I ran a search but to no avail...your help would be deeply appreciated. I visited my local Ferrari dealer this morning, and inquired regarding the wait time for a 430 Coupe if I ordered now. Response was around 16 months. Dealer tells me that the wait list has diminished. The dealer in question is in a fairly small market. Out of courtesy, I will not name the dealer. The question: do any of you have RECENT experience regarding the actual wait time for a 430 Coupe? If the wait time quoted can be improved by using a different dealer, would you have any suggestions? I would like to spec the car myself, and thus am not interested in an aftermarket car. 16 months doesn't put me off, but if more information could perhaps shorten the wait, said information would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks
Unfortunently you have to order a car from "your" Ferrari. That means they have the U.S.A divided into sections and the dealers can only sell new cars to people that live in their areas. SO your at the mercy of your dealer if you want a new car! I went through the same situation you are going through trying to find the best and fastest way to get a new car. GOOD LUCK!
If you want to shorten the wait time be prepared to pay up some how. It's the old money talks and it's up to you to get it yack'n for you
5 months Max here nowadays its about half what it was, without even jumping the queue, Spider or Coupe
16 months is merely four months after the cessation of production of F430's for the US market. I believe your dealer is joking or else he is an unprincipled thief looking to scare up a deposit for a car he cannot deliver. Take your pick.....
Ferrari has entered into a consent decree with the Federal DOT regarding the lack of airbag sensors in passenger seats in the 430. If you use the search function, you will find several posts with the actual consent decree. They were granted a two year exemption on the production of F430, until August of 2008, at which time importation of the 430 will cease and be replaced by a new model that conforms to the airbag regulations. This new model is unlikely to be ready for US sale immediately so there wil be a gap in the market. This gap may be somewhat mitigated by the launch of the new smaller front engined V8, which may be formally announced at the upcoming Frankfurt Car Show. Regarding the latest date that Ferrari can deliver a US version consider the the following timeline: In order to deliver car by August 2008 it will have to begin production no later than June 2008, as the factory closes for summer break during August. This means that the car must be loaded onto the exporting ship no later than July 31. Quite simple really.
Very interesting indeed...in mitigation of the dealer's apparant error, they did NOT ask me to place a deposit until the car was confirmed and optioned for a build. I will call the dealer principal tomorrow and get the real story. Your information will be good ammunition if I start getting the run around.
There are a couple of related but different "wait times" to be aware of for the most effective conversation with your dealer: 1. Dealers "list" of customers for a partucluar model (F430, F430 Spider, 599, etc.). Your position relative to list of local market demand for a particular model. numerator 2. Dealers allocation from FNA for a particular model by date. denominator 3. Manufacturing time 4. Ship time Net wait time formula = (#1/#2) + #3 + #4. Your opportunity to accellerate delivery is limited to #1 and #4. The higher you can get on the list the better. Once you secured a commited allocation, the build date will be communicated to you. You can generally add 4 - 6 weeks shipping time from that date. Optionally you can reduce that to 3-4 days by electing air ship for an addtional $7,500. Good luck!
I am in LA, anyone knows about the wait time in So Cal? Any recommendation of which dealer to go to? I am always afraid to go into BH F as they look so small and they have all these cele and ceo in the city that I will be nobody in their dealership
You can search the Federal Register and NHTSA web site for details, but the summary details are: "This notice grants the Ferrari S.p.A. and Ferrari North America (collectively, ``Ferrari'') application for a temporary exemption from the requirements of S14.2 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (``FMVSS'') No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection. The exemption applies to the Ferrari F430 vehicle line. In accordance with 49 CFR Part 555, the basis for the grant is that compliance would cause substantial economic hardship to a low-volume manufacturer that has tried in good faith to comply with the standard, and the exemption would have a negligible impact on motor vehicle safety. The exemption is effective September 1, 2006 and will remain in effect until August 31, 2008."
