So close to buying my first Ferrari

Hi Guys!

I’m a newb here. Had a love for these cars since I was a kid. I’m 30 years old (after reading some of your posts I’m still a little kid to most of you [emoji38]). Anyway, I’ve been blessed to have an uncle who owns a 2007 F430 spider in mint condition, 1 owner, 6,000 miles, red with tan interior. Ive finally come to a point in my business where I should be ready within 2 years to comfortably purchase it. He may be my uncle, but I’ll still have to pay around market price for her. What are your thoughts on when the depreciation will bottom out on these cars? Just trying to gauge the best time to buy.

Thanks for reading. Much respect to all you guys who worked their way up to owning this machine.


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I thought you said a couple of days ago were going to get a 458 ?

To get an idea of how prices change in a couple of years look a car with the same age now which may be the previous model - I'm not sure I'd buy a 15 year old 430 with so few miles

 

I was. Uncle got note that I was looking and he reached out saying he’d be willing to sell me his. Plus this would be more within my price range. Thanks for the input on the mileage.


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Go for it! I'm 57 and just bought my first 2005 F430 with 19K miles but the mounts clutch and exhaust checked out. Sold two of my hotrods to do it. Seems to be a wide variation on prices out there. I found many many low mile F430 but they had mulitiple owners. Just make sure the three major updates are good or if they need it in the car, good motor mounts, exhaust is not cracked and clutch is good. Having your uncle own it really gives you peice of mind, thats worth something. Price will be tough to determine being its family and if he is looking for a profit or give you the family discount. Good luck. I'm hoping my gives me the experience everyone talks about.

 

Yup I was reading about making sure those 3 updates were straight. Much appreciated. Hope you’re enjoying yours!


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F430 is Solid choice for first Ferrari. 6K miles would not deter me as long as those 3 items checked out plus yearly msintenance was done regardless of driving or not. Ive been tracking F430 prices since 2013 and am confident its bottomed out. Meaning, The deal youll get in 2 yrs is not going to be much better than today. I also agree that buying from someone you know is a big plus! Enjoy the hunt!

 

Alexander, tell your uncle to drive that F430 more. My 05 F430 Spider has 31,000 miles and counting on it with no major problems other than a clutch,added new exhaust, annual services and motor mounts. These cars are bullet proof for the most part. I agree with the above comments. Make sure that the annual services are definitely done. You will not be disappointed once you buy the F430. Two years will fly by...Enjoy!

 

I will add that when I was shopping for a 430, I deliberately sought out one with higher mileage. Reason being, first you avoid paying the low mileage premium which will be money down the toilet as soon as you start to drive it regularly, and second, cars with a decent amount of miles generally tend to be better maintained.

 

I bought my first ferrari when I was 32... I was nervous, but it was totally worth it! Just be prepared for your first "surprise" $25k service. I know 75% of the people on here say its never happened to them, but it happens enough that you need to be prepared.

Probably should have waited until I was 50, but I have had so much fun with my car its been a dream come true.

Mileage is too low which really stinks for you. Sub 10k mileage really drives the price of these things up, and then makes you scared to drive it because your going to be slaughtering the value. I'd rather get one in the 20s, because you can put 10k on it and still be desirable. I did a bunch of research in the cutoffs a few years ago and if I recall, 10k and less is a huge price premium. 10-18k moderate. 19-29 is about flat, 30-35 was minor drop, 35-45 was more significant drop, and 45+ was really considered high mileage with prices tanking at 70k. My calculations showed the ideal mileage to buy was 20-22k and then sell under 35, permitting you to drive up 15k miles at the lowest loss reduction rate... But if you are THAT worried about it you shouldn't drive one. Just buy it to have fun. I'm a dork when it comes to automotive analysis (spoke at detroit auto show, worked in the industry for many years as a data scientist)

Honestly there will probably be an economic shift within the next couple of years and it may be a good time to pull the trigger then, but the 430s are near rock bottom IMHO. There's a lot of speculation there, but the 430s will stay in high demand and won't drop as far as the 355s and before. whats a couple thousand bucks?

 

My first Ferrari was a 430 spider that had only been driven 4500 miles over 7 years. My car checked out ok but within 1 year of ownership I had issues because the car was not driven much. I did drive the car about 5000 miles at which point it needed 14,000 $ worth of fixing. Please keep this in mind when buying a low mileage car. Your experience may be different but that was mine. Best ,Kirk.