What's the average mindset these days of a Ferrari buyer?

Hi Peter...

Well, I can tell you my recent experiences with a porsche and the testarossa...

I tried to sell my 2000 Boxster s for 6-8 months. Tried cars.com, autotrader.com, etc. my asking price started at 32,000$ (2 years ago) - about 2,000$ less than most dealers. Not one call. Went to 30,000$. Not one call. Went to 28,000$. Got one call - he never came.... Keep in mind I was about $6000 below dealer ask at the time. Most dealer lots I saw had the same cars for a very long time. Finally traded it in at LFSC on the testarossa for 25,000$....

What I learned was that expensive cars just don't sell quickly. You are lucky if you get any calls (PS. I had it advertised in Chicago).

Now, the testarossa. I looked in the mags for months, day dreaming. I really wanted to buy locally, and everything for sale was out west. I figured I was better off paying 2-4000$ more locally, then wasting all of the time travelling.

The car I wanted was listed at LFSC for a LONG LONG TIME. I don't recall the original asking price, but 69,000$ or so rings a bell. Then it was 65,000$. Then 60,000$ An I purchased for 5000$ or so below that (plus had some repairs thrown in). This was on a fresh car, with recent service, and 20,000$ of bills within the last year...

I find that with ferrari's (and porsches) there is a huge disconnect between ask and sell prices. If a dealer is "asking" 30,000 for a 308...a private party should be "asking" 5000$ less than that. And figure both parties will have to drop some to sell.

It was interesting that when I was looking for the boxster the private party asking prices were WAY higher than dealer asking prices. I pointed this out to a couple of folks - they just said thats what "blue book" or edmunds says their car is worth... Go figure...

The last 2 308's I saw were at LFSC...I think one is till on the site (a gtsi). They are down to an ask of 30k or so...and its going south. Nice, not perfect car...

On the flipside, I think that there is sucha thing as a rock bottom. I just can't see a decent, running, 308 for less than low 20's. Hell, if they are less than that, I want one . I would think carb cars are quite desireable... Anyway you could jury-rig a cheap cat on there so it can qualify for all 50 states...

Any way...good luck with your car sale!

Couple of further thoughts...

Sold my 911s and 944 trubo in a week or so - 15,000 and below cars go fast.

 

No offense intended, but there is a glut of used Boxsters, and dealers are asking "optimistic" prices for them. Plus Porsche udpated the car in '03, and then the new 987 platform went into production, etc. Kind of like the Elise, the "gotta have" luster has faded somewhat.

Ferrari's in the lower price brackets are an unusual marketing challenge. The guy who can write a $90K check for an F355 can probably swing the maintenance. Someone looking for a $20K sports car probably can't afford a thorough major service on a 308. What I think will happen is that 308's will eventually start appreciating, precisely because they're in a low price bracket now and have a harder time finding appreciative homes where the maintenance $$ are in the budget.

 

None taken. They are a dime a dozen. You can buy an early boxster to less tha 18k$ now a days.

 

PeterS check your pm thanks

 

I'd say this is pretty typical of an entry-level buyer (so said because I was one not that long ago).

The buyer of a $100k TR is typically going to be better informed (and a previous exotic owner) than the buyer who first exotic (and possibly first collector car) is a $25k 308. I think you're going to have a lot more tire kickers at $25k than $100k...

And the more seasoned buyer will likely already know how they are going to pay for it versus the new buyer that thinks he can get a $25k loan on a '78 Ferrari as easily as a new '06 Honda.

But with either car, you're going to have to wait until the right buyer comes along...

Bill

 

I see two distinct markets being catered to these days. The 'old school' rich man's enthusiast market gets jazzed about the 612 and the 575/599 models, while the Bling-Bling, status-symbol crowd is starting to fawn over the 430 Spyder like they did over the 360. These people drove the 360 market in the past four years. Watch MTV Cribs and count the number of Rock Stars/TV/Movie/NBA/NFL people who have one.....then tell me I'm wrong. Hell, Paris Hilton even has one, and she barely knows how to drive.

Used car market is tough in the winter - worst time of the year to try and sell anything, I've been told. Spring/Summer is a different story. Cars that are PERFECT are a different story. Find me a 308 with a fresh brake system, fresh suspension system with new shocks/springs/bushings/powdercoat, new wheel bearings, correct wheels, fresh leather interior, fresh weatherstripping, perfect rust-free body/perfect paint, engine with ZERO issues, no leaks, fresh cam seals, no ignition/fuel injection issues, no electrical problems anywhere, fresh belts, fresh hoses, all new tensioner bearings, new CV Joints, flushed radiator, new thermostat, new water pump, new fuel pump, new alternator, I can go on and on and on and on.......these cars just don't exist, but sellers are in total complete denial that their car could possibly have 'needs', so prices don't reflect the true and actual condition of the car.

 

I'll qualify what I'm about to say with a statement that this opinion is derived from my recent experience shopping for a non-Ferrari sportscar and is not in any way meant to apply to PeterS or his car.

That said, I've found that very often the lower-end cars one sees have owners who either a) did not maintain them well (and often ask high prices in addition), or b) poured some money into maintaining their car and thus ask a price on the high end of market value in an attempt to "make back" what they spent on the car, regardless of what remained to be done, or c) are attempting to earn back what they owe from the loan used to buy the car, regardless of market value. (This, a friend who works for Porsche N.A.'s finance department assures me is common among younger Boxster drivers. Most of them have loans that have inverted and they're trying to get out of a car they can't afford without losing any more money).

Which isn't to say that there aren't good, well-maintained cars out there for sale by decent, knowledgeable people ... but they're pretty rare.

Good luck with your selling, Peter!