I'm just not sure what to say about this one

Certainly trying to recover from all the $$ invested
Tail light often get switched after paint jobs.
Whoa, Sunday...look how small those wheel/tire combo's are in the wheel wells, especially up front

 

And a salvage title to boot! What's not to like?

There are going to be a lot of tears when this car finally sells, either from the owner who has to write a check over and above the sale proceeds to pay the shop bill or the shop who is looking to recover his unpaid bills from the owner.

 

We should give all respect to our 400i brother here, who is desperately underwater but who is trying to sell the lot rather than part it out. A 1980 400i auto with a rebuilt engine and reupholstered seats, none of which are currently installed, would probably net more as a parts car than as the DIY kit car that's being offered here. Notice also, "the car will need a new exhaust." That's another $3K, isn't it? I hope the seller will get real and lower the BIN to a more appropriate level, e.g., $20K, so that the parts can stay together and go to someone who can put them back together again.

 

He would do himself a big favor by hooking up the engine and installing the interior so that he can advertise a running and driving car. At this point all of the heavy dollars have been spent already and a minor additional investment of, say, $1,000 or so will have a payoff of $5-10K compared to what it is likely to go for with the big uncertainty and risk of "can it run?" being factored in.

 

I'm not so sure that the labor costs for reassembly, and the costs of parts and labor for a new exhaust, would add enough to the fair market value of an '80 400i auto to cover the additional real money that the seller would have to part with to do these things. If it were me it would hurt like hell to pour another $5K or more into something that's already so seriously underwater. But if the seller is willing to hold out for $52,000 for the present basket case, he's going to have plenty of time to think it over.

 

I disagree, although we don't know exactly what is needed to "hook up" a rebuilt engine that has been installed already. To me, that means connecting to the cooling, charging and ignition sytems, and possibly the fuel injection system. The interior installation should be easy, something that a DIY owner of limited mechanical aptitude could do himself. Altogether, it could be pretty perfunctory or it could be a lot of work, so maybe your estimate of $5K for the work might not be far off. Still, with limited need for parts (hopefully), most of that $5K would go towards labor and, at $100/hour, that is 50 hours. That's a lot of labor.

Right now, with an incomplete, non-running car with paint issues and a salvage title, I would be amazed if he got a bid of much more than $10K. I suppose if someone did a PPI, looked at the work receipts done on the engine and spoke with the engine builder and they were knowledgeable enough to take a leap of faith might, might pay a few thousand more but certainly not more than $15K. How much it might be worth as a running car is open to debate and the salvage title will weigh on that somewhat, but I still think that getting it running would be money well spent.

 

I might offer $15k, but that's about it.

 

I'm also thinking that making this car a runner will require a full exhaust. I checked ebay and it looks like used headers will cost $1,500 to $2,000. Even if the seller already has that part covered -- the remark about "powder coated manifolds" is ambiguous, and could be a reference to ceramic coated headers -- the headers-back systems cost an additional $3K or so, don't they? You're probably right, that the seller is likely to get some amount of profit from the outlays required to make the car a runner. But not a lot. The economics of this car are too painful for me to contemplate. I expect it's ten times worse for the seller, and I would not be surprised if he'd be very reluctant to sink more money into the car, even if it would be profit-making money.

 

I think you are a bit more generous than I would be with that offer.

Not running is always buckets of trouble on a 400. It could be simple, but if any of the work done along the way was not perfect you then have more than one problem to solve. You have two 1. What is missing and 2. what was done poorly.

A non-running 400i must be considered parts value only in my mind. Being as I do not have room to store a parts car at this

 

I would agree that the best way to recoup the money is part it out. Poor pics also and yes,to finish it and make it run would be nice but its not gonna be cheap and he probably has too much money invested. I would say he engine is worth about $12-$15k with proper documents. And the rest will add up too. Otherwise the big values are not up there yet for 400's so if he continues putting more into it,will be harder to get back. Sometimes you just need to cut he losses and get out.

 

Here are the pictures from the ad on F101CL30233!
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God bless him for trying but nobody has paid this much for one of these since shortly after Enzo died.
Ain't happening, ever.

 

AND it has a salvage title due to a theft recovery according to the ebay listing. That can't help the chances of it selling - even at $25k.

 

$52K is PERFECT 400i including clean title, documentation, nothing spared in recent service and the right buyer!

This is at best a Parts Car as it sets and should be priced accordingly until it is complete which would be shown by actually running.

$25K assumes running & clean title car but with some issues wanting fine tuning.

$18k would be strong money for a Salvage Title and Running but otherwise functioning but not perfect 400i.

$15K is the most I'd expect to see for it as a parts car or placed carefully with somebody who had the care and skill to make this horsey run once again. That would be a special person but several are out there. And If I was one of them I'd only go $12K as I never believe reports of complete.

 

"But Honey, I am trying to sell the car but no one's making me an offer. Guess I'll have to keep it"

Just saying.

 

Looking at the pictures of the engine, the intakes, exhaust ports, and water connections are all uncovered. I would have to guess that the places where the oil lines hook up are also uncovered. Based on this I would be willing to bet that who ever rebuilt the engine has no attention to detail and did a really crappy job.

 

Thought I'd post the new link as the old one ended 11/27.
Shows that 8 people per hour are viewing it
Ferrari Other 2 Door | eBay

 

Good day All,

No offered at $35K OBO...

Ferrari Other 2 Door | eBay

As for the price drops... beyond the obvious I think that the reality is that the seller has seen little interest in the car and so by the lowering price they hope that someone will just jump in?... I say good luck with that strategy. If the seller wanted to see a snapshot of where the Ebay market is... he should simply start with a reasonable starting bid and see where the auction ends...

Cheers,

Sam

 

Good day All,

Just adding Documentation for completeness sake...

Cheers,

Sam

Ferrari Other 2 Door | eBay

1980 Ferrari 400i Auto
Color: Red Exterior with Tan Interior
Mileage: 23465
Location: Reno, Nevada, USA

Chassis: 30233
Buy it now: $35000 USD or make Offer

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