1600 mile 512 BBi to be auctioned by The Finest Auction House

Fast forward. Summer 2016
Sports Car Market magazine will report like this:

Lovely original 512 bbi, claimed to be 1600 miles , doubtful by some.
Heavy patina on seats and assorted mechanicals.
Bidding was fast and furious but stalled at $284,000.00
Well below reserve. No sale. Will we see it again at quail or rm auction.

 

Fixed......probably with JB Weld.

 

New set of tires! Authentic Ferrari musk!

 

no worries geno. pay no never mind. a sweet car!!! you know it as do we.

pcb

 

Superb car. GLWS.

 

As a degreed Mechanical Engineer with more than 30 yrs of experience, I'd say that my knowledge on these issues is in the 'expert' category.

That experience includes work on one of the most prestigious Championship winning IMSA racing teams (GTP/RS and GTU).

That experience includes oversight of the preservation maintenence schedules on stored equipment that is FAR more valuable than anything in your garage. In fact, I'd wager that the annual maintenance expense was higher than EVERYTHING in your garage.

In my 'expert' opinion, the maintenance schedule put forward by the Ferrari engineers which cites a time/mileage basis for belt and fluid changes is spot-on. We are 'engineers' - not a 'cult' as you describe.

Dumping money into a car immediately before the sale is not 'maintenence' - it is however, a common practice in used car lots of doubtful reputation.

If you want to resort to personal insults as 'cover' for your indefensable position - you are free to do so. You just sound ignorant and rather foolish. If you want to convince your potential buyers that the car was regularly and correctly maintained - then publish the car's maintenance records. I will be the first person to applaud if the maintenence was adequate.

...or you can sling more insults and BS.

Records or BS - which is it going to be?

Best Regards,
vincenzo

 

Far too many times on F Chat..things get down to personal levels and good people get offended and turn offensive..Its a flaw in the system as myself included get a little disturbed by posts insinuating nonsense ...

I believe that Geno's car has the paperwork and provenance to back up 1600 miles ,
I believe some people including myself are perplexed by a few of the pictures posted of various parts of this car..They in my opinion do not jive with the little to no use this car has received..

I have owned 7 512 powered cars in the past 25 years ,
Including a similar to yours 84 boxer that I purchased from Rob Isringhausen with 800 original miles also.
I drove that car 2000 miles and sold it.
All 7 cars had 6000 miles or less.. and I am completely aware of what happens to a car without miles but just the onset of age.
I am not as perplexed by the seat bolsters as many times people are just climbing in and out of the cars for nostalgia..40 years of nostalgia.
What does perplex me is the undercarriage..
there are a few shots of the rear suspension arms and engine underside as well as the tin work , that in my opinion only come with mileage and inclement weather driving.
a 1600 mile car undercarriage should still be in show quality condition ..even at 40 years old
In your car moisture seems to be an issue as pitting and rust are apparent.

Either way it is a highly desireable collectable and you will do very well at auction..
Personally I would send it out to an all out detail shop that addresses chassis and suspension detailing..it would pay for itself 10 fold..
1st impressions are everything when you are looking for a Ferrari.
Boxers are in that in between age where its not really vintage but not modern..
A 6o's or 50's Ferrari could or should be left alone to patina, while an 80's is too modern to look dirty and still be good for value.

GLWS..
Best
Michael

 

BTW...

Here is a pic of the wear and tear on a daytona style seat in my collection. It is clearly in focus and brightly lit for all the world to see. It has nearly TEN times the mileage you claim on you bbi.

Compare this pic to the one of your car in post#3 and you'll see the difference that 'maintenance' can make. This assumes that your mileage claim is not BS.

The internals of my cars look equally as good.

Maintenance, not BS,
vincenzo
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So then, rather than producing records of substance, you expect to rely on insults to substantiate the care and quality of your bbi.

No records - just overflowing BS.

The values I reference are WAY higher than you can even imagine. The referenced project is currently the highest valued oil and gas project in the history of the world. Valued at significantly more than 50BUSD.

So yes.... the stuff in your garage is not even a significant digit in comparison.

Our preservation maintenance (meaning: in storage, before startup) budget was over 20million per year. The individual pieces of equipment (of which there were many) that were being maintained were typically in the hundreds of millions. We had experts from all over the world that were dedicated to the preservation maintenance of their supplied equipment... GE, Rolls Royce, Nouvo Pignone etc etc

So yes.... I do know a bit about the maintenance of high dollar mechanical equipment and no - the value of your garage is squat in comparison.

Sad to hear that there are more cars suffering your neglect.

Thanks for the heads-up,
vincenzo

 

OP, Ill make the following comments as a non 512 expert obviously.

A friend once said, 'pictures can make a queen look like a whore, and a whore look like a queen.' Most of the interest you will gather will be from online traffic via pictures. Any buyer will expect a 1,600 mile car to show like.....a 1,600 mile car. If it doesnt, the doors of speculation swing wide open. This is the skeptical mind of a buyer.

'Its only original once.' Agreed. But, steam cleaning the carpets, seats and undercarriage will do nothing but validate your price. There is nothing to gain by holding onto the 'its only original once' theory when there is visible oil seepage, road grime, chipped paint etc. on the undercarriage. Personally I would have the drivers seat bolster professionally corrected as its the first thing a person sees when they open the drivers door. Its like curb appeal on house thats for sale. Its the first impression for a buyer.

I dont know if the price is inline with other 512's or not. Im guessing the low mileage is commanding a premium over other 512's. Hopefully the auction reaches the $400k minimum or Goodmans offer of $400k is still on the table after the auction. Either way good luck with the sale.

I hope you take my comments not as criticism but what the average buyer will be thinking while inspecting your car at auction or online.

 

Side note, the Box is an easy car to drive around town. Good visibility for a mid-engine car from it's era.

 

You have explained yourself very well.... it is easy to understand why you act as you do and why your car looks as it does.

Rgds,
vincenzo
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this thread took a turn for the fugly.

good luck with the sale Geno!

 

Well, do you tweet? Which is Trump and which would be Cruz lol! This is what makes Fchat so interesting. geno, awesome collection! I swear you sound a lot like my good friend Bob Zambelli! Love him. vinceno, I want to hear more about the racing! And why in the world can't Daytona prices move up! Spent time sitting with one this weekend noting they should be worth more. Drove her 1750 instead. But geno, I have to agree on the seat. Julie's BBi is 6000 miles and does not show that type of wear. Chances are you've been sitting in it with greasy pants lol. Hey just kidding lighten up guys...I looked at the pictures, and everything looks really fresh except that seat. The tool case looked like it just came out of the plastic.

 

Its an interesting thread. Different people value different things in terms of how they judge a cars condition, very few have both.

 

Perhaps I had it wrong....
the seat to which I refer (as shown in post #3) is the driver's side seat of VIN:
ZFFJA098000038713

Is that not the same seat?

rgds,
vincenzo

 

Sheesh. Being around money and MAYBE having a little yourself doesn't mean you have class, that's for sure.

Good luck with the sale. I'm pretty much a fan of all Boxers, dirty, clean, perfect or imperfect.

Mike C

 

Last euro auction results were interesting. A cleanish looking 29kms BBI stalled at $289K, and a more worn 512 BB went to 350. In the uSA BBI and BBs seem to fetch the same money. Condition of course is everything and I cant comment on the above cars in that regard.

365 BB still seem to fetch big money in the 400-500K range.

So yes very interesting to see what this one goes for.

 

This post singlehandedly deserves
" the bat upside the head award of the year "
Geeze you are an idiot to say something like that .
You must be a hillbilly.

 

Gee wiz Geno - now a prospective buyer will never be able to cross reference the mileage verses the tread wear on the original tires!

Amused,
vincenzo