456 from Japan, VIN number has no records, what to do?

Found a 456 for sale, apparently it's from Japan.

Googling the VIN gives 0 results.

Anyone have any ideas on how to find anything out about the car?

ZFFWP50JPN0110381

 

The seller won't tell you anything?

 

Seller bought it from Japan a year ago, brought the car in, enjoyed it for a year and now needs to unload it for cash shortage.

Says car is in great shape, seems very honest and trustworthy.

Local Ferrari dealer here checkqed the VIN for me and it matches up, no recalls or anything.

Does Japan have the equivalent of carfax? Perhaps I could check it there..google is only giving me japanese cars when I search when I'm actually trying to find out about cars IN Japan, not MADE IN Japan.

 

I'd have a PPI done.

 

Is it right hand drive ?

 

no, it's left hand.

 

Strangely enough, most exotics with Japanese specs have LHD. In a RHD country.

 

What's even stranger is that this car is a 1999 but it's not an M.

Wikipedia states that the regular 456 was produced until 98 and that all chassis after 109589 are all 456M

Yet this car has a number that is in the 110s and it's a legitimate 99 but not an M.

My guess is that the factory probably held on to this car and/or others and left it unfinished/unattended for a year or two and then decided to finish them so they were completed and tagged as 99 by the time they came out of the factory.

Really strange...

 

You should walk away and get another unless it's a real bargain

 

Get pictues of the VIN and assembly numbers and post them here.

 

Ignore Wikipedia. It is wrong as regards the chassis number which is legitimate for a 456 rather than a 456 M. 110381 will have been manufactured in 1998 (and almost certainly delivered to the Japanese importer in 1998) although for any number of reasons might not have been registered until 1999.

I don't have anything much on this car although what little I do have ties up with the seller's story.

Jonathan

 

Interesting.......

My first step is usually to
Google the Vin, which I did here.

The ONLY hit is this thread.

Is this a car in a vacuum ?

 

No problem with that:
110375, 110380, 110381 and 110384 are GTA.
110382 is a GT.
All manufactured in September 1997.

Fred.

 

I checked with Ferrari Quebec and the VIN number comes up as a 99 and the paperwork also states it's a 99 so as far as Ferrari is concerned it's a 99.

But why? why manufacture it in 1997 and then sell it as a 99? Was Ferrari SPA itself being dishonest? with the gouging on price parts I would not put it past them.

However it's still all very strange???

 

Fab- Facts are facts. The VIN you posted goes with a car built in 1997, regardless of what someone at Ferrari told you. If it was a US spec car, it would have been a MY 98, if European, it would have been a 1997 model.

She is not a 99, or even a 98 in some locations, and there is nothing unusual about her. The information in Wikipedia is often wrong, and apparently dead wrong in this case. If you want to research it yourself, use a reputable source, like Matthias Urban's Ferrari Serial Numbers Manual and its supplements. Or his website.

 

Terry, there is no doubt in my mind that the car was built/manufactured in 97.

But Ferrari issued the car as a 99 and ultimately they have final say regardless of what I or the seller says.

It's also registered and plated as a 99.

Anyway, I've commited to buying it so once I take possession I'll post some pics and try to get more info directly from the factory after Easter break.

I'll also check Matthias, thanks for that.

 

Fab- I really doubt that. The factory pre-production models are kept by the factory for a couple of years for testing, brought up to production standards, and then sold through select Italian dealers. Sold as whatever year they were built, not when they were sold, even though not registered for 2 or more years (we know of one they kept for 4 years, still sold as one from four years earlier).

Somebody is feeding you a line of bull.

 

The problem is that 3 different sources who are completely separate and independent of each other have the car listed as a 99

1-Seller
2-DMV
3-Ferrari Quebec

I can understand if maybe somehow the seller's governmental DMV made a mistake and made it a 99 so he claims it's a 99 but how did Ferrari Quebec's Internal Ferrari database info also list the car as a 99?

See what I mean? why do these 3 independent sources make the same false claim?

I sure am looking forward to getting to the bottom of this mistery.

 

Fab- Because she was first registered in 1999, most likely. Happens all the time when DMV does not have a VIN on their list, but still does not make her a 1999.

Easy to solve. Just ask FQ to print a build sheet out of MODIS. It will tell you what you want to know. Note the warranty start date, which is when this 575M was sold. She was built in February 2005.
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Roger at Ferrari Quebec will try to get some info directly from FNA. waiting for him to get back to me. He has the car listed in his database as a 99 and the VIN corresponds to a 99.

 

No, the VIN does not correspond as a 99.

 

I'm just going by what he told me....waiting for more info. hopefully FNA can clear it up.

Either way, I still like the car but it would be nice to know...

 

Fab, with all due respect, I'd guide myself by Terry. Having a hard time accessing/verifying information based on a VIN spells trouble, imho.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

Car is bought, on her way home...I still don't know what year it is but she looks great anyway
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FYI, here is the response given to Ferrari Quebec by Fna:

Cars from the Euro market typically do not have Model Years.
They go by the date of production, so in this case the car can be considered a late 1998 Model Year.
Regards,