What Heavily Depreciated V12 Are You Convinced Couldn't Actually Be That Bad If You Bought One?

If you're into cars, you're into V12 engines. That's just the way this whole thing works. They sound incredible, make massive amounts of power and, sadly, barely exist anymore. In a world where gas is expensive and regulators expect automakers to hit minimum emissions requirements, the V12 just isn't an engine you're going to see in a regular sports car. Plus, while they aren't exactly known for being the most reliable engines on the planet, even when they're working perfectly, they're also expensive to keep on the road, since more cylinders means more wear items to replace.

Because they're so expensive and thirsty, V12s are also usually only offered on incredibly expensive cars. But the good news is, those are also the kinds of cars that depreciate the fastest. So cars that originally cost $300,000 when new can easily go for $30,000 a decade later. You still have to deal with maintenance and repairs on a car built for people who could afford the original prices, which means you may not be able to afford to own something just because you can afford to buy it, and smart folks stay away from cars they can't afford to keep on the road. 

The fact that it's generally a bad idea to buy a heavily depreciated 12-cylinder vehicle doesn't mean it isn't still a tempting idea, though. And while other people may end up bankrupt and crying on the side of the road if they bought one, who's to say that would happen to you? Maybe you could be the one lucky person who buys one and actually has a good experience, at least for a year or two. 

Sure, it's a bad idea for other people, but I bet you could handle it, especially if you did some of the work yourself. I mean, 12 new spark plugs will definitely cost more than six spark plugs, but you can change spark plugs, right? 

I'm also sure we all have at least one 12-cylinder car we're convinced couldn't be that bad. The question is, which car is that for you? And for the purposes of this question, I'm also going to allow W12s, since they may not technically be V12s, but they do have 12 cylinders. Let us know down in the comments so we can all make terrible decisions together. Or at least do our best to talk each other into making a bad decision. We're built different, and surely, if anyone could get away with owning a 12-cylinder car on the cheap, it's one of us Jalops, right?