Ferrari Classiche Revisited
We begin with a brief history lesson In 2002 Ferrari started their first certification process for early Ferraris by issuing a minimalist single page Heritage certificate, easily obtained online by submitting the model, plus the chassis, engine, transmission and differential numbers, no inspection required. Between 2002 and 2005 about a thousand Heritage certificates were issued. […]
Australia, Asbestos and Collector Cars
Our story begins in 2003 when the Australian government issued a zero-tolerance ban on any and all asbestos products, aimed mainly at imported Chinese drywall, a problem America also faced at the time. Fast forward to March 6, 2017 when, without prior warning to Shipping and Customs agents, let alone to owners, the Australian Border […]
1031 Tax Trades Revisited
As every Baby-Boomer knows, time is no longer our friend As the baby-boomers leave the market, many long-term-ownership collector cars are coming to the market. Some are sold because they sat unused for years, some are sold to pay off homes, get cash back for other projects, settle estate complications or the ever-present fear of […]
How many 599 SA Apertas?
Collectability versus volume Ferrari’s 599 SA Aperta, the convertible version of Ferrari’s 599 GTB, was introduced at the 2010 Paris Motor Show as a unique and limited edition model in celebration of Pininfarina’s 80th anniversary. Each 599 SA Aperta was delivered with a badge, most of which read “Limited Edition 1 of 80”, and to […]
Ferraris and Dutch Auctions
Marketing theory from the 1600s Readers of this article are familiar with the world of collector car auctions. The auctioneer starts with a high price, reads the crowd’s reaction, lowers the price until someone places a bid, and then works the crowd to push the price ever higher. The next bid must exceed the current […]
And You Thought Ferraris were expensive?
While we get several hundred e-mails every day, endless phone calls and no lack of text messages, few have ever gotten my attention more than a text received on 04 April at 2:58 P.M., which read “Dude. Just lost an engine at 18k ft out of TEB emergency landing into Philly!!!! Moving my Gulfstream into […]
The Private Market
Most people know us from the cars we offer on our website, and the pedantic columns I have enjoyed writing for multiple magazines and subscribers to our website over several decades, but for over four decades many of our transactions, and certainly the larger transactions, have been off the usual radar screens. Every day we’re […]
The affordability Factor
It was a different era I bought my first Ferrari, 250 PF Coupe s/n 1447, in 1972, for $2,000. It was then a 13-year-old used Italian exotic, with all of the deferred maintenance and complexities that implies. While $2,000 may seem ludicrous cheap today, the median annual American income at the time was app $8,500 […]
Sticker Shock
Most Ferrari market followers would agree that values for Enzo- and Fiat-era Prancing Horses peaked close to the 2014 Monterey auctions and are now off by around 30 percent. Similarly, many Montezemolo-era cars peaked in late 2015 and are now off by the same percentage. In either case, you might never know values were falling […]
A Pilgrimage to Maranello – PART 2
As readers of this column know, we had traveled to Italy for RM’s Duemila Route auction in Milano followed by a two day whirlwind tour of the various shops and museums in the Modena-Maranello area. Old cars and an older castle On day two our first early morning stop was the famed Righini collection, kept […]