Foot Down | South China Morning Post

Classified Post reveals rich pickings for the collectors of luxury classics these days. Bentley Hong Kong (tel: 2890 1918) has listed four Rolls-Royces, from a 1975 Phantom VI at $1.7 million to a 1995 Silver Spur III for $480,000. Vin's Motors (tel: 2571 5695) wants $258,000 for a 1962 Silver Cloud Classic with a claimed 56,000 kilometres on the clock, a limousine the Tin Hau showroom says was bought new in Hong Kong, has been cossetted ever since and is now the target for British or Australian shippers with an eye for a low-mileage investment opportunity.

The 1997 Arctic Silver Boxster seems reasonable value for Hong Kong at $330,000 at the Porsche-Approved Pre-Owned Car Centre (3180 3919), where a year's factory warranty is offered to cars under nine years old. But one car caught Foot Down's eye last week: a fully restored 1972 Ferrari Daytona (above) that's yours for $1.5 million at Italian Motors (tel: 2383 7037). This car's a real classic, and worth a look if you have the dosh.

'Considering that this Daytona is now 31 years old, parts supply should be a problem,' says Italian Motors managing director Herbert Adamczyk. 'But classic Ferrari models are so hugely popular, and expensive, that it was necessary for the Ferrari factory to organise a supply system that includes a worldwide sourcing program for parts as well as appointing a number of dedicated suppliers who have access to the original designs and drawings and are actually capable of making new parts to order. That is, of course, expensive and can take a lot of time, but owners of classic Ferraris are generally not likely to be short of funds; nor would they need those parts in a hurry.'

Adamczyk says tender loving care can cut maintenance costs. 'As such a car would not be used every day, good storage facilities, [dust-free, dehumidified, ideally air-conditioned] and with enough space to avoid 'door dings', are very important,' he says. 'We have dedicated storage facilities, using the same dehumidifying equipment as the Ford Museum in the United States, available for such cars, at 'reasonble' rates. Regular use, every three to four weeks, in dry weather conditions and a traffic-free environment, if that is ever possible, would help to keep all moving parts in working order, the battery charged, and rust off the brakes and out of the exhaust system.'

Adamczyk says the Daytona will hold its value - but Foot Down adds the proviso 'if the new owner treats it right'. As classics, and Ferrari in particular, age, their value 'is bound to increase, although they are, like antiques, subjected to buyers' sentiment which in turn depends on the state of the worldwide economy, and a particular popularity which a particular model may enjoy from time to time,' Adamczyk explains. 'A restored Ferrari Daytona like ours would be worth about #90,000 [HK$1.17 million] in Britain today. But then it needs to be registered, and tax needs to be paid, in order to drive it on the road, and that, at today's rates, courtesy of Financial Secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung, would raise the value to about $2.6 million'.

But watch those bargains. Foot Down has seen too many beautiful cars in the hands of back-street garages that seem to lack the latest diagnostic and tuning or body-buffing equipment that safeguards a classic investment. So the Daytona's new owner might join the Classic Car Club of Hong Kong (tel: 2576 3753) for its like-minded membership and pointers to mechanics who know what they are doing.

And tycoon Cecil Chao Sze-tsung's reaction to the recent burning of his Rolls-Royce (below) suggests an element of Hong Kong's rich still treat their limousines with disdain. His reported comment (South China Morning Post, June 5) about the loss of his lovely ride was: 'I'll just buy a new car if this one cannot be fixed.' So have the Hong Kong Automobile Association (tel: 2739 5273) check your car's workings, scan its local tycoon history and stick to reputed dealers when buying luxury second-hand motors.