Ferrari sale Gstaad

All auction companies are having trouble in finding good cars nowadays. The majority of the precious ones change hand directly..(10-15% commission is a lot of money if you are selling cars of 5-10 mln US$). Bonham's has again had a difficult time to make a proper selection and were greatly helped by the availability of the ex-Rosso Bianco Maseratis. The current owner of the Rosso Bianco Collection has, let's say, a special relationship with Bonham's, so that it were they were offered for sale (many other cars of the RBC showed up at various Bonham's auctions during the year). But what about next year. Even last year the number of really interesting Ferraris was not that big, and from all of the historically significant ones that were offered this year, none was sold, so expanding to Maseratis was a good idea, but it may result in some cars being offered that lack a little prestige in comparison to the Palace Hotel.

 

As the auctioneer said during the sale of one of the Biturbo's; buying one at these prices is cheaper than the taxi from Gstaad back to the Airport!!!

For some people buying a Biturbo to use for a racing school or just to run in the winter on snowy roads is just fun.

Why not?

 

I've had dinner bills larger than what that Biturbo went for. Cheap fun if you can keep one running.

 

I wouldn't mind a warmed-up engine in ol' 10767...maybe up to 330LMB spec? Something tells me the HP gain/$$ ratio would be a little heavy in the denominator, though!

Jack

 

True for the special relationshop with Bonhams and the sale of the ex Rosso Bianco collection (most of), because he (Evert Louwman) owns Bonhams!

 

You probably didn't get as much indigestion after the dinner bill though! I hear that the purchase price of a biturbo Maserati is merely the down payment. Or to have the most fun for your money, just drive it until it breaks and take the plates with you when you leave it on the side of the road.

John

 

Fugu in Tokyo that one night probably came close.

Maserati ownership never killed anyone that I know of...

 

ik schrijf niet altijd alles in het Engels op....

 

Ik wel net als hier: http://www.ferrariownersclub.co.uk/happenings/2006/december/gstaad/report.asp

;-)

 

It was in Gstaad last month that I spoke with Marcel and learned him how to pronounce "Heerema" I am sure he would not be able to write: ik wel net als hier ....or were you just linking me to a "willekeurig" piece of English to show that you also manage that language?.....

 

Quite amazing, was the purchase consummated?

 

It has been refreshing reading the comments posted to this topic and those of another topic entitled "Lusso Values Declining?" in the vintage model section of this forum. The topics intersect on the subject of the quality (or lack thereof) of cars that Bonhams seems to present at its auctions, which accounts for why the prices are perceived as low.

You might note the following from Marcel Massini's archives:

<personal email - removed by Rob>

My experience with the Bonhams 2003 Gstaad auction was much of the same, as I purchased the 330 America (#5061). I had been in Switzerland the week before the auction to view the car but was denied access. I requested all documentation and/or Condition Reports on the car, but was denied. Then AFTER bidding concluded and I won the car, I was told the car had been in a frontal accident (a Series I GTE nose had been put on the car). I had my Swiss/German corporate lawyers demand that Bonhams sell the car to the 2nd highest bidder based on their misrepresentations (I offered to pay the difference between bids) but Bonhams refused. I even escalated this situation to the head of their San Francisco office as it was clearly fraud, and to no surprise they didn't want to get involved. Simon Kidston (Bonham's supposed "Ferrari expert") is nothing close. The result is that I will be financially "upside down" in this car when the 3+ year restoration concludes at the end of this year. Will I have a nice car? Sure. But I could have invested the same money 3 years ago towards a Lusso and seen the car double in value from $200,000 to $400,000 USD. Meanwhile, I've had nothing but sleepless nights and hundreds of hours of added work to locate original parts, coordinate body shops, etc.

Regretably, Bonhams (like most car auction houses) don't truly want to know the condition of the cars they are sourcing for sale because their goal is not to help buyers build quality collections and make money along the way -- rather, the opposite. It is to make a lot of money and perhaps help a buyer add something nice to their collection.

Auctions are the WORST place to buy a good car (with eBay a close 2nd) because the buyer is never allowed to conduct a proper due diligence and the sale takes place within minutes -- forcing the buyer to make a "leap of faith" that what they bought is what was represented. Worse yet, the auction agreements exempt the auction houses from liability -- and in extreme cases (like Bonhams) the auction agreements additionally release the car owner from liability! So the seller and auction house (theoretically) can have complete knowledge of the fraud and never be legally liable.

How's that for injustice?