Just Curious!

Bart,

Good question - something that I have wondered about often. As a point of reference, I have seen a couple of 550s with about 30K miles for an asking price of $110k-120k. Don't know what this translates into as far as actual price but I would imagine $100k - 110k as negotiated price. These were cars at dealerships so I would imagine the owners got considerably less for the trade (possibly $80k - 90k).

It is hard to actually put a price on the mileage. The 3 cars that I have seen with this sort of mileage have all been available for awhile. My guess is that, with the market so depressed, buyers are willing to pay another $10K for a car with 15-20K miles. As there are a number of cars out there for sale and a relatively small market then the higher mileage cars are going to be very difficult to move. I guess what I am saying is that there is probably a threshold after which the car becomes very hard to sell and after which point the market value decreases dramatically. Once this threshold is crossed, I don't think it would matter if there was 40K, 50K or 60K miles on the car - if there are enough lower mileage cars on the market then these cars will always be incredibly hard to move.

Personally I am very sad if this is the reality of the market. It encourages owners to limit the amount that they drive their cars and this is a crying shame.

There are other much more qualified people on this board who can probably answer your question with hard facts. These are merely my observations and I will follow this thread closely for more informed opinions.

 

Bart, I might go 32K on it if the PPI checks out

 

Bart, quit worrying about it. You did buy the car to enjoy it, right? So who gives a flip about what the milage is. My 348 has 56K on the ticker and I plan on driving it till its dead. I bought the car for me to enjoy. I could care less about what the next guy thinks. As a matter of fact I have a whole bunch of engine parts at the powder coating shop getting done. Why? Because I bought the car for me and thats how I like it. So don't worry about the miles. Besides we all know that the more you drive a Ferrari the better it runs. Drive it man, drive it.

 

i have a question that goes off from this one and it is how many people buy a ferrari and plan to keep it for there life?
it seems quite a few only keep them for 2 years or so before selling them. I do not know if I will ever have money to buy a new one but if I do I will not part with it and drive it as much as I can

 

Beats me, too. The Maranello is the most useable car made by SF in many years, relatively reliable, and refined, yet people don't drive them. I have a Z8 as well, and same thing holds for it, and it is MUCH more fun to drive than an SL, etc. The 550 begs to be driven, and they do not like to sit, shocks get tight, seals leak, all of which are precluded by driving it. Which I do. A lot. I plan on keeping mine a long time too, Bart, and enjoying it all the way. Glad to see you are "mileing her up". I whacked Bambi with my old car, this one will get used too.
Use 'em up, they don't pay anyway.
Lee

 

The people who buy them for resale purposes are a) not thinking straight, b) can't afford it in the first place, c) are poseurs or d) have SERIOUS ADD.

Lee / Bart: kudos. I've been averaging ~1500/mo. Honestly planning on driving the wheels off of it, which from what I can figure by Bart's car (and a few others) will take some time.

--Dan

 

Bart ... I'll take on your question!

As you probably know, I have a 1969 365Gt2+2, in concours condition. My "hobby" not only involves DRIVING my Ferrari ... but PRESERVING it. For me, there is no purpose in running it into the ground, because at it's age, that could happen quickly. Some parts are extremely difficult (if not impossible) to find. So ... I have to maintain a careful balance between using her as she was intended, and babying her, so she'll last forever. Because that is my ultimate goal ... to enjoy her, in all her beauty (cosmetic and mechanical) until I DIE!

Ferraris are legend for their beautiful design (mine Pininfarina), and preserving an old one is a hobby in itself.

 

Hey Dan -

What about those of us who aren't buying for "resale purposes", and would love to drive say 7500 mi/yr, but aren't Bill Gates or Scott McNealy? Yes, I can afford a 360, that's not the question. But it's pretty hard to ignore the hard fact that mileage over about 2000/yr is severely penalized in the marketplace. Ignore that fact at your financial peril. At least recognize what the effect is going to be, unless you plan on keeping the car "forever".

Gary