sold my modern ferrari - considering a 330 GT. Any advice?

Matt
I suggest you go to www.tomyang.net and register your interest there. That site has lots of guys who work on their old cars and give great advice especially on the old 2+2 cars. Good luck. If you are a "car guy" I am sure you will love the vintage Ferrari V12. They are ace cars.
John

 

Nice post. Tom's site indeed is the place to get info on the 60's cars. I think you will love the community there as it can be very helpful. I own a four headlight 330 which to my callous sophisticates eyes is a beautiful car. Other opinions differ. For that reason it isn't an instant sale. That said many of the ones for sale aren't in the best of shape. And as you probably know shape is everything. You can work on these cars, Tom rebuilt his from boxes, but even doing your own work you may, probably, spend more maintaining the car then it's value. That said I have taken my son and his friends on road trips from NY to Vermont, to Kentucky, and to camp in Maine! There's lots of room, though it can be somewhat loud and it's hot in the summer but every drive is an event. And that's what it's all about.
Yale
Writing from Cartaghena Colombia, many old cars and trucks here somehow.

 

I find that quite a lot of people without experience with vintage Ferraris say they are looking "not for a concours car but a mechanically sound car that I can enjoy". Unfortunately, there are not many of those about. Vintage Ferraris are fragile and to keep them running well they need a lot of TLC which costs money. They need to be on the button otherwise they can be real money pits. As yale said, there are a lot of bad cars out there and although you can eliminate the real dogs, you won't know how bad your car is until you start using it.

Considering that 330GT's are as expensive as Lusso's or 250 California's to run, but worth a fraction of the price (and never worth the restoration costs), it is clear there are relatively more 330's out there that have not had the money spent that they should have had.

So, my advice is to look for the best you can find. It is always cheaper in the long run, but quite often in the short run too.

This is all not to scare you off, BTW, they're wonderful cars when you have a good one and as long as you stay on top of them maintenance costs are manageable.

Best of luck.


Onno

 

In this month's sports car market, December 2010 Mike Sheehans discusses the 330 gt, you would want to pick it up if you dont subscribe. I have to agree with the others these cars can be very expensive to maintain and if you buy a needy car you will be upside down immediately. As the article by Sheehans states allways spend more upfront and make sure you have it throughly checked out before buying the car.

 

There is also the 330 Buyers Guide on Ferrari Life

 

Matt What part of the country are you in? M

 

It is next to impossible to say what maintenance costs you should expect as this is purely due to the individual car. And then, you will have varying costs from one year to the next as thing break or don't. I bought a very, very good example of a 330GTC in 2009 but this year she's been off the road for 5 months with various issues that just come from long use (and the 15.000kms I did in it). I expect the next couple of years to be low cost but you should always be prepared for something or other. Don't forget that parts are getting scarcer too for a lot of classic and vintage Ferraris, and starting to command some serious prices. Correct tyres are not cheap, correct exhausts, etc... I think it is pretty easy to guarantee that a vintage Ferrari will be more expensive than a modern one, considering the same mileage.

As for labour cost - I'm not sure why you would think that would be lower on classic Ferraris. Whether the rate is inflated or not - for both my modern and vintage Ferraris I pay EUR70 an hour at my independent specialist, which is 30% lower than my BMW dealer...


Onno

 

You might want to look on eBay; Norbert Hofer has a very nice 330, S/N 9001. He is well-known as an honest guy, and you can rely on his description. I have seen this car, and can confirm that the paint is gorgeous, and that the owner (for whom Norbert is selling) has recently spent about $70,000 on paint and mechanicals. He needs to get around $140,000 to satisfy the seller.

 

Matt,

You have the November, 2010 SCM with the Porsche 917 on the cover. You want the December edition which has an Alfa 8C on the cover. Michael Shehan's article is entitled "Finding a Ferreri for $!00K or less", starts on page 36.

 

Hi Onno,

Matt plans to do his own work hence cheaper then a modern car which he can't work on.

Matt,

Another thing to mention about all this is the social aspect. Vintage cars are a hobby and whether you hang with the GTO set or the folks who own more plebien cars - the others who share your passion and interest is what completes the picture. The vintage Ferrari owners are a pretty cool group, quite a bit different from the new car guys. We even have our own pinata, Tom Shaugnessey, who when he is not chopping our cars up provides hard to find parts if you get him on a good day and don't waste his time.

 

I climbed all over it, and even sat in it, yesterday

Lovely car.

 

Ah! That does make a big difference of course.


Onno

 

Certain things can be unexpectedly really pricey, like exhaust systems. Not necessarily difficult on the labor side, but time consuming, and the parts are not cheap.

 

You will not be happy with item #2. Neither will your wife. Your kids will be OK until age 6.

 

Matt, you can read the Sheehan article by going to the sports car market website and clicking on the Sheehan articles under the "Columns" heading...

 

I found my 330 to be much less expensive to maintain than the predecessor BMW 635CSi.

As far as Vintage Ferraris being "fragile", I was under the same illusion before the 330 came into my possession. Once I got in and started the reconditioning process, I found that it was built like a tank.

To the OP: I'd go for it, but keep the good advice on this thread in mind. Unless you're at least an average do it yourself wrencher and enjoy the work, go for the best car you can afford.

I'm kind of going the opposite direction from you. I'm priced out of the market for the nicest Vintage 12 2+2s and don't want to put the same energy and money that I expended on the 330 into reconditoning another needy car. I'll either keep my 308 long term or go for a post-2000 360 or 550.

Having been through it, I can truly say that owning one of the old 12s is an experience that no Ferrari lover should miss.

Happy looking...it's as much fun as owning.

 

Scott,
I agree they are not needy cars. But the cost to fix stuff to get it "right" and "reliable" is the costly part. After that, it's not bad at all. My car was restored and lightly driven (less than 2K miles on it). Except it was taken off the road over 20 years ago, and the "resto" took forever; it was then sold to two owners who were both "large collection" guys and they didn't drive the car. So, my car is in great shape, but it wasn't really sorted after the resto. The "fettling" as they say, takes time and money. And, of course, you have to drive the car to find out what needs fixing. Which doesn't suck.

I think I have fixed everything now . You are right though - the V12 cars are like nothing else. I also have a modern V8 Ferrari, and it's like an F1 car - a total different experience.

 

My first Fcar was and is a 330 GT. If you plan working on it yourself or money isn't a concern have at it. Otherwise, I would have to agree with a previous post which contained the ultimate truth. These cars are just as expensive to repair as many much more valuable models. The ratio of return on investment is slight if at all. I love my 330 G T but have undoubted spent more than I am ever likely to see on its sale. A joy to drive and simple, in most regards, to repair it is a great sixties V12 and handles well for a straight rear axle car. Prices appear to be climbing on 330's so whatever you decide, best of luck.

 

I had a 308GTS I bought new and sold it at a loss of about $15,000 (over 3 years depreciation) so I would have cash ready for an older V12.
Then I came across a tatty C4 and bought it for $19K, spent only $2000 on paint and minor repairs, drove it for 3 years and sold it for triple my purchase price.
I enjoyed the V12 a lot more, it was built when Enzo was still in charge, it had a lot more character , more hp. and a much better sound.
I used to not like the 330, you didn't say if it was two headlight or four but I like the four headlamp model now, I feel the headlights are a strong statement. I wouldn't worry about appreciation in the U.S., in Europe it could appreciate faster and you could always sell it to a European.
I would definitely hold out for one that is currently running so you can see it runs, rather than a car that hasn't been run in 20 years or is all apart. Paint is not that important if you are going to use it as a street driver. My car needed valve adjustment when I bought it but after that it was only little things that broke (AC, for one) but I didn't sweat the small stuff and look back on a great ownership period. Plus if it triples in value, you can always go back and buy some newer Ferrari that was too pricey before but has suffered from new car depreciation

 

I hear you. By the time reconditioning work on the car I paid $32.5K for in late '02 was finished, I'd spent that much again over a 3-year period, plus another $5K for sales tax, title, license, and upfront insurance. Add in another 250 or so hours of my time.

It was a great car, and I finished it just in time to have a year or so of trouble-free driving before it was totaled in March of '07.

 

There,s a red LHD S1 car for sale in Aussie,imported from the states in 07.The ask is $125A,which as you,re aware is the same as US at the moment.Classic Throttle Shop(google it) is the dealer in Sydney,there are quite a few knowledgeable folk who can look at it if you,re interested.Good luck,Chinese eyes rock(but that,s my personal opinion.)

 

Greg is looking at buying that car and chopping it for his new GTO project.