458 Italia Wanted

[dommorton]

I’m on the lookout for a cherished 458. Ideally an Italia, but would also consider Spider if the spec and price works.

Carbon racing pack pretty much a must have for me.

Flexible on colours inside and out, but know as soon as I look at cars if they sing to me.

Sub 20k miles but ideally sub 15k.

Would like front lift and parking sensors.

Condition and provenance important to me, so everything needs to be in order.

If you have a nice example you might sell, or know of one and can send me a lead. Please feel free to message me directly.

Many thanks
Dom
UK

 

[Modificato]

Even the youngest 458’s are now getting on for 7 years old.

Like all prestige cars or any mechanical device there can be many issues due to lack of use.

This is the cause of a lot of the Ferrari fragility lore.

2,000 mikes per year is really a minimum of what you should look for because - any lower - and you may well get the ‘collector car’ hit of issues if you start to use it even if it passes a PPI with flying colours or is fully serviced and prepared for sale. Many low mileage cars have to stay low mileage as otherwise they will have a number of emerging from storage related failures when suddenly let loose and get driven as intended.

If your use case is regular weekend use, European epic trip maybe back to the factory etc. Look for a car that has been in regular use and the tipi’s weaknesses have been addressed.

Good luck with the search

 

[dommorton]

That certainly matches my intended use very well indeed. I have a trip booked already and would be getting the car out for fair weather jaunts, shows etc.

My own annual mileage will never be high, as I have a busy life and I have a horrible habit of making cars so clean that getting them grubby becomes a chore, so more often they sit pretty.

Going low miles is all about condition for me, as patina is just wear and I struggle to live with it

 

[Modificato]

That certainly matches my intended use very well indeed. I have a trip booked already and would be getting the car out for fair weather jaunts, shows etc.

My own annual mileage will never be high, as I have a busy life and I have a horrible habit of making cars so clean that getting them grubby becomes a chore, so more often they sit pretty.

Going low miles is all about condition for me, as patina is just wear and I struggle to live with it

When you say condition what do you mean?

Concours winning cars that are driven regularly as the designers intended are very rare and many have tell tale signs of age / lack of use related wear. Make sure your eyes donÂ’t over rule your head when you view. Any car can be prepared for sale to look mint - such is the state of the art for detailing these days - but itÂ’s whatÂ’s under the skin that matters. Ball joints, tie rods, flamblocs, anti roll bar bushes, shock absorbers are all subject to high stresses and design for driving precision and feel over longevity.

Ferrari interiors and mechanicals (except the engine) are not very hard wearing. The former is due to the combination of soft hides, often in light colours, low volume hand assembled nature of the design and the latter due to the motorsport / high performance related use case above.

Ferrari vehicle development and testing is aggressive and subject to low volume investment realities. Most tipo have known weaknesses that show up in the first 5-10 years of product life. Do the forum searches to see what the issues are and go into it eyes fully open.

My most reliable Ferrari so far was the oldest one with the most miles on it. (A V12 that was a daily and took us all over Europe). The worst a concours standard low mileage mint V12 that cost a lot to get back to a useable and good standard.

ThatÂ’s how I view Ferrari conditions now. E.g.

Great but not useable
Great and properly useable

Standard for age but not usable
Standard for age and properly usable

Good but suspect



Heavily used and likely clocked

 

[Nosevi]

I’ve only got a data point of 1 Ferrari but I’ve know others that are in a similar situation. Mine was essentially stored early in her life, quite heavily used for a few years, is relatively lightly used by me so it’s been up and down. Pretty much never missed a beat and in my 10 years of ownership I’ve had essentially zero major issues. She’s pampered and kept in a climate controlled garage and only comes out when it’s nice.

I’ve known others that were ‘used as intended’ that were complete money pits to the point they were sold and the owners left the marque altogether.

I think it’s slightly simplistic to say (or imply) that if you use a Ferrari often and hard it’ll be in far better condition than if you use it in a more limited way and pamper it a bit. I’ve known umpteen cases where the exact reverse has been the case.

My take on it, for what it’s worth, is how you look after a car between driving it and store it when you do has far more of an impact on condition than how often you choose to drive it. That said although she’s been stored every winter, in 10 years there’s not been a single month where my car hasn’t been fully brought up to temp, every electric motor operated etc. She’s never just sat.