Man sells Ferrari 308 for $35,000 only to discover how much he's missed out a decade later after mistiming the market

An Italian collector sold his Ferrari 308 GTSi for just $35,000 back when the market was pretty cold.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but it still stings.

Especially when you look at the average price of a Ferrari 308 today.

The price was low, but the most shocking part was that it was also fair.

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How this collector missed out on at least $50,000 after selling his Ferrari 308 GTSi

A little over a decade ago, an Italian collector sold his Ferrari 308 GTSi for about $35,000.

That looks like a surprisingly low price in today’s market, but believe it or not, it was actually fair back then.

Maybe even better than fair.

The 308 was introduced in 1975 and discontinued in 1985.

Most 308 models (including this one, a 1982 example) used a 2,926CC engine, which was marketed as a 2.9-liter but also as a 3.0-liter.

Tomayto, tomahto – because the bottom line is this was a very capable – and very analog – 250-horsepower V8 that people love, which is why the value went up.

Back in the early 2010s, when this car was sold, a 308 was worth between $25,000 and $35,000, depending on condition and other factors.

Today, you can get at least $80,000-$90,000 for a 308 if you’ve got one for sale.

Potentially even six figures if it’s a particularly significant iteration and it’s in mint condition.

When people say that ‘time in’ the market beats ‘timing’ the market

There’s a saying that people use: ‘Time in the market beats timing the market’.

This Ferrari owner found out the hard way, but he’s not alone.

Keen Top Gear fans may remember the ‘Budget Supercar Challenge’ from exactly 20 years ago.

In 2005, each Top Gear presenter was given £10,000 ($13,000) to buy a second-hand Italian supercar and, amazingly, they all managed to find one.

Clarkson bought a Maserati Merak, May bought a Lamborghini Urraco, and Hammond (coincidentally) bought a 308.

That would be completely impossible today.

You can maybe find a used Maserati sedan for about $13,000, but not a supercar.

And you definitely won’t find a used Lamborghini or Ferrari for $13,000.

Still, it could be worse.

Missing out on $50,000 or $60,000 because you mistime the car market doesn’t feel great, but missing out on a much, much bigger fortune by mistiming the stock market — or, even worse, the crypto market — must be devastating.

The evolution of Ferrari’s ‘Berlinetta’ models

1967 Ferrari Dino 206 GT: the one that many people consider the first of the breed
1975 Ferrari 308 and 1985 328 GTB: linear evolutions of the Dino
1989 Ferrari 348 and 1994 F355: still ‘berlinettas’, but closer to the idea of a ‘supercar’ that we have today
1999 Ferrari 360: possibly the first modern supercar
2004 Ferrari F430: the transition from berlinetta to supercar is complete, the F430 will eventually spawn the 458, 488 and F8 Tributo