Interesting stats on depreciation costs

"I figured out that this car costed him about 7 dollars per mile in depreciation, which ain't bad at all."

Based on that calculation it just cost me $140 to drive into town (10Miles) and back, not including gas/insurance etc I'm not sure thats my definition of ain't bad at all... it cost me 3X the price of the meal (Now I'm depressed)

 

But you arrived in style

 

LOL!!! Totally, I just hope my wife never see's TheMayors email.... I have always managed to convince her that buying a Ferrari make sound Financial sense (Math is not her strongest subject thank god!!!) so I don't want her getting educated on the "reality" of the situation

 

Great calculation, makes perfect sense. It turns out that Ferraris are not too much different than other cars, most of the depreciation happens up front. And, of course, if we all drove the cars as much as possible, the stigma of a "higher" mileage car would diminish somewhat and total costs would be less.

I think, Bob, that your post has inspired me to drive the 488 as much as possible and hold it longer.

 

Keep it and drive it to the MAXX imo !

 

It sort of depends on how much you want to drive it. If you can get a very early allocation and drive it a few thousand miles in say a year and a half, you can sell it for MSRP and drive it for nearly nothing.

 

Pretty interesting perspective and logic - it makes sense to me - but you are also assuming that the person actually drives that many miles annually- or has time to

 

Don't be depressed ! "It's all about the journey- not the destination "

 

Simple solution using The Mayor's math. Just take the long way, say the 3 day, 4,000 mile route and you are saving a bundle! AND.. if you skip dinner that's just money in the bank!

 

You guys are in the wrong game and going the wrong direction!

I bought my 997 GT3RS new for 135K €. Sold it after 8 years and 10K miles for 195K €.
That earned me 6€ per mile.

Wait. I had it in he books as a company car. I managed to write off 80K, so that saved aprox. 50% in taxes. So that makes my income 10€ per mile.
I love my life as a professional driver . Sorry for ruining your day.

On a less cocky side, I think the basic thoughts behind the original post of this thread are so true. Every mile you drive additionally gets cheaper and cheaper.
"Waisting" so much money on things like Ferraris and then somehow try to minimize the total cost brings you to horrendous costs per mile and misses the whole point a bit.
There are a lot of different games that we play to somehow justify the purchase of a certain car. I know. Play that with myself all the time to overcome buyers remorse.
But once you bought it, one should really use it to the max and not hold back with mathematics in your head. Use it like it is just there for you.
That said, the low milage on my RS had non mathematical reasons.

 

Haha I appreciate the viewpoint.

I have been looking at 458’s lately. I enjoy driving. Have some race and track/street cars. Involved in a few amateur motorsports disciplines so I’m looking for higher mileage 458’s so if I do a cross country “Cannonball” I won’t mind putting a few thousand miles at a time.

There are some higher mileage 458’s that can be bought in the 170’s right now. Maybe even a $16X handle. They are not perfectly spec’d…in fact pretty boring. But nonetheless that is a pretty decent proposition when 3-pedal 360’s and 430’s can be had for similar pricing.

I have no illusion…458s will keep going down. But for now the previous gen’s have settled….the coupe F1 360’s somewhere between $70-90 and 430’s around $100-$130. Maybe the 458s settle at $130-$160?

 

Just look at lease residual values it's the same game. First 2 years greatest drop. 3rd year starts to taper off.

You don't factor in repairs after 3rd year warranty expires but you could just add 5k per year for the extended warranty instead.

The current exotic market is designed to make buyers churn to get the next best thing. It's a pay to play business. Only limited edition runs like the Speciale Aperta will rise in value after 8 years.

In the end, it's no different than any other luxury goods life cycle. It's all mental.

 

On the original anaylisis he for got to mention that if he did not by the car and invested the 300.000 and made 6% he would be way ahead. Point being you can worry about this stuff or just enjoy.

 

Thanks Bob. You are correct.

I have spent money on wine, women and fast cars. The rest I've just wasted.

 

This is the key.

 

+1

 

Good analysis Bob. I think the "actual" numbers may be different, but the basis of your hypothesis is true.

Absolutely true. I'm an analytic guy. Owning and enjoying cars, and racing them, is the antithesis of logic and analytics! To survive, i've had to theorize and rationalize the fun factor and accept that it's a "cost"....

I accept that for some people, preservation of value (i.e high resale) is important; for some, the "win" is paying the least, and for others it's about having the trophy vs. enjoying the game.

I fall sort of in the middle of Bob's scenarios - we drive the hell out of our cars and enjoy the time we have them; I take the "financial hit" on resale and trade simply because I think I enjoy the miles and memories more than the numbers. I"ll also add, even a "high mileage" Ferrari keeps its value a lot better than most cars.

 

words of wisdom on so many levels.

 

Interesting, but what about a transmission going out etc. The good news is the oil changes are free for most of that time but not much else.

As for me, I once spent $50,000 over MSRP to get a Ferrari (screws up the calculations a bit). Today, I drive my 458 without considering anything, but my enjoyment. I wonder how many are like me and how many are "calculating" values? For example, "cost" to me is more than money. I would not want to bear the cost of driving a car for 8 years. Too much like a little kid in a candy store, too much out there to watch go by. Best


So, all of you thinking of keeping your 458 instead of getting a 488 -- drive it. You actually save money per smile. [/QUOTE]

 

Otherwise known as flipping. IMO, feeds the used car market but takes away a valuable allocation for the enthusiast.

 

"If you can get a very early allocation" is a very well said statement. However to get one very early (especially in a major market) you liked have to buy tons of cars and some dogs I'm sure to be in the position to get an early car. Thus, you likely lose on all the bad models and late allocation cars too that you must also buy to get the good very early allocations cars. The guys that got early MY2010 coupes and early MY2012 spiders and dumped in 6-12 months were the "lucky" ones.


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This is always the kicker for me - I'm putting ~10k miles per year, but the "free" use of the newer model is always appealing. Guess the answer reveals ones priorities.

 

It's all about utility and therefore all relative. So when the decision making is down to paying above MSRP to get the latest 488 I would argue that utility is already somewhat diminished because the 488 "Speciale" is around the corner and the web will be full of review clips how awesome it is - therefore opening the same can of worms over and over again. On the flip side, if you achieve an early 488 allocation and flip it after a year at or above MRSP, that's a great "deal" but then what? No car? Wait for the next allocation? And think about all the time you spent optioning the car, discussing it with likeminded, changing it 5x, checking on status, taking delivery, etc.

I bought a Porsche GT3 and drove (tracked!) it for 2 years and then sold at a profit, simply because I got lucky with Porsche randomly announcing no more GT3s with manuals during that time. So I basically got paid for 2 years of awesome driving experience. Best case scenario anyone? Yes. Guess what, still had "seller's remorse" and was unhappy for a year until I bought the 458.

So while all these calculations are interesting it comes down to utility on the individual level. Someone was happy enough to flip at some premium and someone was happy to buy above MSRP just to have the newest and latest. Both parties walked away (hopefully) getting what they wanted. If not, lesson learnt for next time (hopefully LOL).

I don't assume my car will be worth zero after a few years and I most certainly don't assume it'll be worth the same or more. So I take a realistic point of view on depreciation plus unforeseen service and consider if it's worth it to me. And if the answer is yes, go for it.

Luckily, my decision to get the 458 more than paid off in any way. I'm feeling really good about it and that's priceless!

Needless to say these are all very luxury problems to have ;-)

 

^^^^ nailed it