Why do Ferrari's hold their value so well compared to Vipers?

Patrick99gts

Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 19, 2002
Posts
43
Reaction score
0
Location
Denver, Colorado
Why do Ferrari\'s hold their value so well compared to Vipers?

I been looking into purchasing a Ferrari for some time now and have noticed that Ferraris that are 3-4 years old, are selling for more money then they did when they were brand new. Spiders have a MSRP of about $170,000 grand and you can't touch a used one for under $200,000. Even 1999 Modenas are $140,000. I know you have to be on a waiting list just to be able to buy one. It would be sure nice if Vipers held their values that well. Some one on this board posted a while back that there are less vipers made then are Ferrari's. Any input
 

jimandela

Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 19, 2001
Posts
2,980
Reaction score
0
Location
Western New York, USA
Re: Why do Ferrari\'s hold their value so well compared to Vipers?

Makes no sense to me.
why pay so much for so little? :confused:

I would much rather own a modded out viper (TNT Kingsnake,LPE,Levin,Apex) or
2 vipers (GTS and RT/10) for the same price. :D

My 2 cents run the other way! Send your car to a tuner and bank the rest for awesome viper trips.
I just got an ad in the mail for a $19k viper Euro-trip!!!
that would be sweet!!!

good luck
JIM :)
 

Snakester

Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Posts
1,775
Reaction score
0
Location
Morgan Hill
Re: Why do Ferrari\'s hold their value so well compared to Vipers?

Like any limited quantity, coveted item, when the buyers exceed to items to be bought, the price goes up.

Like the BMW Z8, and the Porsche GT2, the Ferrari 360 Spyder had only a limited number built, and only a handful made it to the U.S.

So unless you were on a waiting list, years in advance, and have a buying history with your local Ferrari dealer, you will have to pay extra for limited exotic cars like the Ferrari Enzo, 550 Barchetta, 360 Spyder, Aston Martin Vanquish, GT2, Z8 and other cars until there isn't a 2-3 year waiting list.

I expect to see the Ford GT(44), Porsche Carrera GT, Mercedes SLR to all sell for well over the MSRP for the first few years.

With the SRT-10 Viper, the certificate program slowed the privateer's gouging, but I think that with the limited public availability of the cars, that the price will stay the same, or possibly go up over the next couple years, depending on how many cars are in circulation to buy.

Also the Ferraris are usually bought with investment in mind, so they almost always have less than 15K miles used, and often under 5K miles, so buying a used car is essentially the same as buying a brand new car. Especially since there have not been many changes in the body or drivetrain over the years.

I've seen that the Ferrari 456 and 550 have dropped off at about the same rate as the Viper since the 575 has come out. And Diablo prices have dropped a lot since the Murcielago came out, and will again when the Gallardo hits the road.

And I expect to see the 360 and Spyder prices to drop once the new 420 Modena is released, the same way that the 355 and especially 348 prices have dropped over time.

It's the "New kid in town" syndrome that many wealthy people practice.
Rarity, desirability, and status reign king, and price is a secondary consideration.

But I do suspect that the longer that D/C holds off on releasing the coupe version of the SRT, the more coveted that the GTSs will become.
The current dropoff in prices are no doubt due to many current Viper owners selling their cars to buy the SRT-10 Viper. And that flood has dropped prices for the time being. Now is a great time to but a Gen1/2 Viper, and not a great time to sell. But I suspect that the prices will stabilize within a year, and the Viper will hold it's value as it has for many years. :cool:

-Dean.
 

Travis

Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 26, 2001
Posts
92
Reaction score
0
Location
Tucson Az USA
Re: Why do Ferrari\'s hold their value so well compared to Vipers?

It's becuse a Ferrari is a Ferrari and a Dodge is just a Dodge(and yes my Toyota is just a Toyota).
 
OP
OP
P

Patrick99gts

Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 19, 2002
Posts
43
Reaction score
0
Location
Denver, Colorado
Re: Why do Ferrari\'s hold their value so well compared to Vipers?

Snakester very good point.
Travis what about a Supra. Its just a Toyota and they hold there value pretty well.
 

vipernate

Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 10, 2002
Posts
213
Reaction score
0
Location
Fresno, CA
Re: Why do Ferrari\'s hold their value so well compared to Vipers?

Ferrari Spyder's were being sold for $100,000 more than their MSRP when they were 1st on the market in 2001. And those are Euro cars! The Spider always has a huge premium and never goes by it's sticker price. Comparing apples to apples here, take a 2001 spider that sold for at least $240,000 in 2002 (I'm being conservative here and it was probably more like $250+ easy). You can find a 2001 spider for $205,000 today. That's a 15% loss on the original purchase. Then take a 2001 Viper. They were about $75,000, we just sold one today for $64,000, that's also a 15% loss. Vipers compare quite favorably with Ferrari in terms of resale and it will only get better now that they are done producing the late model Viper.
 

Snakester

Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Posts
1,775
Reaction score
0
Location
Morgan Hill
Re: Why do Ferrari\'s hold their value so well compared to Vipers?

It's becuse a Ferrari is a Ferrari and a Dodge is just a Dodge

Except that the Viper is a Daimler/Chrysler car. :smirk:
 

Mike Brunton

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 3, 2000
Posts
3,047
Reaction score
0
Location
N. Andover, MA
Re: Why do Ferrari\'s hold their value so well compared to Vipers?

It's not because they are Ferraris, it's the market conditions of the specific car. Tell a guy with a 1998 550 Maranello that will sell for $105k about the wonderful values of Ferraris! He'll tell you about how he's lost $100k of value (and that's if he bought the car at sticker - which back in the early days of the Maranello, nobody could). The car is worth less than half of the market value when it was new. In comparison, my 1998 GTS had a sticker price of $70,700. No way can you get a '98 GTS for less than $35k.

Or compare a 98 GT-2 Viper (which had a sticker of $85k, and almost certainly has a market value above that today) against a 98 Modena. The Modena probably would sell for $130k, which is a loss below it's MSRP and a HUGE loss below what the market value on that car was in 1998. In 1998, I bet the 360 would easily have cost over $200k - probably closer to $220-240k. So that car has also lost tons of value.

As a matter of fact, the only Ferraris right now that seem to be KEEPING their Value are the ones that are already depreciated (i.e. I don't think TR's will drop that much over the next few years), and the newer ones that are still hard to obtain, like the 360 Spyder, 550 Barchetta, F50, and the like.
 

ElDiablo Viper

Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 3, 2001
Posts
2,105
Reaction score
0
Location
Pomona, NY
Re: Why do Ferrari\'s hold their value so well compared to Vipers?

I'm sure that the people that bought a Ferrari with 100K plus sticker price are pissed now. You can buy a new car easy for sticker price.
 

TZL

Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Posts
198
Reaction score
0
Location
Bay Area, CA
Re: Why do Ferrari\'s hold their value so well compared to Vipers?

yeah I just sold my MKIV supra for almost $30k, not bad for a car that was $45k originally, 9 years old and had 97k miles. The pricing of the supras can be attributed to The Fast and the Furious (fortunately or unfortunately) and the great tuning potential. Where else can you spend $1000 and go from a rated 320 hp to 400-450 rWhp? thats a gain of probably 100-150 rwhp, or 30-50% of stock output. With $1000 and a viper GTS, it would probably cover the cost of headers and exhuast, which will bump the power, but probably not close to 50%. There are cars that have even better tunability, such as Mustang 5.0's and buick grand nationals.

Don't get me wrong, I love the viper, which is why i sold my supra to buy a GTS. but i still do think the supra is one of the best values in modern sports cars.

The Viper does hold its value reasonably well, the average for cars if 50% depreciation in 3 years, that would mean that 2000 GTS's are going for under $40k now, so since they are in the $50's, that isn't all that bad.

You must be registered for see images


Ting

Snakester very good point.
Travis what about a Supra. Its just a Toyota and they hold there value pretty well.
 

Big Medicine

Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 18, 2002
Posts
1,047
Reaction score
0
Location
Cypress, TX
Re: Why do Ferrari\'s hold their value so well compared to Vipers?

I bought a 1990 Honda Prelude last July for 2 grand. Right now I think I could sell it for about 2 grand. If you really want a vehicle that holds its value, I'd suggest an old Honda.
 
Top