very interesting color combo??

Dave, I think that you are somewhat right, but I also think somewhat wrong. The problem is that there is basically NO delta between the price for a totally sorted daily driver and for one of the money sucking pigs that you describe. I know that my 400i (#049773) is good / sorted enough to be used as a daily driver because I DO. Drove it round trip from my country house to NYC this past week (in some light snow) ran like a top - BUT - if I ever wanted to sell the car, I DOUBT that I could get even $20k for it.

Everything works on my car - everything! AC, heat, windows all perfect. It has had a $10k+ major with valve adjustment by Bill Pollard. I have over $3k into wheel and tires. It has a stainless timevalve exhaust. Can you imagine what buyers would say if I tried to sell it? "It has so many stone chips on the nose!" "You drove it in the RAIN? It can't be worth a penny more than $15k". "A 400 with over 50k miles is a $10k car!" "This car uses oil? I will give you $10k!" Of course, don't forget mine is BROWN!

So, I agree the $20k cars that your reference are likely to be pigs - BUT - I also think that there are good cars out there that are still basically sale proof - like mine. What do you think my proven 400i is worth? I am your friend, so don't be afraid to hurt my feelings.

A
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Symantics....The question should be, "What would it cost to make a 400 reliable enough to be a daily driver including the cost of the car?"
The answer? "A bunch more than the low 20's."

I think yours is priceless because I know you won't sell it
...and I like it in brown.

 

.....and I know you're my friend.

When are we getting together to drink a bit of vino?
Whats the progress, or situation, on the car we talked about? (better PM or call me with the answer to that one)

 

Ah! INDEED! Dave you have hit the nail on the proverbial head with this! And indeed this was the crux of my initial inquiry. If I bought a $20k 400 COULD I expect it to be reliable w/o huge installments of cash and if NOT how much more should I budget for the process. Now I have a better idea. I agree w/ A that it would be hard to sell that car in brown w/ lots of miles and heaven forbid stone chips and being driven in the RAIN! Forget the SNOW that puts it RIGHT OUT! LOL! Probably one of the best 400's a person could own but only a true cognisenti (did I spell that right???) would know enough to buy it!

Thanks guys!
James

 

Has anyone noticed the car that started this thread, a red automatic, will apparently bring $30,000.
Who would have guessed?

 

The economy may be headed for the dumper but we may already have seen the bottom in pricing for 400i series cars. There is no other V12 Ferrari available for less than 2 1/2 to 3 times the price of that $30K 400i, and those prices appear to be heading upward, increasing the gap even more. A 250 GTE that was $50K 10 years ago now is $150K, 330 GT 2+2 Series II are $120K and the Series I are pushing $100k.

I'm not saying that a 400i will ever make a good financial investment, but I am saying that they will never be cheaper to buy. The problem is that most do have some needs from deferred maintenance issues. So what? Budget yourself $40K, not much more than an Acura, buy the best you can find for $30K, spend the $10K on "fettling" and sorting through the DM issues, and voila!, you have a classic front engine V12 Ferrari for a fraction of the price of the next most affordable model!

John

 

That won't meet the reserve. It has been listed in a couple of locations that I have found, one at $45k, the other at $39.9k!

I have a new location for the yellow 400. Do we have ANY Ferrari guys (I can't imagine there is a 400 guy close) in this area: The car is located in Ooltewah, Tennessee. Yeah, I've never heard of it either, but it's just north of Chattanooga.

Here is another shot of the yellow car just to keep your interest peeked! ;-)
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Get the serial number, let's see if it is indeed the infamous yellow Florida car.

 

I'll ask if the seller/dealer has that info, or if he can get it from the owner...

Oh, that 400 on ebay got all the way up to $34k+! It is a low mile example, but dang if that isn't ALL the money right there. That car has probably barely been driving the last 5-10 years, it could easily need another $10k to get caught up on stuff that *might* break that has not been changed because "it only has 10k miles on it, you don't need to change that belt till 30k miles" type of mentality. Not saying that is the case but it is possible. At any rate it did not meet reserve. For $4k more they could have been the proud owners of a beautiful (but on salvage title) 456GTA! Yup, it went w/o reserve on ebay for $38.2K!!!

 

I was one of those foolish people who "saved" 3-4K on purchase then spent well over 10K to make the car so I could drive it, and it still is not as nice as cars I could have brought for less than I have in mine now. Oh well live and learn and then die and forget it all.
I belive the very best of these cars or not priced much diffrent than real pigs.

 

Here is the VIN for the 1984 Yellow 400i: ZFFEB06B000051697

 

Formerly owned by Michael Scaglione in PA.

 

Sounds like you did GREAT! What color is it??? RED??? If so I'll buy it from you for what you paid for it!

James