserves originality, often elevates value and creates that spine-tingling sense of rarity. But if not managed correctly with uncompromising care and discipline, it can also conceal costly issues.

And, perhaps most significantly, it denies the owner the thrill of driving.

The decision depends on your outlook. If you are drawn to the financial security and potential gains, then work with specialists, commit to proper storage and be prepared for ongoing costs. If you are in it for the love of driving, perhaps aim for that 5,000- to 10,000-mile sweet spot, where you can savour the experience without erasing the car’s collector appeal.

For many, the wisest path lies somewhere between the extremes. Respect the market, but remember the joy. After all, a car that never turns a wheel is more of a museum piece than something to brighten your day. And when all is said and done, it is the balance of those two approaches that makes the collector car world so endlessly fascinating.