Resale Values

I wouldn't go from a 328 to a Porsche 996 for many reasons. From a resale perspective, the 996 is a bad bet -- common car, poorly made, unloved body style, etc.

Values are down on all Ferraris, but 328s and 512TRs seem to have held up pretty well. I wouldn't be in a hurry to sell for $45K, unless you really needed the money.

 

The market has gone down, or at least kind of chilled on 308 and 328. Good ones have been selling for 30%-40% off their peak prices from say 18 months ago. And good ones that list for those previous price levels seem to sit for a while.

That said, after economic swings a realignment occurs and different models come out ahead.

I'm just shooting from the hip but it seemed like after the economic downturn in the early 90's certain models that were unloved before the meltdown became stars in people's eyes. Examples of these include the Dino and maybe the 275. I realize the 275 was a high dollar car in the late 80's but it seemed to become a real star in the 90's.

After the dust settles in a couple of years people will have a longing for a simpler time and sports car buyers will look for the more stripped down, raw machines. Think 308, 328.

Don't know if this really relates to your question. It's just something I've been thinking about lately.

-F

 

All true, no contest depreciation wise. None.

 

308/328s hovered for years in the mid $30s to mid $40's, exceptional cars north and exceptionally bad cars south of those figures. Past couple years seem to have caused a swell in the better cars, prices now appear back at the intial range mentioned.

I've had maybe 20 911s over the years, most pretty solid performers, both mechanically and with generally small financial swings... until my 996tt. I foolishly traded a 96 993tt towards the 02 996tt and over 2 years saw $20grand of value diminish. The 993 stayed the same, might've even come up a tad.

As mentioned, the slab sided 996 wasn't the most popular body, early motors developed a rep for ill sealing and iffy factory backing for rebuilds/warranty coverage, now largely out of range. The later ones are fine cars and rewarding performers, but the market has pretty much voted thumbs down. The 328 seems to have weathered the financial storm pretty gracefully, while 996s continue an awkward tumble toward "used cars".

Not knowing where you are in the lovable belt replacment cycle with the 328 will factor mightily, so add that to the cost-of-ownership equation. Best wishes.

 

That 996 will eventually be a $10K car.

 

You very well could be right but I have yet to see this proven to me.

I have helped find new owners for known sorted cars in the last 6 months and am helping to find a few cars for prospective owners now and I am not seeing this at all. Shabby projects with a lot of hair on them maybe but very good sorted cars seem to be holding solid.

I could be all washed up and simply not looking in the right place for the bargains on solid early 308 GTB's. I know for a fact I could re sell the GTB of mine I sold late last summer for all of the money I got back then as I am looking for exactly the same car for folks now and to date have been unable to fill the orders. The 30-40% would suggest I could find them in the 18-25K range for a very nice, fully sorted car... If that were the case I too would buy one for myself and pass along my project GTB.

Suggestions where to find them?

 

If you pay 45k for an '02 C4, you will be about $10k upside down from the start. $45k easily gets you into an '02 Turbo.

 

Bullfighter

you are very optimistic about the values of 328 and true there are doing better than most but these are cars and values are dictated by demand. 328s that are north of 45k are sitting unsold and have been that way for a while...

So what does that say...?

 

With this statement it is clear his new to him 348 has not arrived yet in NJ

MB

 

I have only around two data points of discounted 328.

A nice looking 328 that I think was listed on FerrariAds, that went for around $45,000 or so and there is a thread in this section about a nice looking (just going off the pictures of course) 328 that sold on eBay for around the same price. But that's all I have regarding discounted 328. I think I could find twice as many nice 328 selling for slightly off their peak price and we all know there are tons of inexpensive rap traps.

So I admit, I may have been a little fast and loose with the data. I would never say or agree that there are many nice and cheap 308 and 328 out there because there aren't.

FasterIsBetter recently bought a 1986 with 45k miles. Maybe he would be willing to reveal the purchase price or at least the asking price.

-F

 

2 weeks ago or thereabouts there were two different offers on my 89 328, both in the mid '50s, both for more than I paid for it in Aug, 08. It wasn't for sale, just parked in town.

 

I think he meant prices not miles with that 45k number.

 

The car in question had 45K miles and initially showed up on F-chat at $28K. Sounds like a driver with some cosmetic issues but still -- probably a good deal.

 

There was a really nice looking 328 on FChat in Nor. Cal. last month, it had just had a full on major service at a dealership, I think it had around 42K miles on it, it was for sale for a while at $35K asking. It did seem to sell, though. It's not there anymore. I considered it but went Mondial instead b/c I need the back seats.

 

I concur. There is a flood of very nice 360/F430s and 355s on the market, a few 328s and bare trickle of nice 308s.

There is a market for rubbish 328s, that most of us would consider parts cars -- beat up cars, flood cars, bad crashes, etc. Unsafe to drive, uneconomical to restore.

There is a market for good driver 328s that have some dings, scrapes, mileage, aftermarket mods, etc., but overall look very presentable and run fine. A great first Ferrari for someone who wants the reliability, simplicity and looks of the 308/328 series.

There is a market for 328s that look brand new until you start crawling around the car looking for minute chips or a frayed stitch on the headliner. Usually lower mileage, never seen rain, generally part of a Ferrari collection or held as an investment, always north of 95 points on the FCA judging scale.

When you get to the third category, you pay or you walk. A common mistake is to equate those "category two" 328s with the "category three" cars. You will see the same phenomenon with Series 1 Jag E-Type convertibles. A JCNA 100-point car is comfortably above $100K, but if you just want a nice Series 1 driver there are plenty of "deals".

In some respects, it depends on how critical you will be of the car once it's in your garage. I would say shop for the car, not the deal.

 

This brings up an interesting point. What is considered a Number 1 car? Normally I'd have thought a 95 point car would be in this class as is the never driven garage queen.

This the old scale I remember from the 90s:

1. Show car only.
2. Older restoration or a very good original car.
3. Driver.
4. Restoration candidate.
5. Parts car.

So the gist is that Number 1 328s are north of $50k while the Number 2 cars are in the $40s. So the ones we see in the $30s are the drivers (Number 3)?

 

well put. We also need to remember that there is a great deal of Ferrari purchases made away from ebay, craigslist, and the widely publisized net areas in general. It almost seems like really nice cars do not need to be advertised. Someone somewhere knows that excellent example exists and will certainly jump on it given the opportunity.

Many other threads have been started or comments have certainly have been made regarding the direction 355/360/430 are headed. Some believe they will reach their point where they need restoration and computer parts needed will just not be available therefore making the 308-328 community the more popular V8 route due to ease of maintenance. Funny thing I noticed the day was I needed some files off an old hard drive which I had never changed so it would operate with my new motherboard so I had to hook it up to my ancient (mid '90s) motherboard and processor so I could get these files. Everything worked and booted just as it always did (had not been booted since '97). Does this speak volumes regarding our current computerised Ferrari's 15+ years down the line? Can't wait to see

 

But try getting files off an old 5 1/4" floppy disc. That might be a better analogy for future "availability" re the changes in electronics and compability...

 

I've been trying to sell my duplicate 89 GTB off and on (mostly off) since last summer. I sense there is some softness. I spoke with several potential buyers and had one deal that was abruptly called off. Mostly people were in a wait and see mode. The car was due for a major which did not help. It is now getting one so we'll see what happens. IMO, 328's are getting some pressure from above. 348's in the 30's, 355's in the 50's and 360's in the 70's. Still, I don't see many cars for sale. The current FML has only 7 vs 12 Dinos, 8 330 GTC's, 13 Daytonas, etc. In years past there would be perhaps a dozen 328's and only 1-3 of the others. Supply, or lack thereof, is always a good way to assess which way prices are headed.

Since I bought my first Ferrari in 1996 (84 308) prices have been remarkably stable, rising some when the economy was roaring like 1999-2000 and 2004-06 and falling off some in recessions. I have noticed over the years though that the nice ones have increasingly ended up in strong hands. They used to be "starter Ferraris" that people did not keep long. Now they often go to people who have already owned other Ferraris.

Dave

 

+1. good point!

 

I personally *sense* that 328's are holding their own even in this economic environment about as well (or better) as anything

328's (like alot of things) may swing some w/ the economy but I believe the good ones have hit bottom on the depreciation curve.

2002 Porsches are still depreciating and will continue to for a long time, imo.

just one man's thoughts.

 

The points that many of the "look what I found on ebay" posters are missing are two-fold;
1- inclusion of the term "well sorted" in their analysis. You cannot tell from ebay ads. Only folks with direct hands on experience with the maintenance of the cars can.
And changing the belts may not be equivalent to having a "major" done by a Helms or Rifledriver either.how often do you find a recent belt change with old tensioners, etc?? More often than folks will admit.Overall

You still get what you pay for in this market, too.

2- I believe that the best cars still go privately not on eBay. And then there is the whole law of averages as well-- we'll all admit that there are wide price ranges for these cars -- therefore, it should hold that for every lowball "find" out there, there is another opposing "well sorted car" going at the opposite outlier price point.

If you want a car at the low, or the market average -- you can find it. But for me, I will continue to follow adage#1; go after the best example you can afford, and use Mr Helm's definition of "sorted" as the benchmark for my next purchase. After all, adage #2 holds as well; there are no cheap Ferrari's

Back to the original post;
If the 328 is well sorted, and fairly bought...I would take it over a 996.

 

I tend to agree with my friends hardtop and furmano. I went to look at a 79 308 GTS in Loveland last weekend which was advertised on eBay. Nice car, good paint, new tires, drove well, no issues immediately apparent. Yet it never went past $25,500. I would have bought it had it been a B. Silly me, I thought nice S would tempt me but, in the end and deep down, I'm holding out for a GTB. If you have one or know of one in CO please PM me.
Ric

 

I think you need to look outside of Colorado, considering the majority of Ferraris were sold into CA and FL.

If you like GTBs and like red, you're probably missing an opportunity by not buying Hardtop's car. I haven't seen it, but I'd bet it's quite well kept and it's more car than a 79 308 (more power, better built, rustproofed, etc.)

By the time this economic mess is behind us, I'd guess 328 prices will head north, because the cars are old and in stable hands (i.e., relatively few were financed by buyers who just wanted a cheap Ferrari -- they tend to be bought by buyers who specifically sought out the 328.)