Hi All I live in Tokyo and have wanted a Ferrari forever but have never found a decent RHD car in japan (even though Japanese cars are all RHD here exotics all come in LHD although you can order them in R or L Hand Drive) Anyways sick of waiting for the right car - decided I am just going to take the plunge and buy a LHD car and then sell it when I move back to the UK. Problem is, in the UK LHD's are traditionally not so poplular. A question to our UK friends on the forum, what do you think about selling a 430 in the UK in LHD? Is it going to be a real pain? Will I loose a stack of cash? Opinions please. I am not interested in speculating or anything, just wanted a Ferrari forever and have been offered a 2006 car with 400 KM on it for about USD 200,000 or so.
I think you will be OK selling a LHD car in the UK. There are a lot of people here who want LHD because they drive on the continent and there are a lot of people here from the continent. Personally, I prefer RHD just because I live in a RHD environment but if I was offered a very special car that was competitively priced I would definitely consider it. Years ago, buying a leftie in the UK was considered to be a bit taboo. The "poor mans" solution to buy the car he wants. These days, it's a different story - some cars are only available in LHD here and guess what they actually sell!. Enzo was only a LHD car and so was the Carrera GT What are the specs? Colour / options etc? Do you know the seller or is through a dealer?
Is there any negativity to Non EU delivered cars? I have been told by Ferrari's official importer the JP car is identical to the EU car. Exactly the same but I know from experience with Porsche - it can be difficult to sell imports in EU. I need to convice myself to get it - today is the deadline to sign the contract (I only saw the car 2 days ago for the first time)
Oh, and the car is Argento / Bordeaux with silver stiching. 6 speed manual gearbox. The only thing that concerned me was a strange judder as I pulled away - the sales guy said the car needs to be serviced (only 400 km on the clock....) and it had a check engine light on....The dealer is very reputable and sells a lot of very high end cars (the 430 was the cheapest car they had on the floor) It has another 2 years of warranty (they come with a 3 year warranty in Japan) so if anything should go wrong I know I can take it back to the importer who I know quite well personally and on a business level.....
Go ahead, BUY her. It's never too difficult to sell a Ferrari. You will probably regret not buying her if you don't sign that contract today. You live only once, so enjoy life with something you love . And the color combination is great. I have a Silverstone Grey F430 with a Bordeaux interior.
It might be worth talking to someone at Joe Macari, since they normally have LHD 430s for sale (at a guess a LHD 430 will be worth ~15,000 less than a RHD car at the moment) http://www.joemacari.com/cars_for_sale.html
Wow, thanks for posting Trax! I didn't realise so many LHD cars were in the UK! Whats the deal? I wonder why...Foreigners maybe? I know there are a LOT of rich Arabs in London but I am surprised just at Macari's collection.
When the cars first come out and are in short supply (as was the case with the 430 and still with the 599) it's seams relatively easy for the dealers to pick up LHD cars in Europe, some people here would rather have a LHD car at near MRSP than pay a massive premium for a RHD car I think with some of the older cars (355,360) the UK price for a LHD car has now fallen below the German/Dutch/French price so many of the cars have now been re-exported If you ask on the UK forum a few people (certainly Kam) have had LHD 360s so could give you a better idea with regards to ease of sale I would also ask here: http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/forum.asp?h=0&f=63 as there a quite a few people there who could help you with info about the ease of importing the car back to the EU not many cars on there at the moment but these guys also often have LHD 430s http://www.verdiferrari.biz/stockindex.asp
You can pick up some real LHD bargains in the UK. You'll only loose relative to what to save, ie if you buy a 430 at £15K less than RHD, you'll only loose a similar amount when you come to sell. The other benefit is that you're not competing with tens of other RHD 430's when it comes to selling time.
Good points - think I would go the LHD route if I could get the car of my dreams for a saving. Not sure about driving a LHD car in a RHD country - seems quite bizarre that Japan has LHD cars. I know from visiting Singapore, Malaysia and Australia that RHD's are available in Asia.
Especially in London there are loads of people from continental Europe working in City who only wants LHD (like me). Buyers do look UK market as LHDs are currently same price/cheaper here than in continental Europe. I sold LHD 348 and bought LHD 360 on spring, it was more difficult to buy one than to sell... (and as I have said before, it's fine to pay 15k£ difference but you can order RHD also from Europe for quite a lot cheaper than from UK... )
I went through this same thought process as I lived in Japan from 96-98. I owned a Porsche and nearly bought a LHD Ferrari about 9 months before I was due to move back to the UK. I didn't in the end and just kept the P-car and shipped that back with me (I ordered a RHD p-car much to the amazement of Mizwa at the time). I'd use it there and then sell it there, unless you plan to use if for some good long time in the UK once you get back, or do a lot of time on the continent. You can always buy another 430 in the UK. My other recommendation is not to go back to England I did and then left again 18 months later to come to the US. Not going back to blighty any time soon. I like having a nice car with out people calling me a rich bastard in the street.
Hey Dan Thanks for the comments. I have been away from the UK for 12 of my 35 years and no plan to go back BUT just in case I was thinking of shipping back to the UK.... If I get a RHD it would be better for me since I can take it to Sydney where I have a business and home. HOWEVER, I got screwed last night on the car!!!!! I signed the contract only to get a call later on the day to tell me that the sales made a mistake of USD 20,000. Which is not a lot of cash BUT, its not the amount, its the principle!!!! HOW ON EARTH can you make such a stupid mistake. I am very very upset. Even my wife was looking forward to driving it. You don't see many 26 year old Japanese girls in Exotics (not in the drivers seat ) but she was really looking forward to it too!!!! FIRST TIME SHE HAS EVER LOOKED FORWARD TO A CAR. I am going to get some legal advice if I can. This is the second time this has happened to me in Japan. Last time was on a RHD 430 F1...... Xavior, if you read this, call me dude, I am in China this week and lost your phone number and e-mail address (broke my cell)
