Markus, Although I have had no personal experience with the 4 point harnesses, I have read a lot of complaints about them, and that they are somewhat difficult to deal with. My greater concern would be the comfort of the seats on a long trip. I think the Daytona style seats cannot be beat for comfort. While the racing seats might be excellent for track events (and look very nice!) how much track time would you actually do with the car? Other than that, the car looks like a winner. Could you possibly salvage and re-trim the seats from your crashed 575? I don't know how difficult it would be to adapt your three point harnesses to the new car, though. Jack.
Markus- That looks like a really nice car. The HGTCs had their own shock absorber ECU and F1 ECU, which speeds up shifting from 220 ms to 180 ms and has the latest algorithms for smoothness, developed at the same time as the F430 algorithms. Plus they had the latest F1 hardware. HGTCs also have the steering position sensor introduced in Fall/Winter 2003, and that makes a difference in feel because it sends a signal to the shock ECU to stiffen the shocks before the accelerometers can actually react to a turn. That, plus stiffer springs and thicker rear anti-roll bar (19.5 vs 17 mm) make the handling quite different from your 03. You already figured out the CCM brakes are a big improvement and are huge, 398 mm F and 360 mm rear. It is easy to replace the four point belts with the three point belts, and for street driving, that is what I would want. Like you said, the four points are just a little too much trouble. Save the four points because they go with the car. Now you know why the rest of us like the HGTC exhaust. Just the right compromise between exhaust music and quiet.
Jack Thanks! Actually I do not spend much time on tracks. Maybe one day per year versus maybe 150 other days in my 575M in daily driving. I already talked to my insurance (the car will go over to them as soon as they paid me the money) and they accept to change seats. I also had a short talk with my tech (but without any details). The dealer in Singen explained to me that the fixation of the 3 point harnesses is different to the one of the 4 points. Maybe they even have to weld. And they have to connect the belt tensioners to the airbag system. I am not sure how much work this is and will talk to my tech Monday. Markus
Terry- Thanks a lot! I really appreciate your very valuable comments! And you are right: Now I do understand, why you have an HGTC exhaust and ceramic breaks! Markus
Now, I am getting excited! Sounds like we are going to have externally very similar cars for our drive & BBQ. That is if course if you buy this black one.
Impressive 575 but I remember the car is offered at Gohm since years. Why that if the car is sooo good? About the 4-point harness and carbon buckets: you should drive longer stints and avoid downtown and you can live with the start procedere. If you don't like the seats after a while, just sell 'em to me. ... sorry for your loss! cinque
Looks like a very nice car indeed. What you could do is try to get the seats from your previous car, use those and then store the sport seats?
Heilige schei... Markus ! I did saw the car on the highway near Cham (do live few km away) but did not figure out was yours. I feel your pain. I really do. Do not know which of the guys from the local Ferrari dealer was testing your car, but if he was the boss is indeed a first class guy. Am happy noone got hurt. And btw am NOT surprised to read abt the way the Zuger Polizei treated the guy after the accident... Am also happy to see you have a beautiful candidate in hands. For my piece of mind which was the problem you had on the throw out bearing ? Wonder if was the same had on mine giving gear error if changing gear fast in sport mode. Liebe Grüsse Gianni
Aaron Yes, looks like that our cars are twins (at least externally)! One more reason for our trip with BBQ! Cinque Thanks for the hint that the car is for sale for a long time! I am currently finding out. Told my tech the S/N and he will check how the car was serviced. I see two reasons why a car does not sell 1. The car is too special (racing seats and 4 point harness) --> The car has to please me and not others 2. There is something wrong with the car --> My tech will find out 166&456 Unfortunately the insurance wants to have a complete (but damaged) car back. They allowed me to exchange the seats but they definitively want a car with seats in it. So unfortunately I cannot take and store them. Gianni Thanks! Throw out bearing: The tech told me that the throw out bearing is faulty and does not work as expected. This caused the clutch not to be positioned as exactly as it should and thus the ECU did not know where the clutch really was positioned. As far as I understand, they tried to adjust the PIS but could not do so because it changed every time the clutch was engaged/disengaged. I am not a mechanic so please forgive me if I did not explain it correctly. I never had problems in changing gears but think the clutch slipped too much sometimes disallowing a smooth start-up. Markus
Markus- That sounds more like a clutch position sensor than a throw-out bearing. For either, you have to yank the clutch, though, and you would replace it all at that time.
It's very likely that you could buy the car from your insurance company, possibly for less than they will sell it to a wholesaler and deduct it from the check that they will be writing to you. I wouldn't hurt to ask, if you really want some of the parts. You can then sell the rest to a salvage company. The real question is what will your insurance company try to settle with you for? It's always tricky on exotic cars because the value is so different from one to the next. Good luck!
I was at the dealers today and the offered the following options to me: 1) I mentioned in an earlier post a 575 HGTC black/black they have. Since I do not like black interiors I told the dealer that I do not like this car and forgot about it. They listened to what I said and offered to take my seats from the crashed car. Additionally they will change the whole interior from black to tan (beige) as my car was. Virtually I would have the same car (exterior and interior) as I had but with the HGTC package. They promised to change the interior at no additional costs to me but I think I will have to pay the difference from the money I will receive from the insurance and the price of the HGTC car. The difference is very reasonable and I think this would be a fair deal. 2) They will search any car for me I wish and will sell it to me for a fair price. Of course I will have to pay the difference between the money from the insurance and the price of the new (used) car. We talked about a 599 and they offered one of their 599 for a test drive for a full weekend to check if a 599 would be the right one. Where in option 1) the difference will be a few grand, the difference in option 2) will be around CHF 50-70 K which is about USD 40-55 K. With option 1) I virtually will have the same car I had (black/tan) but with HGTC package (originally installed at the factory when the car has been delivered). The new car is 5/2005 with 39 000 km where mine was 12/2003 with 33 000 km. So I have a newer car but more km, but also get one year of warranty and a newly serviced car. I will sleep one night and think about it but I think option 1) is my way to go. Here are some pics of the black HGTC they would change the interior to tan. Aaron This way we would have twins! Markus PS: I also mentioned a black HGTC from Germany I drove. I am still not sure about the racing seats and the 4-points harness as well as about the overall condition of the car. So, I passed on this car. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Markus- Either of those is a great deal. I am amazed someone would offer a 599 for only about $50K difference. Here in the States, most 599s would be twice that in trade. That would be very tempting, but 10 years from now the HGTC 575M will be worth as much as the 599, most likely. The interiors are not a big deal to swap, it just takes a little time. For some odd reason, the dealership is being very nice to you.
If I were in that situation I would take option #1 and be happy! Be sure to keep the sport seats and belts so the car will always have its original equipment.
Hey Markus, I like the sound of twins!! The car looks awesome, I would just add shields, I know some people don't like them, however I think that they really finish off the car and I really, really like them. Best of luck with your decision. Regards Aaron
Aaron My old 575M had shields but I didnt even notice that the new car has now shields. So I think this is no problem to me. Hope that we will meet with our cars this summer in Switzerland! Markus
I did not sleep well last night. It took a long time until I fell asleep and afterwards I woke up several times. This was because I always hat to think about the HGTC. I did not spend one minute thinking about the 599 but always hat to think on the HGTC. So in the morning the decision was clear: I have to go for the HGTC. I called the dealer and met him 20 mins later. He showed me the HGTC (once again) as well as another black 575 with tan. This is the car which they will switch the interior with mine. So I could see both interiors and they told me how they will switch each other. I was talking to the sales manager and later on the owner of the shop showed up as well (he told me that he once was racing a 250 GTO in his young days but sold it to go for his next car. At these times a 250 GTO was not much money and he got around CHF 50K ). Now that I have decided about the car they will do their calculation and tell me Monday what this means to me and my wallet. If all runs well I should be back on the road in about 2-3 weeks! Markus
I was showing my twenty something god-daughter my 550 for the first time. I somewhat sheepishly pointed out the shields and implied that they might be bit over the top. She jumped in and said you have got to be kidding its a FERRARI. I have never looked at the shields the same way again! Unfortunately adding the real shields requires that the fenders be replaced as the shields reside in an embossment. Phil
Thats great! Let me know when you are here, so we can go for a drive together and maybe a BBQ at my home. Maybe this is the same time Aaron will be here, so we could do it all together. Markus
The sales manager called me today and offered the following to me: I have to pay an affordable markup (a bit less than 10% of the price of his HGTC) and get the following: 575M HGTC 5/2005 with 39 000 km (mine was 12/2003 with 33 000 km) Fully serviced car including changed timing belt 1 year of Ferrari approved warranty One set of fresh winter tires (I still have my summer tires left) Change of the interior from black to tan (as I had in my car) including the Daytona seats of my old car Full detailing of the car (polishing, fresh painted front bumper, interior) New battery I think this is a fair deal for both of us. I have to pay a little premium for a better car (HGTC) and he gets a happy customer with a good relationship. I will be off next week and hope to have the new car in my hands when I return from my skiing holidays. Markus
Thanks Terry. I forgot to mention a little detail: I had 19 modulars on my old car and thought I could still use them for my winter tires. They do not fit the HGTC because of the CCM brakes. Although the 19 modulars of the 575M and those of the HGTC look the same, they are different! The 575M 19 rims do not give enough room for the CCM brake calipers. Markus
Markus- That is a revelation to me. Time for a little research. That did not take long, the original modular wheels were 188475 F and 188476 R. The front wheels were replaced by 210660 when the HGTC package came out. No problem with the rear wheels since the rear calipers are four piston and the rotors are only 360 mm. Would be interesting to compare the two and see the differences.
