It’s a gamble especially when it’s your first Ferrari there are so many potential problems ,If it wasn’t for the support and knowledge of members on this forum I’d be on Valium [emoji99] Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Ohhh yes too true. FC has been a huge source of knowledge and help for me as well over the 8 years I had my 348 and now for 8 more years (at least) with my new 360. Assuming it doesn’t rust out beforehand [emoji38][emoji38] Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat.com mobile app
The Modern Ferrari with the suspension components that had to be cut off was actually a 360........... I've been on F-Chat since the beginning; but not so much recently. One thing that comes up time and time again is people getting caught out by buying the cheapest Ferari that they can find rather than the very best example available. Ferrari is one marque that will really bight you on the arse badly by doing that. The cheapest overall ownership experience will always be paying more to buy the best example you can find, and if you can't afford it then keep saving!
Fully agree. I often say there is no such thing as a bargain with Ferrari’s. Owners know exactly what there worth and any buyer who has done his homework will know what he needs to pay to get a good clean car. Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Yes I know you love proof, I can put you onto my mates in NZ and the UK if you must hear it from them. PM me your contact details. But then it’s only their word as well. Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat.com mobile app
I lived in the UK on and off for 7 years, go there on business regularly these days. The roads are salted for 2-3 months each year (depends how severe the winter is) not pretty white salt but a kind of brown "rock salt". It's not done for snow but rather to prevent black ice. The brown muck hangs around for months after salting finishes, well into spring before enough rain falls to rinse it away. Walk around the nicer parts of London in winter, let alone spring, and you'll regularly see Ferraris in the traffic and parked - they're common enough not to be a big deal any more. You can wash the outside of the car easily, but not underneath. Nobody has a hoist at home (it's a big deal just to have a garage) and there are very, very few places you can take a car to be cleaned underneath - it's unheard of. The salty grime builds up under the car, fasteners rot first, then anywhere aluminium is in contact with steel. Both my UK cars were stored in heated garages and not driven in winter, both had underside corrosion. Anyone who has been around the marque for any length of time has seen the reality. Early Aussie cars rust from rain and salty air if near the coast, but hardly at all since the mid 80's. I've been judging concorso since the 90's, I've never seen serious corrosion on the underside of a locally delivered car, but I can usually pick a UK car in 5 minutes. As an aside, the best UK cars to buy are 550 or 575, because they have steel rather than aluminium suspension arms, which are galvanised and powder coated. As for the fuel quality / less glitchy / throttle mapping comment, that's plain wrong. You should avoid any mechanic who told you such nonsense.
Ian, just to be magnaminous, perhaps they are referring to the fact that the ignition timing adjusts to allow the car to "run" on poorer and sometimes indifferent fuel. Our hot climate does affect horsepower, most especially on forced induction engines.
yes, but that applies to all modern-era Ferraris and is not specific to a country. It gets hot in the UK in summer too and people drive their Ferraris to the south of France, where it's very hot and hi-octane fuel can be harder to find.
2 cents from relatively long time owner of 360 UK import who had to deal with corrosion on his car Corrosion in my car has mainly affected the suspension: balljoints, anti roll bars, tie rod ends etc. All had to be removed with great difficulty (sorry Carl!) and replaced, pieces such as anti roll bars, steel brackets, suspension arms etc were cleaned and refurbished. Time consuming and frustrating job. Looking back, there are two questions I would ask: is weak suspension only an issue on UK cars, and how much more work was required to sort out the corrosion compared to the same suspension work on Aussie car with no rust? The answer to the first question is obvious: 360 suspension is a **** design from factory, components wear out in no time. Scott would tell you how many times his Scud went in to Zag for suspension work under warranty, do a search in 360/430 section and you'll see similar stories. Ferrari service people now freely admit that 360 didn't really have suspension. So no, weak suspension in a general issue with 360 no matter where it lives. Expect hefty bills for suspension work on a regular basis. The answer to the second question is two-fold. Yes, cutting things off and drilling things out is time consuming and costly. I would estimate additional 50% of labour the first time you sort it out. But, if you're planning to hang on to the car, you wouldn't have to go through the same ordeal again. Sort it out once and live happily ever after. So in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a huge issue. Would I buy a UK import again with that experience in mind? Yes I would, cost savings and other benefits far outweigh potential issues. Corrosion is not the biggest issue with these cars, I'd rather have a few rusty ball joints to replace than deal with a gearbox rebuild or a convertible top replacement. Things need to be put in perspective, so choose carefully and budget accordingly.
My Scuderia had the front rose joints/arms replaced twice under warranty in 8000kms. From memory the next owner had to do it again within a year of buying the car. Ridiculous to say the least.
I had that pegged as No 2330 I thought it difficult to discern the first 3 as a 5. Description is now up on this car.
Wise words and, as has been said many times on here before, buy the best car you can find, because there is no such thing as a cheap Ferrari and always remember to factor in running costs. There is another aspect to UK cars, which is the generally very low standard of mechanical work there. I've had first hand experience with a couple of the big names and their workmanship was appalling.
As opposed to good workmanship here? Big names do rubbish work here too. Must be Ferrari mechanic trait
Some very interesting points here and even though I have less than 10k kms on the car I will have a good look at the suspension as discussed above. Im hoping that the major Ferrari dealership I bought it from will have done due diligence and checked this before I bought it. Fingers crossed?[emoji29] But bottom line you can get great UK cars and crap Oz cars. But you get what you pay for. Sent from my SM-N915G using FerrariChat.com mobile app
If your car is a UK car and the service book says 10 000 it's not Kms it's Miles. The only way your car could be in KMs is if it was delivered to Singapore , Malaysia or HongKong. If they changed the face plate to Kms they put an entry into the cars books. My 550 Maranello only has 9000kms but if you look in the book it is noted as a change and if you go the page before add it to the 30,000 miles it did before coming to Australia.
