I don't see the maintenance history on her. But it is probably in need of a major. - At least thats my initial impression, given the low price. Which also annoys me ...
with that type of mileage its a driver..if it runs on 12 cylinders as opposed to 2. As with anything you get what you pay for....if its at 35k, i wouldnt expect much....holes in the rugs...dents, dings...rust around the engine bay or a hell of alot of dirt. It is what it is. What could you expect for 35K Im sure someone will enjoy it.
Oh baloney. Thats less than half the miles of my Lexus which cost more than that, and is just a fancy Toyota. Want to buy one with 70k miles? Same price. If we are going to follow this line of reasoning, then concurrently, we must accept the fact that Ferrari = Toyota & Honda.
I'd buy that car if it is mechanically good and tight, do the major myself or less than $2k....and have a great driver. Who knows what has been done to it in those 76k miles, but with proper care those miles aren't any big deal. If the car runs and drives good, with no dents and just tired paint - it's worth about that price in my opinion. I would like to see that car in person. I keep my TR in very good shape as some people can attest, but I once saw a TR with 57k miles on it and that car looked nearly new - actually better than my car!
Not to kick the "hive"....................But..................If a Ferrari is such a well engineered, superlative car...............Then I would think that "high" mileage would not be such a depreciating factor!! When a car sits, it dries up, plain and simple. I have Toyotas from the early 90's that have 140K+, and they are just broken in. Hell my 87 TR has 48K+ on it now, 7K in the less than 2 years I have owned it. I guess I now own a $40K piece of junk..............another couple of years and I'll be lucky to get 10K out of it.......Plus I find it insane to believe for even a moment that Ferraris, TR and others from the 80's and 90's are constantly listed as 7-20K cars. What a waste of a CAR.............I may just be niave and have not accepted that these cars are to be veiwed and displayed in marble floored garages with the Lambo and Aston in the next stalls, rather than driven. I bought a Ferrari to experience the drive...........not to display to friends when they stop by for a designer beer or cocktails, Christ I don't even drop the F word when talking to most people.......it is interpeted as, I'm rich, I'm a name dropper, Hey look at me, or I'm full of sh*t. How can one really trust (paper trail or not) That a 1991 TR being offerd for $82,000 has a number displayed on the odometer of 7300 miles, meaning to be "correct", 3 majors have been done..............that's crazy.............and we all see them listed day in and day out..............this is nuts!! $35000 is a steal for a great car, I would hope the carpets are worn and the body has few "imperfections", at least it is an honest representation of a driven car...........which is what the whole point of a car is, F car or not, to drive it, not to stare and pat ones ego that I own a Ferrari...... Hopefully with the emerging baby boomer buyers coming out, like myself, these cars will be ..........Driven and NOT Hidden! (If bumper stickers weren't so tacky I'd trademark that saying and market the phrase to the exotic community!!) As I've posted in prior threads, there are 3 TR's and a Modena within 1 mile of my very rural home (987 population).............I have never seen any of them ever on the road in the past 10 years.............what a waste. There got that off my chest..........LOL Kerry
The reason mileage is considered a negative factor in Ferraris has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not the cars hold up well with mileage. It has everything to do with supply and demand. The fact is that, all things being equal, most people prefer lower mileage in any car, be it a Ferrari, a Porsche, or a Toyota. Due to the type of use many Ferraris encounter-- being part of multiple car collections, weekend drivers, etc.-- there is always a ready supply of low mileage used cars out there. Consequently, most Ferrari buyers expect to buy a low mileage car. So, in summary, if 9 out of 10 cars you on the market have very low miles, wouldn't you discount the high mileage car?
Yes, but how many of the 9 are truly low mile cars?? It's easy enough to rollback, disconect speedos', fab service records, etc.....which is why people do it...for the $. People just need to be carefully when buying a car like this, and not just use the miles as the only factor in determining it's value.
No easy answer on this car. It could be a bargain, or a complete rip-off. Most likely, somewhere in between. You could easily put another $35k into service work, at which point you will have $70k into a car that's worth $45k-55K. On the other hand, if it doesn't need much, you will have ONLY $35k into a true 12 cylinder FERRARI!!!! And you could likely use it for a few years and then sell it for $35k down the road. As I said, no easy answer until due diligence is done on this particular car.
Most Ferraris accumulate very low miles compared to other cars. Why? How many Ferrari owners do you know who don't own another vehicle? How many do you know who drive their Ferrari daily? Sure there are a few, but in comparison with the number of guys who have a daily driver and only drive their Ferrari on the weekends, not many. Then there are those pesky rainy or snowy days... So yes, I think probably 8 out of the 10 are true low mile cars.
Hello Kerry! I'm trying to catch up to you in mileage, my current TR just rolled over 40k miles the other day, and like you I drive it whenever conditions permit it. I also do NOT drop the fact that I own a Ferrari into any conversations - just seems in bad taste, but my fellow blue-collar friends always seem to spew it out. I act all humble and mild about it, but actually I like the fact that somebody has said it . Hey Kerry....maybe we should go in "halfzies" on that $35k Testarossa and whip it into shape, and take turns driving it?
A point to consider: the definition of "low miles" must be a subjective thing. Because the older a car is the more "low miles" it will have. So over time the term "low miles" should be adjusted. If a car gets rarely driven, maybe 1k miles a year....as time goes by the "low miles" factor must go up too. It seems to me that a low miles TR is something less than 15k miles. But you know these cars are getting pretty long in the tooth now. My car with 40k miles has accumulated about 2k miles a year - is this considered "high miles", "normal miles".......what? To me the larger the disparity between miles and the age of the car is like an alarm going off. What more miles means that the car has seen repairs, services, and been more sorted out. A car with over 70k miles on it that still drives great will have had many items fixed or upgraded. So in a sense your gaining from the previous owner(s) work and expense at keeping the car going for all those miles. Physical condition is another point, if the paint is faded beyond repair and the leather is shot.....yep....big expense to make it right. But if it has the ususal road rash with no dents or major paint damage you can patiently fix a lot for little cash outlay and have a very good looking car. If the owner of a TR does his own major service, it will run maybe $2k in parts and that's for everything except maybe a clutch or fuse panel. But these items have probably already been fixed or upgraded for the car to reach this point in mileage. I hope that some day, the market perception on Testarossas changes and people realize what a great Ferrari these cars are. People shouldn't be scared off by the mileage if the car has good documented history. In my opinion you can spend as much money getting a garage queen road ready as you can a high mileage car. We shouldn't assume that garage queens will be trouble free. So give me a nice car that's been driven and lovingly cared for - with maybe a little "patina" - and I'm sure I'd be much happier than driving a concours type car where I have to worry about every little stone chip, bird dropping, or door sill scuff. I mean the driving experience is pretty much the same, and the car with "patina" was $20k to $30k less, and the average person on the street won't notice the difference between the two. Wow here I go running off at the mouth again....I'll stop and let somebody else talk for a change.
I am in the same camp Jeff...............Now about goin' halfzies...................I'm in...........seriously! I could probably arrange transport on a truck I may have dead heading from LA. Enclosed and delivered within 2-3 days. I've got FF miles from hell...so If need be could fly out and take a look. Or better yet, I'm sure that there must be someone on this forum that would take a quick look if asked..........Put your money up friend!!!! I'll contact the seller today just to see what the story is. Kerry
What is the true wholesale price of a Testarossa ? - Not the price on ebay. What would a dealer in these type of cars, pay for a "typical" 30K+ mile driver Testarossa in need of a major service ?
Kerry's thoughts after reading the highlighted qoute above..... "Another couple of years an it looks like it'll be time to part my 87 TR out I guess.......more value in parts than as a wonderful, well performing Ferrari that been used as a mode on transportation rather than eye candy. What a shame for me to find out that my excellent TR driver will soon be worth more in the parts bin than as amazing road car.......Well I must live and learn. How sad that such an engineering marvel is used up at 75K........My money I am learning might be better spent on a cookie-cutter Vette with some serious upgrades rather than an F car." And this is how we promote the TR.....No wonder the values drop with this coming from the mouths of the owners........ Kerry
Amen Kerry..... I'm always hoping that if enough enthusiastic TR owners speak out about the many upsides to owning one of these cars, that the market perception would eventually turn around. But I guess not. Never-the-less I'm going to keep expounding on what great cars these are. It's kind of a love/hate relationship, all the badmouthing about TRs keeps the values down so a regular joe like me can get one, and then I'm always preaching how good these cars really are and hoping the values will go up - which will make it more difficult for me to get my next one...an "oxymoronic" situation eh? As I said earlier, I've seen a "higher" mileage TR look nearly new...a 9.5 on a scale of 10. So I can just imagine what one of the TR detractors would say if he looked this car over - theoretical conversation below: "Hmmmm....nice car, no dents, the paint is so shiney it looks almost wet, just a very few stone chips on the nose and spoiler, wheel wells nice and clean, you can eat off that motor, aftermarket floor mats but they look nice, only slight wear on the driver's seat bolster, Tubi exhaust sounds great, the car starts and idles smooth, no rattles or squeaks, it looks beautiful. WHAT.....it has how many miles on it......sixty-thousand !!!! Oh my gosh...you better just part this car out...it's not safe for the road anymore....I can't believe your still driving this pile of #$&*!! If you wanna get rid of it I'll trade you my Mustang for it even up...after all people do get these cars confused with each other, and they are worth about the same right?..." Okay I'm stopping now before I throw up all over the keyboard. But really if that TR on Craigslist is anything decent that's a steal of a deal. A complete Testarossa should be worth more than the sum of it's parts - not less. I do think the market on good TRs has firmed up and maybe even going up slightly - it's about time too. There is a lot of road "presence" for the money in these cars.
LOL!! My other cars must be really, really all used up at 155+ and 185k+ Toss that Lexus, lose the Thunderbird, and trash the Stang. All used up. Wait till I go to the food store, though... Classic Stang & Tbird? Naw, just all used up.
Jeff, It does put us between a rock and a hard place doesn't it? By the way I have left 3 messages on the voice mail of that tel # listed for the TR in LA........No response........So who knows, either sold or a scam......Hey we tried.........Kerry
