F8 or Speciale?

Hey guys,

I'm new to the forum and need some advice/thoughts/suggestions. A little background:

Current stable:
'99 M3
'05 Elise
'02 M5
'11 M3
'16 X5M

I was really sad with the last purchase of buying my first non-manual car. Of course, reading reviews of these newer turbo cars, everyone always says how improved they are over the old tech turbos and "you can't even notice any lag". I definitely notice it in the x5 and also think that car would have been much better with a stick.

Of course, a goal for the better part of my adult life has been to one day own a Ferrari. The funny thing is that as time passes, what used to be a drool-worthy 360 now looks a bit dated. I had my sights set on a F430 with a 6spd and even saw one perhaps five years ago going for $130k or so, but I didn't have the means.

Something that my friends and I talked about was how the excitement of getting a car has never quite been the same as it was with that first m3. Sure, I bought the Lotus new as well and it was pretty cool too, but the rest have been second hand with the M5 coming with 90k miles (I've owned it for 10 years now and put on 100k miles) and definitely didn't have that same feeling. My thought was it would definitely be exciting when I finally got a Ferrari.

so....I put a deposit down when they announced the F8 and the dealer said my allocation is up and It's time to finalize the spec and put the order in. While I know to never consider cars like these an investment, but I wouldn't be happy that in 3 - 4 years, it would depreciate somewhere around 100k. But a part of me thinks it would be fun to have the new Ferrari experience. I'm also not sold on the turbo idea. Sure, 700+ HP, but where other than the track would you really notice? I've been kicking around the idea to go through with the F8 and own it for a little and then trade it in for a Speciale. Dollar amounts are similar, so I wouldn't have to pay sales tax again. To me, the Speciale is the last of the naturally aspirated and it might maintain it's value over time.

Am I crazy?

 

Buy the speciale now and trade in for an F8. You won’t lose money. No guarantee the other way around.

 

458 Coupe is fairly well depreciated and fantastic. Some like it better than Speciale. The latter has more room to depreciate in mid term.

I love the V8 M3’s. And the E36 was incredible in its day.

 

Money/investment opportunity is a whole different conversation my friend and except for a rare handful of automobiles you should not use investment and automobile in the same conversation. Just my opinion but cars as assets normally depreciate...
However if you have the discretionary funds then whether you select a Speciale or a Tributo really depends on your “use” prioritization and which is more aesthetically pleasing for you personally. For me, regardless of the cost the Speciale with its amazing lines (especially the hips!) and its attributes (last N/A V8 etc etc) was my choice. I have had it 3 years and it still puts a smile on my face when I open the garage door and makes my heart jump when I push on the accelerator. I don’t expect that will change for a very long time.


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Speciale everyday and twice on Sundays! If ever you change your mind (which you won't) you could sell the spec and buy two near new used F8's a year or two out from now. As a special car the sensations are all there in the Spec.....not so in F8......fast but very bentley like.

 

Yeah...I get that, but I'm still under the impression that buying new the first time around has some value to me. Perhaps it will be "ho-hum" like with the other cars or maybe it's overrated. So I'm willing to pay the price for that experience, but I think long-term, the Speciale and maybe if I truly enjoyed the F8, pick one up in a few years.

 

You aren’t understanding- F8 won’t come for a while. Buy speciale tomorrow- I’m 6 months when F8 comes sell speciale and get F8. Best of both worlds. Save on depreciation and you get new car experience.

 

This is going to sound weird, but I never liked the front end treatment on the 458. I know they are probably close to the bottom of the depreciation curve, but I just can't. hahaha. The change they made to the front with the Speciale ...drool

 

Agree the 458 front is aging now. Spec looks great! Not sure where you see the value in waiting to pay a ton for a new F8 which will drop like a stone and no way deliver anywhere near the driving sensations the spec will. The spec is way fast enough anyway.

 

The F8 is going to drop way more than 100k in 4 years. Maybe twice that. If that's OK with you to get the new car experience then go for it and enjoy. Otherwise if Special is the car you really want then SoCal has given sound advice. Though given that the cars in your background are many multiples below the value of an F8 I'd guess you do not go through with the purchase.

 

No. It will be likely near half.

 

My 2016 488 with am msrp of 329k I sold in April for 236. Probably worth 200k now. Use that as your guide for F8 depreciation.

 

Exactly. Low mileage 17 488's trading at $200k or less. Low mileage 2018's at close to $200k. F8 may suffer even worse depreciation as a stopgap reskinned 488 once LB becomes the shiny new toy.

 

As corona virus continues to play havoc on our economy, someone is going to snag this one owner 5000 mile 2018 GTB at 200k or less.

@mrdrums got $40k off ask on his used 2019 GTB

Get the speciale now and enjoy for 2 years with less catastrophic depreciation then save $100k off MSRP on a used F8 in 2 years, not in 3-4.

Check out a 2018 Ferrari 488 GTB Coupe RWD - $223,289 on CarGurus at https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/share/262854990

 

Speciale first. If you hate it, then trade for an F8.

You're gonna lose way more than $100K in 3-4 years on an F8 if that's what you care about. With Ferrari's new production numbers and fiercer competition, the days of standard models holding value are gone.

 

I agree so much with others here....get the Speciale now and enjoy the Ferrari experience. The F8 will drop like crazy...all these types of cars do...Ferrari, Porsche Lambo and on and on. Yes the F8 is faster, 488 too. The torque of the turbo is awesome.....but the look and sound of the Speciale is ...well...special.

 

Thanks all for your advice. I'm just trying to make an informed decision. To clarify, the $100k in 3 - 4 years was just something I pulled out of thin air. My intention was never to hold onto the F8 for that long. It was more of "could I take delivery of the F8 and hold onto it for a few months and then make a lateral move to the Speciale and not take a bath" Sure, if the F8 was everything I ever wanted in a Ferrari, it would be a different story. I definitely like the front, but find the back a bit too busy, and I'm also not sold on the driving experience of a turbo, but I will test drive the F8 some time this week.

 

Don't forget capital costs. Buying anything right now could prove very expensive if COVID-19 is contained and the market shoots up 10%. Love Ferrari's, but even the SA didn't appreciate better than holding companies. Love it when guys are all like "I sold it for what I bought it for, I didn't lose any money!". Nice thought, but your capital was locked up while the market went up.

 

Congrats on getting an allocation for F8. The fact that you have an allocation this early without any prior F cars support what was floated on this forum a while back which is that Ferrari wants 30% of its non limited cars to go to new buyers. Your last post suggest you just want the awesome experience of buying a new Ferrari and that you intend to move “laterally” to speciale which appears to be the car you really want. Test drive the F8 before deciding. Awesome car with huge depreciation potential.


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coronavirus has now given many the recession they had hoped for. now its time to see how many of the same people are for real or just tire kickers...

 

Implying the op is a tire kicker?

 

no, didn't mean it that way; meant generally. but he could be i guess? lol, why you stirrin up trouble man.

 

Financially a used car is (almost) always a better deal - and with the stock exchange crash the prices of "collectible" used cars may also drop again.
So if money is a factor, the Speciale is a no brainer.
I am however convinced that the F8 is a better car (and by some margin, in spite of the allegedly crap sound), but I guess Ferrari dealers are not ready to adapt the prices of new cars to the market situation.

 

Get what you love, money is not everything, if you prefer the comfort and all the new elegance associated with the F8 and you can wait the whole 18 months, then go for it. But if you prefer the 458 Speciale like many actually do, go for it, it's a win win too.

Personally, I prefer the F8 to the Speciale, I prefer comfort to unique experience, and also to be able to choose my own spec, but it's just me!, and anyway if I was you I would also try searching a low mills 488 with nice spec that suits your taste and keep it forever, there no real big difference between an F8 and a low miles 488, but STILL, you won't be able to spec it yourself which is an important factor as well.

Finally, you can wait less, but you will pay more, you will have to add every single CF to your sepc or you can even go Tailor Made for your F8. It depends also on your country, but for sure you can wait less just pay MORE! * But if you decided to go Tailor Made, plz keep it forever!

 

I bought the 488....Wow, I'm delighted over what this car can do. The F8 is just a slight bump from the 488 anyway....althought the Pista is wicked!!!