Want a Ferrari 456? Watch and wait, that’s my advice

Value 2012 £32k Value Now £52k

Not so long ago we gasped when a minimal-mileage Ferrari 456 made £118k. Prices shot up in the months that followed and soon the going rate for nice right-hand-drive manuals was £60k, and £120k for tiny-milers.

Now that’s all changed and 456s have settled back to pre-hype prices as the modern Ferrari market has fallen away from its high of 2015.

How low have they gone? An interesting indictor was the decent ‘98 silver GTA with 40,000 miles and history that Coys sold in May for a little over £30k. Being left-hand drive and automatic held the car back but the no-reserve sale was a good barometer of the market. Scan the online classifieds and you’ll see a clear easing of values. A private seller in Yorkshire has a right-hook 2003 GTA in Fiorano Red with 37,000 miles for £39,950, while a trader in Henley-on-thames has a 2000 GTA in Argenta with just 27,000 miles for £44,995. Last year both of these would have been pitched at the mid-£50k mark. At Silverstone’s May Ferrari Owners’ Club sale a concourswinning 2003 GTA in Tour de France Blue with 28,000 miles and eight dealer stamps made £47,250. There are some 40 examples on the UK market as I write, so values are under pressure. If you’re in the market I’d advise you to watch and wait. I expect to see autos with sub-50k miles and good histories to settle at £35k in time, at which point they will be back to 2012 prices. This is becoming a cyclical market where classics go up and down – the trick is to watch the ebbs and flows and strike when the time is right. The 456 is one of the finest Ferraris of its era and at £35k definitely worth buying.