Gullwing Motors Inc F40 at $350k, reputable dealer?

I cannot wait to get the chassis number and view detailed pics of this "absolutely beautiful" F40.

BTW they are looking for Lamborghinis from the year 1900 onwards!

 

Have you had dealings with them Joe?
Or are you merely implying they aren't reputable?

Scott, I've not heard ugly things about them, been around a long time (longer than Joe, IIRC), and seem to have a lot of "barn finds" and projects. Occasionally a nice car or 3.
Not affiliated with Gullwing Service Company, which definately has a nice rep for F-car/Benz resto's.

 

2 of my clients have had dealings with them.

You have no idea how long Ive been "around"

Im not implying anything. I made a post stating that I cant wait to find out about this "absolutely beautiful" F40 (I have a buyer if it is exactly as described), and I continued my post stating that they are looking for Lamborghinis from 1900 (their assertion, not mine). I meant exactly what I said, so no need to stretch my post to an implication of them not being reputable. I know who they are.

 

nice price

 

That part I agree with.

Now Id like to see the car...

 

So you haven't dealt with them.

It isn't hard to tell when you've been around.

If you know who they are, the OP asked. I stretched nothing. Your tone above implies the "absolutely beautiful" F40 cannot be so since they cannot describe correct years of Lambo production, which had nothing to do with the question. It was as irrelevant to the question as "BTW, they don't use breath mints". Smilie implied sarcasm.

I know who they are as well, and stated what I know about them. If you can provide useful information to Scott, do so. If not, don't try to buy it out from under him for a client. $350k considerably less than the $500k you bandied about for one of your sales.

 

Agreed: If Scott is a buyer for this car, then he deserves first crack.

Scott or anyone else should provide me with a chassis number and as many detailed images as possible, and I will share. I would really prefer to physically see it and spend some time with it, but the aforementioned is a good start. Then again, the possibility exists that I know this car already.

I wasnt exaggerating when I said I cannot wait to find out which car this is and its condition, because the advertised price is quite a deal!

 

Oh well, it's really a 'light' advertise for a 350KUSD car..

 

One of the downsides to buying an F40 is the moment it's in your hands Mr Sackey knows everything about you

 

Me? LOL.

Joking aside, all will be revealed with this car next week and I think that it should fairly represent what a $350,000 F40 really is.

On a seperate subject a somewhat modified F40 recently changed hands and I subsequently had a trusted & knowlegeable colleague inspect it carefully. We spoke shortly thereafter and I asked him point blank: "What will it take to make this car like mine?". Without hesitation he replied: "$100,000". The thing is F40 are expensive to maintain, repair, refurbish or restore. I am always hopeful there is a genuinely good deal for the buyer (such as the one we recently afforded an F50 owner), but the truth is 9 times out of 10, a cheap F40 ALWAYS has serious needs. Lets hope this is not the case here, but either way this will be a good example for us all to learn from...

 

I'll chime in. I bet it is s/n 87031. Wrecked on delivery by salesman back in 1990, fixed by Phil Conte, last service 1998, sitting in display/museum environment ever since.

I think I will be looking at the car myself later today, as a principal considering purchase. If it is the same car, this dealer does not yet own it I do not think.

As an enthusiast with no profit motive here I'll reveal more when I know it, although I have to decide first if I am really interested in the car.

My big concern is that, like the last one I passed on, it could be a great car in all respects save one: the market makers pooh-pooh it and their judgment is law. I just can't get stuck with an albatross that I can never resell except at a loss. Got plenty of those already!

Pity that too many prospective buyers of F40s seem to be the type to let the car sit and never be driven.

 

I'm by far no expert on the subject, but as an owner I think a wrecked car caries a 40% discount. I could be way off base but that is what I would pay for a wrecked/repaired car. So if the market is 400k, then I would suggest a high miles repaired car is 240k, not 350k. My reasoning is you could sell a storied car all day at 240, but may be difficult when there are non-story cars on the market for nearly the same price. Not that its a bad car, just a mental thing that potential buyers will think, just pay 50 more and get a clean car. Not trying to discourage anyone or burst anyone's bubble, just my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions ...

 

it's just that kind of opinion that makes me worry. And if you are a buyer, your opinion is "right" if I am going to get money from you. I happen to think 40% discount is excessive, but 10-20% for sure is appropriate. 40% for a salvage car may be right, but the degree of damage has got to be a factor.

 

Well I guess it would all come down to paperwork. How well was the damage documented and the who did the work and how well it was repaired. I'd want to see before and after pics. I'm assuming by damage its just not a scraped spoiler. Back then did they take any pics? If suspension parts were bent, or major parts of the car were replaced then I'd want to dig further. My experience is there never is any, which is always suspicious. Or its the typical auto shop repair bill on one sheet of paper. I guess you could ship the car back to Ferrari and run it through the classiche department just to get a clean bill of health, never done that personally, but then you're back into it for 50k again, assuming they find nothing wrong, which is doubtful. Just thinking out loud..

At the 240 price point there are folks like me that wold consider it as a second car just for tinkering with, or a parts car.

I realize its all academic at this point without knowing more about the damage.

 

+1

 

Appreciate your candor and sharing. I know the car.

But there is no need for the car to be under a cloud so long as accurate information and a realistic assessment occurs.

 

I think this was the Jerry Moore car. And Peter Kumar doesn't have the car as of yet.... It should be there in 2 weeks.

 

Oh well, the cat is out of the bag!

Chassis number ZFFMN34A8L00087031, the 76th of 211 street F40s built for the USA, assembly number 0992.

Im not sure the car needs to go to Peter given the attention it is now receiving...

 

Dave & Brian do all my work (I have 3 fcars). I can't say enough about these guys. Most of my fcar friends do the same and we're all very very pleased with the quality and attention to detail of their work. Sometimes I wish they were faster, or cheaper, but it just doesn't always work that way, but to no fault of theirs.

 

I try to keep three things in mind.

The Last Ferrari to finish 1 OA at Le Mans was modified along the lines that Brian spoke of by the Team that entered and ran it there.

Years later when that car was on the Lawn at Pebble the Judges objected to the non original modifications.

Pedro Rodriguez pulled into the pits complaining that his Ferrari was over heating. My friend picked up a screw driver and put it through the Temperature Gauge.

"Now it's not. Get back out there and drive you *****."

Pedro went back out.

 

Great story, So Pedro smashed a Gauge on a Ferrari that finished 1 OA at Le mans and that was invited to Pebble Beach! did I say great story......... great story.

 

Great story.

 

The car that my friend smashed the gauge in that Pedro was driving was a different one and a different race from the NART Modified 250 LM that finished 1 OA at Le Mans.

My friend also mid race once ran across the track to a near by farm house, ripped out the hose attaching a washing machine, returned to the pits, used the washing machine hose to repair a ruptured brake line, and sent that Ferrari back out.