296 Values and Used Market

I have the AF on my GTS and it's not too harsh at all. It's a sports car, stiffer is better for me. Personally, I wouldn't usually consider a car without AF and raves seats but my situation was different in this car. My dealer tells me most people are asking for AF so take it for what it's worth.

 

Plus when something looks this good in the sun it’s hard to part with
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Love the color

 

There's a reason AF package on the new 849T has a Magnaride suspension option with FAL/bumpy road mode. I'd expect something similar with F171M when it eventually shows up.

The livability tradeoff with the Multimatic suspension, while worth it for some, is definitely not for everyone. In SF, a modern sports car without FAL is almost unusable.

 

Buy the car you want, not the car you think the next owner wants.

Because no matter what 296 you buy, you'll lose money if all you're worried about is resale.

 

In Europe it seems the used 296 prices are still in free fall, with almost new cars at official dealers asking €300K, and about €260K at independent dealers (cars with some mileage being even cheaper).
And a typical list price for the cars was probably around €400K - so I wonder what will happen when the 296M (whatever it will be) will be proposed with a higher price, at a time when the used 296 will probably be below €250K.
In the mean time, the 296 Speciale will probably be protected by its "exclusivity" status.

 

@ipsedixit -- You may have misunderstood me. I'm not personally concerned about resale, and if full electric vented seats (a must for me) and the CF LEDs wheel (another must) took value away, I'd still get a car with those options. My point was I think the AF pack and race seats "might" have less appeal going forward ...I have a few data points that support that versus not many for the opposite. This was a bit eye-opening to me, as while I expected the race seats to not be as comfortable, just like on the GT3, the Arturo, the 750S, and so on (all cars I have experience with), I hadn't considered the AF pack as being a factor. But, as we all know, differing opinions are what makes a market, and I honestly do love the look of those race seats especially in Daytona style--stunning.

 

Yes and no.

I agree with your general observation- for now. The Af pack is currently not desirable based on its’ current resale value- which is why I bought a pre-owned GTB AF.

I sold a Porsche 4RS because it was too harsh for the road and not special enough for the money. The 296 AF suspension isn’t nearly as harsh as the Porsche- in fact I think it’s fine/ right for a super high performance sports car. The 296 AF is laser sharp and I wouldn’t want it any other way. On the other hand- I’m getting older and my wife doesn’t love the ride- racing seats and AF package is too much “discomfort” for her- she does have a medical issue that makes her more sensitive. The GTS will be the comfort car (seats and suspension). Note: I live in flat Florida, and I have never bottomed the GTB AF without a suspension lifter. I think the absence of one is definitely not a deal breaker.

I said on these boards I wouldn’t buy a 296 without the racing seats. Guess what… I just purchased a GTS with the comfort seats. Why? Because I want to stay married. The GTS does not have the AF package either. If I was single- and I don’t want to be- I would purchase a GTS with the racing seats and the AF package- as it’s hyper discounted and will end up being rarer than the Speciale Aperta. Further note: My 458 spider with racing seats sold for a premium- because most people had chosen the comfort seats.

The most desirable Ferraris are the hyper focused (least comfortable) limited edition models. If the AF package was number limited they would trade for premiums. Price is what you pay, value is what you get. Also price drives sentiment.

 

Fwiw on the “Ferrari Approved” website a few weeks ago there were around 150ish GTB’s listed. Tonight there are 130. GTS numbers are similar to a few weeks ago (~100).

 

I agree. Good point. Eventually, yes, I can see the AF pack w/racing seats commanding a premium due to exclusivity, so call it “investment value,” where as the comfort seats and no AF pack that you chose speaks to “usability value.”

 

This is very true

 

They still won't sell, the third-hand buyer will never spend 18k on an extended warranty every 2 years... to think otherwise would be a utopia... especially since this buyer, often ultra-enthusiastic, never dreamed of a hybrid while thinking of Ferrari...

 

On this I disagree a bit. I think they will sell, it’s just a question of price point. It’s true, almost no one dreams of owning a hybrid Ferrari, but the reality is most don’t know what engine powers the machine. I’ve helped a few people acquire their first Ferraris over the past few months, each one started out by saying “no hybrid” and each one went on test drives of 458, 488, F8, (they all wanted mid engine) and all chose 296 GTS. This alone won’t move the needle, but, I think once people drive these cars, they will realize they are really amazing. (PS, one did also buy a 458 Italia because he loves the sound)

The warranty coverage is an issue. Just about everyone has some degree of apprehension about the battery, due to our experiences with smartphones. It doesn’t matter if it’s accurate or not, because people are just not engineers, and the concern is real. The warranty coverage is confusing since its different time frames for different systems. This shouldn’t be too difficult for Ferrari to address, and they really should.

The issue surrounding specs is you need something that will stand out in a crowed market place of standard, and stunningly boring, specs; and also look like good value against the wild tailor made specs. It’s clear the AF pack drives a bit better, but there is almost no reward for it; however, there is also no real detriment to it. It just goes to show the aftermarket will be similar, a small percentage will want it, but most will want the lifter and bumpy road.

Surely the new car will be priced high enough that there will be a gap to the older cars, and thus a secondary buyer will have to decide if it’s worth paying up.

 

FWIW, Autotrader listings are pretty constant. Current is 176 GTBs...range has been 170 to mid 180's over the last few months from what I recall. Could be the dealer vehicles are getting sold and fewer getting listed (as we move into cooler weather), and/or cars on consignment have been pulled from dealers and the owners are going to drive/enjoy them. Either way, I think lower dealer inventory is helpful towards price stabilization.

 

Because I dreamed of turbo charged Ferraris as kid? Didn’t happen. I dreamed about the design, speed, emotion (engine sound?) and excitement. How Ferrari delivered that didn’t matter. Or, I didn’t dream about fuel injection- so I never purchased a fuel injected Ferrari- NOT. Bring back the carburetors or bust!