355 Value Calculator

OK, I was up late and started playing around with a spreadsheet for determining a fair market value for the Ferrari 355. My disclaimer is that I am not an accountant or an engineer and this project is more for amusement and discussion than as an actual tool. There are too many variables in cars, condition and buyer passions to account for it all. It is oversimplified but I think what I have done seems to get me somewhere close.

I can't post the actual spreadsheet here but here are the numbers and formulas that I used so you can build your own.

Excluding the Fiorano edition, we start with our mythical "top of the market" car. It is a Red/Tan GTB or GTS with zero miles and a perfect service history. I valued it at $70k and we work down from there:

Non Red -10% we are at $63,000

Miles $2500 deduct for every 10,000 miles
Lets say our non Red car has 30k so we deduct $7500 and we are at $55,500

Now lets say it has a condition issue, sticky parts, no service history, carfax minor accident or something like that.
I reduced it by another 10% from the post mileage value and get $49,950.

You may hit these issues harder, or add them together if more than one are present.

Then it gets even more ugly as we take off 50% of the PRE miles value for a salvage history. I know that these cars can be undamaged theft recoveries, but if you buy one plan on being a long time owner because they are very hard to get re sold for anywhere near a non salvage number. So that car is $31,500.

Finally a car that fails a leakdown or compression test actually gets hit even harder at 50% off it's POST mileage value. I did that because we need to have some room to protect ourselves in case it becomes a $25,000 rebuild in stead of a $10,000 valve job. SO a valve job car is at $27, 750..ouch!

Finally, I deducted $5,000 from any final number for a spider and added $5,000 for any car with a fresh major.

It's not perfect, but I ran some cars and got pretty realistic retail selling prices.

So the range for running cars is $70,000 for a zero miles Red/Tan GTB/S and at the bottom $22,750 for a Spider that needs a valve job.

I don't want to start a "flame fest" about how GTB, GTS or spiders are worth more than each other or stuff like that, but I'd welcome some input on how to change/improve this idea. In fact I bet someone out there can build it into a web page that we could all play with!

 

Oh man... This is gonna get interesting Ed ;-)

 

how will F1 vs Manual play into the mix??? Hmmmm

 

Will there be a model where I have to pay people to take my car away?

 

You have to love FChat, don't you? Just make it up as you go.

 

Give me a break .....every car has its own history. No one has the right to make up their own formula....
I know people on this forum are smart enuf not to use these sensless "calculators".
In my opinion we are at fault for keeping prices low by posting nonsense , yes low prices are good for first time buyers , but that does not change the fact that we are devaluing the the ferrari brand and making it no longer special , sorry just my opinion.

 

.....

 

If a true zero mile 355 existed (or lets say below 1000 miles) $70k wouldn't come close. Authorized dealers routinely ask $70k or more for nice examples with plenty of miles. And on the other end, how many non-salvage 355's have traded for $22k? Because I'd like to buy a few.

 

To further point out how absurd this is, first of all, if FChat has any impact on prices it's only on cars owned by FChatters which are sold to other FChatters. Other than that it's a negotiation between what a seller is asking and what the buyer is willing to pay. Furthermore, even sources like Hagerty are full of it. If you look at the Hagerty car valuator you will find that for a 1995 F355 spider in condition 1 they claim the value is around $45k. I challenge anyone to find a condition 1, 1995 spider for $45k. On the other hand, if you look at NADA the high retail is around $65k, average retail is around $50k and low retail is $40k. Let's consider high retail the equivalent of condition 1. As I bought my car last spring and was looking for 3 years I'm quite confident that the NADA number are much closer to reality than Hagerty.

 

I will be releasing the 355 maintenance calculator later this week. The formula for valve guides is as follows:
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Let's not get all pissed off by this guy's attempt at quantifying a used-car's value. It only suggests what is important to him personally and of course would vary for others. I think the take-away should be that when shopping for a specific car (any expensive purchase) it is smart to have a plan for logically assessing what you're looking at. Making a list of variables and adding or subtracting for a particular car levels things a bit. Cars in general (Ferraris in particular) elicit strong emotions and it's good to at least try to cut through the hype and razamatazz if you can. The bottom line is that the price for a car is whatever the parties agree to, PERIOD. The OP is of course making some assumptions that not everyone will agree with. No big surprise here.

 

It's obviously not 100% accurate, but let's not cut his head off for it.

Nice attempt, but this thread will NOT affect the buying or selling prices of the F355 at all. So just take it for what it is....a theory of an individual's F355 prices.

 

Some of you guys must not be "morning people"
I enjoy formulas like this, as it gives me a guideline for shopping for a car.
But in the end, it seems like I always find one that:
1. I have some trust that the seller likes his cars
2. Makes my little heart go pitty-pat
And I end up buying it for an agreed-upon price, usually close to asking.
I'm a seller's dream.

 

+1

 

I agree, my post was made in good humor just to be clear. When were buyers we want them to sell low, once were in we want them to sell high, anything to the contrary will rub the wrong way.

 

I thought that in spirit it was an interesting guide up until the suggestion that there would be a $22K 355 out there - ridiculous.

 

Everyone has the right to make up what ever formula they want. It shows you are from Chicago but are you new to the USA? Does NADA have the right to use the formulas they make up?

18 months ago I bought a clean title 96 GTB red and tan for exactly 22k. It was at a shop and the owner gave up on the car when he found out how much the engine rebuild/valves were going to cost. Yes the engine was in boxes but it was all there. I never even picked up the car and sold it for 25K to someone else. I should have kept it, but I hope the other guy put it back together. So those deals on cars that need valve jobs or major engine work are out there from time to time. I can attest.

 

I stand corrected. Let me restate that the price would be ridiculous for a running car with all of its factory installed parts in their correct place.

 

the price of a running car and a car in pieces are ... not the same at all.

 

Sure I'll give you that. But his bottom dollar car that people where saying couldn't exist is a car that needs a valve job or major mechanical. It some point very soon the engine is coming apart- if you do it, your mechanic does it or it's already done for you is a moot point I think. Add the fact that it was a red, tan GTB for 22k it would throw an off color spider to a even lower price category in this formula.

 

I'll disagree with that. I would still say that most people would prefer to have a running car, even if it needs a valve job, to drive around, get estimates, and even have a little fun, much more so than buying a pile of parts. But hey, we don't need to be labor the point.

 

Ahhh this has already been more fun than I thought. Look this was suppose to be a conversation starter, not an attempt to establish the or define the market. The idea is to try and determine how myself and others might determine the value range of an individual car. I am sincerely interested in how the folks in this group would weight the factors listed AND others when assessing a 355. I am not trying to be the "blue book" of the Ferrari market, there are books for that, but if we are willing to discuss this trends may emerge that will make us adjust our thinking as a group.
As far as attacking me, fire away! I current own 2 355's and have owned others. I have paid as little as that $20k figure I quoted for a needy car and as much as full retail + to get a car I really wanted. I have bought and sold parts cars too, so I am not talking out of my rear bumper on this topic. So settle down and lets hear more thoughtful input and less outrage!

 

Thanks Bruce, after having a pretty bad week yourself, you can still see where I was going with this.

I have learned already that there is a lot of push-back for even attempting to intelligently discuss this. Not really that surprising I guess.

 

Not a moot point at all. I'd rather have a car that's assembled than trust someone else's diagnostics, disassembly and assurance all the parts are in the box...

 

Good question, I left it out because it seems to be personal preference. The current trend across the entire brand seems to be that cars that were available with sticks in the POST- paddle era are sought after and command some premium for those that want them. In the 355, since both gearboxes were available the entire run, I don't think they impact the value that much.