Just Used Cars
I am often asked why I don’t traffic in or write about more Fiat-era cars, such as the 308s, 328s, 348s and the 400s, BBs and TRs. The answer is simple. One of the great realities all Ferrari dealers and brokers know all too well is that the brain-damage factor—from both the buyer and the […]
Avoid Conflicts with Pre-Sale Inspections
I’ve been selling Enzo-era cars since there were only Enzo-era cars. It is both interesting and telling that the Enzo-era cars (built from 1947 to 1974) closely parallel my age group—the all-too-rapidly aging Baby-Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964). When it comes to age, much like the Baby-Boomers, almost all of the Enzo-era cars are […]
When is Fast Too Fast?
This month’s column focuses on three related points. First, I do a lot of expert-witness work, so I’m consulted on many horrifically wrecked Ferraris, which is very sobering. I also get emails from Ferrari Internet chat groups monitoring the relatively new trend of punitive traffic fines in Europe and Canada. Finally, because I drive most […]
Ferraris and Bidding Wars in the Desert
For classic car lovers escaping the winter snows, it doesn’t get any better than this year’s Scottsdale auctions, with collectors spending $159.6m to buy about 2,300 cars. As always, Barrett-Jackson was the big player with sales at $68.5m, Gooding sold $35m, while RM was close behind with $31m in sales. Russo and Steele sold a […]
A Princely Collection of Rotting Cars
Imagine seeing hundreds of high-end Ferraris, Lamborghinis and McLarens—many with hardly any miles on the odometer—rotting away in tropical heat and humidity. While much has been written of the Sultan of Brunei’s car collection—and there are no lack of spy photos of the collection on the Internet—the estimated 2,500 cars are actually not the Sultan’s. […]
A Ferrari 328 with Needs is a Friends Bad Deed
My column takes a slightly different tack this month, as SCMer Aaron Greenburg sent in this letter asking for some advice on a 1988 Ferrari 328: I’m interested in trying to put a value on a Ferrari 328 that I inspected the other day. The car in question is a 1988 targa, white over black, […]
Cracking Ferrari’s Enigma Codes
In my October column, I wrote that the factory laptop used to diagnose electrical and mechanical systems of modern Ferraris does not give definitive answers to problems. Instead, the computer merely gives a list of as many as 1,500 options and possibilities. To understand how this situation came about, let’s begin with a brief history […]
High-End Ferrari Buyers Show up at Monterey
In the run-up to this year’s Monterey auctions, there was much concern in the dealer community because so many high-end Ferraris were about to go on the market. After the disastrous economy of 2009 and this year’s tepid recovery, were there enough buyers to absorb the sheer volume of high-dollar Ferraris to make the Monterey […]
The Snowball Effect
Readers of this column know I’m not a fan of online auctions or dealer auctions because it’s usually impossible to have a detailed, professional pre-purchase inspection of the car. As for prior ownership and service records, they are usually non-existent. While some clients have had good luck buying without inspections, others have not. Our tale […]
Greece and the Ferrari Market
How quickly the tides do turn. Only six months ago, in my March SCM column, Dashing Euro Dreams, I wrote, “As the dollar had declined over the last eighteen months, the asking prices of American-based collector cars suddenly look like bargains”. The lead time on my column is thirty to forty-five days, and as I […]