I think things have moved on from the reference point in your head.

Wow, that car you linked to is an absolute mess. The price doesn’t even make sense. I just...don’t understand.

Agreed. However, this specific 40-year old Pantera is going to cost a lot more in the next five years than the Ferrari that was put up for comparison.

Ha! I have spent more than $18,000 in the past few years. You are totally right that this Pantera will require a pile of cash to get it to the point where it only needs maintenance, at which time it will become less expensive than the Ferrari, but the total cost of ownership over the next ten years will probably be…

Finding a mechanic who knows anything about Panteras is hard? Totally true.

ZF gearbox...cheap. One doesn’t hear those two words in the same sentence very often. I mean, unless the sentence is something like “my ZF was clunky into second gear and it cost $4,500 to pull, ship, replace second gear, service and reinstall...that ain’t cheap.”

The problem isn’t that a 40-year old Pantera costs more to “maintain” so much as there are always a list of things that need to be outright replaced.

No joke. Something is always breaking on an old Pantera.

I would take the Pantera. I have spent a lot of time in the F355 and they are wonderful, but a completely different experience than a Pantera. Or maybe I feel like the F355 isn't classic enough yet?

No way of knowing if this car is worth the price without an inspection.

Agree! 47 year old graphic designer here. I assume I not hireable at this point. Luckily, I own a design firm (21 years, holy cow) but it shrank down to pretty much just me when my town imploded during the recession. I have more work than I can handle, but I believe much of it is thanks to technology.

Agreed! I am in my 40s and show up around 9:00 which gives me an hour to walk around a bit and see if there is anything new. I show up earlier for Espresso & Exotics because that is more my crowd and it only happens once a month.

Now when someone asks “how much do you have into that thing” we can honestly say we have no idea. And fewer people will think we are dumb.

Funny thing is, everyone thinks they have class. Just like everyone thinks they have above average intelligence and thinks they are funny. Right? Like the Dunning-Kruger effect.

I think we have stewardship over these old beasts and our job is to leave them better than we found them. keeping track of the money can only lead to regret. Heh.

I think the lot fills with slammed Hondas and Subarus with Plastidipped wheels because the kids have the excitement to get up before sunup and drive to a parking lot.

Thankfully, nobody sits by their car here in Vegas. It is nice to look at cars without being yammered at. I park my car and hope I can walk away without anyone catching me.

I plan on going eventually. I work from home so an $80,000 car makes no sense.

I would like to subscribe to your rebuild newsletter, sir! That looks like a great project.

Really? If I still owned a Porsche (for example) and wanted another one I would sure as hell go to the dealership. Hell, I used to go to the dealership once in a while just to look at the new ones. Heh.