PPI at Dealer

I am tempting to make offer on a nice 550 at a Ferrari dealer. Do you think it is a must to do PPI when the car is offered through an authorized Ferrari dealer?

 

yup

 

Not if they give you a warranty.

 

No warranty. Only most recent service record done at their dealer, eg new belt, oil change. Its a consignment, I am told.

 

no warranty = ppi, preferably at an independent third party.

doody.

 

100% DO A PPI...you are spending this much, don't scrimp on perhaps the most important part now

 

Exactly. What's the value of a PPI from the seller unless they give you a warranty? However, it never hurts to ask. Makes you wonder why they wouldn't agree to one. I would ask them what about the car makes them worry about a guarantee that the car won't fall apart within the next 6 months or 2500 miles? It's a buyers market.

 

Definitely get one done somewhere else. A little spent now can save A LOT later.

 

Yes, that's the trade-off. I got a warranty from an authorized dealer (WWOC - great service dept) so I felt I didn't need a PPI. Never regretted the decision. But w/o a warranty a PPI is a must.

 

Your's is a very expensive car, and very expensive to maintain.
Please don't add to your repair bill by not knowing what you are buying.
A PPI will cost 100 or so dollars. Not getting one could cost thousands.
Good luck.
Winston

 

100.00 gets the car in the stall. Predicated to how deep they go a PPI on a 550 is anywhere between 500 - 1500.

 

If it is a consignment, then the dealier is simply acting as a broker for the owner. The fact that the car is at a dealership means nothing about the car. The owner simply consigned it to the dealership because there is much more exposure and marketing with a dealer than with a private broker.

As has been said earlier on this thread, get and independent inspection. And, don't worry if it costs $500 or more.

 

I think most reputable dealers would find it in their interest to know at least something about cars they take on consignment. Consider the downside for their business if they sell a bad car just because they couldn't be bothered to look under the hood. I know one highline dealer who routinely provides a warranty on his cars (most or all of which are consignments) although he will exclude cars that have very high mileage or have been driven extensively on track - and will price them accordingly. I'd buy from him w/o a PPI.

That said, I fully agree with your overall point:

 

i agree with ronbo, buying a consignment car from a dealer still means the dealer cares about that he puts on his showroom floor. i have bought several cars from FOW, all consignment, without a single PPI, and i have not been screwed. i expect to continue this practice for the next car. it's good to trust who you are buying from.

john

 

A PPI is always a good idea. And a good dealer will stand behind their product. I too love FoW and have purchased from them without a PPI even though I should have had one as a matter of course (as I know better-- no issues with my car it is perfect as they said).

best,
dsd

 

If you go to Shelton in Ft. Lauderdale, get a freaking PPI from an independent. I bought a car there and it was clearly buyer beware. My inspector found that the titanium skid plates under the front grille had been filled with bondo and painted black. To me they were hiding this, although it was very minor. We made them replace them before I bought.

 

If it's a consignment, I'd agree. If Something Bad happens next month the dealer will just shrug and hand you a Kleenex.

I didn't get a PPI on my 328. I bought from Sport Auto, had the major done there, and didn't sweat it. However, (1) the car had had a PPI at FoA a year earlier, and I had the compression test results, and (2) I had confidence that if the car developed a serious issue a month or two later that they would have taken care of things (the dealer has a good track record with this, and I checked a few references they provided.) However, it was not a consignment car.

 

Yea, well your car is one of those crazy off colors, so normal rules don't apply... and nanny nanny boo boo...

 

If you have a PPI done, make sure they are doing a leakdown test and not just a compression test. I called a dealer-which shall remain nameless-just yesterday to ask about a PPI and they said a leakdown is not needed. If you do a search, there is lots on why to have a leakdown test done as well.

 

True. No need to PPI any Ferrari in black metallic. Statistically, most Ferrari mechanical problems occur in the red cars.

 

That must be why mine was good. Wait its not metallic, I think we have a new datapoint.

-dsd

 

But there's also a substantially lower number of satisfied owners in the off colors like black rust flake (not sure of the Italian name for it).