1985 400i Auto on eBay

The link is no bueno!

 

It was a good link. I bid and was outbid within 5 minutes. Car is now no longer available. .

 

It was a good link. I bid and was outbid within 5 minutes. Car is now no longer available. .

 

Was it this one?

Ferrari Other GT | eBay

 

That's the one. Looks like a restart for whatever reason.

 

The VIN is listed...ends 52037
ZFFEB06C000052037 if I remembered it right.

 

Yup, VIN is right--ZFFEB06C000052037 (copied & pasted). The interesting thing about this auction is it appears to be a no-reserve auction starting at $25k. If it was a 5sp. I'd have a second look. Auto tranny has been rebuilt. The car would be a lot more attractive with a good detailing. Looks like dealer-flipper territory....

 

ZFFEB06-C-000052037 would make it a RHD car. So this VIN is incorrect for this car, being a LHD. Should be ZFFEB06-B-000052037. Also see page 278 of Matthias Urban's book on serial numbers.
Best
Jurgen

 

Nice catch Jurgen, I have a question in to the Seller.

 

I asked the Seller about the discrepancy in his VIN number. He told me: "I just came in from checking again the tag inside the windshield and my registration. I can only report that the numbers all match and are correct for my car. I am puzzled."

He seemed honest enough (but how does one tell), I wonder if this could be a car that was somehow mis-IDed......?

 

Ask the seller to take a photo of the chassis plate inside the engine bay which gives the full VIN.

It seems that Carfax recognises both ZFFEB06B000052037 and ZFFEB06C000052037!

It is highly unlikely that the factory made a mistake - but the factory is where one would need to check to make sure this is the genuine 52037.
David

 

Indeed I did that, waiting to hear back......

 

David,
Carfax will not recognise ZFFEB06B000052037 , nor ZFFEB06C000052037 as none are US VIN types (as you know the B is the Euro LHD spec, C stands for UK RHD market)
Best
Jurgen

 

Hi Jurgen
I beg to differ...I believe they cover all VINs registered in North America. Anyway, I have the Carfax report in front of me for my 412, ZFFYD25B000080194. All 400s and 412s have European VINs as there were no official US imports.
Try it!
David

 

David, I'm not up on my 400 series cars. Do you have a link to location of 400i VIN/Chassis number stamped on the frame/chassis somewhere? The Seller is sending me a second set of photos of his windscreen VIN tag, as the first ones were too far out of focus. But it's a good idea to confirm the chassis no. on the frame, wherever it is. Hopefully easier to photograph too.....

 

Pg. 9 of OM pdf:

http://www.400register.com/manuals/assets/400i-owners-82.pdf

 

Yes, the actual chassis stamp by the offside front inner wing is the best evidence. I would also like to see the VIN stamped on the silver chassis plate riveted onto the offside inner wing - you can see the plate on the 7th ebay picture.

 

Thanks much for the OM. Looks like what I want is on pg. 8.

 

I got the silver plate on the right inner fender (bloody limey ). If the *actual chassis stamp by the offside front inner wing* is the best evidence, then what is the stamp or plate indicated by Item 4-B on pg. 8 or the OM? Is that what you are speaking of? If not, can you be more specific about where the *actual chassis stamp by the offside front inner wing* location is? Stamped on the frame tubing somewhere? Thanks.

This Seller seems to not know much about his car (could be wrong), so I'm trying to help him. No personal interest in the car, he just seems a bit at sea....

 

Here are the best pictures so far. That's not the steering wheel tag indicated by the 400i OM pg. 8 or 9, but seems right for a car in the US. We are establishing contact outside eBay's awkward comm system, will update when I have something.
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I've taken a pic of the chassis stamp on my 412 - I don't know for sure that it's in the same place on a 400, but probably is. It's not so easy to see - it's right in the middle of the picture.

In summary, the 4 areas left to check:

1. Actual chassis stamp
2. Silver chassis plate.
3. Serial number stamp on top of steering column.
4. Original warranty/service booklet.

Interesting case this one...

David
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There often are mistakes with VINS of grey market car in the US
The correct one figures where Ramboy says

I ve recently seen a B replaced by a 8 on import plates and docs...

 

David, thanks for the photo. May I have the same photo, but taken further away so I can get oriented in the engine bay? Thanks.

 

In case it takes a while for his answer, that VIN looks to be at the right front side of the engine with "right" being from the driver/passengers' perspectives.

The picture below is from my 1983 400i but the layout is basically the same as for the 412. To see the VIN, peer down with a flashlight down and to the left of the oil dipstick.
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