THE PRICES JUST KEEP FALLING DOWN ON 550 AND 575 CARS

I don't keep up with the Miami Vice crowd all that much.

However, as you probably know, there are three generic groups of Testarossas: Gen I (85-87), Gen II (88-91) and 512s. I don't recall the Gen I MSRP, but I believe that the 512s were the first non-supercar Ferrari to break $200k. Thus, using my rule of thumb, 512s should be trading at around $80k or so, which I believe they are.

Moreover, if appreciation is your bag, my guess is that the 512s will start going up way before the early 550s.

The downside is that the total cost of ownership for a 512 is, well, it ain't polite to talk about such stuff in mixed company.

Hope this helps.

Dale

 

Arthur,

I too, have been watching the black/tan 2002 which was formerly at Silicon Valley Auto Group where it did not sell either. The interesting thing about the 550/575 contraction is why now? Is it supply or demand or both?

This month there are 17 575s for sale in Ferrari Market Letter. In the same month in 2006 there were 21; in the same month in 2005 there were also 21. Thus is seems supply has not changed or if anything gone down a little bit.

I personally believe teh problem is that since the 559's are now being delivered the 550/575 is now viewed as an old (as opposed to "current") or past model. The demand appears less for the average asking price so prices are moving down to clear the market. If deliberating an Aston Martin DB9 vs a 550/575 one can get a current model fairly cheap as Astons have pretty much always depreciated badly. You can buy a lot of car at $125K to $150K with a warrantly and lower oerating costs if you don't need a Ferrari. There is a lot of competition n general at that level.

The guys that are going to get hurt are those who listed their cars a year ago above market and were greedy. They could of sold for more than they can today. The rest of us are just driving our cars (like me) and don't really care. When I'm ready I'll get a 599 some years out.

 

You tell em, Rocket Man!

Dale

 

No question that there are great strengths and great weakness today. As my Dad knows there are also LONG periods when a digestive phase is needed and IMO we're over due for one. It's not a stock market it's a market of stocks.

http://tuttleassetmanagement.com/media/media/Dow2006041907FltStr1150_560.gif

My friend Lee is quite correct. If you bought a 250 GTO in 89 and adjusted that price for inflation it should bring 40 Million+ not the same price you payed for it 18 years ago. Cars are to be enjoyed used. Stocks are to be bought and sold.

 

Thanks! Great chart BTW.

Dale

 

This is a pretty good analysis--and in my opinion it is a pretty good rule of thumb. It seems to be accurate, historically (with some exceptions) and the only question is the timing of the 40% rule. Some cars get there quick and some take time. Part of the equation on time is the overall economy, which is why I post what I post.

If you stick with the rule (1) because you can and (2) because you want to, you will be OK. The recent run up in prices is because some people only thought they could.

 

Right there with you, Jon! This is half of the reason I think the 550 will appreciate more than the 575. The other half is that the first version of a model is usually the more desirable 20 years on (308 vetroresina, 365BB, and so on).

Actually, the rest of us get to play, and play, and play, and play! Can't wait to get back home and mine again.


Onno

 

My 0.02. I find it difficult to think too much about depreciation in an "asset" that has a bid/ask spread that can be in excess of 20%. Unless you want to go through the hassle and risk of trying to buy and sell the cars on your own, that is. Mid market to mid, the depreciation on any of these fine cars is fairly low and if you want to hold on to them long enough there COULD be appreciation, but in the end, if you like variety, you have to pay to play - so as some have suggested, it is better for you mental health to consider these playthings as consumables with a corresponding annual price. You could of course try to turn the tables and make it a business, but I don't know of too many dealers really making a killing - comfortable, yes, outsized, no.

Drive them or not, but definitely enjoy how lucky we may be to own them.

M

 

Art, if it hasn't already sold, I'm interested in learning more about this black beauty - can u put me in contact with the seller pls?.

thanks

Doc.

 

May be you are right, but it is difficult to drive really hard in USA... However I do not have the same problem with the 430 or the F 40

 

can someone explain why ferrari sells the 12's for more than the mid engined models when the market seems to indicate more demand for the mids?

is it ferrari heritage with front engined gto, TR's from the 50's and 60's?

i dont get it

 

Simple: if you want your development money back, plus a nice profit, you need to charge more for cars you sell fewer of. Ferrari know their market like no other and know how many cars they can sell in a certain class (whether it be V12, Spider, V8 or whatever). So they build fewer than they can sell, and they ask a little more than they need (that's beauty of the most desirable name in the sportscar market: you can exploit it, and it makes the name even more exclusive). For the V8's there is bigger demand because they are cheaper, but also because they are more sporty. So Ferrari builds more of them but still few enough to keep them desirable.


Onno

 

Absolutely not my opinion after 2 599's and over 8,000 fantastic kms. 100% a real Ferrari to the core. 575 has been prematurely rendered a classic car. Sad but true

 

Regarding Alberto's assertion that the 599 is a Mercedes on steroids, I have to respectfully disagree. I have garages full of Mercedes on Steroids - they're called AMG's BTW - and they are wonderful heavy UBERALLESPANZERWAGENS but they are not Ferraris by any stretch of the imagination. My S65 is absolutely brilliant as a get-out-of-my-way statement, all black and menacing and ridiculously quick for such a heavy car, but I would hesitate to run it on a track anytime soon. The idea of hard braking and cornering it through a decreasing radius turn is a nightmare that would wake me in cold sweat. The 599 on the other hand relishes such a situation. It is a large car, but oh so beautifully balanced, and the faster it goes the lighter and nimbler it feels. Its suspension and CC brakes engender huge confidence in hard braking and turning and the incredibly good F1 Superfast transmission ensures you are in the perfect rev range with maximum torque when you need it. The AMG SpeedShift is a nice torque convertor but is far removed from a directly controllable manual transmission.

Lee is right - if you do not feel that the 599 is the acme of Ferrari to this point you are not driving it it the way it was engineered to be driven.
IMVHO it is the best Ferrari I own or have ever owned - not the most valuable, not by a long shot - but certainly the best.

 

Both you and Lee are probably right about the fact that I probably do not drive it the way it needs to be driven and that's why I do not love it. Obviously it must require either a track or special roads neither of which exist in my area... I have, however, a lot of fun driving my 430 or F 40. By the way, my opinion is shared by other 599 owners used to faster cars such as Enzo, etc...

 

Wow, how fortunate you are to own three of the greatest cars ever to grace the highways! It would absolutely kill me to have access to an F40, but no access to a track. I would go so far as to say I don't think that I would invest in an F40 if I knew I would never track it. Your observations underscore why Ferrari builds 8's and 12's. You obviously prefer the experience that the lighter, more nimble 8's provide. The 12's have a smaller, but just as enthusiastic, fan base that appreciates the qualities of a GT car.

 

I think the issue of faster cars is not relevant here. I currently have an F50, an F40, a Carrera GT and a Challenge Stradale amongst others in my collection, and have owned and tracked fast cars for the last 25 years.
I also drive my 599 every day as my daily driver on regular civilian roads, freeways, avenues, boulevards, parking lots and driveways. It feels special and wonderful everywhere I go with it. But, as I stated clearly, all of this is in my very subjective, personal opinion. I also enjoy the F40 and Challenge Stradale (the closest comparison I can bring relative to your 430 and F40) and they are nowhere near as enjoyable as the 599. In fact this morning I was in the Challenge Stradale heading towards North Scottsdale and I entered a familiar freeway ramp with nothing but clear air in front of me and the CS felt sluggish especially as I shifted through the first three gears, but I realized that it was only in comparison to the way the 599 blasts up that same ramp with much more brio, speed and sense of purpose.

 

Sir, I am beyond envy. The closest I have come is driving a F430 on the track at Mt. Tremblant. Before this, I thought that it could not get any better than a Challenge Stradale.

I have talked to people who have driven a 612 in anger, i.e., the first front mid-engined Ferrari.

I have talked to people who have driven an Enzo and a 599 in anger.

They all agree that it doesn't get any better than the 599.

Maybe we don't all agree on the looks.

But, you no a seea de outside when youa going fast...

Dale

 

Mont Tremblant is probably the finest track for driving mid engined Ferraris on. It has enough straights to get up to significant speed and some wonderful complex turns, especially the first few corners sweeping hard downhill and then into the very tricky esses. I loved the 430's there, but I kept on wishing I had a CS on that track.

 

I have a 550 and I drove the 599 for the first time the other day. You really have to drive it to appreciate it. It's a wonderful car. Fast!!!!!!!!

 

Turn 1 may be one of the best corners in racing.

But, then again, you have Turns 9 & 10 at Laguna, and you have...

Dale

 

Sure, with an average value of approx. 100K, 550 owners are jumping into a 450K 599. Must happening somewhere every day!