Ferrari 512 BBi in a Coal Mine?

by Robert Farago

Published: September 27th, 2008

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.

Robert Farago

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JJ on Sep 28, 2008
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 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.

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Paul Niedermeyer on Sep 29, 2008
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".

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Nicodemus on Sep 29, 2008
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

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Stephan Wilkinson on Sep 29, 2008

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."

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