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Another 4C on BaT

93K views 1K replies 100 participants last post by  Alfanut 
#1 ·
High spec 2017 coupe, $80k sticker with 7k miles. Where do you think it will end (hammer price without fees)? guesses in the thread. Guesses accepted until Monday 2pm EST.


My guess: $61,500.
 
#700 ·
#705 · (Edited)
Short term I really don’t know. It’s hard not to be somewhat influenced by the seasonality (since mine are all off the road now and will be for the next ~5 months minimum). If I was in Florida or Texas or California my opinion might be different; I feel like very short term probably market will soften. The dealers seem to disagree with me because new ones are being listed higher and higher lately.

I don’t think there’s any meaningful correction coming though. Inflation is going to remain very high and debt will stay cheap through at least Q2 22 then we’ll see how the market reacts I guess.
 
#708 ·
yeah, it was @ 48k only 3 hours till end and a bid war ensued. Somebody tell me how a winning bid comes out at $59,999 ...... that sounds like a reserve price, who would bid that wanting to actually win. Wouldn't you bid $60,010 or something just-in-case someone goes 60 ??
 
#709 ·
That’s not how BAT bidding works. On eBay your comment would make perfect sense. Bids have to be 500 apart. The winner wanted to make the other guy cross the 60k barrier. I watched it play out (I’m very bored in a hotel today lol) and thought his strategy made sense in the moment (and it worked).

BAT reserves are only in thousands (I’ve heard of 500 increment once) but round numbers. The reserve definitely wasn’t 59,999. Also, BAT auctions always shoot way up at the end. People always wait until the last 10 minutes to bid.
 
#710 ·
Would seem to be like any other auction (live or site) in that regard - bidding early just means you are allowing the price to go up perhaps needlessly.

Everyone gets a little carried away close to the end, so it matters if the bidding war starts at $50,000 vs $55,000.

Those people who “enter your highest bid here” then walk away until it closes have way more discipline than I have! LOL.
 
#719 ·
There are just too few 4Cs for the price to go down.

What I have observed in the limited production sports car market prices over the last 30 years is that, once the price goes up, it just doesn't come down. Perhaps, the price may stagnate during the financial crisis. But in those situations, owners tend to hold onto their cars vs. selling them.

Look at the price history of Porsche GT cars or 964/993 air-cooled, BMW M cars, Acura NSX and Integra Type-Rs, Mercedes SLS, Audi R8 manual, Lotus Exige...

The price of 4C will continue to go up. Its growth curve may slow at times, but it won't go down especially since there will no longer be new 4C being produced. FOMO is real among car enthusiasts.
 
#720 ·
There are just too few 4Cs for the price to go down.

What I have observed in the limited production sports car market prices over the last 30 years is that, once the price goes up, it just doesn't come down. Perhaps, the price may stagnate during the financial crisis. But in those situations, owners tend to hold onto their cars vs. selling them.

Look at the price history of Porsche GT cars or 964/993 air-cooled, BMW M cars, Acura NSX and Integra Type-Rs, Mercedes SLS, Audi R8 manual, Lotus Exige...

The price of 4C will continue to go up. Its growth curve may slow at times, but it won't go down especially since there will no longer be new 4C being produced. FOMO is real among car enthusiasts.
I agree... I wanted an Elise or Exige so bad 10 years ago when a 2006 Elise was 28k and now you can't touch a decent one for under 45k.
 
#724 ·
Yeah, how does that make sense? Are they planning on making $ off the financing only ?? Wouldn't think that would be a smart move for a Dealer? Unless they were bidding on behalf of someone who stiffed 'em
 
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#731 · (Edited)
Hard to believe almost 100 cars have been destroyed. Close to 4%. I have no knowledge of how that ratio compares with other make/models of sportscars. Would be super interested in doing the research and coming up with a good overall picture of which cars are most likely to be stuffed. I just don’t have the time right now. Still, it would, at the very least, be so fun to see if our suspicions based on experience, and watching YouTube Fail vids is corroborated by the actuarial data, or if there are some surprises.

Of course the stats may reflect the fact that 4Cs may be more frequently written off compared with a more conventionally constructed sportscar like a Porsche, given the same type of accident. So one would have to be diligent with the data before drawing conclusions about the fraction of knucklehead owners from them.
 
#732 ·
The reason that I feel so strongly that the 4C price will continue to go up (or at minimum, hold steady strong) is that FOMO is real among a certain demographic of buyers. These buyers can easily open up their wallets to spend $70K, $80K, $100K... on something they feel like they are missing out. And I feel like the 4C is one of those rare cars that were initially misunderstood when they were launched. But over time, these buyers will understand and recognize just how special they are. I feel like I am seeing that in the market at the moment. Especially if it's a super low mileage, 1 owner example.

A case in point - there is no logical reason why Porsche 964 or 993 should command the price they do at the moment. Yet, their price continues to go up. A same thing for the first gen NSX. The used NSX could be had for $20Ks-$30Ks for more than a decade. Yet, today, its price continues to go up.

I bet that the 4C eventually becomes a $100K+ car. Is it in 3 years, 5 years or 10 years? But the 4C checks every single aspect of being a classic legendary car that people with money will salivate over and have real FOMO in the future. For this demographic of buyers, it's not about should I buy the 4C or XYZ for $100K. But it's more like I want the 4C AND XYZ.

Right now is probably a really good window (and the last window) to purchase the 4C at a reasonable price before it goes crazy.
 
#733 ·
I bet that the 4C eventually becomes a $100K+ car.
agree....but what most people neglect is that, for example, a well optioned 2017 4C Spider actually came out to well over $100k canadian after taxes...so why would anyone who can hang onto it give it away for less? Those who owned air cooled 911s also knew what they had and kept them (for decades +), regardless of the newer models, youtube videos, automotive journalist comments (tail-happiness etc.). Like the 911 the 4C has a unique spot in automotive history....more akin to a 911 speedster than even a 'regular' 3.2 911. Both the speedster and the 4C are cars that should have never passed the DDS (daydream design stage) yet alone reach production and actually marketed for sale.

I wish I could buy them all..not for greed, but simply to keep them all together in a family.
 
#741 ·
Both sides (up in value, down in value) equate to a real coin toss..... both arguments contain valid points. I like the cars so much I'm going to gamble. After all, pretty much anything else I can afford and have fun with at that price is pretty much guaranteed to go Down... ;)
 
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