[DeTomaso] Mangusta for sale

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/14/13 8 23 30, tmshinro at aol.com writes:


> PI Motorsports is listing a Mangusta on ebay 
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1969-DeTomaso-Mangusta-VERY-RARE-/2512290390
> 39?item=251229039039&ViewItem=&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123&
> forcev4exp=true
> 
> I didn't realize they commanded those kind of prices. 
> 
>>>Really good ones do.   They seem to be more valueable in Europe, where 
one fellow actually paid $200K for a really nice RHD car (although it was 
well-known to have rust underneath the shiny paint, and today is for sale 
asking, and not getting, quite a bit less, showing that the $200K paid was really 
a fluke).   A really good, solid Mangusta is probably a $125-150K 
proposition over there, less over here.

This particular car has been seriously devalued by the owner previous to 
the current owner/seller.   This was a WONDERFUL, 100% original car when he 
bought it out of Nova Scotia--he could have driven it right onto the lawn at 
Pebble Beach.   He got a really good deal on it, at the time.   

The guy didn't know a thing about De Tomasos (he was/is a Porsche 911 guy), 
and he took it to a race shop at Sears Point (where they know all about 
race cars and nothing about De Tomasos, or, apparently, classic cars in 
general).   He spent $30K there.   Among other things, they took out the original 
motor, and replaced it with a modern Ford 5.0 crate engine.   The A/C didn't 
work well, and rather than simply servicing it, they removed the beautiful 
Italian A/C system and replaced it with a generic hot rod setup (from Vintage 
Air, I think).   They performed a number of similar atrocities to the car, 
and when he picked it up many months later, the guy couldn't be bothered to 
keep the original engine, A/C etc, so they THREW THEM IN THE TRASH!!!!

Original Mangusta A/C units are all but nonexistant, and are unique to the 
Mangusta, not used on any other car.   That alone probably knocks $5K off 
the value.

Oh, when that guy took delivery of the car from Nova Scotia, the spare 
Campagnolo wheel was out of the car; he told the seller he didn't need it, and 
so he abandoned it.   An original Mangusta wheel is a $4000 proposition these 
days.

So, this guy spent $30K and in so doing, easily knocked $15-20K off the 
value of the car (that is, value to a high-end connoisseur of classic cars who 
favor originality).   It's bad enough that he paid money to have all this 
work done, but at least if he had kept the parts, a future owner could have 
repaired the damage he had done.   As it is, it has been reduced from a Pebble 
Beach-caliber car, to a very nice driver.   A very nice driver is no bad 
thing, by any means--it's what most of us aspire to.   But if you are going to 
spend $30K to get a very nice driver, you should be starting with a car 
that is lower than that standard, not higher!

DUH!?

Oh, BTW, the steering wheel looks different from most Mangustas.   I would 
have expected this car to have a standard wood/leather wheel, but the very 
last Mangustas made came with several different variations of all-leather 
wheel; I have seen one or two others with this same wheel from the factory.   
It's possible that a previous owner 'updated' his car with this more 
modern-style wheel, way back when.   The originals, of course, are worth 
substantially more today.   In fact I helped a guy in Europe locate an original 
wood/leather Mangusta wheel for his late Mangusta, which came from the factory with 
a wheel like the one on this car.   The early wheel had been hanging on a 
Ferrari guy's den wall for 20+ years, in Arizona, and I stumbled across it by 
accident and made the hookup between them.   I think he sold it to him for 
$1500, which I thought was the bargain of the century.

Go ahead--try to find another one somewhere else!   That puts $1500 for a 
steering wheel into perspective....

Meanwhile, I suspect this car will sell for something in the $80-100K 
range, and the buyer will be getting a very good, very useable car--one that used 
to be great. :<(
> 
> >Which makes me ask (after watching the Tom Tjaarda video posted 
> yesterday);  who designed the Mangusta?  I noticed it wasn't included in his 
> Detomaso design archive and it dawned on me that don't know the answer. 
> 
>>>It's yet another stunning design from Guigiaro (whose design high-water 
mark was--the VW Scirocco!) :>)

Mike