Official 308 GT4 Market Thread

I think you stated that pretty accurately! I think we're at that weird point where sellers think their cars are still worth a fortune, whereas buyers aren't willing to pay that fortune. As a result we're seeing a whole lot of RNM auctions.

Another observation, I've noticed that high end and collectible cars are trending down in price (with the exception of very rare examples), yet common and usually cheap cars are trending up in price. Strange times we live in.

 

The ‘early’ Euro GT4’s are incredibly rare and will continue to significantly appreciate. There are many differences between the Euro cars and the US cars. The US cars will maintain but not nearly appreciate as much.

 

This just sounds like wishful thinking.
Back up...15 years. The 'euro' cars were just as rare, but not up trending to the sky.

The question is, who are the 'new' buyers for the past few years, that changed the demand side of the equation?

And will they remain once the general trend line reverses?

Or are there few 'new' buyers, and just the 'regular' buyers have more money to spend? If so, why now, and will it last?

My hypothesis is a two fold COVID answer. First, vacations were cancelled, thus there was 'extra' money for 'the car I always wanted'. Compounded by work from home & early retirement from home.

But both of these feel temporary. Vacations are back on, and as we know 'the old car experience' has a... 2-3 year drop out rate of 50%(? Guess) for 'first timers'...usually after 'the _second_ big bill'...

My guess is spring 2023 will be 'need the money back' time for all old cars.

Could be wrong. Often am.

 

Dyerhaus, do you have a photo of your car. I like the odd colors. Thanks,
John

 

I am not sure that you understand that 1973-1974 Euro GT4’s are incredibly rare.. no more the 76 early 308 GT4’s made. There were no US cars made in those years. The early euro cars are very different in weight, body, interior and motor parts and tune. The early euro cars may as well be a different car. Prices are skyrocketing for these gems.

 

I understand markets very, very well.
A rare car + lots of buyers = increase
A rare car + few buyers = meh, at best

Talk to me about the buyers, not cars.

 

[QUOTE="dyerhaus, post:
Am I missing something? I mean, I have an award winning 308 GT4 with 31,500 miles, in a rare color, with an incredibly well documented history and it's appeared in two magazines. If I were to sell it right now, I'd be pretty stoked to get $75,000 for it.[/QUOTE]

We're in a Fentanyl crisis, haven't you heard?

 

Here's a link you can read about it, and cool shot of it in action while I was driving on a tour.

Classic Motorsports

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Very, very nice Dyerhaus. Thanks so much.

 

Given that an early Euro car in azuro recently only bid to around $55k on BAT is very telling. Granted the car was in Germany, however even with a shipping premium to the states, that would’ve been a “deal” by many people’s opinions in the last few years. To me it shows that the money is slowing down, not necessarily the desire for the car it’s self. People love the GT4 right now, but dropping $100k on them isn’t fiscally realistic at this time.

 

I think you're spot-on with this. As an owner, at this point, I don't car what the value of my car may be. Sure, it'd be nice to know it's worth a lot, but it could be worth $0 and I'd still absolutely love and adore the car.

It's amazing and baffling how people use BaT as a measurement of value. When a rare sale occurs, like that of this 308 GT4 that sold for $220k in July, suddenly we all think our cars are worth that much. Each car is unique and will command its own price. In the case of the blue $220k car, that had a nut-and-bolt restoration, classiche certification, extremely thorough documentation, and a string of awards. It was an exception, not the rule.

It's pretty well known that BaT is very popular and people overpay for pretty much everything that gets listed. How else would you explain a Fiat 128 selling for over $26,000?? I had one of those (identical to the one on BaT) and paid $300 for it. Fun car, but not that fun. My point being, when a car sells on BaT, it's actually not reflective of the true market value. It's usually pretty far over. Case-in-point: I bought my 308 GT4 in October, 2021. In September and October of that year, two different 308 GT4s had just sold on BaT; one for $100k, the other for $73k. If I was relying on BaT as my only marketplace to buy a car, I would have paid somewhere in between that for mine. But I bought mine locally from an individual and paid half that. Bless the seller's soul! If the seller had wanted to deal with BaT, he probably could have easily made $75k to $80 in that time period.

People are out there who would like to get a fair price for their car and see it go to a good home. Fortunately, the seller of mine saw that I was the right person to be the next owner of his car. I didn't want a 308 GT4 so I could turn around and sell it for a profit, I wanted one because owning a 308 GT4 was a life-long passion. That carries a lot of weight amongst enthusiasts. If I were to ever sell the car, I'd want the same. I'd want it to go the right home; someone who's going to take care of it and keep it in top condition, show it, drive it, and enjoy it. These cars are like children to me, I only want the best for them!!

Of course, I'm never selling it.

I know people who take the approach of "price doesn't matter if it's a car you love." I agree with that sentiment, but my wallet doesn't. As noted above, now that I own the car, I couldn't care less what it's worth. But, prior to owning it, what it's worth was very important as that directly determined whether or not I could own it. No matter how much I loved the car, my wallet had a certain budget that couldn't be extended.

From what I can tell right now, the 308 GT4 is a maximum $70k car on BaT, which means probably $60k give-or-take in the real market. And, quite frankly, there hasn't been any notable difference of value between Euro and US cars that I've seen. People like to spread the narrative that Euro cars are more desirable, thus creating a false equivalence between desire and value, but if you look at auction and sales results, that's not the case. Not even close. What does make a difference is condition and location.

 

if you want a better look at the overall market: https://www.classic.com/m/ferrari/dino/308-gt4/

 

Ah yes, that's actually the best place to look at overall value (in my opinion). For some reason, I completely forgot about that—thanks for the reminder!!

 

Setting the bar high...


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https://www.ebay.com/itm/225485117699?hash=item347ff5d903:g:lA8AAOSwkVJkFLzl

 

Any idea why Cyrus thinks it's worth that much versus the $50-$80k market in the US?

 

I read it as a joke. No way the shields are even legit.

 

I think the seller is high…..

 

"Text or Call 702.286.3248 ask for Cyrus"

Also per the listing: "“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” - Cyrus"

 

Reading the description (or lack there of) there is no implication as to what is original or not. Wheels, shields, pedals, trunk badge, grill horse, mats, radio, all would be highly suspect as "not as originally configured". I'm sure experts here can find many other things...

 

Obviously some of the fully restored ones have gone for this price in the recent past, does this particular one meet those standards? I can’t say. Perhaps asking the seller for more info is warranted?




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Received this euro model 2 weeks ago from Germany. The 16 inch wheels are not original. Original wheels had 20 year old tires on so I had to put spare set of 16 wheels on for driving. The car is originally Azzuro Metalizzato.

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Since I’m always on the hunt for a GT4, I have considered going the Euro route to broaden my market. If you don’t mind me asking, perhaps you could tell me what your total expense was (minus purchase price) to get it to your driveway. So international shipping, getting it prepped, import taxes, etc etc. Please feel free to PM me. I’m generally not a red GT4 guy, but your car is just beautiful, congratulations.

 

Roll on roll off is 7K and container 15k. I would recommend the container option.

 

One is coming up for auction in May:

https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/1976-ferrari-dino-308-rec12441-2-sywell-0523

 

There is one listed here www.forzamotorsports.com