Yes is does. This past summer I was dealing with my busted pressure plate and had the garage door open while I was working on the car. Some little kids in the neighborhood (3rd-5th graders), were skateboarding by, stopped and were admiring the car. The youngest said, "that's a nice car, it looks cool". I thanked him and let the kids check the car out. Mind you they had NO idea who the manufacture was, and even asked me, "What kind of car is it?". I then asked them what kind of car they thought it was. One kid saw the horse and guessed a Mustang. I chuckled and then had them read the name plate on the engine cover. It was funny listening to then read it, "F-e-r-r-a-r-i", to then see the look of *OOOOOOH* on their faces, as I'm sure they had heard the name before but had never really been able to identify one. LOL!!! They then again said "nice car" and proceeded to stake off down the street. So when little kids who have NO IDEA what kind of car it is, are give me compliments, you KNOW are genuine, and not just because of the name, you know you have something special. You can't fake that.
unfortunatelt - all these cars are destined to be 25 grand cars... so the the 348 will continue to drop reason - too many cars alll around - amgs,vettes,pcars,lambos,and on , and on , add in the m series and jag r version ... Aston... and now the lexus Isf and GSf 500 hp v10 sedan , plus the lsf .... all these cars are toast. my kids could give a rats a$$ about my TR/308 glass ... they would rather have a r8 audi....so this is the issue ... the economy doesnt help, and nobody wants a an old car with medicore build quality - lets face it , these cars need serious maintence money .... so even if they were "free" alot of people wouldnt want them .... hence why we are seeing the prices we are seeing --- 50 grand for TRs, and 60 grand for 360s, and 22 grand for 3080s ... get used to it ... it aint changing ... its over....enjoy your cars...if you dont love them, toss them ... simple.
The the price is $200,000 AU for the down under crowed. $300,000 if I have to convert it to RHD. LOL!!!!
Frame this...because "special" and "genuine" do not have a pricetag, nor does "special" and "genuine" depreciate
Prices will recover to near prior values. And for anyone buying now that would be a nice increase. Given the fact that before the crash they were going up about 4% +/- a year it's a pretty safe bet. Any interesting car in excellent condition will increase in value as fewer and fewer good clean examples are available. Even with a small increase from current prices, driving an exotic car for a couple years and selling it for more than you paid is a pretty sweet deal
don't get to hung up on the whole "collectable" label. It means nothing. As for the 348 spider, with only about 500 in the US and the number of clean examples dropping daily.. I think as far as cars go they will hold their own
I think pretty much anyone who can afford a new Merc E-Class can afford a 360 these days. The problem is that from a performance perspective I'd want something newer, and from a style and panache perspective the older cars win, IMHO. The 360 is sort of caught in the middle: not all that exclusive or rare, and with performance that was more impressive in 1999 than it is 11 years on. I would personally go for a pristine 348 Spider over a 360 of any flavor.
Still not a collectible/investment car, but IMHO the scarcity does make them very cool to see on the road. Unless you go vintage, it's hard to buy individuality as far as cars go. A 348 Spider certainly has that in spades. Ferrari, Lambo and Porsche have all gone nuts with special editions, but basically they all look the same unless the onlooker is some kind of modern car historian.
Good post Jon. I have always had a fascination with the 430, so for my next F Car (adding to, not replacing my 348) it will be a 430.
