Alfa 8C?

I have recently been presented with the opportunity to purchase an Alfa 8C at MSRP of 299k. I find the car very desirable. However, I also want to look at it as an investment, and I was curious to know what the FC community would do in my situation, or supply me with information that could possibly help me determine future values and success of the car. I have heard of some individuals backing out of the 8Cs they had pre-ordered several months ago. Should I be worried that this is not an intelligent purchase, or is this opportunity one that I should jump on?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Brian

 

Welcome to F-Chat !!

IMHO there is depreciation present in that car......how much, is the question which I think that none of us can answer accurately.

You may wish to PM the user Napolis who owns one, for his perspective.

 

From everything I've read, the 8C sounds like an amazing car. That being said, in terms of an investment, like 99.9999% of all other new cars, it will be a big loser. It will probably have a slightly quicker depreciation rate than the Ferrari 599, but slower than the maserati gt and Ferrari F430.

 

Only you can answer that question. I just don't see how that car could be seen as an investment. If you are looking for an investment than maybe a car is not the best choice?
If you are looking for a gorgeous italian sports car that is quite rare than buy the Alfa. The days of cars being investment opportunities are over for a long, long time in my opinion.
All that being said I bet you can get the Alfa in a year from now for 200K with less than 2500 miles on it. At least then you are 100K ahead.

 

Great car. Poor investment. IMO the likely hood of any new car being an investment is slim. The Enzo replacement perhaps all other's nope.

 

That dealer is not doing you any favor by offering it at MSRP. For many buying a car, especially this one, is a matter of heart over wallet, but like others have said, patience will pay off big time if you're willing to wait.

 

stay away, outside of some swoopy bodywork it is basically a maserati underneath with some alfa switchgear.

Take another look, outside of initial wow factor the car is not that exotic looking.

i predict it will tank like a brick, down to 150k within 3-4 years.

better off going with 430 scuderia or california for better resale value.

napolis-no offense

 

Ouch, $300k ?

Theres 1 in my building, Nice but I wouldnt pay $300k for it, Maybe $80k

You want an investment for your $300k ?

Get a Porsche CGT or a Pagani

 

You can get a Pagani for 300k ?!

 

+1, I totaly agree

 

Before the USD dropped some more around 2001 you could get a new one a few years back for around $300-400k

I imagine you can find an early used one somewhere near $300k

As for investments though

these days we are approaching a collapse of the DJIA, S&P 500, and NASDAQ which will provide some seriously great investments if you get in at the bottom and hold onto some index funds for a few years

 

Hmm..interesting. This is the cheapest one for sale in Europe (or at least of those advertised on the web)--> http://www.autoscout24.it/Details.aspx?id=142727232

I am very much ignorant of the value of Paganis.

 

The fact that you can buy one for MSRP tells me the value has only one way to go----down. Buy it if you want it but don't delude yourself into thinking it will be an investment.

Dave

 

Just as Jim said - modern cars are never an investment, especially anything that is totally out of its brand's character like the 8C.
It's almost the same as if Volkswagen built a superb carbon fiber bodied sports car, using the resources of Porsche and Audi, but labelled it a VW. It would be groundbreaking, superb, wonderful, exclusive etc etc, but it would still be a VW.

 

Yes...but Alfa and VW have a very different heritage.

 

It's their relative positioning in the brand hierarchy that I'm referring to. Alfa is the low end brand relative to the component providers of the 8C -Maserati and Ferrari

 

Lose the CF, add 2 doors, and you have the Phaeton, which weighed 6-700# more than A8, but made a nice basis for the Continental/Spur. Piech is nuts.
Last Alfas in US were the Milano, GTV6, and maybe the Spider? All under 30k. People don't remember them, yet alone the 8C (unless you have Simon's books). At least it looks good, unlike the Barstow roadster.

 

Yes, I see perfectly what you are saying. There is no question that that Alfa has become a lower-end brand. Being Italian, I am particularly saddened by Alfa's recent history. The mere fact that you compared Alfa to VW would have been rather flattering to any Alfa fan a few years ago (thankfully Alfa improved immensely, as the Fiat group in general, in the past years).

All I'm saying is that Alfa's rich heritage and past allowed it to sell (very easily) such a car. I'm not sure if VW could have done the same thing so easily.

 

Agreed, sad that 6C/8C/Giulia/Duetto/GTA/33 heritage pissed away on dreck sedans (better with DaSilva). Just look at Porsche with Trucks and the Pukeamera-makes the Barstow look like a real Cal (365, not 250, even God can't help that much).

 

Alfas look great now IMO. They just have to add more contents to their products (technology, engines, ergonomics...). I hope they continue in the right direction.
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This thing would be worth around $200K in about a year. If you're nuts about Alfa then I'd say go for it. Otherwise forget it or be prepared to take that $100K hit in short order.

 

Thats a roadster, very rare so a lot more $

 

I couldn't find anything else for sale on the web for less -->http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/search.html?isSearchRequest=true&sortOption.sortBy=price.consumerGrossEuro&sortOption.sortOrder=ASCENDING&lang=it&scopeId=C&_features=on&bodyStyleRadio=&makeModelVariant1.makeId=1400&makeModelVariant1.modelId=1&makeModelVariant1.modelDescription=pagani&makeModelVariant2.makeId=&makeModelVariant2.modelDescription=&makeModelVariant3.makeId=&makeModelVariant3.modelDescription=&minFirstRegistrationDate=&maxFirstRegistrationDate=&minMileage=&maxMileage=&minPowerAsArray=&minPowerAsArray=KW&maxPowerAsArray=&maxPowerAsArray=KW&minPrice=&maxPrice=&export=NO_EXPORT&fuel=&transmission=&damageUnrepaired=NO_DAMAGE_UNREPAIRED&ambitCountry=&zipcode=&climatisation=&numSeats=&doorCount=&emissionClass=&emissionsSticker=&adLimitation=&daysAfterCreation=&usageType=&usedCarSeals=

I'm guessing the others are being sold through other "channels"?

 

You are only going to take a hit if you resell it. If you are thinking about it as an investment, you cannot possibly be thinking short term. So if it is worth 300k to you to buy it and enjoy it for 20 years, then do it and enjoy it. You just cannot expect it to supplement you retirement portfolio.

So then the question is will it be more valuable in 20 years than many of the cars listed here? No one knows for certain, but what we do know is that it is going to be made in fewer numbers than the 599 or the 430. So I think it is fair to say it will do better than both of those. But it will never appreciate like a truly rare road car or a storied race car.

 

I heard they were going to be making a more hard core track focused version as well. Personaly I am always appaled at the idea of buying a new car as an investment as it implies an ownership desire not involving driving which is what these machines are all about.

Perhaps there are some cars from the 60's which if bought new and kept were good investments. But from the 80's on there are very few if any cars which could be stored away and considered an investment. Perhaps a 288 if you snaged one for 84K.

Think how many anniversary countaches and TRs were stored to be worth little, same with the original zr1 vette. Maybe the newer one is a better bet.

Alfa 8c is propbably the most beautiful new car around, but its performance sets no new ground and it is not as racer with provenance.
Maybe buy a depreciated one in a few years and then run it up the value curve.

As other here have said if you have the 300k and want a really great car the 8c is an excellent choice, and yes somewhere in the next 15-30 years it may well be worth more than 300k