Jay Leno was offered $20M for his McLaren F1 but he declined with a reason that all car lovers will respect

Jay Leno owns a McLaren F1 he bought for you can now safely call a bargain price but he doesn’t want to sell it.

He initially ‘only’ paid $800,000 for it and now, years later, it’s worth $20 million.

Still, Jay Leno is adamant he won’t sell it.

And the reason will make you smile.

Leno probably owns at least one car from nearly every brand in the world, with one exception

Speaking on the Road to Success Podcast, Jay Leno explained that his car obsession came from working on Rolls-Royce services when he was young.

Leno started collecting cars a long time ago, but obviously working as a late-night television host gave him the opportunity to up the ante.

A while back, he bought a McLaren F1 for $800,000 – a bargain price at the time – and since then, he’s acquired over 200+ cars, including a one-off supercar from General Motors, limited-editione Fords, a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL, and a 1934 Duesenberg Walker Coupe, and even a Batman Tumbler.

Leno’s car collection features vehicles from nearly every automaker out there, but with one exception: Ferrari.

Leno has often gone to record to explain that he doesn’t own a Ferrari, and likely won’t buy one in the future.

This has nothing to do with the cars, apparently, but he doesn’t like dealing with the company.

The reason why Jay Leno refused to sell his McLaren F1

The McLaren F1 is one of the most coveted supercars in the world.

Its value has gone up dramatically but, clearly, collectors still believe the sky’s the limit, and that’s why they’re willing to fork out seven or even eight figures to buy one.

Leno’s 1994 F1, bought for $800,000, is now worth around $20 million.

A while back, somebody actually made him that offer, but he said ‘no, thank you’.

In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Jay Leno’s Garage, Leno explained why.

“I bought it because it was a great engineering piece. I didn’t buy it as an investment,” he explained.

“When you buy things as investments, I think you usually get burned. If you buy things because you love them, then if they go down in value, you still love them. To buy a car like this and just look at it… it’s like buying a great painting, putting a cloth over it, and hoping the guy next door will buy it for more money. It doesn’t make any sense,” Leno said.

However, he did admit that the value made driving it less fun.

“This is probably the greatest car of the 20th century. I used to drive it all the time. I’d go to the supermarket in it, go to the dry cleaners. It’s got two huge luggage compartments on the side that actually hold quite a bit of stuff,” he said.

Now, he’s a little more careful because of how valuable it has become.

“I take it up to [Angeles Crest Highway] almost every weekend. [But] if some guy in an SUV hits you because he’s texting, you’re looking at a three-year wait for a new carbon fiber door from England,” he joked.