what should i be paying

$50K would be extremely generous. The market on these cars right now is rock-bottom.

Here are the most recent sales of 97 355 Spyders at Manheim:


07/30/09 RIVRSIDE Regular $35,000 46,389
7/24/09 LAUD/MIA Regular $34,000 35,786
07/23/09 MANHEIM Regular $42,500 42,598
07/02/09 RIVRSIDE Regular $46,500 14,893
6/11/09 AWS Regular $52,500 26,162
05/27/09 ATLANTA Regular $52,500 29,943

 

Those are auction prices and you can not expect prices like that from a private party. Not even fair to ask or assume you can get those prices for a private or dealer sale...

Auction prices don't determine the market....Look at the above prices and it would appear the cars values are rising....

 

+1000

Look at the miles on those cars as well. Most of the cars at the auctions don't have records, fairly rough and not close to the quality of a car that you could find from a private owner. Bottom line, there is a reason they are at auction.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy by stating that you should be paying auction prices for a car. I doubt there is a single 355 owner on here that would sell their car for the 30's or 40's and I know first hand there are some beautiful, well cared for cars for sale on this board. Take Robbie's car (which is for sale) and sit it next to one of those auction cars and tell me if it isn't worth the difference in price. I'll give you that prices are depressed. Between the economy and the time of year they are down but if you can get a well maintained and documented car for $57K that's probably a fair price. As always, get a PPI first.

 

I agree Robbie.

 

And make sure the PPI is by a very knowledgeable person and insist on leak down and compression testing!

 

I agree that auction prices don't determine real market private party prices. However the list is in reverse chronological order ie. it appears that prices are FALLING! Ugh!

 

Auction prices DIRECTLY determine retail prices.

It is NOT correct that Manheim auction cars are beaters. Many dealers do not handle this inventory, so if they take a Ferrari on a trade, it's a fair bet it goes to Manheim.

I agree that you SHOULDN'T be able to buy a car at Manheim prices, but you CAN if you just look a little.

The market for the 355, sans the GTS, has DEFINITELY moved in the $50K range, and that is GENEROUS. Of course, there are exceptions on both sides of that figure.

If I personally was shopping for a 355, I believe I could find a good example in the mid $40s.

Why? There's lots of people that need to part with their cars at this time.

 

Without seeing the car, this price sounds about right especially if the car is complete with all tools/books/records/covers/remotes etc., good luck with your search.

 

When I tried to sell my 348, I was offered auction values everywhere I went. I get the same thing with commodity cars. Everyone seems to demand wholesale pricing when they buy...

 

$57k would be a fair price assuming all records were intact and the car was in very very good condition. Also, please find out if the headers and cats are original...replacing those costs about $5500.

If it does need some attention then $53-$55k would be reasonable.

 

Keep in mind also that blue/tan is a relatively rare common color combination for the 355 Spider; you will find 10X as many red/tan, red/black, and black/black examples on the market. If you want blue (and I personally think that a 355 Spider looks fantastic in it), I wouldn't pass on this car over a few thousand dollars in purchase price; you may go a long time before finding another comparable blue one.

 

I disagree with you on a few key points.

1. Most people with a very good 355 are not going to trade it, and if they do, what for? Most "trades" are not the top-condition cars, as they will definitely bring more money on the open market. why get "beater" price for a well-maintained example?

2. I don't believe that $50k is in any way generous for a good car. More to the point, it's insulting!!

3. You could find an early 355 you could drive, repair, fix, get stranded, and repair again with 40k+ miles for around $40k, but I wouldn't be interested in doing that.

4. Anyone who "needs" to unload their car is not likely the type of owner you would want to follow. I would like to sell mine, but I thankfully don't need to sell it.

Caveat Emptor. Good cars will always bring more than your "average" Manheim examples.

 

CLUELESS

I know of several friends looking into buying now, so far, every cars (many, not one) priced too low are total pieces.

Mid 40's is for a piece and it's a 95 with paintwork in a crappy color. you can have it and write about it all you want

 

+355

 

PM sent, doctore007.