Advice on buying an 07 F430 Spider….

Hi Ferrari Family,
I’m looking at purchasing an 07 F430 Spider. The one I came across was ordered as a highly optioned car with lots of factory carbon fiber. Has 18k on it. The seller wants $135k for it but he disclosed the lower price because the Carfax report shows that there was front and undercarriage sustained “moderate damage” in May 2015 which was reportedly due to the car striking a pothole, and the impact led to airbag deployment. The undercarriage and front bumper were reportedly repaired to address the damage. The current seller was not the owner at the time. Should I be concerned? I’d plan on having a PPI done on the car. Thoughts?
Btw, this would be my first Ferrari!
Thank you!

 

In my experience, a pothole doesn't cause 'moderate damage' to front bumper and undercarriage-- not trying to be negative but I'm in the business and have seen many damaged cars for all kinds of reasons -- if a pothole got the car and it required some wheel, tire, suspension, underside plastic and SOMEHOW, a front bumper AND deployed the airbags... first, it must have been one helluva pothole and secondly, that is usually claimed and considered minor damage.... with that damage and being moderate, not minor, it sure sounds like a front end collision to me.... do you have the carfax? I can pull one for you if needed. It usually describes the incident a bit... autocheck is another one you should look at, as it is often more accurate and detailed than carfax-- I can pull that for you too if you need.

 

Richard, as the owner of a 430 Spider (a manual one, sounds like you are looking for a F1) I can say a) these are thrilling, sharp, focussed cars and b) there’s always another one. No need to buy one with a story when there’s one without. Good luck!

 

You have your answers. There are a lot of F430s out there. No reason to buy a car with stories. If you insist, have the seller take it to a frame straightening shop and see if it is bent.

 

It kinda depends what you want to do with it. If you are going to drive it a lot, chances are someone's going to ding it and its on Carfax. So you paid extra for a clean car and then end up in the same place. If the PPI comes out clean, I would not worry about it but I do agree this sounds like it took one hell of a hit. Maybe you want to find one without "moderate" damage unless its really exactly what you are looking for. Sometimes color combos are rare and manual cars even more rare.

Buying a "stories" car can save you some money on the initial purchase but you'll lose that also on the back end when you decide to sell. The next guy is going to be asking the exact same question. How many will pass before you sell it?

IMO, find the best car you can at the price you are willing to pay. Then have it checked out. IMO, the 2008's and few 2009's were "the best" versions but they were all good.

Good luck because the F430 spider is really a wonderful car.

 

Thank you! Most helpful!

 

Thank you!! Most helpful!!

 

Thank you, The Mayor! Your advice as well as everyone else’s is MOST helpful!! That’s why I reached out to the Ferrari Family for sane advice!!! Thank you!!

 

Thank you!!

 

Thank you! I do have the Carfax. Please see the attached link. https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?partner=BTR_0&vin=ZFFEW59A270156145&source=BUP. Appreciate your further thoughts. Thank you again, Richard

 

Hi again, I just ran the AutoCheck report. It's not showing any incidents with this car. I've uploaded a copy of the report.

 

You might consider seeking a PPI at Ferrari of Newport Beach.

 

Thank you, MCW! Why specifically Ferrari of Newport Beach? I was considering GTO Engineering or Ferrari of Beverly Hills.

 

F NB suggested for three reasons. They serviced the car of your interest at least once previously and might discuss known past dealer servicing. They have a body shop which might advise evidence of past work. They have expertise on the model worth your personally assessing them to see if you might use them for future service.

If you and the car are on west side of LA, then F BH (or their satellite operations) might offer similar (my experiences there have been favorable). I've no personal experience with GTO.

 

So the CarFax shows moderate damage without describing the incident, so how did the previous owner, who didn’t own the car at the time, know how the incident occurred? Sounds fishy….

I personally don’t mind buying cars with a story (both mine have them), but I WON’T without some physical verification (picture, police report, shop records of the repair).