Are these duplicate books marked as duplicates or replacements and it's my understanding the car is in a vault in Switzerland, it would take some work but I could get a hold of the owner. (it'a also not a GTO you brokered, ever)
Yes, the replacement books are marked as duplicates by the factory in full transparency, perhaps you missed both clarifications I made above confirming this: "it is stamped Duplicato where the supplying dealer would normally stamp the book" and "Duplicato books are clearly so stamped, so there's nothing to hide or call out". I'm sorry it's not a GTO I've brokered, if it was I'd be able to save you the work getting hold of the owner.
I know of two buyers with major collections who walked right away because this F50 is missing its W&S book. This integral part of a supercar telling you when and to whom and through which dealer it was delivered and subsequently for each service: the date, type of service, mileage, and servicing dealer is inseparable from the identity of the car from delivery to present. Missing ones also reflects the type of owners and the care or not they showed towards their cars. I store the Warranty and Service book of my cars in a bank vault and each year go there and bring them out for the annual service stamping and carefully return them to the bank’s vault (a 1.5hr journey each way). That precious they are. Not to me. When it was offered circa a year and a half ago to me they asked whether I would pay 50% more than the F50 market price at the time. I said, ‘yes I would’. My first request was a copy of the W&S Book. They were evasive and secretive and nothing was sent to me and that was enough for me to walk away despite how tempting it was given the mileage uniqueness (which, of course, would have been my second focus to trace it through the various years and owners). You probably will now find a replacement document with a single recent J Macari stamp on it. Of course other buyers have different standards but it is widely viewed that without such an original document the risks are too high. Also those who would buy a car missing such a crucial document would do so with a corresponding strong discount. A genuine delivery mileage F50 with all books and traceable ownership history and mileage would command a 50% premium. If the market price of 8-10k km range US spec F50s is $4.9m (average of the two Monterey F50s at $5.2m and $4.6m), then the Euro spec version (which the 179km car is) equivalent would get a 15% discount, so a market value of $4.16m. Then apply the 50% mileage premium and you get $6.25m. The ask is the same number, so the seller have not applied any discount.
Steve, Goodyear have not made the model specific tyres for the F50 since the mid noughties, so what is the solution to that predicament for every F50 ever made that are now sitting on nearly 20 year old tyres at best, used or not. Lambo spec ones if you actually want to drive it, not exactly to factory original spec then though is it.
If they're not available, they're not available. What can you do other than use the new Pirellis and keep the old perished F50 specific Goodyear Eagles with the car, or get different rims/tyres to drive the car? It's the same with some early Testarossa tyres I believe.
Call me crazy but I think anyone who has one should be a happy son of a witch. Personally I would buy the low mile car and fix everything and then drive it. Like going back in time and buying the car at the dealer brand new and driving it off the lott. To each their own. It is what makes the world go round.
True the seller has not applied any discount and I believe there is a reason for this. Karim, not every owner or buyer is as meticulous as you are, we are seeing this consistently reflected in the prices achieved by Ferrari Supercars at auctions where average cars (GTO/F40/F50/Enzo) that require work or are missing some items bring top money, some of the quite young newly-affluent I deal with who are buying these cars in the new owner landscape are not as particular as you might imagine, they do pay up for very low miles though. I'm not saying this apparent refocusing of people's priorities is wrong or right, but it represents our evolving non-conformist society. As christiann has chimed in so succinctly: "To each their own. It is what makes the world go round." That would be awesome, just like the Monaco gentleman did with the delivery miles Countach, I think you should buy this F50! Hope you are well Christian.
Agreed. Seemingly for the majority of buyers that are seeking a prime example, mileage ranks at or very near the top of criteria. I would wager that for every potential buyer that passed on the BA car due to missing the W&S book, 5 would pass on a car with ~5,000 miles for being too high, regardless of how complete and pristine the car is otherwise. Not saying it makes complete sense, but it seems to be a real thing that is self-perpetuating in this current market. Does he really need two?
You've described the current market perfectly. And yes why not, one to stock (super low-miles) and one to rock.
A group of us gathered this morning and poured over the original wiring diagrams of the F50 to try and understand what makes the torch illuminate automatically when the driver’s door opens. Image Unavailable, Please Login with a voltmeter and some testing on the four pin base between the seats and discussions over the diagram, some progress was made but it remained a bit of a mystery. door Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login I provided a couple of torches as reference and they worked (Mark McCracken brought them back to life from quite a state a couple of years ago). View attachment 3417148 Image Unavailable, Please Login View attachment 3417132 View attachment 3417133 View attachment 3417134 View attachment 3417135 Image Unavailable, Please Login
Joe, I think there was a degree of inconsistency from Ferrari as to what was supplied with each car, according to the market.
As of last week, 103291 is for sale again. Now at Ferrari of Newport Beach. 103291 sold for $5,175,000 during the BOA Montery Jet Center Auction this August. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login https://www.dupontregistry.com/autos/listing/1995/ferrari/f50/86643
Update visit on F50 JF at DK Engineering. Discussed today with the team there how much to spend on the car’s Big Birthday to bring it to original perfection. I agreed to the full works suggested at close to 6 figures although the car went there in such a good condition to start with. Here are few pictures: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Indeed, I'm well aware of this, today some cars have far more than they were ever delivered with, some have less.
The car is nice, but not perfect, and while the mileage is low (~4,900 mi), it's not insanely low like that example listed for 6.25m USD. Weird flip, or the buyer woke up the day after the auction with a hangover.
I've know this F50 for 23 years when the local longtime owner Dave Wilson brought it to my house in 1999 to compare it with our F40, fast forward, it's not at all strange that it's for sale again, it's owned by a dealer, selling cars is what they do. Meanwhile, another day another F50 - weave. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Andrew, That inconsistency and a quater century of storage, change of ownership, servicing added to the lack of interest or attention by past custodians can be rectified by present-day owners. What is needed is some knowledge, financial investment and lots of time involvement & passion. But the journey is absolutely worth it. Mine wouldn't have been possible without the leadership, teaching and sourcing as well as fixing and making perfect by the best expert, Mark McCracken. He always said 'You just have to have patience, we will get there'. Correct he has as it was a 2-3 years journey to get near completion of what Ferrari made for the F50. Below are some pictures to inspire (not exhaustive): Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thank you for the very kind words Karim, it was my greatest pleasure to be involved in the journey with you and the collection, I have never meet anyone else that shares my obsession for perfection to this degree - actually you take it to a new level! Four F50's, two Enzo's, a 288GTO and your wonderful F40 - to say I was there, is just the best! I certainly knew a lot more by the end than I did when we started, every day was a day at school. But more importantly, and the biggest bonus for me, we built a great friendship that will last a lifetime, we have enjoyed many road trips, rare steaks and excellent wine along the way. You are a very humble, generous and honest man that took a huge gamble building the collection, and no one is happier for you than me, that it paid off. very honoured, Mark