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Leonardo Soccolich (Lens)
Posted on Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 7:34 am:   

Bill,

I bought my 86 328 GTB from a private owner, even though I found the car through a broker. It was listed in the FML. I purchased it in May of this year after a six month search. I did look at two 328 GTSs�an 88 and an 87�at a local dealership. The conclusion I drew was that they are looking for uneducated buyers to walk in the door and pay the asking price. The asking price of the 87 I looked at was $57,000. It had approx. 15k miles, but only one major service (with belts) in almost fifteen years. The interior was dirty, and torn up a little. Even though I had no intention of buying the car, I offered $52,000 and was flatly refused. My car had 22k miles on it, was in much better condition, and came with a stack of service receipts (including two majors). I paid $44,200.

I have no doubts. If you buy from a dealership, you may find a nice �no story� car, but you will definitely pay more. If you�re not in a rush, then shop around and something will eventually turn up.
William F. Newland (Wmnewland)
Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2001 - 11:07 am:   

Gentlemen,
I want to very much thank everyone who responded to my post. All good advice. If anybody cares to add anything please know it is appreciated. I am in no hurry to buy my car and can wait untill a good one comes along.

Regards,
Bill Newland
David Harris (Dakharris)
Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2001 - 1:44 am:   

William: Unless you are looking for a track car, buy a car in California that is currently registered in California and make sure it has a current Smog Certificate before you fork over any money. Sure, you can get a better deal on an out-of-state car with the smog equipment removed and rust on the door panels, but is that what you really want? Check out some of the technical threads on this site. Many states don't have any smog laws or inpections and cars get modified. I looked for over a year before I jumped into a deal. My car was originally sold in CA and still has the emissions sticker on the windshield (as well as all of the required equipment) and I registered it without any trouble. There aren't many Ferraris in circulation, so the inventory for sale at any one time is very small. I'll bet there are more Ferraris per capita in So. Cal than just about anywhere, so be patient and one will come along that suits you.
Arnaldo Torres (Caribe)
Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2001 - 12:42 am:   

William,

I purchased my 1990 Testarossa from a private party back in May this year. Been in Los Angeles, I shopped around most dealers in the area including the ones you mentioned. I never found anything on any of the dealers I visited that would come even close to the car I purchased. You should consider private parties as well since many of the cars I saw were in as good or better condition than the cars at dealers. Of course, cars come an go, and perhaps there are nicer cars at those dealers than the ones I saw, but the point is that you should take the time to get familiar with the market in general, and also be prepared to have the car tested by an independent mechanic once you have found what you want. Dealers seemed eager to go through this process when I asked them, hence it should not be a problem if you find what you like at a dealer.

Good luck!

Caribe.
Danny R. West (Dan_West348ts)
Posted on Friday, August 03, 2001 - 4:28 pm:   

William,

I purchased my 348ts from a dealer one year ago. I paid cash. I did not pay list price and got a pre-owned Ferrari warranity from Ferrari of North America.

Dealers will deal if you have time to whittle them down. However, don't plan to buy your car in California. I went to Salt Lake City, UT. My deal took 3 months. Others owners I have spoken to have done simular deals and were patient.

Dan
Ben Lobenstein 90 TR (Benjet)
Posted on Friday, August 03, 2001 - 12:04 pm:   

Correction Bruce so far over 300 will be there..

William BONUS (of going to CI) some of the cars on display may be up for sale! Just start talking ot the owners and they'll let you know who is ready to move to another model and get rid of their present show stopper. Also gives you a chnace to ask the owners what they love or hate about certian models or variations.

-Ben
Bruce Kubicka (Bruce)
Posted on Friday, August 03, 2001 - 11:41 am:   

William,
The Ferrari Club of America's Newsletters often have a good assortment of cars for sale. You've got to look at the national and regional newsletters though as cars are often not listed in both.
With regards to prices, they do tend to be all over the place. Many of the fancy stores, like the one in Newport Beach that you mentioned tend to have very high stickers attached to their cars. I'm not sure, but a wad of cash may make them more eager to talk. I bought my car from a dealer and he came down a little bit when he saw that I had my checkbook!
Probably the most important thing to do is to have a good Ferrari mechanic look at the car you are considering and to make sure that all the maintenance was done. Talking to the real owner of the car can give you a better sense of how it was maintained compared to listening to the car salesman tell you his version of history.
Also, you may want to come to Monterey for the Concorso Italiano and Historic Automobile Races later this month (8/17-8/19). There are over 150 Ferraris registered for the Concorso event (http://www.concorso.com) and you will have a great opportunity to see a lot of well kept cars and talk to their owners about the various pros and cons of the models that you may be interestd in.
Good Luck
Doug Meredith (Doug308)
Posted on Friday, August 03, 2001 - 6:32 am:   

Expand your search outside CA. Shipping a car will only cost $1500 or less. Buy from an owner who has driven and maintained the car which can be proven from records. If you like yellow, there seems to be a nice 328 just a few posts down.
William F. Newland (Wmnewland)
Posted on Friday, August 03, 2001 - 5:11 am:   

Gentlemen,

I just moved into my house with a blimp hanger of a garage and my wife has given me permission to go ahead and spend our money on my Ferrari, now that I have a proper place to house it. So I just started shopping these last 3 months. I have used Ferrari Market Newsletter, LA Times, The dealers on the web, etc. in my search and education.

I have decided that my first Ferrari, (the second one will have 12 cylinders) should be either a late model 308GTSqv of even a 328 GTS. I have seen dealers like Symbolic in Los Angeles & Newport Autosport in Newport Beach, California advertise these cars (1989 328 GTS) for almost $70,000! But private parties seem willing to talk in the range of $40,000 to $45,000 for very similar cars.

My question is; If you waive actual cash money in front of one of these fancy dealerships will they come down 20% or more on their asking price? Or is that just wishful thinking. They do make shopping easy and often have a nice selection, but an extra $20,000 is a bit over the top for that service.

I don't need the deal of the century to be happy with a car, but I don't want to pay a price that has everyone knowing what an uneducated dope I am about bargining.

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