Opinions: What color combinations are "SALEPROOF"?

Funny how the Ferrari market is so color-dependent. Just about any other car the color really doesn't matter unless it's something weird like a beige Porsche (yes there's one for sale right now). Red, black and yellow are the major sellers, with the occasional blue as long as the interior is tan or black. Anything else and it will be yours for a long time.

 

At the FCA National at the start of August I had a conversation with Steve Alghrim about colors. He was the Sales Manager at FAF during the 3X8 days.

FAF had a regular allocation of cars and (I think he said) quarterly they had to submit their order. For their allocation cars they always specified Rosso Corsa with black or tan interiors. They also specified the carpet but getting that per their specification was hit and miss. Occasionally FNA would send cars above the allocation and these might be in any color.

His thinking on making everything in Rosso Corsa was that it was far and away the most sought after. A potential buyer that might be looking for an off color had a high likelihood to accept red if it was immediately available. If someone was really set on an off color then a dealer-to-dealer trade was going to be easier with a Rosso Corsa as bait than another off color.

Jeff

 

personally, my favorite is straight Black.
especially with a creme white interior. red is also very nice inside the black car. but i choose to stay away from dark interiors -you dont want to depend on an italian air conditioner!!!!!

because my car is a one-off, i didnt really have the choice. but i will NEVER complain about owning a red/tan Ferrari.

the term 're-sale red' may be cliche. but if it wasnt true, the term would never exist.
i think black will always be a very strong seller as well.

after that it is subjective, and definitely a factor.
i like the gray and silver cars as well. i am not so crazy about the rest of the rainbow. not for these cars.

i came across a real sweet euro 308qv in white for sale. it was perfect in every way, and a really good deal, $$$$$.
but it was the paint that kept me from pulling the trigger. i told the owner this, he understood and told me thats why his price was below value. he was willing to reduce his price even further to make the deal as he knew i wasnt a tire kicker. the new owner got the second best 3x8 deal of the year.
i got the first!!!!

 

THe "resale" for any brand car has always been, "buy a color that the factory car brochure shows.". Any other color will not be as popular. So...what did the factory 3x8 brochure show in their full-size pics of cars? I doubt there were any green or brown ones...probably just red, black, and maybe a blue or silver.

Also, "odd" colors are very faddish. Look at the teal color that was popular in the early 90's on a lot of cars. Now you couldn't sell such a color at all. On a sporty car you probably can't go wrong with Red, Black, Blue, Silver, Grey or maybe White. Anything else and you are looking for someone who just happens to want a color that nobody else has (or wants).

Of course, some colors are associated with car brands. I would NEVER have considered a red 911 when I bought mine - only black or silver (bought black). But for my 328, red/tan was the "only" color I considered and there is no way I would have purchased some other color regardless of the price.

 

It's funny, I've come really like white on the 308/328.

Euro cars are a P.I.T.A. in California, so I wouldn't buy one, but these are tiny cars and wear white nicely.

Still, they would be harder to resell.

 

I have come to like just about every color, except for white. To me, IMO there is just no POP to it. I like the dark colors. The silver and light electric blue do look good. The darker red (don't know it's actual name) looks very good. But I still bought the car from the posters I had on the wall in High School....RED!
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tom wolfe !!!!

 

This is what happens when a dyslexic orders his "red / tan" 308 from the factory!!!

 

The worst I've seen were both 308's and were both in Portland, OR back in the late 90's.

One was gold (and I mean "special order", "Goldfinger", shiny gold) --- sat in Ron Tonkin GT's showroom for an eternity....
The other was some putrid shade of metallic rose (looked like a pimp's car)

I have no idea what color interiors either car had --- I couldn't get close enough to look without getting the dry heaves....

And yes, the yellow over red 308 that was recently on Ebay was rather retching as well

 

The worst color car I have EVER seen by a manufacture was a custom ordered 1989 Camaro Z28 that was ordered and not delivered. I was looking to buy a car at a Van Nuys, CA dealer and they had a bright RED convertible, red interior, red paint, red top, red wheels, red carpet. You name it, it was RED! Maybe Sammy Hagar ordered it. In hindsight I should have bought it. They were practically giving the car away and I could have had a new top put on it and new paint. But it looked like a pimps car! All it was missing was the Ho in the front seat!

 

Was that really his car? It wouldn't surprise me it if was. I guess the white exterior is okay for some, but I'm not sure why anyone would also have a white leather interior.....except for perhaps Richard Mieir.

 

Rosso metallizato (sp?) I saw this one in person at Marshall Goldman. I could see how it would be very hard to sell, but 328s look so nice in general that honestly, standing next to it, I didn't hate it. While almost no one would buy this, there may only be 1 or 2 in this color in the United States, so you don't need 100 potential buyers.

It is a very feminine color, though. For a woman buyer who works in the cosmetics field, this would put her in very good standing at the next Mary Kay gathering.
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That doesn't look tooooooooo bad.....

The color I saw was an aftermarket, non-factory color (horrible paint job to boot) --- and, it was more pinkish / mauve than that. Even Mary Kay would have had her doubts........

 

No, it doesn't look bad at all. I actually had stopped by to see a nero metallico Testarossa that Marshall had just bought and had to see the 328 just because I had never seen this color before. It's impressive just for being extremely rare, and because the color is a lot more subtle than the photo suggests.

 

Actually I find that color interesting. But what do I know, we have a prugna.

Jeff

 

A FCA member here in Denver had one (might still have it), and he told me, if I remember correctly, that white on white was the rarest FACTORY combination (not special order) for the Testarossas.

Depends what you want, I guess. Some people might like having the rarest factory color combination.

Personally, I avoid white leather: It is impossible to make leather white by conventional tanning processes, so the only way to make it white is to paint the surface. And that wears off quickly.

 

To me white is a perfect correct color for a Testarossa, but just looks godawful on a 308. White looks much better on boxy, angular cars (Testaorssa) than cars with free flowing lines (308s). White interiors are NEVER a good idea however. I had a Porsche 944S2 back in the day with a white interior and will never own a car with a white interior ever again. It didn't help in the slightest that I worked in at a dirty, grimy body shop at the time.

 

White is my least favorite color for most cars, but 308/328s look good even in white; I think it's the contrast between the black anodized louvers, the black centerline, and the black trim, with the white body.

That said, my silver over burgundy 308 just keeps looking better and better every day; I think silver "Argento" looks fantastic on just about any Ferrari.

 

Silver is the color most often used for car design evaluations in the design studions. It does the best job of showing subtle surfaces.

Jeff

 

I did not know that, but I can see why that would be. Thanks for sharing!

 

No color is any more "sellable" than any other color.

A market priced metallic brown 308 will sell much quicker and easier than a "dreamer seller" red/tan, 50% over market priced, 308.

 

Was going to let this thread die and have the world be a better place for it, but here's an interesting blurb in some car spam received from Motorcars and Randy McCall today:

Frankly, I wish my passion was shared by all those that call me as well.
Sadly though, it is far too often that I hear someone complain that a car maybe has the wrong paint color or leather color or maybe doesn’t have some particular option- NOT because of that they want on the car they will pay their hard earned money for, but because they’re worried about the next buyer’s opinion. Unbelievable! It kills me when people insist their Porsche or Lamborghini have satellite navigation when they will never drive it far enough to even need it. They’re more worried about what the next owner of their car is going to want. Are these people buying the car for themselves or not? Same with color. Why do so many people feel their (first) Ferrari must be red? Have they ever been to a Ferrari event? It’s a shining sea of Rosso Corsa Red. Some of the most beautiful Ferraris I’ve seen- and sold- were not red. Wait, I think I just answered my own question. They want to be a part of that sea of red. I do fear their motives are not because Ferrari’s racing cars have been red or they’re simply not aware Ferraris are painted in anything other than red, but because they’re concerned with what this unknown world of Italian cars is really going to cost them. They feel red will be the easiest to sell when the time comes. I think we all understand that in today’s market, we’re not buying these cars as investment purposes. Buy it to enjoy it. Buy the color that captures your emotions and makes your heart skip a beat. Makes you feel like a kid again. Isn’t that why we love these cars in the first place?

Maybe call it "Insecurity Red".

 

Why do so many people criticize first time Ferrari buyers for wanting red?

As that blurb above counsels: Buy it to enjoy it. Buy the color that captures your emotions and makes your heart skip a beat. Makes you feel like a kid again.

Maybe the answer is as simple as this: For many people, growing up, when they dreamed of owning a Ferrari, they dreamed of owning a RED Ferrari. That's the color that captures their emotion and makes their heart skip a beat. That's the color that make them feel like a kid again.

Why do so many have to be so snobbish towards those that simply like red Ferraris? Why does the answer have to be "insecurity," or some other convoluted explanation?

 

silver is a bodyman's best friend. it hides imperfections, while black will make imperfections stand out.

 

Maybe. I think what Randy is saying is that for every guy who dreams of owning a red Ferrari there's another guy who buys a red Ferrari because it's easy to sell if the repair bills get out of hand. The expression "resale red" suggests he has a point.

Red is only about 13% or so of the new car population as a whole, so in general buyers don't prefer red.