Wow, no body wants a nice 328. No, really, not a bid over 16K. Wow.

Phenomenal. No one wants a cherry 328 for over 16k. Unbelievable. My reserve was ridiculously low. A car that was thoroughly researched by me prior to buying it. I guess I will keep my cheapo 328 until it is rusty and banged up, then sell it to a naive entry level buyer who thinks it is economically better to buy some fixer-upper for 16K. Maybe "resale red" is the way to go. That is worth at least 15K. Maybe my 100% feedback on Ebay was way too suspicious. Perhaps no one wants a Santa Fe car because it it too close to Mexico and may be carrying the swine flu virus. Maybe I can get an even trade on some exotica like a vintage Toyota Tercel or Chrysler Minivan with low miles. Oh wait, my car is over the hill with 59K miles. That must be it. Why buy mine when you can spend 50K or more on a 15K model that will depreciate every additional mile you drive it, not to mention the potential additional headaches you may encounter due to lack of use. Maybe my belts will explode rendering the car into a huge paperweight since I have not had the car serviced in a month. It seems I'm in the Ferrari thing for the long run - something they don't tell you when you buy one. Love the car, I just can't pursue other interests at the moment since I can't raise funds through the sale of this car. I have bought other collector cars (Jaguar E-types, Porsche 356/911, BMW 3.0 coupes, even VW bugs) that people are knocking the doors down to buy at full price when I post them on ebay, I guess the 328 series has not reached that level of euphoria yet. OK...done ranting and feeling sorry for myself. I just have to drive the Ferrari for a bit longer......damn it! Maybe everyone has just lost their job and are struggling to just feed their family. My bad.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170331553999&sspagename=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&viewitem=#ht_715wt_932

 

A few things........
I personally like your color combo, but most people will probably find it too bland for a ferrari(silver/red siver/tan seem to do better) While 59k miles is not super high mileage it is certainly not in the middle of the road 40k or so mileage range, which many people can stomach for a Ferrari. Lastly , while your price seems "fair" based on your description, it certainly is not cheap-and that is what it would take to sell that car right now-unfortunately. Hopefully you are not in a position where you NEED to sell. I do agree with you that it is worth more than 16k, however..........

 

I didnt see the date of the service, just the kms. Fancy pedals, wrong steering wheel and a big honkin amp on the spare tire are turn-offs. Admitted oil leaks and paint work. Taken out of context right here your car sounds like something to avoid. The color probably doesnt help either, just my opinion after reading your ad.

 

and it is missing the targa top....................

 

Missing the targa top cover - not the targa top. One fancy pedal - just the dead pedal since the rubber replacement pads are impossible to find and mine was worn. Paintwork was intended to improve, not detract. Perhaps a I should not describe the car in my ad and just have people ask the relevant questions. Many ebay ads seem to not throughly describe car. Huge stonking amp - yes - car cut or modified? No. To remove the amp simply pull all the RCA jacks and toss in the rubbish. Some folks may actually like the high tech high end system so I left it alone. Plus, my reserve was stinking low which means people were not even willing to approach it. Let us just say for argument sake that my car's reserve was 17K. Wow, everyone missed out on getting a super clean car for 17K! I would have kicked myself around the block for missing out on a price like that. Now lets just say my reserve was 24k. I still would have kicked my ass around the block at that price. 28K? Well, lets just say I could drive a non-red ferrari needing nothing at the moment to enjoy at that price. Basically, some of the rebuilt suspicious wrecks have achieved higher prices on ebay just because they are red. I searched high and low for a non-red car when I was shopping for my car after already having had red cars in the past. Just don't need the attention and silver just happens to be a favorite color of mine.

 

it sounds like you bought it,so now your the new owner

 

As I said, I bought because I love it. I just collect vintage motorcycles (main interest in life) and needed to raise cash for the purchase of a collection that was sort of the deal of a lifetime. I now have to look to other venues for raising cash (no jokes please) and had a reality check when doing so. Any one of you that are not into concours cars would love my car in person, she really is a nice one and looks great in Silver. Based on the forum, there are not many of these out there either in silver. I understand the need for red as I have had two F-cars in red in the past. Now that I'm over the need for Rosso the silver is certainly a nice sophisticated option that, as many of you know, has been a staple color in ferrari's past with many classic models, some in the multi-million dollar range, coming in that color. Not trying to compare to Porches, but having had many, I like the teutonic contrast of black leather against any paint color, especially red, white, or silver. I know most of you would feel insulted if your car achieved the same high bid.

 

Also, it's poorly photographed -- can't really see the usual wear points.

$36K probably isn't out of line, but the car is in Santa Fe (basically a remote location for 99 percent of us), and as JayF posted it is a 60,000-mile car which is considered high mileage for these cars. There's a lot of "Drive them!" bluster on FChat, but when the time comes to write the check most guys want a lower mileage car.

I like the silver, better than red.

You might subscribe here and put it in FerrariAds. Otherwise it seems like you haven't been here that long and just stopped by to sell a car that you weren't happy with.

 

I may just subscribe now in order to do that. Santa fe sounds remote but we are 6.5 hours from Denver and 7.5 from Phoenix. In the Southwest that is practically neighbors to two huge populations. I would appreciate some recommendations as to how to photograpgh and what to focus on when Ebay limits you to 24 pictures. Tell me what is important and I will picture it next time around.

 

it's a very nifty car and if it had been a euro model, you woulda heard from me. i just bought a 308 from new mexico, so i don't have a problem with your location, and your car seems like a decent driver in the perfect color. well good luck with your sale, i don't think it's easy to sell cars that are not clearly outstanding right now.

john

 

I also find it remarkable that nobody emailed me for additional pictures or even my phone number. Just not the right market now. I even suggested potential partial trades for those that might be cash strapped at the moment. It really is a bad market. I do believe that many first time f-car buyers want red too. I did. Then you realize as you are sitting in a restaurant somewhere that there are people drawn to red while you are not watching. Red is like a stupid magnet. People are blinded by it while parking next to you causing potential fender benders and scrapes. They are jealous causing key jobs, or they just suddenly feel like they can have a seat in your car and see what it is like. These things have happened to others as I have read about them here on this forum and in other venues. My favorite is that people suddenly think you are wealthy. Most people's new SUV or Truck cost more than my 29 year old car. However, "Dude, look! It's a ferrari" is overheard at most traffic lights from cars next to me or people on the street corner. No one says that about a spanking shiny new Toyota tacoma let alone a new shiny corvette!

 

Interior condition is a big selling point. The driver's seat bolster wears quickly, and the center console switches are susceptible to damage and expensive to replace.

You can also tell a lot about a 328 from its headliner and how clean it is.

 

silver cannot be fully appreciated until you see it person. it's a great color on these cars, but no one is accustomed to seeing them in this color.

 

Honestly, it's not the color. It's the mileage and remote location (most of us have to get on a plane to go to Santa Fe). Also, your description is longwinded: you could separate it with headings and serious buyers would be able to sort out what it needs.

For example, the first thing everyone asks is whether it is due for a major service ($5000+). The straightforward thing to do is say "Major service performed mm/dd/yy by {facility name}."

Finally, few eBay buyers really care that you're into motorcycles or need to sell. It's a distraction. Talk about the car's history. If you're an experienced Ferrari owner, talk about that. I'm an experienced Ferrari owner and I would guess there's no place to get a car serviced in New Mexico.

 

That's a big part of it, IMO. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but it's a bizarre thing with Ferraris, at 60K they just seem to take a huge hit in price and sell-ability. At 80-100K, they seem almost unsellable. It's a weird thing, because 60K on an 80s car is considered LOW miles for pretty much any other car (a Porsche, for example). Yet is "over the hill" for a Ferrari.

It's kind of a self fulfilling prophesy, because even if a buyer believes it's a great car and the miles are reasonable, a lot fear that if they put 10K miles on it, and put it up to 70K+ miles, they will have a very difficult time ever selling it. So they hold out for the typical 30-40K mile car.

But if you did a no reserve auction, you certainly would have ultimately received bids much higher than $16K.

 

I'll start where eBay left off

$16,200

 

I will re-write, re-word, and simplify the ad. No reserve is nice but risky. How does one feel about the fixed price best offer option that ebay has?
The car spend most of its life in california and was serviced there by both Boblieff in San Diego and Costa Mesa Ferrari of which are well known amongst the Ferrari crowd. I have not had the car long enough to require major local service but my local shop services all of the exotic cars in Santa Fe and there are many as we are a resort for the rich and famous. I agree with the mileage comments. My first though when I found my car was "Great! Only 56K miles!" If I found a Porsche with only 56K miles I would have advertised it as "Wow! Low mileage 911!" as most I have owned were well over 90K miles.
And, as many of the discussions have been on this forum, it's all about maintenance over mileage and I have the records to prove it. I'll get over this bitterness soon. It's not horrible that I have to continue to enjoy my car, it's an inconvenience that I can't count on it bringing me money when I need it. So the proverbial "money in the bank" statement does not apply to this particular car like other vintage breeds I have had in the past.

 

Unrealistic(IMO)buy-it-now = weak bidding on Ebay. Set a realistic reserve and try it again. Anyone really interested usually calls and asks what it takes to buy the car. In my experience with selling on Ebay sometimes it take listing the car 2 or 3 times to make a sale.

 

It IS a terrible time on the market.....that's the main rub....

Sorry you are having to sell........

Subscribe here and you'll find a whole lot higher ratio of knowledgable shoppers compared to FleaBay....putting an actual NICE car on there does it a huge disservice, IMO....

 

One other thing you might be missing is that a lot of people window shop on eBay expecting that the car isn't really for sale, or for sale at a reasonable price, is a scam, etc. A lot of cars are advertised on eBay with no intention of selling on eBay. It wouldn't surprise me if you get e-mail later by interested parties. Of course they will start at $16,200 where the bidding left off. Oh, wait, that's already happened. Also $16k might have been too little. "A 328 only bid to $16k? Must be a scam I don't know about, too good to be true, etc." Perhaps start the bidding at something closer to your reserve would make the auction seem more credible. In this regard your 100% rating means nothing, people's eBay accounts get hacked all the time apparently.

Keep advertising it. You'll find a buyer for a realistic price. Try craigslist. At least it's free, so it costs nothing to try.

 

I was considering the car, I actually like the silver. The miles did concern me for the reasons others have already shared.

I also ran the CARFAX and the comments by a previous buyer that inspected the car raised some questions as well. The interior respray from red to black not a big selling point. Potential oil in radiator and other leaks were also items for concern.

Having said that, I was surprised that bidding didn't go higher. The market is definately tighter especially for less than great examples. Recently another Fchat member bought a 15k mile black 328 with recent service for $42.5k.

People see the $36k Buy It Now and assume you want very close to that number. In many cases if they are not willing to go to that level, they won't bid at all. That is the case for me, I really don't like eBay and wont bid on items that I am not likely to win just to drive the price up.

As Bullfighter said, work on the readability of your ad and be specific about service. Based on your ad I assumed that it needs a major now. So to me your car looked like $36k + $6-7k. IMO at $42k there are better examples out there.

 

Keep the Buy it now price and start the bidding @ 18k with reserve not met. Say that the car is advertised elsewhere so you have the right to end the auction early if you get a fair offer. This lets a buyer know that they can make you an offer outside of the auction. Also, put in a contact number. A serious buyer will have more questions and will want to probably discuss an offer by phone. Don't worry, your phone will not ring off the hook. For me, EBAY has always been the best 1 week classified ad in the world. I really don't look at it as an auction.

 

Those are all good points by BassMan.

For your new ad, I'd suggest:

1) When you do your re-write, break it down into paragraphs. Based on your original ad, and your posts in this thread, you don't seem to believe in them, but they really do make it much easier to read.

2) I agree with your disclosing the "bads," but in the ad, I'd focus on the "goods" first.

3) The pictures could be better, and you need at least twice as many. You can't underestimate the power of quality pictures in advertising a car on the Internet. A car is an emotional purchase for many, and the pictures form a huge first and lasting impression.

I would reformat it in a way that you don't have to click on the pictures to see the larger version, but instead had all the larger versions in the ad, where you can scroll down and see them without having to click and wait. You can put unlimited pictures on eBay, you just have to use HTML or some other method. Here is a random example of what I am talking about:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-:-Cayman_W0QQitemZ300309719862QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090423?IMSfp=TL0904231410008r35648

I don't think you need 170 pictures, but you do need at least 60, IMO, of this size and preferably quality. People like the detailed shots of the interior, especially, and the engine, etc.

4) But It Now cuts both ways. It is great if the price is very attractive. It is not so great if it the price is not realistic. For this kind of car, I personally would not use BIN.

Good luck!

 

If you have a realistic reserve, I have a realistic buyer. PM me what you're really looking to get rid of the car.

Ace

 

For sexy exterior intro photos, especially with the silver, shoot just after sunrise or as you head into sunset. Silver is going to reflect colors around it like a mirror so be cognizant of what the floor is (grass, road, dirt). Late sunset will bring yellows and oranges into the upward facing surfaces. Shoot in the highest resolution.

Have the car as perfectly clean and polished to within an inch of its life so that the reflections are crystal clear. If possible try wetting the floor; higher level of reflections. Also look for an interesting floor that might have a pattern (cobblestones, bricks, etc.) as these will enhance the reflection patterns in the downward facing surfaces.

Shoot from more than just standing eye level. Get low and also get on a stool or ladder to get views that are not standard.

Look closely at the photos to avoid background items that intrude into the car. A telephone pole in the middle of the car would be an example of something bad. Do not do the photo shoot in the driveway; don't care about your house, other cars, garage clutter or your kids.

Look at John Lamm photos; he has done fabulous work over the years.

For the detail shots make sure you show the stack of maintenance records, might even clearly show the last major service, all the manuals with booklet, the tool set unrolled, the vinyl top cover and the jack set unrolled. Make sure to show all the items that you want to call attention to as being in very good condition for the car; if all the console buttons are in great shape then show it. Make sure the oil filter is a UFI before taking photos of the engine compartment.

As Jon said, make sure to show the outboard driver side seat bolsters as these are a bad wear point. Hadn't though of it but Jon is also right to point out the interior side of the top - something I've never seen photo'd.

Ensure that all of the areas being photographed are clean and nicely detailed. To many dirty can be an indicator of an owner's lack of care. If they didn't bother to keep it clean and presentable then what else was neglected?

Jeff