Why are LHD Ferrari 512TR so much cheaper?

Why are LHD Ferrari 512TR so much cheaper?

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Discussion

PaulDav

Original Poster:

63 posts

121 months

Tuesday 17th June 2014
quotequote all
I have been looking for a RHD 512TR (Rosso with Crema). Not many seem
To ever come up for sale and when they are they are substantially more expensive than the equivalent LHD car from a German dealer. Was the spec different? Or was it just that there are substantially more LHD 512 TR's out there so it becomes a supply and demand problem?

Also what's the view Testarossa v's 512TR? I originally set off looking for a Testarossa as a weekend / investment car and have been persuaded to hold off for a 512TR. Is love to hear people's thoughts.

Also anybody know of any low mileage versions around in either car that might be on the market soon?

Thanks!


mike01606

531 posts

148 months

Tuesday 17th June 2014
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PaulDav said:
I have been looking for a RHD 512TR (Rosso with Crema). ....... they are they are substantially more expensive than the equivalent LHD car from a German dealer.

I originally set off looking for a Testarossa as a weekend / investment car and have been persuaded to hold off for a 512TR. Is love to hear people's thoughts.


Two paragraphs from your original post.........Some say the UK is in the middle of a vast car bubble that is about to go pop and some say we aren't, it's different this time etc. Personally, I would tread very carefully, particularly when using the 'investment' word.
IMO it's more than a positive correction, cannot be sustainable and some people are going to get one hell of a haircut in the not too distant.....


Good luck with the search though.......

jtremlett

1,369 posts

221 months

Tuesday 17th June 2014
quotequote all
PaulDav said:
I have been looking for a RHD 512TR (Rosso with Crema). Not many seem
To ever come up for sale and when they are they are substantially more expensive than the equivalent LHD car from a German dealer. Was the spec different? Or was it just that there are substantially more LHD 512 TR's out there so it becomes a supply and demand problem?

Also what's the view Testarossa v's 512TR? I originally set off looking for a Testarossa as a weekend / investment car and have been persuaded to hold off for a 512TR. Is love to hear people's thoughts.

Also anybody know of any low mileage versions around in either car that might be on the market soon?

Thanks!
I do know of a low mileage RHD 512 TR, red with cream that a friend is looking to part with. E-mail me if you would like more info.

With regards to the price difference vs LHD, that is true of a few Ferrari models at the moment. Certainly there are always fewer RHD cars. At some stage the prices will converge, since they always do, but I don't know whether they will converge up towards the RHD level or down towards the LHD level!

The 512 TR is generally perceived as the most desirable of the Testarossas. Technical improvements over the original Testarossa but better looking than the F512 M. 88 512 TRs were supplied new to the UK.

Jonathan

PaulDav

Original Poster:

63 posts

121 months

Tuesday 17th June 2014
quotequote all
I totally appreciate your sentiment. So
Often we have seen these kind of bubbles before.

I'm not looking at this as a short term Investment but rather a 10 year plus opportunity to buy an asset that's going to appreciate in value over time but that you can enjoy at the weekends. I'm extremely bullish the world economies over the next 10 years but there will come a lot of inflation with that. So I want to put my money in something that hopefully increases in value quicker than
Inflation but that I can enjoy in the meantime (unlike stocks and shares).

And if it all goes wrong and prices collapse, at least is be left with an amazing car rather than a few worthless share certificates.


johnnyreggae

2,930 posts

159 months

Tuesday 17th June 2014
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You'll have quite a cool fantasy garage when you've bought this, the 911 & a 928 !

GreigM

6,726 posts

248 months

Tuesday 17th June 2014
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We're all keeping them....too good a car to sell!!

PaulDav

Original Poster:

63 posts

121 months

Wednesday 18th June 2014
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Would getting a LHD version just be a bad move? You are getting the same vehicle, the same looks and the same performance but at half the price?

Voldemort

6,087 posts

277 months

Wednesday 18th June 2014
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PaulDav said:
Would getting a LHD version just be a bad move? You are getting the same vehicle, the same looks and the same performance but at half the price?
Earlier,

jtremlett said:
At some stage the prices will converge, since they always do, but I don't know whether they will converge up towards the RHD level or down towards the LHD level!
And he's right!

Would you like to borrow my digital decision maker?


marky1

1,045 posts

195 months

Wednesday 18th June 2014
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I just bought a LHD Scuderia for £50,000 less than they are in the UK. I live in Europe so LHD is ideal for me but these price spreads between LHD and RHD just feel wrong. I know there are 101 reasons why they exist but these things tend to even out in the long run?

belleair302

6,835 posts

206 months

Wednesday 18th June 2014
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Also remember many RHD cars get exported to cash rich RHD countries where LHD cars are banned or heavily taxed. The GBP is cheap and I think LHD cars in certain marques make for a better 'original' and are much easier to sell to a larger market.

testosterone

96 posts

212 months

Wednesday 18th June 2014
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Unfortunately, due to the limited numbers of RHD cars the uk market can be manipulated by dealers in the same way that estate agents keep pushing property prices up to unrealistic levels. Obviously the price will be set by what people are prepared to pay but sometimes common sense seems to fall by the wayside. I bought my 91 reg. testarossa in 2004 for £37k from a main dealer. Looking through the history of the car i noticed that at one point the car exchanged hands for nearly £200k when buyers were in headless chicken mode. My advice would be not to follow the sheep and buy with your head not your heart. Buying LHD is the sensible option. It is the same car for gods sake. I am sure that some serious price correction in the used ferrari market will happen in the future.

I would also urge you to wait for the right 512tr rather than buying a testarossa. The diffirence is like chalk and cheese. I knew within four week that i had made a mistake. Its the little things like slow window winders
and pathetic heating and ventilation that really niggled me.

Bluebottle911

811 posts

194 months

Wednesday 18th June 2014
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testosterone said:
. . . in the same way that estate agents keep pushing property prices up to unrealistic levels . . .
Estate agents would like to think they have that power, but they are no more than impotent observers, just like the rest of us. It's the market that sets prices - the interaction between supply and demand on a collective scale. About the only body that is in any position to influence prices is the Bank of England MPC.

A wise old boy, who was Chief Surveyor to one of the largest UK pension funds for over 25 years, once said to me "agents don't do deals, they merely grease the wheels".

Car prices are much the same: even if they are so rare so that a small number of people can control the supply, the price is still dependent on what buyers are prepared to pay. Yes, RHD cars are in smaller supply (and smaller demand), so the market is more volatile than for LHDs, but it is still a function of supply and demand.

It will be interesting to see what happens to that balance when / if interest rates rise later this year / early next and "investors" consider whether cars still look like good investments / buyers on credit have to pay more interest.

ro55a

705 posts

153 months

Wednesday 18th June 2014
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Don't buy a testarossa, they are slow, mega mega expensive to maintain....they all blow up and rust, depreciate at such a rate it's untrue, they look silly, do not make enough noise, poor decision really, LHD or RHD they're all crap.

Here's a pic of mine.

PaulDav

Original Poster:

63 posts

121 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
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[quote=ro55a]Don't buy a testarossa, they are slow, mega mega expensive to maintain....they all blow up and rust, depreciate at such a rate it's untrue, they look silly, do not make enough noise, poor decision really, LHD or RHD they're all crap.

Here's a pic of mine.

So if you dont like the car why do you still have one?


rubystone

11,252 posts

258 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
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PaulDav said:
So if you dont like the car why do you still have one?
rolleyes

ro55a

705 posts

153 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
quotequote all
PaulDav]o55a said:
Don't buy a testarossa, they are slow, mega mega expensive to maintain....they all blow up and rust, depreciate at such a rate it's untrue, they look silly, do not make enough noise, poor decision really, LHD or RHD they're all crap.

Here's a pic of mine.

So if you dont like the car why do you still have one?
Tongue in cheek my friend!

El Guapo

2,787 posts

189 months

Friday 20th June 2014
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PaulDav said:
So if you dont like the car why do you still have one?

Cool Hand Luke

73 posts

151 months

Wednesday 25th June 2014
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I've scratched my head over this very thing myself. The result of which is I'm off to Germany this Friday to pick up a LHD 512 TR! The spread between LHD and RHD is far too wide, and I believe the LHD market will catch on sooner or later.

I see real opportunities in models that have just caught on in the UK, where as main land Europe is behind the curve. 550 / 575 manuals and 360 CS are a case in point. With bona fide classics such as older older ferrari's the price differential between RHD and LHD is non existent.

As for the 512 TR, just look at Countach values. I think it will be pulled up in a similar way for its iconic looks. But then I would say that - I've had to convince myself (and the missus) to justify the purchase.

RevHappy

1,836 posts

161 months

Wednesday 25th June 2014
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Of the 2280 made only 50 were RHD, even the bigger volume Tes which was made for over three times longer only had 438.
Add in the numbers exported east due to ducking under the duty, there's not many RHD left in the uk.

Johnnyforeigner

217 posts

142 months

Wednesday 25th June 2014
quotequote all
RevHappy said:
Of the 2280 made only 50 were RHD, even the bigger volume Tes which was made for over three times longer only had 438.
Add in the numbers exported east due to ducking under the duty, there's not many RHD left in the uk.
There was a few more than 50.
There were 88 imported into the UK, then there's also the cars supplied to the other RHD markets, Aust, HK, Singapore, Japan etc.
Not sure of the exact numbers but it must run into a few hundred at least?