Tacet-Conundrum

The question is, why are there on Orders of Magnitude more Ferrari 458 Italias being sold used on eBay compared to say all the different versions of the Porsche GT6.3/7.1/7.2/RS/4.0 et al?

There has to be an explanation for this?

Are these folks selling their Ferraris and buying Porsches? Probably!

Discuss.

-eztrader-

Whenever a new Ferrari comes out - everyone HAS to own it. (myself included in this case).

IMO--- the car is just not perfect. It's great on the track, and great when you're pushing it hard --- but awful for legal city or daily driving. The transmission that people rave about it has it's faults, and can be downright quirky sometimes.

I drove my 458 for a year - sold it, and barely lost any money. I suspect lots of people are doing this, trying to get out before values really take a dive.

tcsracing1

i would look at ferrari scuderia and stradale listings as better compareables.

the ferrari itallas are more common like that of a porsche carrera 997.2 or 991....

richk

I loved my 458....sold it when it had 4k miles because I was worried the car would start to go down in value.

Tacet-Conundrum

Pity too, it seems that a lot of Ferrari owners become owners on the account of potential investment.

True they are still pretty high and the used ones are darn near MSRP - but with this glut of extra cars they are bound to decline in value.

I love how the 458 looks but Like stated above the on-street ride comfort is lacking and the transmission is quirky. I imagine an RS is easier to live with than an 458?

maroli

i've heard such conflicting reports about the 458 livability. Some people say that's it's more daily-able than an RS, others not so. I suppose the RS rides better but has less sound insulation and creature comforts, hence the confusion. But it does seem like Ferrari owners flip cars more than GT3 owners.

carcommander

The 458 is a great car. I own one. It will depreciate. The transmission works well and is a ball to drive. IMHO it's much easier to drive than a GT3RS. Yes I have owned one. It is easier on the wallet than a 458. Any Ferrari is not for the faint of wallet. If you are worried about the depreciation hit its not your car. If you want to own one of the finest sports cars in the world and can afford it it is. Modern Ferraris like most cars suck as an investment.

NJ-GT

The time to discharge a 458 Italia is now or a few months ago. There are a little over 4,000 458 Italia in U.S. soil, the new orders on the Spider have a 2 years waiting list, plenty of cars are being traded on 458 Spiders.

Combining 996 GT3, 997.1 GT3 & RS, 997.2 GT3 & RS & RS4.0, there were a little over 4,000 units, GT3s are easy to sell, they have a big appeal and market, and they're priced just right.

458 are $270k average cars, some fetch more some fetch less. The market of $270k used cars is vastly smaller than the market of sub $100k used cars. A 458 Italia stays on the market for a long time, while a GT3 sells right away if the car is in good conditions.

Next year, there is a 458 track day car being introduced, that model has a 2 years lifetime, so the next mid-engine V8 to replace the 458 (rumor is 478) should be introduced in less than 24 months as a 2015 car, at which point there will be around 25,000 458 Italia produced worldwide.

Even the 430 Scuderia (around 600 units in U.S.) is less exclusive than the GT3 RS 3.8 in the U.S. market, but the Scuderia appeal has stayed strong, and the car has been flat on used prices for over 30 months.

At one point, the 458 Italia used prices will be under $200k, and that point is within the next 2 years.

P_collector

Hi NJGT,

Well written post and thanks for the info on the amount of 458s floating around in the US. In Europe 458 prices are curretly "massacred"--with roughly 70,000 off after a few thousand km..and the situation on the car market seems to get worse day by day here. Even ney Mclarens with 10-15% off are not moving..
Nonetheless, the question was asked correctly here - why do so many people want to get rid of it (458) now? I dont know, to be honest..what I know is that the 458 is certainly not as reliable on the track (in fact I would say its not made for going on track at all and doing a race of 4 hours).- .if Ferrari plans a special track car than this only confirms what I said.

You are fully correct, second hand marked for ~100K is more accessible then second hand for 200K.

Nizer

Cars.com:

37 '08/'09 Scuderia

2 '07/'08 GT3 RS

NJ-GT

Some of those might be 16M (the cabrio version), and the 16M has stayed overpriced for too long, as it was the last Spider. With the release of the 458 Spider, the 16M prices are expected to come down, and the time to move out of them is now as well. When new, the 16M was just another $20k over the Scuderia, for a long time the used market price difference has been $90k.

In the last 2+ years, there have been about 5% of the U.S. Scuderia for sale at any time. It was really bad back in late 2009 and up to mid 2010, where there were over 100 Scuderias for sale at any time.

Some Scuderia won't move easily, because they came from the FDE program, and people won't pay that kind of money for a car that has all its mileage on a racetrack, these FDE cars stay in the market for a long time.

The Scuderia still is the most reliable, the most car for the money, it is also the best performance for the money from this brand.

maroli

Surely the European economic crisis has put a damper on the discretionary purchases of people in general. Credit conditions in Europe are a lot tighter, too. The US has turned the corner, but if you look back in '09, cars depreciated at a higher rate, especially higher end models. But the 458 is priced so much higher than a GT3, so as NJ-GT noted, the market is so much smaller.

Bullitt44

Ferrari was also not shy when they produced these.

Streetking

I had a 458, nice car but reminded me of my Dinan M6. It's too refined, doesn't give me the thrill my Scud does, even before I turboed it. I sold it and kept my Scud. I actually have 3 430's including my challenge car.. I guess that's why I love the GT3RS, it gives me the feeling...

porschemeister

I had a 2010 458 coupe which I enjoyed a lot for less than a year, sold it for sticker back to the dealer, got a 4.0 RS, did not drive it much at all, sold it and got a 2013 458 Spider....love it!!I am a huge Porsche guy but the 458 is so much better to drive on a daily basis. the gearbox works, never had a problem. Traffic in the Bay area sucks so this is a huge plus and in addition for a blast up or down the coast put the top down.

My RS was orange and with the big wing got way more attention than the black 458 Coupe I had. Things have changed!

Waiting for the next RS which i hear will be the car to have, I will definitely track it, not like I did with the 4.0 which I felt was way to nice to abuse on the track.

So for the time being I will enjoy the Spider for a year or 2, sell it back to the dealer, get a Porsche again and the cycle starts again!