Ever wondered what the car buyer's greatest enemy is? It could be built in obsolescence, or those sheep skinned but shark like car dealers and there also is as good case for citing rip off UK car prices. However, by far the biggest threat facing the innocent car buyer is depreciation. Drive most cars out of the showroom and it has pretty much lost half its value. And the more expensive the vehicle is, the worse it gets. European exotica that once cost telephone numbers a few years can now be bought for a much friendlier four or five digit figure. Best of all, that vehicle will barely depreciate any further because it is rare, hand built and highly sought after. Yes this is the car enthusiast’s Holy Grail. Buy a great car, enjoy it and can then sell it on without financial hardship, but there is a catch; these cars are left-hand drive (1 HD). "I usually put it this way when a potential customer says they can't cope with a left hand drive car," says Martin Pearse who runs MOP Motorsport. "If I were to put a briefcase with £15,000 in the left hand seat, where would you rather sit?" Few buyers hesitate when the difference between some right and left-hand drive models is a whopping £30,000. It says LHD European Depreciation Proof Supercars' on Pearse's business card and that's exactly what they are, models that were originally imported in tiny numbers, or not at all, or just contemporary iconic sports cars that cost a fortune when the steering is on the right hand side. So what exactly are these cars?

"Fundamentally these are cars that I like to drive and own. That restricts me what I offer, although I will source particular cars if a customer requests it. But if I like the cars that ensures every single customer and I have more than just a car sale in common." Clearly Pearse is not your average car dealer, he's much more sophisticated an urbane than that. An enthusiast first, this 55 year old only started importing five years ago after finding that the cars he really loved could be bought for less and in pristine condition in Germany. The Germans you see, really know how to look after their cars which may have six figure kilometre readings but still manage to look showroom fresh.

"My personal favourites are Alpina BMWs," says Pearse. This company in Buchloe in Southern Bavaria, take BMWs and rebuild them into something even better and faster." His favourite is the Alpina 810 Bi Turbo and he has a silver one parked outside the office. Apart from some distinctive spoked alloys arid Alpina badging there is nothing to suggest that this is anything more than a normal BMW 5 series. The difference is that this turbo charged model would out accelerate a Ferrari and power on to a top speed of 185mph and is comfortably the world's fastest saloon. It must also be the world's best value saloon at just £1 2,95O for a sprightly 8-year-old. Nationally specialist oar dealers have riot been slow to see the appeal of BMW's hand built MS and there are lots of good, bad and Indifferent examples in the nation's classified ads. Pearse had a pristine bright red Evolution example for sale at £7,995, but prefers Alpina’s version called the M3 B6 3.5, which would cost around £14,000. One of the best value BMW buys is the 850 coupe' which was expensive (at £50K plus when new), heavy, slow and largely ignored by right hand drive buyers. However at £10,000 in left-hand drive form it makes a fabulous alternative to a Mercedes SL, or the still pricey Jaguar XK8.

You can't shop for left-hand drive cars in Germany without noticing what good value Porsches are. A silver 1995 911 Bi Turbo 4S sits menacingly outside the MCP office and is arguably the ultimate 911. It will accelerate to 100 mph in just 9 seconds, it has had just one owner and has covered 45,000 miles and the asking price is £39,950. But if the steering wheel was on the other side you could add some £25K to that figure. Pearse also seeks out the companies who reworked Porsches in the same way that Alpina transform BMWs. A distinctive 'flat nose' Kremer Porsche Turbo from 1979 looks outrageous and costs £16,995. Mercedes also went down the high performance special route with the 190 in Evolution II tune which cost £56,000 in 1991. Pearse has two of these superbly built models from £19,999.

Apart from the BMWs Pearse's best seller is a humble Vauxhall Carlton. Well that's not quite right, because it was actually the Lotus Carlton an incredible super saloon transformed by Lotus in something that would frighten Alpina BMWs getting to 100mph in 9 seconds. Except that General Motors also insisted on a German version that was badged as the Lotus Omega. Obviously being left-hand drive that would be cheaper, some £10,000 cheaper allowing Pearse to sell for £13.995.

All this begs the question of course as to why we simply couldn't hop on an Easy Jet flight to Munich on Friday night and drive home after the weekend with a LHD depreciation car? Of course we can, but it is more complicated than that. Just as cars in the UK can be write offs, clocked and stolen it is the same in Europe. There are regions you don't buy from and registration details to sort out unless you want your new car confiscated. There is also the small matter that German registration offices shut early for the weekend so you won't be home that soon. Better to deal with a bloke who keeps the detailed German registration documents and allows you to talk to the original owner. Many importers usually register the car in the UK and lose the original documentation MCP cars are serviced, look brand now and cost 30% - 50% less than right hand drive. That's the way to invest in a depreciation proof car.