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How do you buy a Ferrari ?

I rather like my TDF 360 !
Kent High Performance have a F1 430 in black which I rather fancy and its £10k cheaper than a red one. They also have a Blu Atlantique manual 360 in stock at same money, 69,995

I know these guys as I bought mine from there and have it serviced there, so talk to them and explain your predicament. Especially the distance youre coming. That will carry some weight.
 
Thanks all for the replies and some interesting points. I’m coming to the view that I’m in the minority expecting to test drive cars prior to deposit/buying. I think if that’s the case then I either want to be buying from a specialist with a reputation to uphold or privately for less so I have greater reserves for rectification and a PPI.

MoreThanPolish, I love the black f430 at Kent HP, but fiancée has vetoed red interior. I did wonder how much recolouring to cream would be! As you say other than colour from the basic adverts it’s hard to see why the red one is £10k more. I‘m going to see a 360 this weekend and option to see a f430 following weekend in Birmingham (private seller next time he’s free)
 
Generally speaking red Ferraris hold a premium over other colours simply because they are easier to sell. There's quite a few people who don't want red, in fact you get some people who say they'd have anything but red as it's too 'shouty' (although if you want to blend in and not be noticed there's an argument that a Ferrari isn't the car to be driving), but there are far more who want red than don't hence the phrase in Ferrari world 'Resale Red'.
 
I would go see that black/rec 430. the red interior actually looks good in real life. you can compare to the red/ crema. and also a 360, although not a spider you will get the idea. Roger will also have a service bay full of stuff in for service to look at.

as to changing the leather colour, Id strongly say dont do it. a) you would need to replace all the leather to do it properly , and b) it will kill the resale value. ferrari market is very particular and one thing that is generally not liked if moding! exhausts yes, wheels ok ish, anything else will have a big impact on resale.
 
Regarding recolouring the leather, to make it darker can be done quite successfully (ie cream to tan which I have considered as cream is a PITA to keep clean, but red/cream does sell easily so I have held off) but going the other way such as from red to cream is much more difficult. My guess is the only way to do it well is a retrim. The snag with retrimming is if you do some of the interior, the rest looks worn so to make it look right you really need to do the lot. I had mine done in a high quality leather about 11 years ago so not sure of the cost today but it cost me £6k back then.

348 Re-trim

Hi all. Was talking to someone earlier and they asked how my re-trim was going. Was going to wait till all was done but will post up some sneak previews pending a proper post of the finished article. So far most bits have been re-trimmed, just the last few bits to go then it all needs to be...
www.clubscuderia.co.uk
 
I wouldn't consider changing the interior colour unless the car is used eurobox money. Its very expensive to do it well, and it might make the car worth less than before. Yes there is no logic to it but Ferraris seem to be very price sensitive to modifications. You did say you were on a budget so just throw the £15K retrim cost into the purchase price and buy the car spec you want.

I am surprised you are having difficulty getting any test drives, and I would never buy a type of car I have never driven. In fact Ferrari have invited me to drive new demo cars in spite of never enquiring about changing my car. Maybe you need to try and develop a relationship with some dealers, speak to them/explain your predicament that you are torn between a 360/430, and show interest in some of their stock.
 
Sorry all, yes wasn’t seriously considering a full recolour of the interior as I know this would be difficult to do well and devalue the car and make it difficult to sell. I’ve had an old Porsche recoloured back to a few shades lighter as it had discoloured over the years and this was great. So much so that I then had to buy new carpets as they then looked out of place. It retained some of the creases / patina but looked so much better and made the leather much softer and more Matt finish.

unfortunately going to look at the black/red car won’t help. I would be fine with it but my fiancée is adamant and I don’t / can’t risk upsetting her.

I think I’m going to speak to dealers on the phone and say I’m happy to buy the car but only if they are happy to test drive. Can put down a deposit, but subject to “no quibble” refund based on my gut feel.
 
I've had just three Ferraris and only one was from a dealer.
My first back in September 2004 (almost 20 years in on Ferrari ownership now) was a Mondial QV. I just wanted a Ferrari and having rear seats meant my then 12 year old daughter could come out with me and my then missus. That never really happened anyway but I did test drive it and was smitten. It was a private sale and I am today (just recently too) still in touch with the owner I bought from.
I did try to get a PPI done but for one reason or another I could not synchronise it with the owner.

The second was an F355 in yellow bought in 2010 (best and most shouty colour for a mid-engine Ferrari IMHO) and I did get a PPI on that from Roger at KHP. The car came from a premium car dealer in Kent but this F355 was the only Ferrari they had. A P/X I think which I had been watching for a couple of months. It needed quite a bit of work. I part exchanged my Mondial which made life much easier.

My last and current is a 360 which I P/X my F355 for. It was a private deal. He wanted an F355 and I a 360. I again had no PPI. 360 has been the sweetest of all and partially why I still own it. It happens to be the longest I have ever owned a car for at almost 9 years.

I agree a 360 manual but mainly because you will probably have less transmission related problems (I'll get blasted now by F1 360 owners whom have had no issues). I actually wanted an F1 because I like how they drive but my manual was too good of a chance to miss.

The only advice is to keep looking. I never test drove either the F355 or 360. Why? I knew I would not be disappointed and honestly had no reference or comparison. Fact is I never test drove my current BMW daily when I bought it either (from a trader). Manual 360's don't come up often either. I did try to sell mine a few years ago (not selling now) and after 5 potential buyers gave up.
I only wanted £55k and struggled. Mine is probably a POS though :ROFLMAO:

Like Pete said when I bought my first two Ferraris they were cheap. Mondial QV = £15k, F355 = £32k

Speak to Tim Walker of Walkersport. It's who I would use if I was to use anybody other than my 'chance it' self.
 
It's been said already but I'd try to build a bit of a relationship with the reputable independent dealers who specialise in Ferraris. Let them know what you're looking for and that you're a serious buyer. And be prepared to travel. I drove from London to north Wales to view my 355 before buying it. Twice.

Also Mr Fish's advice is very sensible. Pay a few hundred quid to have an expert check it over before you commit. Someone like Tim as Malc suggests above.
 
Many thanks for all your thoughts and advice, I am listening and trying to use the information.

so as an update I’ve been to see three cars this week and most importantly driven two of them. All three were 360s and the two I drove were actually F1 gearboxes. I have expanded to include 360 F1 cars as well as manual as I liked the 430 F1 I thought it was worth considering and I liked the system in the 360 despite some of the online reviews. They Also drove fine in auto mode which increases the cars usability to my partner too.

The three cars I’ve seen were a 2004 360 F1 in red/cream at Foskers https://www.foskers.com/showroom/2004-ferrari-360-spider-f1/123. A TDF Blue/cream 2001 360 in a small trader in Bristol https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403077323107 at the same price and finally a car at auction today https://www.swva.co.uk/classic-car/ferrari-360-spider-2004/

So the one at auction sold for much more than I anticipated at £59k plus fees = £64300. Its condition was good but a few bits needed addressing and its service history was not very good. The car had a lot of carbon fibre bits, but does that make such a difference? Anyway this seemed poorer value compared to some other cars.

The car at Foskers seems to be very good and very nicely prepared and excellent service history especially recently and they will service the car prior to sale too. This car is very tempting car and seems the safe option. Has anyone experience of Foskers they seemed like a good specialist with a beautiful array of cars and service area.

The blue car in Bristol is quite good and the Colour combo (to me) is a big bonus. The car was in generally good condition and service history ok. The biggest disappointment was the Capristo exhaust was VERY loud. Whilst I understand they are expensive I think I would have to change it. The head says this car isn’t as good as the one at Foskers, but the heart says blue car.

Finally as a wildcard entry there is a car at auction very similar to the Foskers car. https://www.tradeclassics.com/auctions/ferrari/2004-ferrari-360-spider-f1-2/. Looks pretty good and had a lot of spend at AV engineering which I view as a positive. So will be interesting to see what happens.

The good thing is that the test drives have made me sure that the 360 is enough of a Ferrari for me so will concentrate on that as at my budget looking at a wider pool of cars, rather than higher mileage or cars with faults for the F430.

Thanks all for putting up with my ramblings
 
sssdu01 said:
If you complain about a noisy exhaust you will be banned from this club and made to drive a Prius 🤣
Click to expand...
While I agree with the sentiment I have to admit that having previously had a Nouvalari SuperSport on my 348 which is about as loud as they come (and you heard it I think, Simon) and used to occasionally set off the neighbour's car alarm just on start up, I've since changed it to far more civilised Tubi 'Sound' exhaust (ie the normal Tubi not the loudest one). Apart from being a nicer sound it also means you can hold a conversation in the car without having to shout and you get to the end of your drive still being able to hear. A loud exhaust is a giggle for a bit but long term a nice sounding exhaust trumps a loud one every time imo.

Example of a 348 with Tubi - plenty loud enough I think:

 
Just to be clear the Capristo exhaust was very loud and I believe non-valved . The Foskers car had I believe a Tubi exhaust (360 stamped on top) that sounded great. Yes when you are “on it” in twisty mountain road the Capristo would be great, but for motorway cruising to get to said mountain, or crawling at 30mph through a quiet Cotswold village it was too much.

I Was looking to see if it’s possible / costly to change it to a valved version and came across this vid which demonstrates
 
I have heard a level 3 capristo and it would probably result in a jail sentence/Noise ASBO/neighbours set fire to your garage !!! I have the valved capristo on my 430 and its nice when normal driving but opening the valve on low revs makes babies cry and sets of car alarms, so I have to best of both worlds 🤣

The factory ECU opens the valves at high revs (to stop the innards of the exhaust melting, and to assist with scavenging/back pressure etc), but you will be going so fast the noise is just left behind you.

I think the standard 360 exhaust sounds asthmatically pathetic, as it sort of hisses.
 
If the Tradeclassics car progresses presumably you can talk to AV about specifics - for the Bristol car inspection options include RE SWindon who apparently have a former Ferrari specialist and Bob Houghton in Northleach - Foskers probably should have been in the original list of relatively sensible people - a little patience and persuasion and you do get test drives !
 
The car here looks good https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403077323107

I do like how it is described as " Its soul-stirring V8 engine, paired with an automatic F1 DCT transmission, ensures every drive is a symphony of performance and precision"
Dual clutch :D. The one thing this tells you is that they do not normally sell 360's.

Regarding exhausts. In the history mine had a Milltek exhaust which I thought it still had. It seems it is some aftermarket tat. No valves at all. It is loud. Now I am wondering whether there is an aftermarket valve system of sorts I could add to mine.
 
Jos, thanks for recommendations of inspections and also noted that MoreThanPolish mobile inspections too. Bristol car would 100% need an inspection. I’m not sure if Foskers car needs one too? Obviously trade classics is a gamble. Yes would speak to AV but the list of work they did in the receipts is good including engine mounts, new clutch, tie rods, 7 hours of suspension refresh and cam belts service. The Foskers car is certainly the “safer” buy though and spoke to Emblem about the last service and whilst they were not able to say much about inspection as customer confidentiality, they did advise that he was a conscientious owner and that the car was good.

MalcH, yes some descriptions these days are becoming extremely flowery and less accurate. I think it is AI generators. EBay has one built in now and this is the style of result you get. Lots of words but not much useful info, but amusing to try. Might be a useful way of rejecting the car if it turns out to be a lemon! Oh and they definitely don’t sell Ferraris very often as he couldn’t get engine to start (immobiliser) or know about where front boot latch was.
 
Hi. Just to add an owner experience...
We bought our red/black 360 F1 in 2013 from a private but trusted seller. We test drove both the Modena and open top variants, both in F1 and manual (remember this is the same box, only the method of gear change and take-off is different). In the end we chose our car based on condition and history, the fact it was F1 wasn't important to us. It was our first Ferrari though so it just had to live up to the childhood dream... Rosso corsa. We had eight years of pain-free ownership and only sold it to move to a different model that better suited our usage (an early California).

My advice right now, buy from a reputable dealer or a very trusted individual. Foskers have a good reputation but the first calls I would make are to Tim Walker of Walkersport and Aldous of AV Engineering. I would happily buy a car unseen from either and that says a lot about their expertise and integrity. In fact, our California came via Tim and both the 360 was, and Cali is looked after at AV.

Buy the right car, keep some money in the bank just in case but above all, enjoy!

ps. The Challenge Stradale TCU for the 360 F1 is a very worthwhile upgrade.
 
Kyodo, thanks for your thoughts and advice, very sound advice. I’m waiting to hear about the auction car pricing and will then talk to AV. Looking at their website it looks like they no longer sell cars, but might put me in contact with cars they serviced. Unfortunately for me the dream Ferrari as a kid was the F40. Even a lottery win might struggle to afford one now. However Magnum and Miami Vice were influences. But for me mid engine was the main criteria, plus usability, with fun performance and handling and open top for greater sensations at lower speeds So settled now on 360 Spider with either gearbox, but knowing that F1 is cheaper outlay cost.

Regarding the Challenge Stradale TCU AV offer upgrade for about £1k but it appears to be for later cars only. Does anyone know the specifics?
 
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