Revisiting the 550 market | Page 2 | FerrariChat

Revisiting the 550 market

Discussion in '456/550/575' started by teachdna, Jul 8, 2012.

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  1. intrepidcva11

    intrepidcva11 F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jan 12, 2009
    3,215
    Saratoga Springs NY
    Full Name:
    Seth
    But then what would you buy? oh yes, a 550.

    Twenty years ago a lunatic wanted to buy my prototype 365GTC for a fortune, about double what a mint GTC then was actually selling for. I declined, figuring I'd have to pay federal and state capital gains taxes of at least 30% and then, what would I buy, since there was no Ferrari I'd rather have owned and enjoyed driving.
     
  2. craterface

    craterface Formula Junior

    Apr 14, 2011
    620
    Sanibel Island, FL
    I will give you one data point. I recently paid 64.5 for a 2000 in Azzuro California over Cuoio. Car is in excellent condition, about 2 years until next major is due. Lots of receipts from Bobileff and Shelton. Mine is "high" mileage, 31k. Most sticky parts addressed except center AC vent rings. I looked at two others, and this one was by far the best. I also looked at an excellent F1 575, but it was 30k more.

    My car has excellent paint and very, very good leather on the interior.

    One car I looked at I had down to 52k, but then my body shop guy looked at it and found the entire back half of the car had been painted after an accident. You get what you pay for! It looked and drove pretty well, but I didn't want to go there.

    Another one was in such poor condition, I would not have bought it at any price, not even 20k.

    I did not look at any Rosso Corsa cars. For me, I probably paid too much for an "off color", but I love the color. Patek's Rosso Barchetta car was also one I inquired about. I believe it was offered in the high 60s.

    Happy hunting.
     
  3. DoninDEN

    DoninDEN Rookie

    Jul 9, 2012
    4
    In the "Rosso Corsa/Shields/Tan Daytona" What does the Shields refer to?
     
  4. teachdna

    teachdna Formula Junior

    Sep 1, 2001
    374
    Cincinnati
    Full Name:
    Jeffrey Robbins
    This is all good information. Apparently there is a demand out there; I've been getting a lot of PMs! It appears there are a number of cars for sale but a fair number of the ones "available" have issues that make them less desirable and have been kicking around for months. I think that really nice, straight cars with no accidents, no issues, good records and 1-2 owners who really took care of them are getting a bit hard to find and require a fair amount of searching.

    It remains to be seen as to whether I'll sell or simply be inundated by tire kickers....I'll let you know.
     
  5. DoninDEN

    DoninDEN Rookie

    Jul 9, 2012
    4
    Tom I am in Denver and signed up as a new member to refer to your post. I am looking at one locally and like yours as well. What will need to be done for the major? I see the leather is bubbling on the dash and steering wheel, how can that be fixed? If you send me your email we can discuss in that manner.

    Don
     
  6. wbklink

    wbklink F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 2, 2009
    3,312
    Los Angeles
    Full Name:
    Bill Karp
     
  7. p1turbo

    p1turbo Formula Junior

    May 21, 2009
    359
    san francisco
    'But all those looking are always looking for low miles.'

    not me...:)

    bought 575 in feb w 26K...now at over 32K

    the more i drive...the more i like.
     
  8. wbklink

    wbklink F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 2, 2009
    3,312
    Los Angeles
    Full Name:
    Bill Karp
    Me 2 bought with 20k now have 41k and love every mile !

    cheers,

    Bill
     
  9. G. Pepper

    G. Pepper Three Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Mar 15, 2012
    33,724
    Texas/Colorado
    Full Name:
    George Pepper
    #34 G. Pepper, Jul 9, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    The yellow prancing horses on the fenders. Like these on my 456M.

    Cheers,

    George
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  10. ///Mink

    ///Mink Formula Junior

    Sep 5, 2006
    808
    Fair Oaks, CA
    Full Name:
    Tom Mink
    Lovely 550 you have there, just what I'm looking for. If it's still for sale in a couple of weeks perhaps we'll have a conversation about it. In the meantime, best of luck with the sale.
     
  11. teachdna

    teachdna Formula Junior

    Sep 1, 2001
    374
    Cincinnati
    Full Name:
    Jeffrey Robbins
    Well, it’s been an interesting week since I initially thought about selling the 550 and replacing it with something else.

    I started this thread hoping for a realistic appraisal of the market for 550’s. I’d like to at least tell the Board my experience as it might help others who are thinking about trading out of the market.

    1. Wholesalers are not your friend.
    A number contacted me; a few actually came over to look at the car. While they made cooing noises, all invariably low-balled the car. When I asked on what basis they were coming up with the numbers, most mumbled something while one showed me the recent auction results. There is a very, very thin number- at least on the auction sites he had access to and he boasted that he had access to them all. A total of 3 cars were sold recently: all had at least 5 owners, all had higher mileage and all wholesalers insisted on using those numbers. As I said earlier, I thought that a fair, rock bottom price for the car in its present condition and scheduled for a major was about 62.

    I was offered a low of 42K and a high of 53K by the wholesalers.

    2. To negotiate or not?
    This is obviously something that needs to be decided beforehand in order for everyone to feel reasonably good about the entire process. I was contacted by a number of folks and was upfront with all about my ambivalence in selling the car. Almost all entered the process in a negotiating mode and all but two stayed in that mode. As I wasn’t interested in selling at under 62K (the offers were reasonable, ranging from 57-59), most dropped out after realizing the price was firm. None really cited the lack of a major, figuring that was factored into the asking price.

    3. There are a lot of really good people out there and using this Board. I never felt that I was being lowballed by anyone who came to this car through F-Chat (the only place I announced that I might be thinking of selling). Everyone acted like a gentlemen and hopefully, there are no hard feelings. I received 2 firm offers, in cash for 62K, no questions asked, even though I suggested that they should come up and see the car or do a PPI. Although I know that’s standard advice on the Board, I think the element of trust for us chronic users is high. That, coupled with what I do for a living and the fact that anyone can find out almost anything on Google about someone led to a surprising willingness to rely on emailed pictures and/or service records.

    I would suggest that anyone who is serious about selling their car have lots of pics ready, showing the inside and out as well as any flaws that exist (there are always flaws on a 15 year old car that’s been driven). I had pdfs ready to send and I think they were useful to the potential buyers. By the way, this Board seems to be a GREAT place to put your car if you are serious about letting it go and are upfront about its condition.

    4. I’m astonished at how good the 550 is after 15 years.
    Yes, I know we all know it’s a great car. But greatness can’t really triumph mortality and progress in technology and cars have advanced to an amazing degree in the last 15 years. But despite trying at least 5 different high end vehicles along the lines of a GT, none impressed or involved the way the 550 did. If you factor in what a new, or even gently used high end vehicle will cost to maintain, and how it depreciates…… well, all I can say is, that money would more than pay for a major every year for a long, long time. My car is fully sorted and, while I expect bad things may happen in the future, it’s been carefully maintained and costs have been minimal for the past 4 years. Add to those considerations that the 550 appears to be more or less fully depreciated. As the number of cars decreases due to accidents, parting out the ratty cars, etc, I expect prices to remain stable or even increase, although that’s NOT the reason I’m keeping the car. I simply did not come across anything that gave me as much pleasure as driving the 550.

    Sorry for the length of this post but hope this helps someone in the future.
     
  12. wbklink

    wbklink F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 2, 2009
    3,312
    Los Angeles
    Full Name:
    Bill Karp
    Hi Jeffrey, Great idea !

    I don't think you will ever be sorry about your decision.

    Just keep driving and enjoying it !

    cheers,

    Bill
     
  13. Cribbj

    Cribbj Formula 3

    Jeffrey, thanks for tying it up here at the end. Very useful information, and especially your insights.
     
  14. ///Mink

    ///Mink Formula Junior

    Sep 5, 2006
    808
    Fair Oaks, CA
    Full Name:
    Tom Mink
    Thanks for posting your experiences. As I'll be actively looking in the next few weeks, it's nice to know what I'm up against as a buyer.
     

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