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#42 ·
Niteroi said:
Boxer,

to be honest with you, I'm not into vintage cars. I've never driven a 50's car, but years ago I drove an 86 Ferrari 328(far from being vintage) and didn't like it at all. Even though I think it's one of the most beautiful cars, I wouldn't buy one because of that.

So I know I wouldn't like to own a 50's car, or a 60's, 70's, 80's... Unless of course I was wealthy enough to have a collection, museum kind of, to admire the beauty of those cars.

IMO owning an older car is only worth if you're either rich or know how to do the maintenance yourself. If we already get upset with the reliability and cost of maintenance of our Coupes and GSs, it doesn't make sense to own something that is even worse.

Not for me...
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In terms of maintenace, having owned both modern and a few Ferraris from the 70s, I have found thhe older cars to be just as reliable (or more so in one case) then the modenr cars. It all comes down to how they are maintained and used. Running costs are about the same.

From a driving perspective, it really is something you need to do several times to get used to and comfortable with the older cars.
 
#44 ·
I'll chime in here, if I may.

From my experience with the Khamsin and the Ghibli SS that I used to drive regularly before I moved to the US, I really have to say that everytime I took them out, I needed a small rest after taking them for a spin. Especially when I took them into downtown Vienna. These cars in my opinion are quite some work in cities with smaller roads. Out on cross-country roads on the other hand - pure enjoyment.

After a day with the Masers, getting back into a modern day car feels boring (even a XKR). The only car I've owned so far, where I didn't get that feeling was the Z3 M Coupe (Euro spec) I had - that was work too, but it was rewarding :D

Would I want to have them as daily drivers? Hell no! (Then again, if I weighed 80 pounds less - I would probably reconsider my answer ;))
 
#45 ·
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#46 ·
Niteroi said:
Boxer said:
In terms of maintenace, having owned both modern and a few Ferraris from the 70s, I have found thhe older cars to be just as reliable (or more so in one case) then the modenr cars. It all comes down to how they are maintained and used. Running costs are about the same.QUOTE]

This thread scared me. $1,000/month?!

http://www.maseratilife.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1766
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I have owned several 70's era Ferraris - a 365BB, 512BB, and a 308 GTB. Annual maintenance cost ran about $1-5k depending on if the car needed just a regular annual service or the major with a cambelt change (engine out job on the 365BB and 512BB). $1k a month seems very very high.
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#48 ·
It just also depends on whether you drive it very regularly or not. Especially the Khamsin will cost you that much because of its hydraulic system.

The 1k I stated in the other thread included insurance, gas and maintenance costs - so it's real running costs. If you for instance can tune the carbs yourself, then you can save a lot. (But from what I know they are a bitch to tune). That also includes unforseen events - so it's basically a worst case scenario, since from a fincancial standpoint it's always better to base one's decision on the worst case scenario.
 
#49 ·
feni-vienna said:
It just also depends on whether you drive it very regularly or not. Especially the Khamsin will cost you that much because of its hydraulic system.

The 1k I stated in the other thread included insurance, gas and maintenance costs - so it's real running costs. If you for instance can tune the carbs yourself, then you can save a lot. (But from what I know they are a bitch to tune). That also includes unforseen events - so it's basically a worst case scenario, since from a fincancial standpoint it's always better to base one's decision on the worst case scenario.
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My experience has been you can get very reasonable insurance for classics in both the US and UK. Cost is about a 1/3rd what you would pay for a modern Ferrari/Maserati of similar value. Only catch is the mileage limitation (3-5k per year) and the restriction against using it to commute to work.
 
#50 ·
I don't know about insurance for classic cars in the US/UK as the two Masers are in Austria - there insurance is based on a mix of make/current value and horsepower. In other words: Not cheap.
 
#51 ·
Put me down for a Ghibli SS Coupe.

Here's a nice one (at least judging by the pics):

http://www.thecarnut.com/Ghibli72Black.html


I agree with the sentiment about buying an older car as close to fully restored / fully sorted as possible. There is no way you'll ever recover your money on paying someone to restore a car (and it will be much more expensive in the end), so unless you want to do it as a hobby (and I actually think that would be fun, if I had the garage space and time), it isn't worth it.

But one nice thing about older cars - to a certain extent you can argue that you are much more likely to be able to rebuild/restore/work on an older car yourself - the technology just isn't as daunting. Modern cars are so computerized, and the tolerances are so tight (think you can replace your coupe/spyder/GT's clutch in your garage without the Ferrari SD3?) you really have no chance of being able to do the (major) work yourself.

In theory I'm going to restore my 82 911. Or sell it. Not sure yet. If i get a ghibli I'll have to sell the Porsche for the garage space! ;)
 
#53 ·
feni-vienna said:
I don't know about insurance for classic cars in the US/UK as the two Masers are in Austria - there insurance is based on a mix of make/current value and horsepower. In other words: Not cheap.
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In the US/UK it is based more on value, storage condition/location, and the type of usage intended.
 
#58 ·
Looks like a great car to me but values seem to be all over the place on the Ghibli at the moment. In recent months I've seen what appear to be cars in very similar condition anywhere from £60k to £120k (UK Pounds), depending on who's selling it. Some of these dealers are real chancers.

I've been trying to get a handle on values for insurance purposes and I reckon the realistic value of a good car is more like £60k -£70k. In the end, it's worth what someone is prepared to pay but the USD price of the above car (if BF is correct) is probably not far wrong.

I agree with you Jaev about the maintenance so mechanically anyway, I'll be looking after it myself. Had to get an expert on the bodywork though. That's beyond my meager talents.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

PS: The pressure gauge: my spends most of it's time waving at me from the dash, even when warm and at constant engine speeds. It's basically useless so get an external, mechanical pressure test done, just for your own POM
 
#59 ·
BigFoot said:
Paint's creaking in some places though.
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Supposedly its original paint, though. That's always a debate - do you keep the car as original as possible, or do you repaint and make it look closer to perfect, but lose some history and originality. Pebble Beach even has a special judging class now (the "preservation" class) to judge cars that have been left as close to original as possible.

I've never seen that car in person, and I think the decision turns on just how good (or bad) the paint is. If the paint is showing its age, but is still basically in good shape, I'd leave it if original. If its already been repainted at some point, or if the paint is in really bad shape, I'd probably want to repaint it, and would discount the price for the paint.

As far as prices go, it doesn't seem that unreasonable to me, but I do think that in general, if you're lucky enough not to have been crushed by the market, this is a good time to be buying... for any type of high end car. I was picking up my car from the shop the other day and admired a 360 that was there. My mechanic said "want to buy one? I've got 14 or 15 customers desperate to sell their cars" - seems like a lot of people are overextended.
 
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