And the restoration is worthwhile after all
09/16/2015
A few years ago, I visited a Ferrari specialist in Switzerland and saw a silver-colored Ferrari 250 GT Lusso that was being restored. The project cost several hundred thousand francs, the owner of the workshop explained to me, and the work was carried out to the highest Swiss quality standards.
"It's nice that sports car owners are willing to pay so much for the rebirth of their car," I thought at the time, and was sure that the effort would never be worth it in purely economic terms. At the time, Lussos were being traded for around 200,000 francs; nobody would have paid three times that for a restored car.
How wrong I was. Today, a good Ferrari 250 GT Lusso changes hands for CHF 1.85 million or Euro 1.69 million, as at RM/Sotheby's in London, or is valued at CHF 2.12 million (Euro 1.92 million), as at the Bonhams auction on the occasion of the Goodwood Revival.
This means that the restoration costs have long since been recouped and the effort and investment have paid off.
However, and this should be clearly noted, a Ferrari is of course the exception. Extensive restorations of many cars are still not worthwhile from a purely economic point of view, especially if they are worth less than 150,000 or 200,000 CHF/euro, even in top condition. However, it is good to see that there are still many classic car enthusiasts who restore for the sake of preservation and not primarily for financial gain.
Further thoughts on the subject of "investment" and "value appreciation" can be found in our dedicated topic channel.
