The rich aren’t like you and me. Saying that, it appears that Wall Street’s financial meltdown is bringing some of the money men a little closer to our level. Buried in the middle of a Bloomberg article: car dealer Michael Sheehan’s revelation that the bottom’s dropping out of the used Ferrari market. “I’ve got a street-legal 1982 512 BBi series with 26,000 miles for $129,500,” says Sheehan, president of Ferraris-on-line.com in Newport Beach, California. “One owner, a former Lehman Brothers partner. The day Lehman tanked, he was asking $149,500.” That day was September 15. Sheehan says the date marks the moment when the sticker price on previously stabled Prancing Horses started sliding. By his reckoning, prices for Maranello’s high-maintenance “pre-loved” machines have tumbled 20 percent. So far. “I normally get one call a day from clients asking me to sell their cars,” Sheehan says. “I’m now averaging six calls a day and that number will certainly rise. Nobody needs a Ferrari, they need a house.” A very large one, presumably.
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I say folks do not need a house either. They need to pay rent and have money for rent day. Well its none of my business.
Just the high end of what you can see by looking on Craigslist or E-Bay. There are many motivated sellers for all sorts of Big Boy Toys right now. RVs, Quads, Urban Cowboy Pickups, are all very much a buyers market right now. Heck if I were not about to move I’d consider picking up one of the Built for off-road Jeep Cherokees for $3-4k.
Sheehan is a columnist and contributing editor for Sports Car Market Magazine, and an excellent one, so he know whereof he speaks.
SCM, by the way, gets my vote for the best U. S. print car magazine. I no longer get C/D, AutoWeek, Automobile or Automotive News–the only magazines I’ve subscribed to in the last half-dozen years. Only SCM.
I might manage a Magnum PI car someday yet… Was my “poster car” when I was 13-14 yrs old. Still like the look and mid-engine. Yes I know alot of cars are faster.
I was having thoughts along this exact line today. Thanks to an oblivious septuagenarian, I’ll be in the motorcycle market again soon. With the increase in raw material prices leading to higher retail prices, and a simultaneous worldwide economic cold, I should be in stronger negotiating position next season (I will have a little chunk ‘o cash). It seems that the same would go for cars, houses, etc. If you’ve lived within your means for the last couple of years, there should be opportunities in the markets.
Also, didn’t I recently see articles about full-size pickups going for ~1/2 off?
I’ve always wanted the gentleman’s Ferrari: a 400i GT.
Besides ebay and chequeredflag.com what are some good sources for vintage Ferraris?
Sounds like a 1986-ish Testarossa is in my future! Woot!
One of the worst Ferraris ever, characterised by some extremely poor packaging and weight distribution.
“Sheehan says the date marks the moment when the sticker price on vintage Prancing Horses”
Pedantry….There is no such thing as a vintage Ferrari since ‘Vintage’ as a automotive epoch ended in 1930. However, Porsche being the other car company with a prancing horse as it’s logo was a designer of vintage cars.
Nicodemus:
Pedantry….There is no such thing as a vintage Ferrari since ‘Vintage’ as a automotive epoch ended in 1930. However, Porsche being the other car company with a prancing horse as it’s logo was a designer of vintage cars.
Point taken. Text amended.
Besides ebay and chequeredflag.com what are some good sources for vintage Ferraris?
Europe.
Especially for the more ‘common’ Ferraris on the low end of the price/status spectrum there’s always a pretty decent supply and not to much demand.
The 400i ranges amongst the least loved over here, so if you’re really interested, you might take a look at http://www.mobile.de for instance (22 400s and 10 further 412s).
Although obviously there’s going to be significant costs of importing the vehicle and the dollar isn’t doing too hot right now.
Nicodemus: There is no such thing as a vintage Ferrari since ‘Vintage’ as a automotive epoch ended in 1930.
According to whom (other than you)? Even the traditional definition of “classic automobile” included (some of the best, too) cars from the thirties, but even that has changed. But I’ve never seen such a (narrow) definition of “vintage”.
According to whom (other than you)? Even the traditional definition of “classic automobile” included (some of the best, too) cars from the thirties, but even that has changed. But I’ve never seen such a (narrow) definition of “vintage”.
I don’t think my statement with respect to Vintage cars was worthy of such a belittling response. I thought TTAC was above snide remarks.
But I’ll let facts speak for themselves…
According to whom?
Try the Vintage Sport Car Club for starters:
http://www.vscc.co.uk/vsccweb/membership/default.jsp?PageID=115
Even in Australia…
http://vintagesportscarclub.org.au/content/view/18/38/
Or perhaps the MG Car Club
http://www.mgcc.co.uk/registers-topmenu-36/vintage-register-topmenu-99.html?task=blogcategory
Even wiki are into the act…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vintage_car
Without reading any of his references, I think Nicodemus is right. The cars you’re referring to from the ’30s as “classics” are exactly that. Classics. Classic is a different era, as is Edwardian and a number of others. As I remember, there’s even a category called “brass.”