Ferrari production eras

Gentlemen As there has been occassional objections to my use of "Fiat Era" Ferraris I respectfully post this current Sheehan commentary, please note the three Ferrari production era divisions he (and many others) use as he surveys the market, M

Chasing the Market Down
If owners want to sell in today’s market, they must follow two steps: Accept what their car is worth, and be prepared to drop the price until it sells
by Michael Sheehan



These days, the state of the market is the focal point of almost every conversation, whether you are talking to a buyer, a seller, or another dealer. The good news is that prices of old Ferraris have started to recover, but those of newer cars haven’t and never will. They are just exotic, high-volume used cars and depreciate like everything else, from Acuras to toasters.


Enzo would be proud

The cars built while Enzo Ferrari ran the show are bouncing back. For example, in December 2008, 1971 Daytona s/n 14569 was advertised for sale. Finished in silver with a burgundy interior, with very nice older paint by Junior, it was bought new by the late SCM Contributor Raymond Milo. It had a well-documented ownership history, a full set of books and reams of paperwork back to the original purchase documents.

There were many inquiries but only one offer, for $225,000, substantially below the $295,500 asking price. The might-be-buyer test-drove the car, had a pre-purchase inspection done, then faded away. The frustrated owner was willing to take the $225,000 offer, but when it evaporated he took the car off the market.

Eight months later, in September 2009, an increase in traffic justified the owner putting this Daytona back on the market. There were only two changes; the owner’s bottom line was now $250,000, and 300 more miles had been added to the odometer. Bidding opened at $250,000, quickly went to $257,500, and the car sold.

Demonstrating that cars will move if the price is right, at Fantasy Junction, Spencer Trenery reported that 1961 Ferrari 250 GTE s/n 2713, initially listed at $115,000 back in late 2007, recently sold for $109,000. He also reported a smart seller taking just north of $600,000 for his 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS, s/n 9369, after nine months of advertising at $695,000.

And in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Tom Clark of the Motorcar Gallery reported that 1973 Euro Daytona coupe s/n 16819, which arrived in September 2007, finally sold for $335,000, which included an ’83 512 BBi in part trade. That is an exceptionally high price, but we don’t know how the Boxer was valued, and in any case, that was after more than two years of being offered for sale.


How the rules change

Moving on to the Fiat and Montezemolo eras, the rules change. As I wrote in December 2008, “Regardless of whether prices are up or down, it always takes the best car, best documentation, best service history, best marketing, and best price to sell. Since very few cars meet these criteria, you need to have the best price comparable to other cars. Buyers do not wake up in the morning and decide to buy the highest-priced, least-documented car on the market, yet I’m amazed at how many sellers refuse to grasp this concept.”

If an owner wants to sell in today’s market, in my opinion he must follow two steps.

1. Accept what your car is worth, based on confirmed sales and not wishful asking prices on web sites or in various publications.

2. If your car doesn’t sell in the first month, and you really want to turn it into money, be prepared to drop the price about 5% or $5,000 every two or three weeks until it sells. I guarantee there is a number at which it will sell; you just might not like it—at first.


Low production helps…

With only 387 365 BBs, 929 512 BBs, and 1,007 512 BBis, both 365 BB and 512 BBs sell well if priced right. For example, in September 2009, 1981 Ferrari 512 BB s/n 35761 was advertised at $129,500. Thanks to a well-documented history, one well-known owner for 25 years, and only a few hundred miles on an engine and gearbox rebuild, bidding opened at $115,000, and the Boxer sold for full price within a week.


…high production hurts

A 1985 308 GTS QV, s/n 57943, a double platinum, first-in-class-winning car, was advertised in December 2008 at $49,500, but the response was zero. In March 2009 it was re-listed at $39,500, a 20% price drop. There was interest, but no offers. In October the price was dropped to $34,950, there were multiple full-price offers, and it sold at the asking price. With over 15,000 total 308 GTBs and GTSs built, collectibility is negligible, and the only way to guarantee a sale is to drop the price until it sells.

Clark had a similar story in Florida with 1986 Ferrari Mondial s/n 63071, which lingered from October 2007 until September 2009. Despite a hefty 49,000 miles, everything worked and the car eventually went away when the seller decided that $37,000 was enough.

Moving up to the Montezemolo era, with 3,222 total 456s, 3,600 total 550s, and nearly the same number of 575s built, these entry-level V12s still sell surprisingly well, perhaps because they offer a lot of performance for the money. My sources tell me that low-mileage, fully serviced 456 GTs are $50,000–$60,000, 456 Ms are $65,000–$75,000, 550s are $75,000–$90,000, and 575s are in the $100,000–$110,000 range, so these cars hit a sweet spot in the market.


360s as commodities

With over 18,000 built, 360s are commodities. Every factory dealer’s showroom floor has one or two, every independent’s floor has one or two, and another 50 to 100 are offered regularly on eBay and other web sites. With several hundred 360s always on the market, they are a tough sell when premium priced.

Shawn Williams at Exclusive Motorcars in Los Angeles tells of a black 2002 Ferrari 360 he had on consignment for eight months. Starting at $129,995, offers came in, but even as the price was lowered, the offers sank as well. It recently went away for $70,000 but he thinks had the starting price been $105,000, the car would have sold in the first month for between $90,000 and $95,000.

Another example is 2002 360 Spider s/n 130024, sold last October. With an unknown service history, no books or tools, 21,450 miles, and finished in dark green with tan leather, it proved that a green Ferrari is almost sale-proof. The asking price was $79,500, the best offer was $71,000, but it failed its pre-purchase inspection because of a bad valve and was sent to an auto auction. Buyer beware with this one!


Too many lease-backs

At the top end of the newer cars, the mighty have fallen. The 599s listed for $280,000–$325,000 when first available in 2007, and sold for that plus another $150,000–$175,000 as the “gotta-have-it-now” premium over sticker. In August 2009, 2007 599 s/n 149814 was advertised. It had just 9,600 miles and the price was $269,500. Five months later, the price was dropped to $239,500 before it finally sold. With dozens of 599s coming off lease, the market is saturated.

Still, some sellers do get the idea. Trenery reports that 2005 Ferrari 612 s/n 138031, with 30,000-plus miles, was advertised at $126,500, but when a real $100,000 offer materialized in late 2008, the car was sold.

Looking at the big picture, the low-production, user-friendly Enzo-era cars such as the 250 GTE, 330s, 365s and Dinos are enjoying a modest upturn. But while Enzo-era Ferraris up to $1m are selling surprisingly well, the top-end cars—those over $2m—are on hold. Many buyers want a 30% discount from market highs of early 2008, and few sellers are willing to sell at that price.

I have heard of multiple offers in the $17m to $25m range for a no-stories Series I GTO, but the long-term, well-heeled, financially secure owners will not sell. Today’s market is very different from that of 1989–90. Today’s owners are end users, not speculators. Owning a GTO (or SWB or TdF) is a ticket of admission to events they could never get into otherwise, and they’re not about to give up. They can, and will, sit out the storm.

Low-volume Fiat-era cars such as Boxers, 288s, F40s, and F50s sell well, but high-volume Testarossas and 400/412s are hard to move. The 308s and 328s sell, but usually below the seller’s expectations. Entry-level Montezemolo-era V12s such as the 456, 550, and 575 sell in the $50,000–$110,000 “affordable” range, while the 612 and 599 move very slowly because so many are coming off lease. As for the 360 and 430, with hundreds for sale, it’s a buyers’ market.

 

WCH You wrote:

"Fiat era" and "Enzo era" may reflect market distinctions, but do they reflect distinctions in quality, design, etc? Is an "Enzo era" car a real Ferrari, unlike, say, the 288 GTO and the F40, to pick two? Should the "Enzo era" in fact end with Ferrari's death, or with the F40?

In fact none of those you list; these three eras reflect the differences in manufacturing and design technique (coach built vs. mass production bodies for example) and certainly numbers, there are 16,000 extant 360s barely thousands of Daytonas and several hundred of some 250s and 330s, and earlier vastly more rare, consider the Admiral's wonderful Mondial, one of less than 20 made.

You also wrote that:

Michael, "Fiat," a four letter word, is often used as a pejorative, for example, in a quote from this site"

FIAT is hardly a pejorative four letter word, a look at that magnificent firm and its terrific autos over the decades will dispel any notion of inferiority. Also without Fiat, Ferrari would not exist today, it was Fiat that saved Enzo from bankruptcy and brought the Ferrari factory into the 20th century, without Fiat there would not have been any of the affordable 3 series eight cylinder cars, and not the least, without Fiat Enzo would not have had an engine for his Dino.

Snobbery is regarding the great marque Fiat as a slight, Ferrari then and now is all the better for it.

 

E60 M5 "production" in the trade only means they were produced in mass quantities on an established assembly line, in the Enzo era he actually cared very little for the road cars, they were built only to finance his racing habit, in the Fiat Era the road car production line was an end in itself, and modern (vice hand built) techniques (machine stamping replacing hand pounded panels etc) In the current Montezemolo era, as is well reported, Fiat makes more money from licensing the Ferrari name for soft goods (T shirts and jewelry) than it makes on its cars.

Neonzapper: I don't recall that I referred to all 15,000+ 308s as the same, Fiat began to increasingly differentiate the 8 cylinder Ferraris to better their chances in the market as they did their Fiat badged cars to the vast number of options in today’s California as Sheen reported. As someone who has been looking for sometime for a euro fiberglass dry sump left hand drive 308 (one of about 300 cars made) I know a bit about the distinctions.

And one other bit, in addition to some Enzo 12 cylinder cars, I have a Fiat Dino Spider, one of 225 survivors, it has the same Fiat built engine as was installed in all the (Ferrari) Dinos, was built on the Ferrari assembly line side by side with the 246s but Pinnfirina bodied vice Scagletti bodied (246s) it is a magnificent car, badged as Fiat, and never once in a garage of Ferraris has it evidenced any inferiority symptoms

 

WCH You were the first to ask, M

 

BrianP I am corrected, I was guessing at the total for both series, what was it? By the way WCH years ago I traded my fuel injected 1957 Corvette for a Fiat Bianchina and some cash! Frankly the Bianchina was way more fun, M

 

And when my 1967 was built, they made 706 cars: five models of road cars, the comp machines and some rebodies. WCH Are you in the DC area? M

 

WCH: Many Sunday mornings you are a block from my house.

Minico: The takeover of Ferrari by Fiat did significantly affect the build quality of the cars, there is a clear difference between the hand builts of the Enzo era and those of the production era, in short every detail was vastly improved. When I judge Vintage cars in Concours, a sure sigh of overrestoration is perfection, the door gaps are all the same, the panels are all true, the body from right side to left is perfectly symetrical, never thus in a modern era Ferrari. Some of the rarest exotics: TDFs, GTOs or LMs are amazingly asymetrical. Later cars those asymetries are likely signs of poorly done repair. BrianP will hopefully chime in here on how the early even numbered cars were painted.....M