Oh no. Next thing you know, the Ferrari Pope will be pissing in my bowl of Cheerios too. Heaven forbid.
This actually assumes a person wants to buy a new Ferrari and to spec it out. In my opinion, most of the juice from a TM and or Atelier Ferrari is not worth the squeeze. Either during original ownership or on resale. Certainly not on resale.
i agree with that. In fact virtually all cars my wife and I buy are spec’d by us. That said, I’ve never seen an overhang like this in my life. And if I were in the market for a 296, I’d absolutely buy one in the secondary market.
Unless you spec’d one, value your dealer relationship, and like your spec much better than the market. I’d have to pay $450-475k for my car in the open market based on my research. That’s what I’m paying my dealer. Oh well!
As someone new to the world of Ferrari - my (new) 296 was/is my first - I am bemused by the central theme of this thread. For me the car is a (very) expensive toy, and since when did toys make economic sense? If being able to spec the car exactly how I wanted it means a big hit from depreciation then so be it. I am absolutely certain that I only live once. Lights blue touch paper and retires....
The 296 is in a most bizarre market position. The reviews are glowing. Road & Track car of the year in its third production year. And yet, they're stacking up at dealers. Excelsior is correct, they're not even posting the new orphaned cars, but the floors are full of them. It was a major price jump over the F8, easily 25-35% over a similarly specified F8. The LV dealer has 3 on their website but probably 8 on the floor, and there might be more in the service areas that I didn't see. It's unnerving to see that the market doesn't want them, and I wonder what is giving everyone else cold feet right now. I don't remember seeing this many F8s back in 2021-2022 when they were coming in new (there were loads of used Californias and 488s). I keep wondering if I was so entranced by the spell that I didn't notice the disruptions around me.
The car is great. The problem is macro with the economy, election, etc… many fear a big crash is coming. Nervous money moving to the sidelines.
How much of it is the relative price increase for the sports car model? In 1999, a 360 Modena was around $145,000, which equals $273,059 in 2024. The flagship 550 Maranello was $195,800, or $367,000. The 456 was the most expensive at $224,800, now equal to $423,335. Now, even in current dollars and time relative, the entry level Roma Spider is around the price of what the V12 550 Maranello used to cost, many 296s are in the low to mid $400ks (even up to $500k) - meaning the entry 'sports' model is now more than the most expensive model was in 1999; worse, SF90s are about 1/3 more expensive than the top of the line 1999 production model, even in relative terms. Not only that, production numbers have soared. In other words, if a 296 was closer to $273-300k, they would be very price stable, maybe even 'over' MSRP in the mid-$300ks.
My well-optioned 2021 F8 Spider was 362k. My decently optioned but ridiculously expensive (unexpected) paint/strip 296 GTS is $480k. That's a 33% price increase for the same "market positioned" car. Same price bumps on the GTB. McLaren/Porsche/Lambo increased prices as well, but not to that level. You combine that with a more than doubling in interest rates, and the switch from V8 to V6/hybrid (which bothers some people) and here you are. That's all this is, and since COVID shortages are over there is far more easily available inventory. Higher prices, higher payments (with better investment returns for cash elsewhere), less desirable to some, less exclusive. Bam.
Not to defend Ferrari pricing, but inflation is real. Everything has experienced a MASSIVE increase in cost due to inflation. Compare the MSRP of a Ferrari vs the cost of a home. Compare the average cost of a home in the US in 2004 (360 era cars) vs now. In 2004, the average home price in the United States was approximately $221,000. In 2004, the Ferrari 360 Modena had a (MSRP) of approximately $151,245. The percentage difference between $221,000 and $151,000 is approximately 31.67%. From 2004 to 2021 the average inflation rate was 2.1% Today the average home costs almost $400k. A 296 GTB has a MSRP for a 296 GTB is approximately $336,000. The percentage difference between $400,000 and $336,000 is 16%. Between 2021 and 2024, the United States experienced an average annual inflation rate of approximately 5.18%. This rate reflects the cumulative price increase over these three years, resulting in a total inflation of about 16.36%.
This doesn't account for the inflation in options prices though - there are basically zero GTBs landing at port at $336k. Where a Modena might have had $15-20k in options these things are carrying $80-120k in options now!
Factor in inflation..what is the cost in 2024 money for $30k in options using 2004 money? $60k. Not that different. A Porsche 911 GT3 has increased in price by 82% since 2004. A mid-engine Ferrari (360 etc) has increased in price by over 120%. Porsche just did a 40k price increase on Gt3s. Porsche is pricing the cars to reflect the true market value and keeping the ADM profit for themselves. Ferrari started doing that with the 296 2 years ago. Neither are leaving a cent of profit for ADM.
It's hard to compare to pricing 20 years ago with how much inflation we've had coming out of Covid... just look at the stock market, it's such a crazy bubble right now at the top levels. So for the wealthiest, there is plenty of room for higher prices, in theory...... but so many just really think we are on the verge of a 2008 type market crash, and it's all being artificially held up for the election. And I don't have any data on this, but I've also "heard" that all luxury/exotic car sales have been dead slow all year..... lots of orders being cancelled for G-wagons, Range Rovers, etc.
2023 296 GTB with 327 ODO MSRP 406k RNM 325k https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2023-ferrari-296gtb-3/ Image Unavailable, Please Login
this is true. Our F dealer told us that they haven't seen this level of walk aways before. Cancelled orders, cars arriving and buyers not buying. Dealers do have unwelcome inventories that aren't being marketed, according to our Ferrari store. I asked why? he told me, interest rates, economic uncertainty and the recent sales of sf90s/ 296GTBs etc. Buyers don't want to buy a car worth less than they are paying. Once the election is over (and depending on results), interest rates will fall and confidence returns prices of toys will increase. Did you know that this is the worst year for home sales since 1998? We arent in a recession, but housing has always lead the economy out of a recession. Watch for home sales numbers as your early predictor. When people aren't feeling confident, feeling fear, they don't buy much of anything. Fear is in the air. When this happened in 2007-2009 we bought cars, homes...anything we could. 2011 GT3RS, $135k (sold it for 175k), 1989 Speedster, bought for $105 sold for almost double maybe 2 years later. Our homes have 3-4x in value. Point is, when folks are fearful be greedy and when they are greedy be fearful. Act the exact opposite of what others are doing.
Add in some super cool cars from other manufacturers available and we have the situation we are in right now. Ferrari is certainly not the only game in town. I had been a die-hard Ferrari guy for many years but no more. Too many other options and I simply dont like the direction the company is going.
At most times there are better returns for cash than cars , unless it is a complete rarity you will lose money. It is the price of enjoyment
Just noticed that in France, used 296 are now on similar prices as used F8, including at official Ferrari dealers. I struggle to make sense of that, since it seems to me you get a lot more (in terms of performance at least) with a 296. So apart from the general situation dragging all prices down, there is a specific distrust for the 296 - maybe people are still reluctant to accept hybrid on a mainstream sports car.
No Lift , strange interior , alcantara is off putting for many, wheels note as Matt grey on the plaque but they are black , some after market work has been done . Colour is launch colour , not an inspiring spec that must have been built to flip and they got it wrong
Yes smaller markets are doing better . A large market like the US is set by the group think around the last fire sale number.
But is a 296 actually MORE than an F8 in terms of pure driving enjoyment? I went on a rally recently with the local FOC chapter. I can tell you the 458s (including mine) and 430 seemed like they had a lot more fun than the silent 296.
