Depressing state of used Ferrari values

So you're the expert on what Ferrari should and shouldn't be and not the guys in Italy then? I thought we went over this before and if you're just driving a Ferrari for the image, you bought it for the wrong reasons.

I could care less what trinkets they sell, as long as it enables them to keep dumping hundreds of millions a year into R&D and making some of the best cars on the planet, I'm all for it. I think the people that buy a Ferrari just for the image do more damage to them as a brand than any trinkets or swag that they may sell.

 

Not sure where I proclaimed myself an expert in my post? I gave my opinion....after all isn't this an online forum where people discuss and give an opinion?

I also never said I bought my car for the image, I bought it because of the mystique, the rarity, the specialness of it and the fact that it was my dream as a kid to have one.

But I find those values are slowly dissapearing at Ferrari....sorry for saying it but that's how I feel as an owner and a fan of Ferraris and as an observer, not as an expert.

The topic of this thread is the depressing state of Ferrari values and I put forward a theory as to why that is, I may be wrong but it makes sense to me and it lessens the value of a company's product when they act this way.

Why would Nissan, Toyota and Honda develop an expensive elaborate separate brand of vehicles (Infiniti, Lexus, Acura) to create high-end products? Perhaps because image branding is important and they didn't want the Nissan Cube lumped in with their Infiniti FX line.

Image is important, if you want to go the classy, expensive high-end route you should avoid lumping it in with your cheaper stuff and keep it high-end all the way. Ferrari selling cars at 400k and then "nickel-and-diming" their market with coffee cups feels cheap to me and lessens the brand and consequently and inevitably, the cars...

It makes sense that a McDonald's store would cross-promote a twinkie dessert in their restaurants because it's cheap fast food but how would it look if you went out for a classy, expensive steakhouse dinner and that same twinkie dessert was on the menu?

Ferrari wants their cake and eat it too. So far they seem to be getting away with it but for how long?

 

I don't think Ferrari is cheapening themselves by selling all the trinkets. The trinkets let the normal person buy into the Ferrari name and support the brand however they can. Why can't someone who has the passion for cars and ferraris themselves support the brand and get a little piece even if it is only a coffee mug or key chain? 90% of the public will never be able to afford a Ferrari new but there is still waiting lists of a year plus for every new model that comes up.
Being that I am not a current owner yet, I am happy to see the 355 slowly depreciating yet because that will enable me to hopefully become an owner sooner then later. I understand the cost of ownership and that doesn't bother me. Depreciation will only go so low as there are a limited number of these cars and when supply and demand levels prices will level out. Once price hits the point that I can justify the cost I will buy in and it won't bother me if price goes up or down from there. I am buying in because to me the F355 is the most beautiful car ever built and I just have to have one.

 

I enjoy these lively threads...There are always these "service costs" thrown around..$13,000 to $20,000 for a major...if your 355 needs that much work..it's totaled. Any insurance company would total a car that need such a high percentage of it value in repairs. My advice? Forget the repairs, sell the car to me as-is for the current market value less the repair estimate. I will buy every one of them in that situation. Cash, call me. Needs a valve job? It's Totaled, call me. Needs major with "the works".. call me. Paint faded?, Seats worn out? Call me

For every angel in the Ferrari repair business, there must be ten devils.

I've used the absurd here to illustrate that the Ferrari ownership experience will transcend its cost of admission. These cars are somehow worth more than the sum of their parts. Many owners have spent many times the value of the in just keeping them perfect.

We are our own worst enemies. The 355 threads on F Chat would scare ANY reasonable person away from 355 ownership. I think this is most of the reason why US prices are the lowest for 355's anywhere in the world. This fear of service artificially depresses the market and makes the cars hard to sell. To prove this irrational thinking, I recently was offered a "tacky" 29,000 mile 355 Spider that needed service for $15,000 from a dealer who took it in trade. This was a decent running car, but he said no one would touch it for that number. By comparison, I had just sold a PARTS CAR spider "roller" with no engine, no transmission, missing body pieces and no ECU's for $7200. When a stripped parts car's value approaches 50% of a running driving car's something is very wrong with our car's reputation!

My point is that, once the casual owners are filtered out, most guys that want these cars either can do the work themselves, or are not concerned about the cost. For these guys, the value of the cars is irrelevant and therefore as long as they are around 355's will never depreciate past a certain price point. Also, as the fleet of 355's ages and the "big" issues are resolved in all cars the tarnished reputation will re polish itself and prices may rise again.

Meanwhile, I own two already but am still ready to buy that crapped out, non serviced beater GTB or GTS you are worried about dumping before they tank

 

If it weren't for the trinkets, how would anybody know what to buy you for your birthday?

 

Fair enough, but I think the brand is tied mainly and almost exclusively to their cars and their racing performance. The rest is mostly inconsequential. Ford was fairly successful with their GT - and resale is very high (higher than similar vintage Ferraris excepting the Enzo) - and the rest of their cars are nothing to write home about and fairly cheap along with being associated with NASCAR and having all kinds of cheap t-shirts etc. If anything, that shows it depends on the cars and not so much who made them.

 

Always been a huge fan of these cars. They sound amazing, look amazing and although a super tuned lancer can beat you to the next stoplight these really do supply way more than enough power.....unless you are a serious track demon

There must me a cross reference for this part at $2500 but the fact that anybody had to pay that scares many folks away from these cars-and that must help to depress values. It's a problem not only in Fcars but it's probably more visible here because suddenly you see these great cars changing hands for Honda Accord money

 

And there are DIY threads on here to fix those seat pots for pennies. Thankfully we have this forum to help make ownership not as scary as the world thinks it is.

I changed my oil, calipers, SS lines and bled the hydraulics myself as my first DIY on this car. Soon after someone outside the loop asked me how much an oil change was on the car as they heard it was a few hundred dollars. I have seen annual service invoices of $1000.

This is the kind of stuff that will keep buyers away.

 

+355

 

Amen to that!

 

First off if someone ever offers you a 355 for 15-20K in most any condition and you're not going to buy it send them my way immediately. Cash waiting in hand.

Second thanks for bringing up the parts car you sold, I was just starting to get over not taking it off your hands. Now I have to start kicking myself again.

 

Like in racing, you gotta make the quick moves! John at T Rutlands offered me $2500, he passed at $3500 and that is the number where I started the eBay ad.... I'll let you know when the next one comes along!

 

Please do, I learned my lesson on that one. The gun is cocked and I'm ready to pull the trigger now.