what to do with a 67' 330 GTS with low mileage

A Tweet from Gooding & Co. a few minutes ago.

"Well done! Lot 149, the 1967 #Ferrari 330 GTS, sells for a final $2,062,500."

 

I want to meet whoever bought it and ask him what he was thinking.

 

We will probably see it in Monterey at a 500k increase

 

As expected, frankly. But I can't help but feel bad for the family. A few generations of college educations were missed by simply not sending it to Gooding themselves.

 

Exactly right - the owner for 45 years could have sold this at Gooding (or her son) and they would have close to an addition $1 million!

 

It's got to stop sometime.


Doesn't it?

 

with more dirt/rat poop added.

 

Lenny Bruce used to tell the story of how as a boy he sold farm eggs at a Long Island roadside stand.
Noticing how the ones carelessly packed with bits of straw and chicken poop still attached sold first he added these enhancements to every carton.

Don't know why that occurred to me just now.

 

Patina

 

When I buy my next one I'm asking you guys for advice!! That's a long way in the future. Prices have to adjust before i buy. Not invest but buy for the pleasure of owning, showing and driving. If they don't adjust I won't own another. "Be bold when others are timid and timid when others are bold". Warren Buffet (paraphrased but it was something like that). I'd have to restore this car. I called Gooding when I saw it listed. They thought it would bring over 2 and it did. Add 500K for restoration and it's beyond me to do make sense of that. No one knows but I'll wait. There are other things to do for fun and pleasure.

 

It's called strategic marketing!

Honestly, all of these accoutrements of "barn find theater" add serious intangible value for certain kinds of buyers (while mystifying others). If you properly segment your target and determine which ones offer the highest margin ("barn finders"?), you can position according to their specific wants, general desires or emotional needs to max profit... In this case, many barn find buyers get enormous satisfaction from the whole "found/saved/restored" project and the story they become a part of -- Apparently more than the "bought it perfect" buyer.

Marketing ain't rational stuff, after all. I'm writing a book on this same "storytelling" aspect of modern strategy...

 

That's a book I'd like to read.

 

Bryan, and purchased by someone else who must know something we don't?! Or the party may be over by then and it will be purchased for $650k and restored by a savvy car guy!

 

Leaving out for the moment the nearly unbelievable price increases, there is much to be said for doing your own restoration (whether by your hands or by your checkbook) rather than buying someone else's finished car. Pride in your (shops') creation, and confidence in the quality of the finished piece. For some, that equals (or may even surpass) the joy of driving the car.

 

I would love to hear from the family that sold this car.....

I feel, there is a lot of other stuff to be talked about.

 

There is huge value in unrestored cars and the sale of 9343 proves it.

It has a great story, is fairly complete, and is seemingly free of major rot and accident issues which other restored cars might hide.

Granted there are cosmetic and mechanical issues which can all be addressed depending to the next owners preference, but that's a major part of the appeal.

This car is stacked. 23,000 miles, Celeste Blue with Original Dark Red interior, matching numbers everything, 40 year family ownership, never shown.

 

This experience for this buyer is very expensive. There are other cars available that do not get the barn find patina hype and are in better condition and can be bought and restored for a much lower cost and the new owner can still get the pleasure of the restoration without the over price paid for this Ferrari.

 

There is no logic or sense to the price paid. The over hype "barn find", "dirt as patina" promotion style drove this price over the top.

As I have said before - Dirt Is Not Patina And Rust Is Not Desirable

 

Where do you buy the dust that a lot of sellers seem to be putting on there cars.
Is the car underneath a genuine uncared for, rust bucket that has had no love and care for the last 40 - 50 years, or a relatively well maintained vehicle that runs well and could have starred at the last Pebble Beach.
It is getting to the point, the last scenario is correct, well maybe not just yet but the psychological profile certainly points that way. Why do you buy a heap of rubbish. It is not "original" as per Jenkins definition, probably genuine though. The restoration costs if it is going to be restored are not cheap.
In a direct comparison there were two Mercedes 300SL for sale. One car a barn find with all the trimmings and the other a restored, concourse example. The former sold for an extra 600K. It would be cheaper to buy the later and some more of that dust.

 

As I said in a Post on My Car Quest: Something To Think About

"It appears that when this Ferrari was put back together by the new owners (and now sellers) they were careful not to disturb that very important “dirt patina”. When I look at the photos on the Gooding web site I cannot tell that many of the parts had been removed and then replaced on this car. It is also interesting to see that they use a dirt field as the photo shoot location for this Ferrari. That is free dirt patina!"

 

I think if this thread teaches you anything, its that there are also people who may frequent this site who do not give good and reliable offline advice when transacting in big cars, however well intentioned they may be. In the end, it's always the best move to do your own homework.

 

Dirt isn't patina. I think everyone knows that. It's obvious Gooding is going for an as-found appearance. Dust seems like a superficial criticism to me.

And no one is up in arms over the the burnt and warped cowl?

 

As it turns out, the buyer of the barn find 300SL Gullwing on Friday is the VERY SAME individual who purchased the 330 GTS on Saturday.

 

In one year the $2MM paid for this rare open 12 cyl car will seem fair. Every one talks about the cost of restoring this gem, but it may never be restored. This car might be preserved with just a mechanical restoration and go to win some preservation class awards. A 330 GTS freshly and properly restored may just bring $2.2-$2.5MM today if one was available and hit the auction seen. These don't trade often and with what's taking place at the auctions today a high end restored car like that could break the bank. Only 100 were made or 22 less than the production numbers of the Daytona Spyder that trades for about the same money. It's not like there are a half of dozen for sale at any given time. Rarity has a lot going for this car and will pay off over time if the new owner is concerned with it's valuation. Or could it be that the new owner bought this car for other reasons that have nothing to do with the car's current and future value?

Geno

 

To quote another f-chatter it still has a "salvage title".