458 Values when 488 comes out

When it comes to the beauty of any Ferrari model, I know that I can be fairly fickle. I'm not overly impressed with the 488 Spider's looks, as I don't care for the huge split-level side-scoops, the strange-looking aero door handles, or the front bumper, which to me resembles the bucket on a front-end loader. As the owner of a 458 Spider, none of this sounds particularly unusual. However, I also own an F430 Spider, and when I'm looking at it admiringly, I sometimes feel that it's prettier and more elegant than the 458. Perhaps the 488 Spider will grow on me in time, but I'll always be aware of the beauty of all the other Ferrari models. As the saying goes about being married: "I may not be single, but neither am I dead." I don't think that automobile design is a zero-sum game, and most cars (Ferraris, in particular) have their good points, relative to other cars. I think it's possible to own a certain model yet still be objective about its faults. For example, while not thrilled with the front end of the 488, I nevertheless find the 458's front end to be somewhat generic and ho-hum. The perfect car design doesn't exist, and as The Mayor recently stated, government regulations are making it ever more difficult to design a beautiful automobile. Fred

 

I'm afraid of that. But in the end, that could actually help 458 values as they may be seen as one of the last true Ferraris.

 

Unless there is rarity in the production, the car will depreciate. Hugely. Get over it. What is especially annoying are the flippers that wait forever to get a car, then settle for one not configured the way they really like, then don't drive the car so as to limit "depreciation". Be honest with yourself from the onset and then just kiss the cash goodbye. You will be much happier.

Also, your baby will not stay the fastest or newest and it is likely that a nerd with a bogus electric vehicle will out accelerate you someday soon. On the other hand, you will own a Ferrari and that's what you wanted in the first place.

 

Absolutely agree here. What do you mean someday? It's already happening now with the ludicrous mode from Tesla. It's already boasting 0-60 in 2.8s. Forget the numbers and how fast you can go. What makes a Ferrari special is it's history and fantastic sound it makes. The feeling it makes you feel behind the wheel. I could care less if a car can go 0-60 under a second.

 

Able to afford a car and able to purchase a car are two completely different concepts.

Remember, car is a depreciating asset, i dont care how much you are gonna argue against this, this fact won't change. (Unless like the comment above, you own an enzo mint condition). ferrari or lamborghini, majority of the cars depreciate.

my local dealership had a 2006 f430 with 800 miles on it. the previous owner literally drove it less than a 100 mile per year and the car was on sale for $150k. even driving less than a 100 miles per year, it still depreciated a lot, + money gets cheaper every year (remember, 3% inflation rate).

depreciation on a car is something inevitable, so why even worry about it. if you are really worried about the depreciation so much, maybe the amount of depreciation car is taking is not comfortable for you. Remember, car is a transportation and a tool. if one is a smart person, one shouldn't invest more than certain % of one's income, money, whatever on the car.

it's like, i can go out and buy a merc c300 and drive it comfortably and purposefully (10k miles a year?) and still be ok with 40~50% depreciation it's gonna face after 3 years. it is because 20k ish depreciation after 3 years is something that i can manage at my current income. this goes same with the ferrari. especially a ferrari is something that people don't drive it everyday (though some people do and i really do respect). if you can afford all the depreciation on a ferrari and still be ok with it, go for it. if you are worried about the ~10k depreciation every year, maybe you are not ready to own one yet. just like your daily driver, ferrari is a car. do you worry about the depreciation on your daily driver? this mentality should also go for the ferrari as well. remember, it's a "car' at the end of the day.

sure, i could have afforded a 458 italia, or matter a fact, even a f12. but i went with f430 because im not balling enough to take the relatively (to me) huge amount of depreciation every year comfortably. i also have to pay crap load of insurance as well. i would rather use the money somewhere else. yes, f430 is still depreciating at this very moment, but i can deal with it comfortably. Just find the best car that "you" like, and purchase it if you can afford it comfortably. waiting until the car depreciate game is a game that will not end.

 

Very well stated. Majority of cars are depreciating asset. Forget about the miles and enjoy driving it. I thought about waiting until 488 comes out and buying 458 Spider thinking of timing the depreciation curve. Then I said the hell with it! I can't wait that long. Life's too short. I might not be around tomorrow to enjoy it. So I went for it. Now I own the car of my dreams and I don't care that much about the new 488 that is coming out. I would much prefer the N/A of my Spider with the magic sound that comes out at 9K RPM. For those that want the latest and greatest, that will never end. I love my Spider and I plan to keep it until I'm no longer on this earth. Now my 4 little kids will have to share the car

 

I agree wholeheartedly with the above two posters. I presently own a 246 GT (39 years' ownership, currently appreciating, but that means nothing to me, except the fact that the car is constantly underinsured!), an F430 Spider with stick shift (may or may not be holding value, because of the stick) and a 458 Spider (definitely depreciating, with much more to come). Having said that, I myself am a depreciating "asset" as a human being (but can't use that fact to my advantage on my yearly tax returns!), and I also know that today's latest and most "awesome" car is tomorrow's depreciating used car, a veritable automotive "has-been." I buy my vehicles to enjoy them, and can honestly say that I've never sold or traded a vehicle that I didn't like more when I let it go than when I bought it. At the risk of sounding rude, I'm really tiring of all the depreciation speculation. Every Ferrari is a jewel of one sort or another. I won't be around long enough to own my 458 for 39 years and counting, but I think I've learned something valuable that those who are so concerned with depreciation have yet to discover. Enjoy your cars, whatever you may have. That is the best automotive revenge! Fred

 

Currently appreciating... a lot

 

The whole depreciation/appreciation thing is silly. Even for cars that appreciate, much of that is based on NOT driving them much. If you took $300-400K and invested it over 10 years you would do MUCH better than the appreciation of nearly any car. The only place this is not true is for super rare/hypercar market and only for now as you have to recall the decline of 2007 when you could get an Enzo for 700-800

 

+1

I keep seeing scud/cs/manual 430s being mentioned as appreciating cars. While that may be true to some extent, the price difference between say a 10k+ and 5k mile scud is pretty substantial. So if you plan to drive the car, you will still take a hit unless you bought when prices were still low. Plus I think there is still risk at buying any of these "special" cars at the inflated prices today. Values went up quickly in a short time which means they can come down just as fast. Only the mint, perfect spec, low mile cars sell for a premium. Ultimately you have to decide, are you a collector or a driver? Even if you're buying a car to let it sit in your garage, there's still the opportunity cost of your cash sitting idle.

Also even if you buy a 488, you're going to experience normal depreciation unless you can buy within the first year at msrp and flip it immediately. It only took a year or so after the 458 came out for prices to start steadily coming down (even though everyone seems to think it just happened overnight recently):

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/price-trends/Ferrari-458-Italia-d2064

I would expect roughly the same level of depreciation (17-18k/year) for the next few years. This would have happened even if the 488 was still 2 years out. But if you're planning to buy now and sell within a year, you may take a bigger hit as there will be more 458s hitting the market soon. My guess is that many of these may be bought up quickly though as there are a big pool of buyers at <200k, especially when the new 488 will be 300k+. If you plan to keep the car for several years, then its really not going to matter much either way.

To put things into preservative... if you had bought a 458 three years ago and sold today (with average miles), you would have probably lost around 50-55k. If you buy one now and sell in three years I would expect the loss to be roughly the same. The only way to do substantially better is to wait 3 years from now and then buy when prices start to stabilize a bit. All of this also assumes you buy and sell private as there are additional losses when it comes to trading in, consignment commisions, taxes, etc.

 

I guess that the prices of modern naturally aspirated engine in Ferraris will increase because Ferrari wont make any model without turbo ...

 

Or just buy a more affordable car and learn to love it. I don't think I've lost more than 4% a year in depreciation on my GTR in the last 3 years vs. the 17% I would have taken on a Ferrari. I've learned to love that money saving pig!

They'll make a model without a turbo whenever they feel like it. No guarantees on that sort of thing. Now without a turbo OR electrical assist? That's a real question. I don't see any manufacturers going a strictly NA without assist except for very special models.

 

There is no tomorrow ...life is much shorter then we think ...buy what you can NOW !!!!! And I bought my 458 in march of this year and I am extremely happy ,,, I financed it and will keep it for the rest of my life. Hopefully will add a few more ferraris to it

 

This.

Desirability, rarity and present circumstances (ecomentalists, electric/hybrid cars, banning cars from city centers, political agendas, etc) will be the three major variables with regards to a Ferrari appreciating, in general.

In particular, cars with few owners, will all accessories present, in completely original shape, with all invoices since new, always maintained by an official dealer and never involved in an accident will carry a premium.

In 20 years' time I have few doubts the internal combustion engine feeding on fossil fuels is dead, beaten to death with a stick as if it were the root cause of all Humanity's problems, and we'll be driving silly things that you have to plug into a socket, or some variation of the Jetsons/Futurama.

That will play a major role in naturally aspirated Ferraris. We already see manual cars carrying that premium over automatics, and that is just the way you shift. The way and the romance with which an engine pushes you forward will be an even more important variable, imho.

Kind regards,

Nuno.