550 'rapidly appreciating classic'?

Jürgen,

Yes, sir. Although I reckon a low mileage car carries a premium, I'm highly suspicious of scarcely driven cars. In my humble opinion, cars that aren't regularly used develop all sorts of major, very expensive issues (rubber hoses, mechanical components "glueing", no crank, etc). I would take a 10.000km car over a 100.000km car, but still I believe there can be a compromise. In any case, regardless of mileage, a properly maintained Ferrari will always demand constant attention and spending, which is a good thing imho. Preemptive maintenance has never hurt anyone, quite the opposite!

As we say over here in Portugal, if you're forced to spend money, better to spend it on something like your Ferrari than in a hospital or pharmacy bill!

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

Not to hijack this thread, but the issue of mileage vs. value is amorphous and worth discussing.

Any consensus about what the "correct" amount of mileage is, i.e. what amount of mileage, per year, would not be considered of having a negative impact on a F-car's value?

200?

500?

1000?

 

All depends on where one is starting from...

 

Currently not one 550 on ebay.

 

Although I agree and like debating these issues, I wouldn't dream of saying to myself: "No, today I won't go for a drive although I really really want to, because I've already driven my Ferrari too much this summer".

Although Portugal is a small country, I'm not aware of a single 550 for sale (there was one, but sold a week/week and a half ago) and there's just one 1 575 (there were 2, but a blu with Daytona seats also sold two weeks ago).

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

Good Morning Nuno,

You tell a most true thing ..... !!
More people want a very low mileage car but they dont think to the eventual maintenance implication due to theyr scarcely driven car ....
Try to think to one car of 20 years and 2000 km .....
I agree 100 % with your observations ....

Best Regards

Fabio

 

We put 4K on the (previously) very low mileage DB9 in just a month or so. Drove across the US stopping and detouring where we wanted...drove to the vintage races at Road America...priceless...

 

GS, the blk/blk one from Chicago Motor Cars is still on their website at $109k previously listed on Ebay

 

While I'd like to think it is a classic, the fact is, it isn't old enough just yet. It's dangerously close though. I think everyone can agree that the 50-60k prices were the bottom of the curve. It's just too beautiful and too much car to go any lower. It most likely won't take off until the next car-bubble, after it is 25+ years old. 2020ish. Once she gets a little more age on her then she'll start climbing. She is 10x more gorgeous than the 599 or F12 F12 is looking pretty sharp, 599 still makes me want to throw up.

 

Well, I like both, if having to decide, I would keep the 550. But the 599 is a great car as well and performance is quite dramatically better than even that of the Maranello. And make more noise .

At the Techno Classica in Essen, there were many classic cars (30 years or more) having (alleged) milages of just under 100,000 km ..... . Really funny, how many cars suddenly turn up in the present crazy hype, which have such (unreasonable) low milages

 

The low miles are the collectors who are cashing in on the bubble. That's why you see so many presently

 

IF the stated mileage is even accurate.

 

Darius, so right.....

The market for these kind of cars has it's own rules. Low milage for newer classics, ownerships or concours restaurations or strictly original cars for the older ones.

Appreciate your kind of view.


All the best,

Jürgen

 

Hi Darius,

I sent you a private message, please check it when you can.

Cheers.

 

550 prices are rising with the tide.

Ferrari 550 Maranello | eBay

http://www.dupontregistry.com/autos/listing/2001/ferrari/550--maranello/1168706

http://www.dupontregistry.com/autos/listing/1999/ferrari/550--maranello/1178799

 

550 at F of Ontairo is sold.

 

I am agast at the asking prices. Can it really be true? I have a `99 red/tan with 18k mi.
If they're asking $100k + for a car with 30k miles, what's mine worth?
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

130 ish perhaps. It seems the 550 has been deemed collectible by enthusiasts and collectors around the world and this means prices shall continue on upward, I'm sure there will be small dips, but I don't think 150-200 is a far fetch for a pristine, low mileage example in the next couple years or maybe sooner if these trends continue.. JMO

 

And i think, mileage is in future much more less important than today.
There always come a point where the condition is more important.
Sure low mileage will always gets a premium if the car is great over all
but personally i always buy the best car and often the cars which show a little more mileage
and run in enthusiast hands often have a better condition than some low mileage cars.

But my question what is low, what is high mileage?

Für a near 20 year old car, i would think also 50.000 miles is low.

 

Interesting, i just returned from visiting my 550 that is getting a front fender touch up (looks amazing), the car was in glorious company 430's,458's,Gallardo,murcielago and a 3 pedal 575 (that had melted rear lights on one side from the exhaust).
alex,the guy working on mine had so much praise for the 550, saying things like "in a few years this 430 will be $80k-$120k where as in comparison the 550 will be at least double that" after that he showed me the 575,after i noticed it was a manual, i realized he might not have his finger on the pulse, still, both great cars, i would be just as happy with either.

 

It seems to me that the mileage issue is somehow more important for modern classic than for true classic 30+ years old. I think that at some point we will have to restore our cars. At the current rate of annual mileage, my 550s odo will be reading around 75,000km in 20 years… (40,000km in 20 years) but the car will be 35 years old by then. I think it would be foolish to think that the engine won't come out for a complete refresh by then… and at that point one would normally carry all those works that would be considered a sort of restoration. So at that point in time my car would be essentially a brand new 550s. So, all things being equal, would her value still be affected by its mileage? I think not.

So, I hope that we keep enjoying our cars because as someone on this forum stated… to own a Ferrari and not driving it is like to be married to a beautiful woman and not make love to her…

Ps
Sadly I discovered that the best way to keep the annual mileage down to a reasonable number (say 2-3k km per year) the best way is to own more Ferraris….

 

Quite honestly, I think that first time F buyers are probably somehow better off than when we started. Now we all praise and love cars such as the TRs, 308-328s, F355s, 550s… but not so long ago, these cars were the lowest priced Ferraris for the guys who wanted to start an F-owning experience with somehow more "limited" financial resources. (I am not considering 4 seaters and Mondials, who by the way are fine cars). Problem was that these cars were not only considerably slower than modern Ferraris but also very heavy on maintenance and not so easy to be driven regularly.

Now that prices have gone up a lot… what do first time buyers have?

360s… (not the CS of course), F430s and 599s. These cars may not be as charming as the above, but for the first time buyer who buy them to drive and to enjoy them… I think that they are much better than the ones above. Performance, maintenance cost, usability… they are easier and much better than any 308-328-F355-550. Sure… the look and the presence may not be the same, but… from a purely practical driving side… they are better!

 

That is a big problem. I agree.
Especially with some important collectors who buy a lot of cars and never drive them. To maintain a car in tip-top condition it should be regularly used on dry tarmac and the engine should run for at least 30 mins. Of course, all accessories should be tested each time… a/c, power windows, radio… Not to mention that she would need fresh liquids and filters every year and a full check-up every 3-4.

I personally only know one collector who does that with all his cars, or better he employs two people who do that for him so that any time he feels to drive a car of his collection, she is perfectly ready for the job. The others… well… from zero use to very random usage. I have seen an entire collection (over 300 cars) recently sold on auto scout (a gentleman from Milan) who have never been used. I was very close to acquire one of his 348 spider with 8,000km and never used since 1996. In despite of having 2 people to look after his cars, they left the 348 (and all others) under a cover for 18 years. Never get her running once. The bill to fix her was 12,000euro and fortunately the engine was not seized, or it would have been a 30k damage. But aside for this… the car looked new like only a new car can be. So, true… lack of usage means a lot of $$$$$ to be spent… but an high mileage no garage queen car, normally, would still require a lot of money to bring her back to her former glory. So, in my opinion at the end of days, it is always better to buy what one knows, i.e. ask your mechanic if any of his clients is selling… then the mileage becomes less important.

Ps
Oh.. I did not buy that 348… and I kick myself everyday for this because that was the best looking 348 I have ever seen in my life… but this is another story.

 

I agree jay....thats why I'm thinking of a 360 to compliment my 550.