What are 355s actually selling for?

I should also say that Ebay like everywhere else has its dogs and also has some fine automobiles and other gear.

 

I don't care if Luke has owned 20 355's, you don't need to own one to know the market. I followed the market for a long time before buying my car, I knew I could get a near perfect car under 70 and I did. Show me a substaintial list of cars selling for more and I'll admit I'm wrong.

 

Cars.com Dude!

 

I tend to agree with the notion that the owners have a lot more sway in this market than in others. Despite what certain experts may say, we do own cars that were, in modern terms, barely a blip on the mass production radar, and the number of destroyed or otherwise derelict cars narrows it down a bit more. The CS example is a good one, as are Boxer values, which experienced a big rebound after owners just said no, I'm not giving my car up for less.

Its simply supply and demand, and since we are the suppliers...

 

It would be interesting to see what would happen if all 355 owners decided not to sell their cars for at least 5 years. I imagine the value would start to go back up.

 

That just got me thinking, of the 11k + 355 produced how many were delivered to the NA market? Seems like the numbers would be to high for something like that to realistically happen.

 

who cares?

If you want a return on investment, buy land or stock.

 

Data point: '98 Berlinetta, Red/tan, major done, valve guides done, headers done, stickies done, dash recovered, seats re-dyed, paint 8.5/10, interior 9.5/10, all tools and fobs, only 1 key, no mods, clean title, 60K miles. $45k in October '12.

I think it was a little high considering the miles, but I was willing to pay for what hopefully will turn out to be a well-sorted car.

There should be a sticky thread to track actual selling prices.

 

Erick. See what you started???

In my search I thoroughly vetted maybe 15 cars, paid for one leakdown and walked away from that one and the price range that they could be bought for was 48-79.9. I paid 64.5. If you really want one of these and you have a quality/spec list in mind , I believe there are enough of them around and a turnover rate high enough that you can find what you want

An educated buyer and not a tire kicker of someone looking for the lowest price on eBay will pay a fair price for your car, eventually.

I missed and have seen listed and sold by some f dealers what I considered fairly priced , very nice cars. The 355 gts, 8500 miles Rosso that I mentioned. Is one. I also missed one just like mine from a dealer that sold for 62.5.

The provenance of the cars is subjective but ultimately important as well, but ultimately it is what a buyer is willing to pay and the seller is willing to take and if the stars line up it could be a real win win of it could be a lopsided deal

My dad made his livelihood in the car biz and always said a good deal is when both sides are happy. If one is desperate either way it coułd skew things significantly

Good luck erick if you do decide to sell and hopefully you and the buyer wil walk away pleased.

 

That's just it. The good ones are rarely selling. If I was offered 100gs for mine, I can easily say no. Don't need the money and I love the car.

 

Lol

In the last several months, many "Good Ones" were sold to members here for numbers that support my posts.

 

So, this is interesting to me, too, as a person in the market looking to buy.

I believe I'll end up spending 50k - 60k. I'm looking for an F1 GTS or GTB, and I expect it to be:

- A clean car with 20k - 30k miles
- Up to date on services, including a recent major
- No mechanical or cosmetic issues
- Service records showing regular maintenance
- A solid PPI with good leak-down
- All recalls and bulletins addressed

Cars at the higher end of my range would include:

- After-market headers
- After-market cats
- After-market exhaust

I would potentially expect to go above my range if the car also included all of the above and:

- Replaced valve guides (on earlier models - not sure I'd pay a premium for this on later models)
- New tires (less than 1,000 miles on them)
- Additional mechanical improvements that substantially reduce cost of ownership

Attributes that I would anticipate to raise the price of the car but I would NOT be willing to pay a premium for:

- Exceptionally low mileage - I'm not looking for a museum piece and don't intend to car about resale value if I rack up the miles; therefore paying a 5k - 8k premium for 10k less miles doesn't make sense to me.
- Exceptional paint (just resprayed bumper, for instance) - as long as it's limited to a few rock chips due to regular road use, I'm not going to get overly concerned - certainly wouldn't pay more for a museum quality paint job. The car will be driven, not displayed.

Attributes that I would anticipate would reduce the price I'd be willing to pay:

- Excessive modifications. I don't want a museum car, but I also don't want something substantially different than stock. I'd be especially weary of DIY modifications and likely wouldn't buy cars like this for any price.
- Spotty maintenance records
- Evidence the car has been tracked or raced (substantially - not once or twice)
- Impending service needs. I'd likely reduce by 100 - 110% of the cost to perform the service. My time is money, and the inconvenience of needing to immediately service a car versus drive it has a price. Like prepping a house for sale, I'd anticipate the seller would get the car ready for a sale at top dollar - selling in a condition where services are due or overdue raises a red flag.

In any case, I don't imagine I'd be paying $40k for a car in this market, because that car is likely a project and doesn't meet the above criteria. I also don't anticipate I'd be paying $70k for a car either because it's likely over-qualified (if priced appropriately) for what I'm seeking - e.g. "super low mileage." But I believe many cars could meet my criteria in the 50k - 60k range.

 

There's a beauty black Tan F1 GTS on cars.com that fits all of that. Nice car.

 

Hi Erick,
I you want a last drive to make up your mind, and really want to roll the dice.......

Hot August Nights - Barrett-Jackson Car Auction

BTW - You can always consign it with my buddy in Marina Del Rey.. Sid and Dave are moving a bunch of cars right now.

Classic Car Dealer Los Angeles | Exotic Car Dealership Los Angeles | Hollywood Car Collection

Cheers,
Marc

P.S. Keep your car. You have put a ton of work into getting everything sorted. I have owned my 1998 355 F1 GTS since new, and I wouldn't sell it, even though I drive my 2004 575M more often. The 355 is too much fun on Mount Charleston.

 

I have stressed out enough over this issue.
My car isn't pristine and I have no illusion of it being that way.
If and when I list it's going to be for $45k if the buyer dumped another $5-10k into her for a new paint job and leather dash she would be one of the nicest 355's in the country. I think this makes it a pretty good deal.

 

Not a huge fan of carbon fiber but factory shields at $62k, nice deal for sure.

 

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Erick, for $45k, your car should sell in 15 minutes......

 

That's a nice car, and I'd probably be interested except I'm really not looking for black. Oddly enough I really do like black cars - last 3 purchases have all been black - but I think I'd really like to track down a red, silver, or yellow... maybe even blue for the 355. There was a beautiful blue GTB posted a little while ago on the board... just happened to be a manual.

 

Whats good in one persons eyes is not for someone else. When I say good Im talking 9/10 or better. Many people think a wrinkled dash, worn seat bolsters, non-insulated headers, minor scratches here and there, sticky parts and last major done at jacks Sunoco ect ect think such a car is good or even a shining example. The owners of good or excellent examples of a 355 don't let all those things add up and owners that do, more likely than not let other things slide and those other things are usually mechanical and can add up to huge bucks in the following year or two. Like I have said before...If you own a really nice example of a 355, there are always guys that you meet at the shop or drives that want to buy it and are waiting to buy it in a second. If I was selling mine...there is not a chance in hell that it would make it to Ebay, not a chance.

 

Well, mine and Drbob's (as posted in this thread) are certainly "good ones" and you can see what we paid. I won't disclose prices of anyone else's cars, they can do that if they wish but I know at least 4 others that have "Good ones" too.

 

As others have mentioned, very few actually sell on ebay. Reserve prices are seldom met. It seems to be more of free advertising for the Seller and the actual deals are made after the ebay sale does not make. I saw mine initially on ebay and ending up buying it a month later for $5K below the reserve price.

 

I too saw mine on ebay but purchased directly from the dealer in person.

 

eBay is by no means "free" advertising. You pay a listing fee, whether you have an auction or a buy it now/make offer.

I agree with the advertising part, just not the "free" part of your statement.

 

I hear "recent major" a lot. What does that *actually* mean though? To me a "recent major" means literally a year ago tops. It doesn't mean "XXXX miles (but 5 years) ago"

If it's really a case where you can not worry about the major for a couple of years, then I count that as a big value (like thousands extra). If the car has gone over in terms of *time*, then IMO it needs an *immediate* major no matter how few miles its traveled and the last one is just a historical note.

It might be interesting to see what cars have sold for in recent history but including a run down of the *date* of the last major as well as what was or wasn't sorted out and needed, what the *actual* interior/exterior condition is (not 8 foot photos which always look amazing), etc

The problem is thats *super* hard to get. Everyone wants to present that they got an UNBELIEVABLE good deal when they buy, and then of course when *they* sell they want absolute top dollar. Thats human nature and makes it very difficult to quantify what reality actually is.