Can you buy a Ferrari for the Price of a Toyota Camry in the United Kingdom?
Could Car Trek's recent challenge be replicated in the U.K.
I have been very much enjoying the current season of Car Trek on YouTube. The premise of the show is that three US Youtubers; Freddie 'Tavarish' Hernandez, Ed Bolian and Tyler Hoover are tasked to buy Ferraris for the price of a Toyota Camry, before taking them on a Top Gear type road trip. As you can see from the first film in the series below, they had varying degrees of success (or downright cheating in Ed Bolian's case). The films have got me wondering if you could do the same thing and buy a Ferrari for the equivalent of a new Toyota Camry that would be capable of surviving a 1,000 road trip in the U.K right now?
The first thing to note; and this may surprise some, is that Toyota do actually offer the Camry in the U.K. I'm not sure if I have actually seen one of the modern ones on the road here. According to Toyota's website the top spec Excel version has a list price of £34,830 (at the time of writing) and there are only a couple of small options available pushing the price over £35,000, so for the sake of simplicity lets go with that round £35,000 and see what (if any) cars from Maranello can be brought for around that?
10 years ago £35,000 would have got you into quite a few suitable two seat Ferraris notably the 308 but even higher mileage examples of the mighty 550 Maranello could be sourced in that range, my late Father brought a LHD 550 for £35,000 at the time. Now even the least loved two seat Ferrari (that will be the 348) usually commands a £50k minimum buy in, for a running and driving example with an M.O.T. That pretty much leaves us looking at the less popular 2+2 models. Of these there are three models that more or less fit the bill.
The Mondial - probably the most viable financial choice
Mondial QV
Any conversation about cheap Ferraris will always include a Mondial and I was a little surprised that one didn't feature in Car Trek, although I guess a, probably not actually roadworthy, 308 has far more entertainment value.
Launched in 1980 the Mondial was the second attempt by Ferrari to build a more usable mid-rear engine 2+2 V8 car that that was practical enough to tempt buyers away from the Porsche 911. Their first go, the 308GT4, had not been well received partly due to its, atypical for a Ferrari, Bertone styling. After six years of disappointing sales Ferrari decided Pininfarina could do a better job and asked them to come up with a replacement that also liberated a little more room for the back seat occupants. This car became the Mondial 8.
Now it would not surprise me if car designers say a mid-rear 2+2 is the most challenging car to design when it comes to mixing packaging with asthetics, but whatever the Mondial is not exactly a looker and certainly more awkwardly styled than its predecessor. However it still has presence and probably could not be mistaken for anything other than a Ferrari.
To make matters worse for the Mondial 8 it was launched at a time when Ferrari, and the car industry in general, were struggling to get on top of emmissions regulations. It featured the same 3.0 V8 as the outgoing 308GT4 (and two seat GTB/S), but now had fuel injection instead of the quartet of Weber carburettors. Power dropped from a quoted 255bhp to 215bhp and with the Mondial's increase in weight over the GT4, performance was ummm underwhelming, particularly for the US versions. Several US magazines timed the Mondial 8 in the 9 second range for the 0-60 sprint although Motor Trend achieved a slightly more respectible 8.2 seconds. Top speed was probably 140mph at best.
Things improved after a couple of years as Ferrari added a 4 valve per cylinder head for the updated Mondial QV which bumped power back up to a more respectable 240 bhp and got the Mondial down to the 6 second range for 0-60. Importantly they also added a cabriolet version, Ferrari's first fully open top car since the Daytona Spyder.
Mondial T cabriolet
1985 brought a capacity increase and improved styling with the Mondial 3.2 (see banner pic) which shared its engine with the 328 launched at around the same time. Finally in 1989 the Mondial got a substantial engineering rework as the engine, now at 3.4 litres, was switched from a transversal installation to a longitundenal one (and the gearbox mounted transversally) in the Mondial T. This configuration is shared with the 348.
Now you can probably guess from this short history that it is the early cars that are the cheapest and honestly £35,000 should buy you the best Mondial 8 around. They are also a relatively simple car compared with the cars of today, so probably don't need a Ferrari specialist to do all the maintenance. Having said that they were disappointing to drive even when new and being slower than even a mildly warm hatch today isn't really very Ferrari.
The best Mondial bet, and probably the best choice from an all round financial point of view in this article, is a Mondial 3.2. They have decentish (270bhp) power and some actually prefer the handling to the two seat 328 thanks to the longer wheelbase. They also don't require the engine out service of the Mondial T. A classified and auction search shows that 3.2's are often over £35,000 however if you can live with the steering wheel being on the wrong side in the U.K. this example in a fetching silver is just under budget at £34,500.
456 complicated modern classic
Ferrari 456GT
Now if you have been watching Car Trek then the 456 will already be familiar to you as an example is Tyler Hoover's choice. Launched in 1992 it marked a new era for Ferrari as it embraced the latest technology and an all new front mounted 5.5 litre V12 producing 436bhp that could propel the car to over 190mph. The 456 was produced through to 2003 with one mild update in 1998 when an M for Modificata was added to the title. The M cars featured an updated front facia and interior along with some mild tweaks to the V12 . Ferrari would also offer both versions with the option a torque converter automatic unusually mounted on a transaxle.
Styling wise it was initially well received with many cues harking back to the Daytona especially at the rear. Inside accomodation was generous, for a Ferrari, and full sized adults could actually sit in the back seats comfortably for short trips (I've done this myself and I'm 6ft 1").
As often happened with 2+2 Ferraris the 456 didn't get much in the way of development during it's 11 year life. The styling became dated quite quickly partly (in my view at least) because Ferrari never increased the wheel size from 17" when many of its rivals sported 18, 19 and even 20" rims. It was also the last Ferrari on sale with pop up headlamps. All of this resulted in huge initial depreciation and low second hand prices.
456M with my Daytona
The 456 hit the nadir price wise probably around 8 - 9 years ago but they have now picked up. As you might expect manual cars with lower mileage command higher prices, so for our £35,000 budget you are probably looking at an automatic car and don't be surprised if it needs a little work too. Auction house Bonhams MPH has an M GTA example in it's upcoming sale with an estimate of £35-40,000.
Trouble is I know anyone reading this is going to want a manual. They are not easy to find at this price point but you may get lucky. Most likely it is going to have a very high mileage (for a Ferrari) and quite possibly be left hand drive. Last September online auction house Collecting Cars sold this one for a just over budget £39,000. Funnily enough my mechanic reckons the engines on the 456 (and 550) are actually better and produce more power when they have done over 50,000 miles as long as they have been properly maintained.
Whichever you choose be aware these are not remotely Camry money to run. The V12 uses a LOT of fuel, they have early nineties electronics that often go wrong, and like all Ferraris of that era they require cambelt changes (although at least it is not an engine out proposition like some of the mid-rear engined cars). Also the gearbox on the automatic versions can be troublesome and a very expensive fix, and on the early cars the side windows never fit properly.
400 - the classic for the masochist at this price
Ah the 400 (plus the 365GT4 2+2 and 412 which share the same body style) the car enthusiasts love to hate for not being a Ferrari, despite the fact it was the model that Enzo actually drove himself. I wrote a long blog about the 400 in the early days of Drivetribe which you can read here to save me redetailing the car's history.
Reading that back it seems that asking prices are broadly the same now as they were then, so finding one is going to be tricky. The blue car at the top of this section is a 365GT4 2+2 which was offered at last weekend's Historics auction sale. It did not sell with a high bid of £39,000. That car had bad paint, signs of rust, and a very tired interior, although a claimed recent engine rebuild is a plus. I suspect you would need to spend at least another £10-20,000 (probably more) to make this into a half decent car.
I actually did find another example on budget at £34.995 but that looks much worse than the car at Historics. Unless you are the British version of Tavarish I don't recommend taking either of these on, and neither are remotely ready for a 1,000 mile road trip as they stand. The £35,000 budget is slightly better served by automatic 400's with auction house H and H offering this example in their next sale.
Ferrari 400 automatic
If you are brave or perhaps foolhardy the 400 is always going to be a tricky ownership proposition even on a really good one. Dealers have recently taken to saying that it shares its engine with the Daytona only that is not quite true as in order to boost refinement in what is a GT cruiser, Ferrari made the engine..... more complicated. For example the timing chain is around 6ft longer and takes a far more serpentine route than on the more famous berlinetta. Add to the fact that under bonnet access is very tight and you have a car that will cost a lot to maintain just in garage labour hours. They also come from an era when rust protection was not really thought of on cars. A full restoration don't even think about it, from a financial return point of view. At £35,000 in the current market it maybe possible to buy one, but that is only going to be the start of the costs.
Health warning
So it just about possibly to buy a reasonable Ferrari in the UK for Toyota Camry money currently, but should you? I think it is pretty obvious from my previous writing that I love Ferrari's cars although I don't always agree with the way the company does things. Even as someone who can usually make a case for all their products, these are not high on the list of Ferraris I dream about owning. The thing is they are likely to cost the same to run (or possibly more in the case of the V12 cars) as the far more expensive and desirable cars that I do dream about. Even the Mondial will cost more to maintain than a Camry and none of these choices are remotely viable as daily drivers.
Of the three the 456 in manual form is the only one I would seriously consider owning, and even then I would want a far better one than the £35,000 budget allows. Once you go above the budget you run into the issue that, for me, those more desirable Ferraris start to come into play (a 550 for one) . Unless you have a burning desire to have a prancing horse in your garage (you will need a garage) and nothing else will do, for £35,000 buy something else or continue saving some more money to buy a better Ferrari.
Come to think of it, Ed Bolian may have cheated on the premise of the Car Trek films by buying an $80,000 599, but he probably has it partially right (I'm not as brave as him to go for a car that once did a U Boat impression). The entry price might be a lot higher but he has got a car that is not only more desirable but, once you factor in resale, maybe cheaper to own in the long run.
Notes
All pictures by the author
Car Trek film embedded from YouTube on the Tavarish channel
All ad links are for indication only I have no affiliation with any of them.
Opinions on all these cars are my own and are based on having examples of each in our family collection at some point in time. In the case of the Mondial and 456 (actually 4 different 456's) it was when the cars were new or much newer than they are now.
Some people may comment that you could also get a 308GT4 in this price range. That maybe true but I couldn't find a decent one in the classifieds for even close to that money. Post a link if you do find one.
Update 20th March
Weird timing, within a couple of hours of me hitting the publish button on this yesterday, a gentleman by the name of Chris Harris, posted on various social media outlets that he had purchased a Ferrari Mondial 3.2 Cabriolet from the Collecting Cars website.
While Chris did not indicate the price in his post a check of the listing on the site indicates he paid a mere £21,250. That is frankly astoundingly cheap for such a car especially when the same site sold a LHD version in Germany for €46,250 just three weeks ago. That car had a much higher indicated mileage too. The description does not indicate that Chris' car is a Tavarish level horror story either. although it does note the cambelt was last changed in 2014 so there is a good chance that will need attention before too long. There are some other issues noted too which might push the price down a bit but not that much, and it certainly sounds like a running and driving car.
To me it seems as if Chris got lucky and brought a car for well under the market, and it doesn't change my overall conclusion above, other than to say if you search hard, there maybe opportunities out there. The fact that Chris is planning on doing some features on the car in future is also likely to expose the Mondial, which is a rather forgotten Ferrari, to a wider audience once again, although your guess is as good as mine if this will make any difference to their values.
Join In
Comments (11)
I love the 456gt
They are good cars just one for £35,000 probably won't be unless you are very very lucky.
Great article! I don't know if BaT auctions are any indication, but US$50,000 is not unknown. And Maseratis... Some are going US$20,000-$30,000.
I know a lot of people rag on BaT for high prices but I think in general they’re representative of the market. I’ve seen super expensive cars on there but also quite a few bargains too
I'd be VERY surprised if Car Trek's challenge could be repeated this side of the pond. We value Ferraris far more than consumerist Americans do. We know that value cannot always be counted in cash, but good stuff always keeps its value. Saying that... my greatest regret is not buying a Ferrari Daytona for £1500 from the side of a pub in Tonypandy, back when I was in my early twenties some 40+ years ago!
That would have been a story and a half. Was angry my dad didn’t buy a 944 when they were £800, you must have been fuming knowing what they were worth later
£1,500 would probably be the cheapest price paid for a Daytona ever. My Dad paid £7,500 for what is now mine in 1976. He looked at over 20 and brought the least rusty one.
If you are willing to do so, I'll trade a new Camry for your Daytona lol
Thank you for the offer, which I have considered but the Daytona is not for sale at any price :-)
I found a replica F1 car
www.platinumcarsalesltd.co.uk/used-cars/merthyr-tydfil-ferrari-f1-recreation-racing-designs-no1-1501/