Best time to buy?

[fletch2306]

Hi guys,
Might be looking to get myself on the Ferrari ladder with an early 355. Is now a good time to buy, or in your opinion/experience are the prices likely to fall even more as we head further into winter?

Thanks in advance
Laurence

[456mgt]

Laurence- most people I've asked say that winter is the best time to buy any sports car, particularly open topped ones. The difference can be 10% or more, and as far as Ferrari is concerned, the times I've been looking there was more choice as well.

Additionally this year, I've seen prices of luxury goods soften *considerably* over the last few months; when times get tough it's the luxury stuff that gets dumped. If you have the self restraint I'd hold off till after Christmas at least. That's the theory anyway

Good luck

Kevin

[frostie]

Well I looked at a nice 550 in a dealers on Saturday and was offered £47K for my '98 355, which has only improved to £50K today ! Thats a pretty major depreciation in the 2 years I've owned it. They are clearly struggling to sell cars in the current economic climate and hence trying to extract evey last penny they can.

If you are not trading anything in it might be worth trying a few dealers now and just make them a stupid offer. They ain't going to shift many cars at the mo and prices are likely to go even lower as Kev say's so they may be prepared to cut their losses rather than risk hanging on. Buyers market at the mo.

Frostie

>> Edited by frostie on Monday 28th October 18:12

[456mgt]

frostie said: Well I looked at a nice 550 in a dealers on Saturday and was offered £47K for my '98 355, which has only improved to £50K today !

Bloody hell Frostie- that's a choker. I feel for you, I really do. I did the calculations a few weeks ago (get an average from Top Marques and subtract 15% or so). While this can be bloody depressing it's worth remembering that its the differential between your car and the one you want that counts, since you can't do much about the general depreciation curve- it's going to happen whether you sell your car or not. Pretty much QED- crap time to sell, great time to buy.

Kevin

PS 550?

[frostie]

PS 550?

I was really only going just to get a feel for prices and have a chat about colours etc Unfortuntely sods law says they have one which almost matches the exact spec I'm after - BTF/Tan & Modular wheels - georgeous and only 4k on the clock.

Anyone ever driven one with the Handling Pack ? Is it a desirable option to have ?

Frostie

[manu]

Anjum has driven a Handling Pack 550 and despite some of reports of the car sitting just a little too low and tramliming it's something I would definitely get because it really does sharpen the car up significantly at that...so I suppose on the 575M it's a must.....the car looks a lot meaner too.

[ninja_eli]

Frostie, Rich had the same problem. Same thing that I said before, its like moving house, you'll get a better price for your house now, but you'll have to pay more for the one you want. As Kevin says, the reality is in what you pay to get the car you want, which may not necessarily be that much different, even though you get a crap price for your car.

In general I don't think its that much of a bargain buying a Ferrari in the winter. IMO you might get a good deal pricewise, but remember that by the time you come to use it properly the car is probably some months older, in which case it would have depreciated appropriately. And don't believe anyone who tells you Ferrari's don't depreciate, they do; badly! Not percentage wise, but in real money terms. A dealer in the north tried to insist that my car would not lose even ten grand in a year. Others said 10 to 15 grand depending on mileage.

I'd say end of Jan early Feb is a good time. Still a good selection of cars about and the prices are very low. Another thing is, notice cars that are stuck on dealers forecourts, they are the same price come spring time too.

Good hunting.

[rich1231]

My 355 depreciated about £8k in 7 weeks. Dealer saw me coming! I didnt have the time to waste trying to sell mine for more. all the dealers I called didnt want it at the moment. Spiders will not sell in the winter (except to muppets like me, who dont think too far ahead). But I am not rich, I dont have money to throw away. But I soooo wanted the 360 I had to have it.

Now is the time to buy the car you want. Tomorrow will be now! Next month will be now! Get the car, drive it, enjoy it. You will not regret it.

[fletch2306]

Thanks for the responses guys. I definitely agree that it’s a buyers market at the moment.
Frostie – that price is a joke. I test drove a GTS at Maranellos on Saturday (and very nice it was to). It just happened to be the same car I saw their back in April when they wanted £62950. 6 months later they want £59950. It’s a 95 N plate with 26k miles on the clock. Is it me or is that vastly overpriced!

Laurence

[rpk]

definitely better to buy around the end of the year. everybody has quotas to fill and wants to get some money in the door before bonus time (the salemen that is). not all ferraris lose value indefinetly though. buy one sufficiently down the curve and it can't lose much more coz its got all the older models bunching up underneath it. for example, the 348 is not going much lower than hi 20's (in good shape), simply because thats where the 328's and 308's are. the 355 is going to the 35-45 range in a hurry, but not too much further. the 550's are going to 45-65 range (already there for eh 97's). but once there, they will not drop too much. i bought a 512tr nearly 3 years ago now and it has not dropped a bit from what i paid.