Maranellos are disappearing

It is for sale because John, the owner and, as you say, a poster on here, unfortunately died in July.

 

I'm in the process of acquiring padriver's 550. I intend to put a lot more miles on it. I bought my 612 in Feb 2013 with 7K miles. 7 years later, she has 27K. I have decided that this is a very poor showing because life is too short to not drive a Ferrari as much as possible. But more importantly, the 612 is finally broken in and is running better than ever. I have come to this conclusion after discussing my observations with Roberto @ Roselli Foreign Car that the V12 motors only really start coming to life at 20K+ !!

Summary: if you aren't driving your Ferrari, you are wasting it and your life

 

Here's a nice F1 575 up at auction. It would have been interesting to see the result, though I imagine the auction will be cancelled or a damp squib at best in the current situation. No FHP, otherwise looks pretty smart. Low estimate of 70k GBP may be a bit high though.

https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/classic/saturday-4th-april-2020/2004-ferrari-575m-f1-maranello/

 

I drove that car when it was for sale at Meridien Modena. It was really clean, had had a new clutch within the previous 4000 miles and drove beautifully. I offered £90K for it at the time and was basically told to stop wasting their time. That would have been about 18 months ago.

After it didn't sell it spent another year at Joe Macari asking £79K, where it still didn't sell.

Here it is now at a local auction.

 

Probably not a good time to sell any toy.

Forget that idea.

 

So why don't you buy it now?

 

Well my dilemma has been resolved! I’m picking the car up from my mechanic tomorrow where it has been having a service and a lively new exhaust system fitted and I’m going for a drive!

 

ACA is an honest auction house. I bought my Testarossa there years back. They would negotiate a good price between you and vendor I think Alan. You know and like the car so time to go for it, you'll get it for at least £20k less than your last offer a couple of years back or whenever..though the extra £20k would have bought two extra years of Ferrari ownership.

 

There are a number of reasons why I won't be buying this car now. They are as follows (these are in no particular order):-

About 3 months after I drove that car, I drove a manual 575 that Furlonger had for sale. From that moment on I realised what I wanted was a manual car. Unwilling (and unable!) to pay the premium for a manual 575 I switched to 550's which I've now come to prefer over the 575. Harry's garage video of the 550 did a lot to nurture this, but I now prefer the simplicity of the 550 over the 575 despite the fact the 575 is mechanically superior in many ways.

This car has recently come to market at just under £60K. It is a known members car mentioned a few posts back in this thread. It even has a bit of celebrity status having been the Top Gear car.

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/ferrari/575/575m-f1-fiorano-handling-pack-driven-by-damon-hill-andamp-jeremy-clarkson-on-top-gear/10433962

If that's available from a dealer for £60K what should you be paying for the same car via an auction sold as seen? DO you think the auction is going to let that car go at a number begiing with £5*,***?

I own a business that imports it's products from China. The reality is that production in China is back to normal (on the whole) and in theory we should be getting shipments from the end of this month. The thing is, even if they arrive I don't know if I'm going to have any customers wanting to buy many/any of our products. We've actually had a very good January and February, but I get the feeling this is going to come to a grinding halt. To that end my "toy" piggy bank of savings is being held on to in case the poo hits the fan in a bigger way than we already expect it to. Obviously this doesn't stop me window shopping, especially as it's getting quiet during the day and I'm browsing cars for sale.

Being mercenary about the situatuation in which we find ourselves, values of things like 15 to 20 year old V12 Ferrari's are potentially going to tank in a big way. We could not unreasonably be back to the days of £30k-£40k cars in a half sensible condition. Of course, those that don't need to sell will simply hang to the car, but we will likely see some distressed sales later this year. If I'm still solvent enough as and when that occurs, I'll pick something up. If it doesn't happen I've lost little waiting as it appears we're increasingly not going to be leaving our homes for quite some time!

So at the risk of looking like a lurker that's never actually going to buy a car but talks about wanting one - I'm putting it on hold again. This time though the reasons are rather more compelling.

 

Now, that all sounds sensible, apart from the bit about not leaving our homes. Nobody has decreed that yet in the UK, though they may. In the meantime, we have to a) be responsible and avoid unnecessary social contact b) look after our elderly relatives. And my company is officially working from home, where my Ferraris live. So I needed to take some supplies to my mother (82) this lunchtime and..what better way to do it?
There was no traffic on the roads, weather good, and I had the best drive I have had in a long time.
This is no laughing matter of course and all the elderly are in danger. But still, it beat a Uber.
Alan, my business will have big hurdles also, but no bankruptcy court (heaven forbid) could take away today’s drive..


Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

On another note, it was interesting and wonderful to drive the 575 for the first time since last summer.

It felt very old fashioned. I should qualify that by saying I have reviewed quite a few contemporary supercars since last time I drove the 575, the latest Lamborghinis, McLarens, Astons etc. The 575 felt a bit quaint, hints of driving a real classic like a 275. It stumbled over imperfections a new supercar wouldn’t notice, there was body roll (despite the FHP), you feel it entering and exiting corners in two attitudes, rather than just whipping through. And then the transmission, which involved my hand and my left foot.

A pain in town, but with no traffic, that roar (Tubi back boxes), the sensations through the wheel and gearlever, hunkering back when you drop the clutch on the next gear..and damn, it may feel old fashioned but this car is properly fast, especially when it gets going. 60 to 110 mph in 4th just vanishes, and I remembered my feelings when I reviewed the 575 when it was new, that this very fast contemporary Ferrari had just a bit too much refinement for its own good.

It has aged well, and the engine has something in common with the newer V12, its responsiveness to throttle, the speed at which it picks up speed. It feels exotic, even if it still looks pretty anonymous, a positive for many owners I am sure.

Empty roads near London though are unique. While we can use them.

 

You must be glad they didn't take your offer, then.

 

Black 20k mile '00 550 currently on Bring a Trailer. Auction ends today. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2000-ferrari-550-maranello-10/

 

Hi Darius,

I too had a great drive today, I live 300kms from the ferrari/Maserati dealer, they performed a major and also cleaned out some carbon from the exhaust manifold on the GT, but it was the 3 hour drive with hardly anyone on the roads that made me wonderful company when I floated through the door to greet the family.

 

Sold for $110,000 - not a bad price under adverse circumstances.

 

Very glad.

 

Looks like someone overpaid for the car. Bravo. Good for us.

 

How can you say they pad too much? The firce If a sale is from the buyers’ side, and the paiment is a result of desire and the money availible to pay for combined. In my opinion a top condition 550 at 110.000 is a bargain. It have proved itself previously when cars traded in the 150-190.000 dollar range. (Which was after they were traded for much less).

 

Given the new developing worldwide economic/health situation over the last few months it is surprising the car sold for 110K. Recently Dan claimed it was difficult to move his 575. True one sale does not set market price. I hope the market returns to a seller’s market and the 550/575 cars only increase in price.

 

Looks like a nice one with Daytonas and modulars, though I understand in the US 20k miles is considered quite high?
It shows there is still demand at these prices for good cars. There is no real reason a 550 should be a sixth of the price of a Daytona..they produced less than 3x as many. And 3x110k = 330k which would be crazy cheap for a Daytona.

 

Any information on those modulars? who makes them?

 

Agree 100%. In ten years (or less), these gas guzzlers are either forbidden to drive, or get so much yearly road tax that nobody will drive them. A Maranello in Italy now for the last seven years are about 3.000 dollar for road tax every year. And in some cities, their emissions make them illegal to drive. And how cool is it to see a Ferrari on the road when you have your own, but you sit in a Toyota or Mercedes...?! Come on, these cars like to be driven. And are reliable like nothing else.

 

2000 550 up for auction.

Looks like a decent driver.

Saleable colour combination.

Should be interesting to see the final number.

I'm thinking mid to low £50k's

https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/2000-ferrari-550-maranello

 

55,000 miles. Not an easy sell. Should be the cheapest on the market.