Anyone in the market for a Series 1 GTO? https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/ferrari/250gto/2405041.html
Hey James Considering they have nothing for sale other than a range of Jeeps and Chryslers I seriously wonder if this is a scam, either that or a fake?
I'm more surprised at the '63 split window vette they have listed at $685K. Don't follow that market. Is that where they trade now?
Errr, no. Nothing like that, I wonder if this is some weird scam? although they are seemingly a legit FCA dealership so its weird
I did some research on the phone number, it's under 'John Dent Cars' who also had something to do with paintless dent repair or he was a paintless dent repairman at one time. I won't post the phone number owners home address (which is public info btw) who is the OP here but here is a pic of his house, not saying it's a scam but if I were the GTO owner I'd have a person like Marcel list it for sale and not this guy. Image Unavailable, Please Login
There are 10 brokers worldwide that could sell a GTO or any other $20 million+ car with their eyes closed, think Dave Gooding, Gregor Fisken, Bill Kontes, Adrian Hamilton, Lukas Huni, Simon Kidston, Axel Schuette, Klaus Werner, Talacrest and Tom Hartley Junior would all have the connections, backers and knowledge to find a new home for a car of this league. Most everyone else is a scammer and sites like Anamera and Hemmings have regularly carried adverts for 250LMs and GTOs and any rare Ferrari with the old pay now and we will sell you the car later deals. I mean lets face it a Venn diagram of people with the wealth to buy a GTO and the desire to do so and the opportunity to buy one leads to a very small pool.
Clearly this "listing" is a total fake......so one wonders, what's the point? No one is going to believe it without a LOT more provable information, so what's to gain for the 'lister'? 15 minutes of internet fame? Sell some other junk 'real' car? (to whom?) Stir up the troops on FChat? (that's the most likely....) Corona virus boredom? Do we have any valuable marketing advice for the lister?
In the past the scam is to get people to pay some form of refundable deposit before full details are given/ negotiations can begin. Either that or just selling a fake GTO which is tricky because they are all accounted for. Couldn't stop you finding a car and dressing it up as say Nick Masons GTO. But seriously this is not a game one plays for long and passing off a fake GTO can only be played once, maybe twice. Most billionaires will have the FBI visiting you within weeks and then its welcome to Alcatraz, enjoy your stay.
I might be naive, but my guess would be less sinister motivations. I think there's a large number of dreamers out there that can do the simple calculation of what a small percentage is of, say, $60MM & they would be satisfied with a small slice of the commission pie. I imagine the dream - or unrealistic goal, if you prefer - is to have the ad generate a legitimate lead (yeah right?!) and then - of course - go find a real GTO for sale while you have the fish on the hook. Call it unlikely, unrealistic or just plain dumb if you will, but that would be my expectation. Again, maybe I'm just naive...
I think one motivation is to find a real buyer and then go look for a car. They might ask for a POF and with that in hands, go hunt for a real GTO. It seems there is always one or two of them ready to be sold at any point so if these guys manage to get a POF letter, then they are in the game. Of course, the big question is how will they get that POF letter without having shown any real evidence of the car/mandate to sell the car.
Proof of Funds I think. If the "seller" is acting like you guys are saying, I'd guess it doesn't hurt to try All the cars are accounted for and most of their owners are publicly known - it's just a matter of sending 33 e-mails/making 33 phone calls. I doubt any of the owners would respond to a total stranger trying to buy their cars but you never know.
I agree. One notes that most of the dealers/ agents I named above are well known in classic car circles, attend the meets, the rallies and if they call a Stroll or Walton or whoever on their personal mobile, they will listen and if they want out, they will sell. I am 99% confident that if I ring, their PA will have a great excuse for why they can't come to the phone right now but you are #986,532 in line for a callback. Lol. And AFAIK most trades are started by the seller who expresses an interest to sell for a multitude of reasons, selling up/ down, boredom, change of interest, cashflow crisis, tax issues and a million other reasons start the ball rolling. Finally a billionaire selling a $60 million car has a lot of tax to pay depending on where its registered so its not as easy as just putting it up for sale. One would generally look to a complex deal involving financing and trades and anything to lessen the blow. So I agree, it could be a chance to run with the big dogs but it would be a better investment to keep buying lottery tickets......
in germany it does not matter how much you pay for a car. the registration is only a small fee and equal for all cars, if 1.000 € or 10 million €, registration always the same. only when you import the car from outside EU you have to pay custom and sales tax. so within EU you have to pay nothing.
I recall Sheehan discussing the changes Obama was making to the exchange taxes which would rescind one of the main methods of tax avoidance in the USA. Elsewhere one notes that states vary widely on how they tax any asset and thus many collectors may own a vehicle on one state and register it in another. Even a billionaire would baulk at paying 20% tax on a $60 million purchase.
No. A 250 GTO owner in Switzerland just finally imported his GTO into our country and was ready to pay the 12% costs and fees (customs, VAT, road taxes, Swiss automobile tax, etc.). If you are a multi billionaire, say you have 16 billion (= 16'000 millions), you don't care about 6 or 7 million taxes and fees for your GTO. That's lunch money. Cars of such caliber are usually assets of a specifically created company. Marcel Massini
Here in the USA, the state I live in made me get a dealer's license because I go through more than 6 cars a year, talk about shooting yourself in the foot, now I pay zero sales and property tax.