1978 400GT 5 Speed Chassis 22579 On Ebay

This thread has my attention as I have been considering a 400 for some time and have been lurking in this section for some time.

I have my root beer and I'm comfortable here at the cabin. I'm ready for the story behind all the comments posted thus far. If you guys know the story then its time to spill it so i can be entertained and also so i can learn from it so i wont buy the wrong car as i head down the 400 path.


Beev Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

The interior looked better before it was saved: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=139082398&postcount=96

 

Lol, you know, I never thought about that. You could be right.

Husband : "look honey I have it on eBay, and I can't sell it yet, guess we need to keep the car..we are not getting offers, it's a slow economy."

This is a brilliant plan, if my wife ever pulled that on me, I would list my Testarossa at $175,000.

Do we know if this owner is on fchat ?

 

175? Seriously? I'll take it!

Yes he is.

 

Ill give you that but it has to be red because a red testarossa is rare

 

poor guy, good luck with the sale

 

Read the entire ebay page, the ad, and other entries on the listing page and you guys will see where this thread is going.

 

I know where its going.

I recognized the white seats, that gave it away.

 

This will eventually come out so I'll give the readers of this thread some of the info.

I have known about this situation for many months now. I was privy to the communications going on between the car owner and the shop involved. Both of them knew that I was seeing the email chain going back and forth. I watched from the sidelines and didn't say a word until they basically broke off effective and positive communication with each other. In order to help both parties and the 365/400/412 community in general I then said I would make some suggestions that might enable them to resolve their issues. My suggestions were not followed nor was my advice taken. I told both parties that trying this issue in the court of public opinion would result in neither of them winning or being happy with the outcome. As you can, or will see, my advice was not followed.

 

shame,

 

Quote from the eBay ad:

"I've been repeatedly assured by the specialist shop responsible for this result that this is a good value for every penny spent on it. At $89 Thousand, I will be losing money, as I have more than that in it, and months were spent on the bodywork and paint prep, more on getting the interior just right and as specified, and so on. Such quality isn't cheap, obviously, as you can tell by the pictures.

"I'm beginning to have my doubts about the quality, and therefore, value of which he keeps on about."

It is possible that the seller is confusing the concept of intrinsic value with fair market value. The two are not separate. But if you isolate on the intrinsic value of an old school hand built tube frame Ferrari with 5-speed and a big bore, 4-cam, 6-Weber, 60 degree Colombo V-12, you must admit that this car can make a claim to having that intrinsic value, every bit as much as a 275 GTB/4 or a Daytona.

Now think of how much the marketplace has decided that it should cost to join this club. That's the intersection of intrinsic value and fair market value. In the case of a 5-speed 400, the answer is, not very much. Even at $91,400 all-in, a 5-speed 400 would cost a fraction of what the buyer would pay for the similarly equipped 275 or Daytona.

I'm not saying the 400 is the equal of these other 4-cam cars. But this is the line of thinking which makes it not absurd to claim that an owner is getting a good value with a 400 costing $91,400, even if the marketplace offers less expensive routes to the same destination.

I don't know if I'm saying it right, but it makes sense to me. It also makes sense, when you've gone underwater on a special interest car with a pedigree like a 5-speed 400 has, to hold onto it and enjoy it while the market catches up with your investment. Because someday it surely will.

 

a 400 is no daytona or 275 for that matter.

the problem being that they cost the same to repair and these poor guys are being told that they are the same in driving experience ( i don't think so) and can be repaired or restored on the cheap.


the 400 interior will cost more than a daytona interior to replace.

 

those close up pictures reveal more info, that car has had some damage repairs at some point, possibly when it was resprayed in white from red ...notice also the rust through too (also sprayed over)

 

The cat's close enough to out of the bag, so it's time to let it the rest of the way out.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=383813

Head to Sam's Club, Costco, etc., and get that pallet of popcorn. After the first dozen posts, it'll be meted out at a deliberate pace.

In the end, #22579 will get a proper restoration, when I can afford to again.