Need help F430 purchase tomorrow

Hello

i have a few questions

i flew out to look at an F430 already did a PPI but i have some questions before purchasing.

1. where do i find the paint code sticker?!? (If it’s missing is that a large red flag? Did all cars come with the paint code sticker?

2 door jams and front hood/trunk hinges have the black flakey paint. Normal from what i understand. However the hood/ trunk lid also has the underside black paint flaking off.

3. gauge cluster has what looks like slight moisture around the gauges. It looks like it was wet at one time kind of a snow flake pattern very faint but it’s there.

lastly it was raining all day and supposed to rain all day tomorrow. Owner took me for a ride and let me drive however he will not drive the car hard or to redline because of the rain. Red flag? Motor compression check 175-180 all cylinders

please help ASAP

 

Gauge cluster

 

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The paint code sticker on my 07 is under the front bonnet. Dead center, of the bonnet.

There is another thread that discusses the issue you mentioned on the gauge cluster. not sure who posted it, but i have seen it mentioned here before.

The black paint does flake off quite regularly so it seams, my 07 does have it on the front door jams, just haven't tried to fix it. but, another user posted that the following item was a pretty good match for fixing this issue, or at least 'patching' the blemishes.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NDM9SPB/?coliid=I2VH9P2TWMRUSK&colid=3HLWSK2AZOFJQ&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

The rain issue, hard to say. I mean it is still the owners car after all.

 

That discoloration on cluster is normal, mine has it too. It can be cleaned if you remove it and wipe it clean with alcohol. I can't help you with the rest; mine has no paint flaking at all, and it's a 2005. My paint is immaculate on all doors , bonnet, hood, etc.

Not sure about revving it, but some people are like that. I personally don't like when people come and take my cars for a drive test and drive the **** out of them to redline, before paying.
Happened once; guy redlined the car on cold engine in 1st, 2nd and almost 3rd; and he said that he loves the car, and he'll buy it, never came back. Every since, if they try to go hard, I throw them out of the seat... but I change a car every 2 years, so for me it's not a twice a lifetime event.

Good luck.

 

Yea i understand what your saying but it’s a few months of back and forth and i flew out to buy the car.

check is with me. I just don’t know if that’s something i need to do before buying.

i imagine however if there is an issue at 8,000rpm it would also be noticeable at 5,000 RPM


This is a huge purchase for me so i just don’t want to make a mistake.


Thank you for clearing up the gauge cluster issue.

 

So every car came with the pint code sticker?

if it’s missing then most likely it’s been repainted would be my guess. I can’t remember if it’s there or not.

 

In case you didnt see my post about the F430 PPI checklist, here you go, please see attached.

Hope that helps.

Dan

 

This is the trunk. You can see paint flaking off the hinge and trunk itself
View attachment 2596286

 

.... you said F430, and this is a pic of a brown 360 ? I hope your car is not this color.

 

What the heck no idea where that photo came from i don’t even have that photo on my phone.

let’s try again.

 

Looks to me like its been repainted. Is it a possible water salvage from somewhere? See if you can beg or borrow a paint gauge thickness meter somewhere and that would answer your question about repaint. I have an 05 Black and there is no paint peeling anywhere on it. The paint code sticker is on the underside of the front frunk cover dead center in yellow. GLWS. Dont be afraid to walk. Never get emotional about a car purchase no matter how much you think you want it. Go look at some others in the area if you are in SFO.

 

The matt Black paint peel is very common, of the 5 cars I looked at when I bought mine 3 had paint peeling on the hinges of the doors and hood. One of the cars even had it addressed under warranty, the guy still had the receipt.
Wrt to not letting you red line it, I wouldn't let a prospective purchaser do it either.
Good luck.

 

Ok thank you.

Im fairly confident no water damage at least not something reported to car fax. It’s a 2 owner car with clean title.

i think the paint code stick may actually be there i just don’t fully remember it need to co firm tomorrow.

lastly is the convertible top loud? It seems pretty loud when it goes up and down. Louder then i was expecting it to be but i don’t have anything to compare it to.
Thanks

 

Looks like it is there. I went back and took a screen shot of a video

 

The top up and down sounds a lot like this example




Hopefully that’s normal but to me this example sounds louder then i was expecting

 

The black paint peeling is very normal, Ferrari didn't prep the surface correctly before spraying. The match is SEM 39143. before I knew this I used a different paint on my front trunk areas that's close, but do plan on redoing it this spring now that I have the correct match. You can simply wipe the area down to prep the area and wet sand the edges of the peeling area smooth so you can respray. I have found that small areas come out great if you use a small foam brush and spray the paint onto a cardboard pallet and then use the brush to touch up the area, this prevents brush lines if your careful not to have air bubbles that the foam brush tends to create. Larger areas must be sprayed, don't forget to mask everything if you do as any overspray sucks to remove.

As for the instrument cluster, there is a thread on this somewhere. It's common for some F430's and people have cleaned this up. My Car has carbon fiber in the cluster from the factory so I never had this issue.

 

Not a good idea to red line it in the wet, can step out on you. Paint looks too good to me to be original unless it is very low miles. Black paint flaking is nothing to worry about.
Exhaust manifold for cracks and leaks. Then ball joint, steering track rod ends, rear tie rod ends- all to check for wear as expensive to repair.

 

Normal

 

Thank you all!

I’ve done all the normal checks and I’m ok with the results. My concern now is the convertible top. Just want to make sure it’s normal for it to be that loud.

 

Everything you listed is normal. I have an 07 Spider with 15k miles. You don't mention the mileage for the car which is important for us to know. Did you check the tire usage and age? I need to see the top fully closed to tell you if there is a problem. I need to see it with a large picture and you need to be standing on both right and left sides. Cables can break on the top and you can see it by only when the top is fully closed.

I'm not a believer in paint gauges. If the car has been repainted, there can be good reason for that, its called stone chips. There are much better ways to see if a car has been wrecked. Send me the vin and the ad and I'll take a look. Also the carfax if you have it.

 

A paint meter can tell you pretty quickly if a car was painted due to rock chips or actual damage based on the reading.

 

My point is there are better ways to determine if a car has been damaged. PPF can pull paint when replaced which requires a repainting. Lastly, the quality of Ferrari paint is some of the worst I've ever seen in 35 years of buying cars.

 

Wait you had a PPI? you paid an expert to check out the car? Did they provide a written report? Did it pass?
Could be your just getting cold feet? Keep digging till you find a way to talk yourself out of taking the plunge?
Its a car (expensive) but just a 15 year old car if you plan of driving it and not put it in a collection or museum things will happen to it. Write the check enjoy the ride if you don't enjoy it, you can always sell it
Good luck, they are awesome machines!

 

The deal is done!

now to give it to my parents as their gift!
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