How much do accidents and mileage affect the value?

If you go to sites like cars.com and cargurus.com they will give you an approximate (they don't know options, condition) idea of how well a particular car is priced, but do your own comparisons.

The major options to look for are the ones you want. For example, a lot of carbon fiber can raise the price of a car, but if it's not important to you why pay extra for it.

 

Hemmings.com and Autotrader.com have lots of Ferraris lists for sale, and its always good to read through all of the ads regularly to get a sense of how mileage affects value. You can also subscribe to The Ferrari Market Letter, which comes in the mail bi-weekly for lots more market info and classified ads.

 

Good point, I forgot the Ferrari Market Letter.

 

Available ONLINE and instantly and highly recommended. Not just printed.

Marcel Massini

 

If this is your first Ferrari, I would say just stay away from any car with an accident.

As far as wide price disparities on what appear to be the same cars, the general rule of thumb that says you get what you pay for, generally applies here.

 

Conventional wisdom I to buy the best one you can find. This precludes damaged cars.

 

Welcome to Ferrari world. I strongly suggest the following:

1) clean title does not mean much at all. PPI and history/paperworks are the most important aspect.

2) try to buy from the dealer. Any extended warranty is great if you can get that into the deal.

3) Regardless of where you buy it from, PPI is still a must.

4) Cheapest ferrari is often the most expensive.

5) Wait for your perfect specs takes patience, and a lot of time patience is worth it.

6) Mileage with 458 is not too big of a concern. Cars that are barely driven may be more problematic because the problems could not reveal itself when the warranty already expired. I think 4-6K miles for a 2014-15 458 is reasonable.

7) prior accident to ferrari of course will drop its value. It just may drop more in Ferrari world.

Did I miss anything major, guys?

 

I will suggest to buy post 2012.

 

It's the DCT issues that is supposedly more common pre 2012.

 

Exhausts are the easiest things to add, but I would strongly suggest going with a 2012+ car. I looked into buying a 458, and that is what I would buy. If you cannot afford to buy a newer one, either wat for the prices to drop (new models coming) or wait till you can afford to spend more. Like the post in this thread says the least expensive car can not always be the best deal, in fact it may turn out to be far more expensive in the long run. If a car does not have service history, I'd run, not walk away from it.

 

If you are a "car guy" and you know cars, don't overthink it. Treat this purchase like you would a used Land Rover or VW if you were buying it for the wife. It's a modern car. It's not some mythical creature that you need to be afraid of. Get a PPI if you can and that will tell you the overall condition of the car. Miles shouldn't matter for reliability only for resale, as with any other car it's condition.
I repeat.. it's a modern car. Modern Ferrari's are made with the same components you find in other European cars the days of old crappy hand build Italian **** are over.
We don't know if you're handy with a wrench. If you are.. you have more room to move with no service history or lower priced cars (for a reason). If you're using a mechanic for all repairs, get the highest quality car you can afford. I bought my beaten 360 with 50k miles, no service history whatsoever from a really, really questionable south florida lot. Everyone said run.
It's been more reliable than the low mileage garage queens on here for the last 8 years. Start, drive, put away on sunday. Never a CEL. 458's with 40k miles are no different than Porsches with 40k miles.

 

If the accident was minor and correctly repaired it wouldn’t bother me to get it. But of course at a discount.


Major damage it would have to be pretty cheap AND fixed correctly but I’d you wanted to drive the heck out of it and not worry about depreciation, why not?

 

A lot of those earlier gearboxes were fixed under warranty so I would not automatically rule them out. Californias had the same problem.

The dealer would know if a gearbox has been replaced with a better upgraded version.

 

I think you've got some good advice. Buying a used Ferrari should be no different than buying any other used car, do diligence, read and as much about the car as possible, especially weak points, ie exhaust manifold on the 430, dct vs F1 vs 6speed manual etc... reading your post I get the feeling that you are worried about value and not wanting to loose money in the long run, well these are not appreciating assets, although I think the market is soft. If you are concerned you should look at 430 scuds or 430 6peed manual. I think the 458 still have room fall. But regardless get a PPI! Very important. Also as far as options get the options that you want only you can say how much more you are wullwil to pay for that. Also the reason Ferrari prices vary is because of different variables; low miles <10k mid 10-20k high miles>20k and prices should reflect this but to me <10 isn't necessarily better than >20k. Look at clutch wear, if it is needing clutch that's a $5000 negotiation point. Everything is negotiable. If you want peace of mind buy at dealership and get extended warranty, but be prepared to pay top $$$$. Good luck and hope you can soon be a owner. The grin on your face is well worth it.