Questions I should ask in purchasing F430? | FerrariChat
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Questions I should ask in purchasing F430?

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by CarlII, Jun 15, 2016.

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  1. CarlII

    CarlII Rookie

    Apr 6, 2016
    19
    Cincinnati
    Full Name:
    Carl Rich
    #1 CarlII, Jun 15, 2016
    Here's my list of questions to ask sellers about their F430 to help determine condition and value to me so I've made a pretty good analysis BEFORE spending on a PPI. I've narrowed the field to 10 potential red/tan cars and want to contact each with reasonable questions to decide which to do a PPI on and purchase if PPI goes well. This is my first Ferrari and don't want to pay a pile of $ then have big ticket problem shortly after if it can be avoided. Spending $100-120k for 9-20k mileage in case you know someone selling a great example.

    Steel brakes preferred
    Chips in paint?
    Clear bra, also around inlet scoops?
    All service records available?
    miles or tread remaining on tires
    sticky buttons or vents?
    # of owners?
    Exhaust replaced w/ aftermarket (lighter/better)?
    Manifolds or headers replaced?
    date and mileage of last service?
    Ever painted?
    Ever wrecked, salvaged, flooded?
    Percent clutch life remaining?

    What other questions should I ask?
    Would you sooner buy from a Ferrari Dealer than an individual? Seems there may be more upfront honesty with more reputation on the line but maybe I'm naive.
     
  2. greyboxer

    greyboxer F1 World Champ

    Dec 8, 2004
    12,666
    South East
    Full Name:
    Jimmie
    #2 greyboxer, Jun 15, 2016
    Age of tires: there's a lot of cars out there that have not had their fronts (especially) changed yet

    Are the handbooks & toolkit & cover with the car ?

    Pretty sure there's other similar threads in the 430 section probably listing loads of other useful queries
     
  3. spirot

    spirot F1 World Champ

    Dec 12, 2005
    15,118
    Atlanta
    Full Name:
    Tom Spiro
    #3 spirot, Jun 15, 2016
    Clutch life is critical as its $$$ to replace. also check the ecu for error codes.. headers, and cats.
     
  4. Mitch Alsup

    Mitch Alsup F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    9,730
    #4 Mitch Alsup, Jun 15, 2016
    If there are no chips in the paint then it HAS been repainted.
     
  5. Ron328

    Ron328 F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Mar 10, 2003
    2,627
    Willamette Valley, Oregon
    Full Name:
    Ron
    #5 Ron328, Jun 15, 2016
    Make sure it has the flashlight. ;) (Seriously, I heard it costs $250).

    All keys included?

    Regardless of what the seller tells you, please, please get a PPI. With my 360, I dealt with a very reputable seller, but PPi uncovered worn clutch and brakes/discs. Had it not been for the inspection, replacing these would have costed me almost $10k.
     
  6. Rosso328

    Rosso328 F1 Veteran
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Dec 11, 2006
    7,345
    Central FL
    Full Name:
    Paul
    #6 Rosso328, Jun 16, 2016
    Which tracks have you taken it on, and what was your best time at each?

    Did you find Rain Mode helpful in bad weather, or overly intrusive?










    Lots of folks never track their cars, and that's fine. It's not what they bought them for. But people that do, and I know this is a generalization and not true across the board, but the ones that do usually tend to be far more 'in tune' with the car and as a result tend to maintain them rigorously.

    And the 'never seen rain' lie..... Well, if they would lie to you about that, nuff said.
     
  7. Patek

    Patek Formula 3

    Mar 24, 2006
    1,907
    USA
    Full Name:
    John Milton
    #7 Patek, Jun 16, 2016
    Motor Mounts
    F1 Pump is brutal expensive
    Ball Joints all 4 corners top and bottom ( cost to fix is about $6,000)
    New Clutch according to Ferrari of Atlanta last week is (6,500)
    Exhaust Brackets

    I am looking for one too. So I have been asking these questions.
     
  8. CarlII

    CarlII Rookie

    Apr 6, 2016
    19
    Cincinnati
    Full Name:
    Carl Rich
    #8 CarlII, Jun 17, 2016
    A lot of great info here thank you and keep it coming! I'm hopeful a ppi will tell me if ball joints, f1 pump, exh brackets, error codes are all good as I'm not sure how else I would know. Perhaps on a test drive if I'm fortunate enough to be near the car. In in Ohio and just about everything is on East or West coast. Will be relying heavily on ppi and photos.
     
  9. BlacktopRacing

    BlacktopRacing Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 18, 2016
    1,003
    Pittsburgh
    Full Name:
    Dale
    #9 BlacktopRacing, Sep 21, 2016
    When I recently purchased my F430, it was after a year of looking and doing research. Here are things I looked for, with rating of importance (to me), 1 being least important and 5 being most important:

    Color (preferred red with a black interior) (4)
    Where did it spend it's life (preferred north where less likely to have sticky interior) (4)
    Mileage (4)
    Clean carfax report (5)
    # of previous owners (3)
    All books, manuals, paperwork included (2)
    Original window Sticker (2)
    Original accessories (3)
    2 keys (5)
    Battery life remaining (3)
    Brake life remaining (preferred CCB)
    Clutch life remaining (5)
    Tire tread remaining (4)
    When it was last service/inspected (5)
    F1 transmission function correctly (preferred manual, but couldn't find one) (5)
    Options
    - Fender Shields (5)
    - Painted Calipers (2)
    - Hi-Fi Audio (3)
    - CCB (3)
    - Contrasting stitching (1)
    - Carbon Interior (2)
    - Polished wheels (2)
    - Challenge Wheels (2)
    - Leather Headliner (2)
    Proximity (2)
    Recalls and TSB's addressed (5)

    I ended up with few compromises, and kicking myself for passing on a 1-owner model being sold by an authorized Ferrari Dealer to save just $2k
     

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