288 GTO VALUES

I can't remember his name this was about 4 years ago, but he brought the car to Russo & Steele and was very upset when I spoke with him about the car. He said that no one here knew what the hell they were talking about, because everyone told him he would be lucky to get $400k for it. I know it was very low mileage and when asked by the local dealer representative "when the last time the belts were changed?" he laughed and said "it has less than 1k miles, it hasn't even had an oil change". He also had a very low mileage Boxer and Pantera, I think the Pantera sold, but he left with both Ferraris.

Terry

 

How fast do the Ferraris selling in excess of $2,000,000 go compared to a F50? Seems like no one cares how fast the 250 GTO goes, they are willing to pay $7,000,000+ even though it is slow by modern standards. The measure of any collectible is the ability to aquire, supply and demand, the 288 has the supply side on in its pocket.

Of the 278 288s built, how many have survived? I'd hazard a guess that is 225 are still factory original and road worthy that would be high. You know some hit trees, flipped on tracks, burned in fires, got butchered by their owners, etc...

Is the Mona Lisa really a babe? Or is the "value" about the exclusivity factor? A modern California blond w/ non-OEM breasts makes for a better arm trophy IMO.

 

F40 maintenance bills are going to start to climb. Price will drop accordingly as more become available. 288 is a limited commodity and always will be. I agree that 288 is not the car that an F40 is, so I would pass on it and wait out a nice decline in F40 values. JMHO

 

Also, The 288 were ALL gray market cars! Not intended for the U.S. I heard there are only 40+ GTOs in the country (legally, non-leagal)???????? I don't know???

 

Jim, the opposite is happening, the average F40 price is up almost $50,000 over the last 5 years, they are not losing value.

With the price of a F430 Spider at nearly $300k, it is pushing people to look at F40's.

5 years from now F40's will not be worth less than they are right now, but a F430 will be yesterdays news and not worth $200k. This is not a slam of the F430, I love it, just the reality of high production numbers.

F40's are pretty reasonable to own, maintenance costs are less than you think.

GTO's are gorgeous, my good friend had just about the nicest in the world and just sold it for $350k, everybody keeps talking about how they are going to go through the roof, but the reality is they are 20 years old and have never been worth more than a F40 (on average).

The performance of a GTO is a bit calm by todays standards and its very close apperance to 3X8's I think will keep them at 90% of a F40. I do agree that they are beautiful and should be worth alot more, but it simply has not happened.

 

The real estate bubble won't burst like a stock market crash. For a true crash you need panic selling, I don't think it'll get that far. Real estate is less liquid in a lot of regards, especially residential. I'm predicting more of a slow painful decline, a tighten of the screws if you will. The market has already peaked here in So Cal, condo prices are flat or declining which is a leading indicator. I'm also starting to see signs that say "Reduced Price" as single family homes are on the market longer, and there is a ton of supply of house on the MLS listings.

There also seems to be a counter cyclical trend that commerical RE does well when residential is down and vice versa.

I'm not sure you can find a statistical signfigant correlation between Ferrari prices and RE cycles. Most people that are in the market for $250K plus collectors cars are insulated from effects of economic cylces. Especially on a car like the 288 GTO, there are so few of them and they change hands rather infrequently, you don't have enough meaningful transactions to use as data points to conclude anything definitive.

The bottom line is there is too much supply out there in terms of so-called limited production super cars. Back in 1989-92 when there was a huge peak in exotic car prices, there weren't really that many super exotic, only the F40, 959 and few others. Today the market is flooded, FXX, F40, F50, Enzo, Spyker, Porsche Gt1, Carrera GT, Maserati MC12, Bugatti Veyron, Lambo etc etc. So anyone one type of exotic has more competition for a limited number of buyers attention, that is going to keep pricing down. The commoditization that is effecting luxury cars like Benz, and BMW is going to effect the exotic car market to.

If you correct exotic car pricing for inflation and look at it in terms of real dollars the situation looks even more bleak, an F40 or 288 is worth probably $150-200K in real 1991 dollars as compared to it's 1991 million dollar plus peak. You can't compare what a 288 GTO cost in 1986 to it's price in 1990 and today, because money is worth less today. Conversly if a 288 or F40 market price was going to exceed it's 1990 highs, it would need to got 1.5-2mil plus range in todays dollars, and I just don't see the F40 or 288GTO appreciating by tenfold (1000%) in the next 5-10years, if ever.

 

Chris, maybe its just wishful thinking on my part! I had also read this comment by Michael Sheehan..

"Ferraris also age. Someone buying a 1992 F40 will be spending about $335,000, yet their “new” F40 will have the same inherent, age–related problems as that Camaro. They will just cost much, much more to repair.

Virtually every 10–plus–year–old Ferrari needs the shocks rebuilt or replaced, suspension bushings replaced, brake hoses replaced, water pump rebuilt, water hoses replaced, an engine reseal because of oil leaks, and fuel cells replaced, if so equipped. All rubber or related components deteriorate with age—the key is to identify these issues and factor them into your sales negotiation."

I guess I interpreted the implications of that incorrectly...thinking maybe the 288's had already gone thru this deferred maintenance stage. I was thinking maybe that is pushing Boxer prices back up now. What do I know? I will leave the speculating to the speculators I guess. Know where I can get an F40 fix'r'upper?

 

have you seen this one for sale ?

http://www.motorclassiccorp.com/CarDetail.cfm?ID=82

 

Oh my God....I am IN LOVE with that car all over again!

Thanks for the link MD.

Cheers,

Vasco

 

No price listed, must be free.

 

Went on Saturday to see this 288.....Extremly clean well preserved original 6 thousand mile car....He is Asking $395,00.00..
Looks like the upswing on this car is underway...
I am still about 6 months away from being able to swing this car myself!!!
I will Miss another Beauty.

 

the bumber on the new york car doesn't look original. the bumper dips down on the sides under the side blinkers, like the 308. i'm pretty sure the 288's front bumper was straight across. right?

 

Yes, it's the wrong bumper for a 288 (it's a 308 Euro bumper).
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I believe the magic number is about 40 years from the cars production date it transforms to more of a collectible than car. The collectors were in their teens when the cars were made which puts them in their 50s which is when men typically hit their stride financially and money is no object if they want something.

The 288 and F40 have a long way off and will maybe keep pace with inflation in values and possible go down as their designs begin to look more dated along with expensive maintenance concerns, also these cars were built on the 308 platform along with being turbo V8s vs the classic V12s so associated with Enzo Ferrari they may never appreciate to much, certainly not on the levels of GTOs, TRs or 275GTB alloy cars for instance. I think thats a good thing though as these cars will remain with a different type of enthusiest who buys them to enjoy vs someone viewing them simply as commodity to flip.

 

I am almost never in this room. I think it is very difficult to decide between the two cars. Each car has different positive and negative factors.



You can't go wrong with either car.

Buy what you want for emotional reasons.

 

I wonder about the F40 vs the 288 GTO as I have both. To me the 288 GTO is a cooler car. My personal view is that it will be more and more appreciated over the next few years. If I could only keep one it would be the 288 GTO.

 

Could that be an issue of conversion and conforming to grey market standards rather than a 'wrong' bumper? I don't know myself, and I see the difference, but is it possible that was something done when it was brought over rather than a 'wrong' piece?

 

COOL! Any pics?

 

My 288 GTO, F40 and Daytona along with a few other cars
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I guess anything is possible; but I can't see how a Euro 308 bumper provides much more protection. I have a 308 with those bumpers and they are a lightweight fibreglass construction with no special crash absorbing properties (to my knowledge).
There were some really hideous things done to 288's in order to federalize them, if that's the term. I have seen a 288 with slates cut in between the tail lights (yuk!), presumably to aid heat removal from the engine compartment once Cats were added.

 

in Europe a 288 gto sells for 300.000 euro +

 

looks like a fun get together event in Hong Kong........ here is our event in Bangkok, Thailand... sure wish you could join us.

http://www.xok.com/sundaymorningdrive/thumbnails.php?album=32

 

You guys have some serious wheels. I have given up on Sunday morning drive in HK. Too many cameras. I save my energy for the track. Would love to join you guys someday. Will PM if I am coming to Bangkok.

 

i dont think any cars are going to "go up' in price much in the next few years with the RE market uncertain and the interest rates climbing, inflation etc. I think the market will be stable on the collector cars and hit the 430's/production cars.

 

Armen hit the nail on the head, the big flag against the 288 is the gray market status in the USA. Many are scared away from those type of cars and there are some real hack job conversions out there.

Personally I like the 288 better.

But then again, I'm the nut that likes odd ball (read: cheap) Ferraris...