Hi folks- I'm thinking of selling my car in the summer and was hoping you would give it an asking price. I would expect no less than to have you folks tear my car apart!! It's an 83 (or 84) euro 308 QV. Manufacuted in Oct. 83, imported to US in 84. I do not have DOT paperwork, but I do have a US title, so registration here in Maine was no problem at all. It's chassis #48305. It was US converted with steel safety bars in the doors, sealed unit headlamps, but that was about it. Red/black interior, completely stock,60K miles, runs beautifully, shifts beautifully, stops beautifully. Good: All records from new. A great driver Ferrari that had been very well maintained by her previous owners and me and the New England Ferrari Fix-it club. Never seen salt, and only two rain drives while I've owned it- so no rust. Very nice interior- seat leather replaced about 15k miles ago- except the headrests which are a little dried and cracked. A few water stains on the back deck fabric. Carpets/mats are good. Top (with cover) is good. Recent (27 months ago) engine out service for timing drive bearings, belts, etc by myself and Verell (FChat consultant)- a lot of work here, so the engine looks and runs great but slightly weeps at the rear distributor. Not enough to worry about. Valves adjusted by Boston Sportscar four years and 10k miles ago. front/rear radar detection hard wired (older escort model) Replaced all suspension bushings last winter. Shocks are still original. This was also a big job. List of a few other things I have done since I've owned the car: new clutch rewired headlamps for more brightness new fuseblocks (Birdman's finest) rebuilt steeering rack rebuilt all brake calipers new stainless brake lines new injectors new fuel lines new coolant lines new oil vapor lines rebuild cv joints/boots, replace differential oil seals new warm-up regulator I'm just finishing crankcase/gear oil replacement (redline) good BF Goodrich tires (g-force comp TA 16") original 16 magnesium wheels -could use a repaint to get rid of scuffs, gouges etc) tool bag (complete) jack bag (complete) original owners manual new red cover from Ferrari stock euro exhaust, and also an open "track only' muffler The bad: 1. two body dings that are too deep to fix with dentless repair (both less than the size of a quarter- one in the front right fender, the other on the rear right fender. I few small others I'm going to fix soon. 2. A/C compressor blew the oil seal, so is inoperable. I wouldn't mind replacing it before I sold it, and do the timing belts/tensioners again. The price to sell would reflect this. 3. rear luggage compartment zipper is loose at the teeth and works for a while, and then fails. 4. front spoiler is slightly cracked, but not loose at all- I never worried about it because I figured once I fixed it, I would run into a curb or something. 5. original Blaupunkt (sp.?) radio barely works. I'm the third owner. The first owner in Texas put most of the miles on the car as a driver for about half it's life. I've talked with this owner and would be glad to put any buyer in touch. The second owner (Texas also, and same mechanic as original owner) only had the car for a couple of years and stepped up to a 456. I've had the car for almost five years. Here are a couple of pix: Thanks in advance folks, and sorry I get a little long winded, I just wanted to make sure you had the facts. jwise 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
The service records will be a plus, but I know that I was leery of Euro cars during my search (more from a future resale perspective than anything else). Buyers who'd be putoff by the miles, probably aren't the market you're shooting for anyway. Does your car have the "rust proofing"? I can't remember the serial number cutoff. I nearly bought a US spec 85 QV with ~40K miles in better cosmetic condition with a recent dealer major for 34K, but it was snatched out from under me by a buyer who didn't demand a PPI. Your location ain't gonna help, but if you find a local buyer, you'll be just about the only game in town. How quickly do you want to sell it? You could put it on the market for 33-35K and see what happens, but I'd guess you'll have trouble getting more than 30 in the end. The opinions above could be way off base; it's just my conclusions from two years of window shopping and six months of serious hunting (I ended up with a '86 328 in Jan. - if that adds anything to the picture).
This may sound scary but if you are confident it's a legal VIN you should contact DOT and get the DOT and EPA records.... IMO this will go a LOOOOoooooooong way with newbs who may be fearful of the car...there's the "they'll take it away and CRUSH it" urban legends out there and it'd be nice to drive a nail into that, right off .........
yes, like bigtex says, you can get the DOT paperwork for just a few dollars, i got paperwork for my euro spec 308 from dick merrit some time ago. wait til after tax season, beginning of may, and list her for $47 to start out with, you can ALWAYS go down on price from there.
I've been watching pricing closely for the last two years or so. I agree ask in the $40's and hope to get $35K. Unless you put it with barrett-jacksonand you might get ridiculously high price like that one that sold this Jnauary fro $52K the very next car was a TR with 14K miles that sold for $50K (the only thing I can figure about B-J auctions is buyers have too much money)
I agree with the "you can always go down" theory, but if you're listing it in the 40's you'll be up against lower milage US spec cars with few to no issues. Hasn't Forzamotorsports (Peter Sweeny ?) in Connecticut had an '83 QV listed for 37.5 for a long time and no sale yet? That would be a comp in your geographical area (very broadly defined).
Looks sharp, especially the engine. I would guess an asking price in the low $30K range is right, but agree that the DOT paperwork would be a big plus. Especially since you have a good amount of time before you're selling, so the usual government response time won't be an issue. He's already practiced - most of the rugs from Baghdad appear to be under the car.
i would ask 34K and settle for 30-31K. since the major was not done at a dealer, i would have to trust your mechanical skills. i hate to take risks like that, so i would want the price to reflect home-based major work. john
Thanks everyone- this is exactly the info I had hoped for. I just got off the Dick Merritt at the D.O.T. I very nice guy, and very helpful. They DO have the DOT release for my car, and will be faxing it to me on monday once I pay them $19. So, that should be all set. Thanks Bubba and Giovanni for getting me to call Dick. I asked him about EPA paperwork, and he said it's not necessary on my car. He even remembered the company that did the conversion (Texas Coach) and recalled they did good work. So- she should be priced somewhere 30K and a billion dollars!! That's quite a range. Seriously- thanks for reading the long post and replying with your concerns and comments. Anyone else? jwise
This is a great 308. I have seen it, driven behind it, and i know Jwise. He's a great guy. He knows his stuff.......... To tell you the truth, I think he knows to much. Good luck selling her.
I have shopped for a few 308QV's in my time and I always lusted for the Euro models, but the market is not like me. Having those releases are worth about $5K, IMO. This allows you to sell the car in more areas in the US, maybe even in wild CA - hmm, there's that BAR sticker to worry about out here. LOL The overall market should be soft for a Euro car just because of the perception that the car is not really legal (I know, that's wrong), may have Euro parts that are harder to get than US cars (sometimes a valid concern) and may be more difficult to resell later. I'm thinking that, in good condition with the AC working and the body repairs (fenders and chin spoiler) you should see between $35K and $38K. If you do not make the repairs, reduce the price by what a good independent shop would charge for those. When selling a car, visible discrepancies will affect price mostly because they are so obvious. A/C can be an issue because the fix might be a little $ or big $$$ depending. If you fix it, the cost is known; if a buyer is budgeting, he must assume the worst. GL
If 31k was all I could get for my 308 I'd put it under a tarp in the back yard and forget about it for 20 years.
I can't believe some people are quoting you prices in the low 30's. These are probably the prices they paid for their cars years ago. If the pricing at B-J is any indication (which it is not), then you should be asking at least in the high 40's. After all this is the way the car was originally designed in Italy, not changed for the US market. It is faster, lighter,higher compression and according to FML, there are only about 100 in the US.
If what I have seen is any indication, a Euro carb model might outpace it's US counterpart, but I just don't see it for a QV. Frankly it sounds like a good car, and I'd encourage the seller to start off at a high price. You can get a low miles fiberglass Euro car in the 40's (see Forzamotorsports again). I'm assuming that anyone who knows enough about classic Ferraris to know that miles are not a problem for a well maintained car, and the enhanced performance of a Euro, will know that they can drive a bargain. As a first time buyer, I would have put a lower value on this car than some of the US QVs I've seen listed for high thirties. A local buyer who understands the cars might well pay a bit more, but a Maine location suggests significant transportation costs are likely. Depressingly, many folks stretch to buy their dream car and a few grand at the margin counts. I hope I'm wrong, and I've been surprised by the sale prices of a few 308s that I have heard about lately. If I'm wrong, then I STOLE my 328.
My opinion is to ask $37,500 for the car. Higher than you will likely get, but not so overpriced that an interested buyer would not even bother looking at the car. As for what you can expect to get, I remember looking at a car very similar to yours with around 35K miles about three years ago. Asking price was $35,000 firm. It never sold for that price and I saw it offered for around $31,000 almost a year later. Prices have gone up since then, but I will be extremely surprised if you can get more than $35K. A lot is going to depend on finding a motivated buyer who either lives in your area or really wants a Euro. It also depends on how long you are willing to hold on to the car until such a buyer comes along.
The Barrett Jackson announcer said that Euro cars take a 15-20% hit in price over a similar US car. With that said, I think $37-39k area and sell for $35k would be about right. Very nice car for that money.
When the announcer was talking about Euro cars, was he talking different makes (Porsche, Mercedes), or Euro Ferrari's?
