Ferrari 550 - High miles or salvage title

Pending on how the crashed car was repaired (I really doubt a reshell), I´d go for the high milage one. 550´s can easily take it, and 78K isn´t THAT much...

 

Just as a comparison this 599 has a salvage title and look at the damage. Ferrari 599 599 GTB | eBay
bob

 

Whichever is in the best shape mechanically. The other stuff are just numbers and papers, doesn't have anything to do with enjoying the car.

 

i wouldnt say the car has had "thousand of track miles"....

i rode with the doctor around RA for a track day in that very car. i wouldnt consider it abused in any sense of the word. very high probability that most of the street only cars were driven harder than the good doctor drives. he's 80-90 years old ?

 

I would do the "due diligence" on the low mileage car. A comprehensive PPI should do it. If the frame was not damaged, then there is more car there.You can tell by the pix and the repair and service history which is available on the web. Another clue is that it appears that the wheels were not damaged/replaced...indicating more superficial damage vs a hard hit to the suspension.

Both are drivers; however I think the repaired car is the better of the two for that purpose.

If you want collectability/resale potential, then look elsewhere...but you will pay more....

Also, I mentioned on PM how to get more information on the original damage and repair. You should do it...

 

I messaged on car #2, and proposed a trade of two of my cars...That was the end of the conversation, I have not heard back. A well restored MGA 1600 Roadster, and my low mileage '82 Mondial 8, I don't think they're going to take it. My point though, I would not be afraid of a higher mileage 550, cars are meant to be driven, set aside a reasonable amount of $$ each year, have a proper PPI done, then keep driving the piss out of it.

 

He's now hauling ass in a white gt3

 

Ummmm....waaaay too many issues. Read post #93 in this thread:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/456-550-575-sponsored-bradan/427472-looking-high-mileage-550-a-5.html

The 10K rebuilt car is the clear choice of the two for a satisfying driver out of the box...

 

I agree...

 

There are no absolutes. The answer is always condition, condition, condition.

 

Yep! And the rebuilt car appears sorted and in good condition (keeping in mind that we are talking drivers vs blue chip cars here).

Can anyone post the link to the up close and personal review that Taz did on the Motiva car? That would put all the info regarding that car in one thread for anyone seriously considering it (is anyone serious?)

I think the rebuilt car can be a very good deal at $45-50K. 55 maybe.

In any event, a PPI is needed, and there are apparently competent shops in Albuquerque to get the job done. I would want a compression check on this one just because it sat for so long at one point in its life, Otherwise, this car is close to new...

 

another problem with the smith vehicle is that there is no decent ferrari place to take the car within 3 to 4 hours of san luis obispo. in my opinion, this car really needs to go to san fran or l.a. to have a knowledgeable shop look it over well and check for codes. i think that without having this option, an already difficult car to sell is going to be even more difficult to sell.

as to the assertion above that this car has been taken care of, i would say that in its present state, the evidence would actually suggest the opposite of that.

one more thing: smith volvo told me they sent the car out for a compression check. after asking 3 or 4 times, i never did see the results. they simply told me that it checked out well. i found this a bit disconcerting. to make its new owner mentally at ease, it really needs compression and leak down.

a note on the shop where we took this car to be put on a lift: i think the owner was a man of integrity, but.....smith volvo sends a lot of work their way. it was very obvious to me that the guy was very much in favor of not wanting to say anything or do anything that would mess up the sale for smith. all of the items i listed about this car in the other referenced thread are items that i found with my own eyes by looking at the car myself. the shop pretty much provided a lift and that was the end of the story. every time i asked the mechanic his opinion about anything on the car, his answers were like a politician sitting on the fence. i basically know nothing about ferrari's. this is only the second one i have looked at and i certainly have never owned one. who knows what an experienced technician may find that i didn't? (herein lies the problem with buying a ferrari in a small town like san luis obispo with no dealership that has a reputation to uphold).

out of respect for the present owner of this vehicle, i am somewhat conflicted to post this sort of thing all over the internet for everyone and their brother to see. however, i am aware of the fact that lots of people that buy these cars have plenty huge bank accounts and little mechanical experience. i do think it would be unprincipled of me to just sit by and let the car sell to someone thinking they can simply buy it, and drive it around for another 20,000 miles the way it is.

another point of note: everything on the car that i noticed is certainly repairable. the question you have to ask yourself is: is it worth it to pay 50k for this car and sink another 20-30k into it knowing how many miles it has and missing most of its service history? or is it better to just throw 80k at a nice low miles well maintained example that will appreciate along with the rest of the nice 550's out there? for me, i think the latter is a better investment.

as to the albuquerque car, i have not bothered to look at this one. if you just want it for a driver, perhaps it would be a better choice. in my travels, having talked to lots of ferrari people, having service records it pretty crucial to selling the car. having work done by a dealer or a well renowned shop also seems crucial. it doesn't sound like the repair work to this car was done by one of the above criteria. not to say that it wasn't done well. the problem is that if you go to sell it, no one in the ferrari community will take you seriously.

there are lots of do it yourselfers on ferrarichat. they do a nice really nice work and a great job of documenting what they do. in fact, when i do find my car to buy, i also plan on doing most of my own work. i will document the heck out of it with photos and written descriptions kept in a log. however, i understand that when i go to sell the car, i am going to take a hit on the price and will probably keep it several months longer than if i paid the dealer to do the same thing.

just keep in mind that if you choose one of the above cars, you are going to have to deal with the same thing when you sell down the road.

 

Why buy a car that has to be explained when there are others available that don't?

No matter how thoroughly a story car is evaluated, it always takes more money and effort than you expect.

 

Hello All,
My name is Dave Rochau and I'm the Motiva guy selling the Black 1998 550 VIN# ZffZR49A7W0111042. Taz was kind enough to come have a peek at this car and his post can be found below:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/143678421-post30.html

I hope it is not in poor taste that my first post on this site is in reference to a vehicle I'm selling, but I figured some disclosure straight from the owner's mouth could answer some questions.

What's a salvage title Ferrari worth to you? I can't answer that question. What I can tell you is we have dealt with many branded title cars over the years and the market seems to support a 15%-30% reduction over a clean title example.

Bottom line on this salvage title 550 is: It's a complete, well running vehicle. When we purchased her (sight unseen) we had many questions about it that were not able to be answered by the person we purchased it from. When it arrived we were pleasantly surprised that the mechanical components were in good order.

Frame was verified straight and everything worked.

Cosmetically some obvious components needed some help (headlight lenses, gaskets for headlights etc.) and the driver door needed rehanging. Tint was poor so I brought it to an associate and they replaced it. After spending a couple thousand on body shop and gaskets the major flaws were easily fixed here.

After going over the vehicle a bit we drove it around for kicks and let stored it in the collection for awhile (long story short: My partner has an exotic and vintage car vice) where it was maintained by our collection staff. I've personally driven this vehicle and it is a real joy. It is a little stronger than our other 98 550 (clean title, 20k miles) car we sold earlier this year, but noticeably slower than our 575 sold last year (for obvious reasons).

I can compression test the vehicle for anyone interested. A previous owner let the car sit for a long time so most of the fuel system and clutch hydraulics have been replaced and serviced. We've not repeated that mistake since it has been ours. A low battery has set the Airbag light and this is a fault I've yet to address.

I told you all that to tell you this: We've had multiple 550 and 575 through both the personal collection and the dealership. We're 550 fans for the same reasons many of you are. We've worked it over to our satisfaction as a fantastic example of a 550 on the open road. This car will come with a story (and a reduced price) when it comes time to sell out of your collection, just as it has one leaving mine. What doesn't require a story is the smiles, admiration, thumbs up from fellow motorists and the satisfaction of driving this car out on the road.

Isn't that why you're buying a 550 anyway?

 

75k miles or roughly 5k per year is high?

Better stop driving my '04 575... Just hitting 60k... Runs better than when i got it at 25k miles.

 

Imo miles dont matter.... Condition does.

Saw plenty of 3-5 owner cars with 8-15k miles during my hunt...wouldnt trade my 575 w 60k miles for any of those.

 

Flyboyx, I also read your more indepth post for the Smith Volvo Car on the other thread. I am still somewhat interested but I agree with you that the car needs quite a bit of work and that location wise it simply is not close enough to a exotic shop that could give a more thorough inspection. I am still considering it a bit but at only a price of around 30-38k. I am looking at the black 550 going for 78k in redondo beach as well. Once again thank you for taking your own time and money to relay back all this information to us at the board.

-Hai

 

A dino or a 250gto is an investment. A 550, 456, 575 is a toaster...everybody can buy one. Why do people think these mass produced Ferraris should retain anymore value than a similarly kept BMW? Are these car bought for the "next guy" or for us to enjoy? I know who I buy cars for.

 

Test

 

I vote on the Salvage car.

 

It's wrong to say a salvage car "was hit hard enough to be totaled." Insurance co's total a car when the repair cost exceed a certain percentage of the cars current value.

When dodge viper hoods were $12k alone without paint or labor you could easily get one totaled by hitting a deer. Similar light damage to ferrari's given the price of OEM replacement parts doesn't make it hard to "total" one of them either.