but i know non aussie 328s that have sold for more than that (GTS').....so.....that's ONE price, but that doesn't make it THE price.
Any of you gentlemen know of or can recommend a UK broker/agent? Haven't had much luck trying to find one.
If seriously looking into something like this, wouldnt a Barchetta or Superamerrica be a far more logical choice, as those seem to attract a serious premium here in Aus. (well in asking price anyway) Gentlemen? i think you're in the wrong place LOL
If you're serious, scan the adverts in classic car mags and online, line up a bunch of cars to look at (south west of London is probably the highest concentration of cars in the country). Get a cheap flight over, a rental car and a hotel in Woking (good for a side visit to Mclaren). One week's effort and you'll have a shortlist, get a reputable repair place to do the PPI (also in classic mags) pay a deposit then fly home. Arrange an import permit and shop around for the best shipping deal. Shipping people will pick the car up, pack it in a container and you'll have it 6 weeks later. April/May is the best time, few people sell their car in winter. Unrestored cars will be rusty somewhere. Rubber seals/bushes/etc suffer through lack of use and cold temps. Non-specialist repair places have appalling work quality. Otherwise, plenty of great and well cared for cars.
No doubt there are good cars too. Trouble is most people who go the pommy route are price focused and a cheap English car is probably cheap for a reason.
yeah. same as here....check a GOOD (and usually relatively expensive) UK car and do the sums again. proabably won't stack up quite as well.
Following on from what Ian B had to say: From my personal experience the last few years of having a look for 456/550/575 in the UK, must admit eventually buying a car in Oz that came from Hong Kong as a personla import there are some good buys to be had in those cars. Originaly I started looking for a 365/330GTC in 2003, however the price was going up remorselessly. prices seemd to be rapidly catching up to Australia. in 04/05 and 06 I saw 16 cars offerd for sale retail and privately ... there were NONE offerd ion the wholesale trade. Every car I looked at had, to a greater or lesser extent the"red" haze on every visible bolt on the underside .. even sometimes on the wheel bolts on otherwise pristine Borranis. The cars generally were pristine oin the "topsides", surprising on the "bottomsides". I think Australians believe that it is possible to buy a 40 year old car with no rust at all .. I thought so as well, for a year or so. The dealers/sellers were amenable to a PPI, however it was up to me to organize completely, and I was usually on a schedule and most times I had my darling "foot-tapper" with me. So I procrastinated too long .. eventually once the cars got past 100,000GBP it became futile. The "ROUGH" rule of thumb is multiply the UK price in pounds by three and you have the price in Aus dollars standing in front of the NSW registry ready for rego + pay for stamp duty, slightly less for cars that do not need RAWS (note this was when LCT was 25%). In the UK modern cars have a surprisingly high mileage on them .. most 575's have at least 15Kmiles to 45K miles. This is given the unbelievable road congestion and the fact it is almost impossible to drive with salted and gritted roads for 2 - 3 months of the year. In the UK the advertised price is adjusted a max. of 5% downwards. In the UK they have no qualms about a dutch auction. When I made my "serious" offer they would ring up their "last serious bidder" then come back to you. This happened twice wiith me. In the UK, they have no qualms about gazzumping you. In the UK, they do not seem to do as much PPIs. I am sure I could have bought a few cars by making my final offer and wanting immediate agreement on the price. In the UK, Australians are regarded by many as colonial upstarts who only know how to play cricket and kill tourists in Central Australia. If you accept that then you will be fine. In the UK, English Ferrari salesmen are the smoothest, most spectacularly dressed people we saw ... anywhere. From my experience could I suggest you get a VERY good idea what the going price is. Get a VERY good idea what you are prepared to pay. Get it FIRMLY fixed in your mind that no matter what you pay for a car you will probably think you COULD have bought it cheaper and LIVE WITH IT. Going price = the one and only Pistonheads = http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/index.asp?c=21 Dealers I dealt with for modern cars: Cortese Bath (impossible to find without a GPS) = http://www.cortese.co.uk/ Lancaster (now Jardine), Sevenoaks = http://www.jardinemotors.co.uk/dealers/home2.aspx?franchise=ferrari Rardley Motors = http://www.rardleymotors.co.uk/ Foskers = http://www.foskers.com/ Avro motors = http://www.avromotorcars.co.uk/stocklist.asp For the older cars these were pretty good: 250SWB motors = http://www.racecar.co.uk/250swb/index.htm Duncan Hamilton = http://www.duncanhamilton.com/ Regards Philip C
or just do what i did. look at the ferrari club UK site. ring the seller of the car you want. make an offer. ask him to hold the car at his place insured and registered for 3 weeks while the import approval is done, then either pick it up or get it picked up. easy. (or was i just lucky)
I agree with Peter's method ... IF you are buying from an enthusiast. However consider how you would feel if someone rang from UK wanting to buy your car. PP we have both sold a few cars over the years, and apart from two sales the rest were procrastinators/dreamers/professional "cars for sale drivers" and so on. PP I would be interested in a few of your stories .... In fact I think there is a thread there? I suggest you were very fortunate Peter in your buy. I regard buying a car as a bit like winning Lotto ... Occasionally, just occasionally I have won a divison 5 .. sometimes I have only had one supplementary Philip C.
The easiest Ferrari sale experience I've ever had was through the club, to John H who wasn't a member at the time but found me by calling the NSW president looking for a good car. Likewise, I bought my 246 and Queen Mary from a club members, both were good experiences. Then again, I was happy to pay the market price, knowing that "there's no such thing as a cheap Ferrari" tm 360C I'm surprised more people don't put wanted ads in the state newsletters and I certainly wouldn't hesitate to use the UK owners club. btw they have a very good owner's register in the UK, which makes it easy to track down the particular model you want. You just need to find a UK member who'll share it with you.
