Boxers are undervalued

The argument that the price is held back because it “looks like a 308” is silly; see the 288 GTO to squash that argument. Also see the price of any special 911 vs a base 911. In person there is little similarity between the 308 and the Boxer. Same bloodline, yes but not close to the same car. Most Boxers on the market have needs. As more and more cars get restored the prices will follow; as seen with the Countach, Miuras, Dinos, Daytonas, etc.

 

I believe its the 12 cyl thing. Just look at that huge magnificent engine in or out of the car and it screams $$$$.Although in reality probably not that scary to maintain.

The Boxers are likely on the radar of guys who actually want to drive their cars and can stretch to the purchase but balk at the potential engine servicing costs etc .

A little Dino appears something easier to maintain etc although of course they can eat big $$ too,so they have moved up a notch into collector items and seldom allowed out in the wild.

Boxers will eventually move up into the Daytona levels etc ..bought by wealthy collectors and tucked away as investments.

Would I like one ? hell yes!

 

and I´m happy to have one

 

Rebuild the water pump on a Dino. You feel like a master craftsman. There's soo many ways to do it wrong, ruin parts in the process etc. You must check carefully runout, flatness, relative position. Very careful application of heat. It's kind of a tough job. I enjoy the challenge, but got to be in the right mood to get into it! By contrast, the 308 & 512 are very pure machinery (make everything clean and straight on asembly - voilla). The generous use of magnesium parts on the Dino can be quite expensive and time consuming to deal with. The precious coatings can only be done by a limited few shops. The chemicals are extra hazardous. One of the last companies I used which performed the proper mil-spec procedures stopped doing it because a container of one horrendous substance in the recipe cost $500 to purchase, and $5,000 to dispose of which gets passed on to the customer (And these numbers are from 10+ years ago).

If you think about it, this may be a portion of why the little Dino costs what it does for resto. The 308 is a lot of car with much mechanical finesse. The Boxer is similar but more of it. (i.m.h.o.)

 

To me the Dino is an Enzo era car; chrome on the outside and vintage gauges. The Boxer is a Fiat era car; mate fiberglass bottom, plastic gauges. I think the Dino gets the premium being associated with the earlier cars.

I traded my Dino in on a Boxer years ago though and have never looked back. In fact I'd take it over my F40 because I can use the power whereas the F40 can be a handful if you have the guts. And at my age I don't anymore.

 

They only made about 270 288 GTOs. That's well within the number of people who know what it is and its value, world-wide. Also, the Boxer wasn't sold in the USA, so people like me didn't grow up with them on their walls as kids, not to the extent of the Countach, TR, and 308s.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I've loved Boxers ever since I saw this ad in the late 70s. Stunning cars. Very under valued.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

A very smart economist once taught me "The market is never wrong". I tend to agree.

Put another way. I cannot understand why diamonds are worth so much outside industrial needs. To me they are worthless broken glass (pearls before swine I guess). Others value them highly so it reaches a point of equilibrium between the two extremes of demand. I suspect the BB is in that same situation.

 

Boxers were indeed sold in the USA. My dealer sold more new Boxers world wide than any other. We got an award from Ferrari stating so. Not sure of the numbers but it would not surprise me to learn there were more here than in Europe.

 

I had posters of a cutaway of the 288, and a cool Boxer.

Wayy back when car shows were manufacturers showing their newest efforts and not food court offerings from local dealerships, I recall up on turntables and roped off: the Bertone Rainbow, some incredible 1-off Lancia, and a 308 GTS

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Markets often under or over value things and correct over time.

 

Nobody other than other hard core Ferrari people even know what my BB is. It is most commonly considered to be a 308 (someone once said the reason it looked different from a 'normal' 308 is because it it is the rare hardtop version of a 308). Others think it is a Pantera. N0t that I care, but it may be one reason the market is not as big as you think.

In comparison, a Countach is a personal parade float. You would think that Lamborghini made a million of them. Everyone knows what it is, wants to chat, and has a story to tell.

 

Very true but now, right now the value is correct because it is set by the market.

 

And many people have mistaken a 330 Spider for a Fiat 124 Spider but that has not hurt the value of the 330.

 

Yeah…. sort of. Closer to the 275 in my eye. Regardless…. its a valid point in either case.


Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Joe, one of the dealers I worked at sold more BBs than any other dealer world wide. Ferrari of North America never sought to have a US version to sell but as a dealer we were entitled to buy any Ferrari made and in the case of BB's, 400-412, and 288 we did. I have never seen numbers but so many BB's came here new I would not be surprised if more were in the US than in Europe.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Very interesting, I am considering both and the more I look I'm leaning towards the Boxer.

Personally, I fell in love with it playing with one of these pieces of card ... Wow....

 

Who recognizes the 365/512 BB/i and or knows what it is doesn't matter to me. I know what it is. I've been asked, "Is my 308 is a kit car? Doesn't bother me. I've been told, "Dino's aren't Ferrari's". Ok...

I still love to look at it and admire the beautiful sculpture and open the hood and admire the beautiful sculpture. I also love to drive it and appreciate and respect the machinery. Preferably on roads that are uncrowded where no one else is even there.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I know this what you write brian, but I wonder:
it says ORIGINAL CALIFORNIA CAR DELIVERED NEW
and this I think cannot be true. even at that time california had then strict emission laws so it can not be an original cal. car, may be a converted cal. car? and there are not even the front and rear sidemarkers on
as I have written already: for me it seems like a french car

 

ross, does you car have the front and rear sidemarkers?
this car offered does not have them, that is why I wonder so much about the statement: ORIGINAL CALIFORNIA CAR DELIVERED NEW

 

You are suffering from a language barrier. In this case original does not mean it is in original condition. It means it was originally sold in California when new.

 

brian, was this BBi registered then in california first? if so how could it get registered with the missing sidemarkers?
I understand under ORIGINAL CALIFORNIA CAR DELIVERED NEW that this car has been an original california car delivered so from the factory in italy. and as I know F never made a 512 BBi special for california. so there is never an original californian 512 BBi, only a "normal" new 512 BBi delivered and sold for the first time in califonia. those facts are 2 different pair of shoes.
for 1st example: some F cars produced for switzerland had an other gearbox ratio because of the noise emissions. and those cars then have been ORIGINAL SWISS CARS.
for 2nd example: a french car at that time had yellow headlights, may be also the swiss cars? this I cannot say. but those with yellow headlights have been ORIGINAL FRENCH CARS.
I don´t think it is a language barrier, it is only what I and also some friends of mine understand.