Hi Guys, As an owner of a 328 I normally lurk over there but I am interested in knowing an approximate time line as to when the 246 price boom occurred. Ideally if someone could guesstimate what the value of a good 246 was prior to the boom, identifying the year and then what sort of escalation occurred through the years to it current value. I've had a few beers so I hope I make sense. Thanks in advance. Bob.
bob, i bought my 73 246 gts in jan. 1980 for 24,000 . i thought it was a good buy as i saw ads in autoweek at the time for around 35,000. if memory is correct a coupe in those days may have cost half the price of a spider. prices reached 200,000 in 1990 before the ferrari market fell. values were down to 70,000 before working their way up to 180's -200's in 2000-2008. i'm sure someone has a more detailed timeline. another memory of 1980 , a 275 gtb 4 could be had for 40,000 ! dan
Bob, have a look down the thread on "Are prices falling? 246 GTS market dropped below $135k" www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=221735&page=3 there are some intresting price graphs going back to 1974 submitted by user f328nvl Kevin
I bought a basket case 1970 euro 246 gt in 1981 out of a back yard in Arizona for $8,000. I spent 2 years and about 10 grand to fix it up. So, in 1983 I had a near perfect example for about $18,000. I considered that quite a bargin. In the eighties, everyone wanted a 308 GTS [aka "Magnum car"] so Dino's weren't very appreciated. I sold it 15 years later for about $55K and thought it was a good deal for the time. Stupid me... the "boom" started shortly after that! What a wonderful car that was. I still miss it.
Bought my 72 246 gt in 74 for 12,000, sold it to buy my 84 BBi in early 85 for 55,000 with my wife's objection. Car was still considered a orphan in those years! Certainly wished I had kept it. When I sold it, I forgot the reason I had bought it ( beauty) and even passed on a Daytona coupe when I bought it. Docf
I used to love the opening credits when the Dino spyder and a Mercedes SL used to race right off the tv screen. Unfortunately, I never saw the Dino during an actual episode, as part of the action. Let's not even mention "The Persuaders"! Fred
sometime around '81/82 i had called about a dino in Hemmings that was "apart" and restoration not complete. they wanted 10,000 at that time......unfortunatly it was already sold :-( doug
Only a glimps but it's here: http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Hart+to+Hart&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv&oi=property_suggestions&resnum=0&ct=property-revision&cd=1# Bob.
i frankly think the dino "boom" started a little earlier than most people would say. when 360's and 430's were bringing $100k over sticker, people started to realise that the older cars had a finite production number and were a good buy given the"current" market trends. when dino and boxers were in the $70k range and daytona's were around $115k with lusso's not bringing that much difference, people started to realise the "over sticker" number was so high it started to drive prices of the vintage stuff higher. that coupled with what was happening in the muscle car market, the rising tide does tend to raise all boats
The rise in Dino values is true vindication, after that period in the late seventies and early eighties when the 308 and 328 series were all the rage, and Dinos were looked down upon. The folded-paper school of design, epitomized by the Lotus Esprit, was in the ascendancy, and curves were considered "so '60s." There weren't many people noting the familial resemblance of the Dino to the 250 LM and the 275 GTB. Even Daytonas were ignored by many as they gushed over the Testarossa. "Miami Vice," which began its life with a McBurney Spider Daytona ripoff body on a Corvette chassis, adopted a white Testarossa, which became the TV heir to the red "Magnum P.I." 308. A generation of teenaged boys, already besotted with the Lamborghini Countach (preferably with a blonde draped on the front hood, or painted in Highway Patrol livery--the car, not the girl!), equated Ferrari with the post-Dino style, and not many looked back. Interstingly, around this time, a number of British enthusiast magazines and a few American ones began doing "classic" stories on Dinos. The second time around, they finally came into their own. With today's emphasis on old car auctions, I don't think that the Dino will ever be slighted by collectors again. It is abundantly beautiful, a joy to drive (and even listen to from the sidewalk!), fairly rare and, in my opinion, the past's view of what the future should have been. In this sense, perhaps a Dino should have starred in the "Back to the Future" trilogy, and not a Delorean. Although, thankfully it did not, since I shudder to think what a flux capacitor might have done to the Dinoplex! Fred
All I can add, is that 1980, the local Ferrari dealer had a '74 246 with "flares and chairs" with 28k on it and I offered them $32k. I backed out at the last part since it needed service. I still kick myself for not making that happen.......... Still have the dealer offer sheet in my files of a reminder, not to pass up a special deal. Man, I wish I had that car....... one of these days....... Those of you that have one....... my advice...... hang on to a great piece of art and machinery...... as they say, mechanical music.......
There have been several booms, but I think the most relevant to your question is the last one where mid-pack 246 GTS cars were $70-80k in the 2003-2004 timeframe. I'll go waaaaaay out on a limb and ask if the underlying point you were getting to is that the current car prices will crash and return to these levels?
FWIW, I think they'll go back to the inflation-adjusted prices of the early part of this decade. ($85-90k)
Raw Data, quartile analysis and (RPI adjusted) Real Prices (pinch of salt required) to save flicking to the old thread. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Well that helps. There's nothing to match the 1989 boom for all low production Ferrari models especially adjusting for today's money value. So they were knocking around 150-200 in 2005-2007.
So it looks like the mean went from about 35K in 1994 to about 55K in mid-2005, which is enough to keep pace with inflation and cover most of your operating expenses. Then in 2006 it took off like a rocket before plunging just as fast, just like the late 80's-early 90's. People never learn.
The 1989 boom was a boom for ALL Ferraris, not just low production models. Those low production models dragged everything upwards. Average 308s were pushing $100K in '89, as I recall. All used Ferraris were high, and for new ones you had to be on a wait list or have a relationship with a dealer to get one.
