Market Prices 575 Manual vs 575 F1 (conversion costs) vs 550?

JohnnyRay- Where do you service your Ferrari(s)? Ferarri of Central Florida, or do you have an independent? As noted, I’m in the Vero area and looking for a good service/maintenance shop…. For the 2000 I just bought, most (all?) of the service work the last few years was done by Ferrari of Palm Beach (which is ~ 80 miles away) so that seems like a reasonable option, but I don’t know anything about that shop so still looking around for options… and preferably for an independent.

 

Tom, see this thread https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/ferrari-mechanic-near-vero-beach.604047/

seems like Tim Stafford is the guy. Have you spoken to him to see if he has 550 experience?

here is a thread on him: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/tim-stanford-foreign-cars.413581/
And: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/my-service-at-tim-stanfords-shop-with-pictures.124972/ (I see a 550 in those pics)

any experience with these guys: https://www.eprvero.com/luxury-european-car-repair-shop
They seem up to the task

I think I would send it on a truck to Tim’s shop and know you’re getting great work for anything major. And try the local shop for minor (unless the local shop turns out to be awesome, then use them for all).

 

Still south of you but fchatter @Oengus recently acquired a 550 and he is in WPB may have some local resources

 

Tim does not do 550’s
He’s carbureted only

independent work on 550’s
Your guy is Danny at Modena Eurosports
+1 (954) 614-5809
tell him Chas sent you…

 

independent work on 550’s
Your guy is Danny at Modena Eurosports
+1 (954) 614-5809
tell him Chas sent you…

 

Good stuff guys… thanks.

Mixed feelings on EPR here but I’ll stop in next week just to chat and see what kind of feel I get… Will report back

and Oengus, thanks for the thoughts on Danny at Modena… I seem to recall there was some ‘noise’ about Modena awhile back but I’ve slept since then and may be confusing with another shop. Still, I’ll probably give them a shout also and very much appreciate your referral…

…and, I’ll probably call Tim Stanford’s shop just to chat and explore that, as well….

again, thanks for the info and help guys…Merry Christmas

 

He did the PPI on my 456 2 years ago, would definitely still use if i was in the region

 

Yeah he’s pretty awesome
+ he lives less than a mile from me so he just takes my cars when they need anything.

 

Interesting

Interestingly, I went to the Website for European Performance & Repair shop here in Vero and while they has a Ferrari on their landing page, it’s doesn’t appear they work on Ferraris… or at least they don’t list Ferrari on their “chose your make” page and don’t seem to “factory trained”

here’s what they offer:
Factory Trained
BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, Jaguar, Volvo, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Mini Cooper

Just an FYi for folks… I’ll probably still check the, out next week but it sounds like Modena Eurosports or Jim Stanford in Ft Lauderdale is my most likely bet

 

Danny at Modena
Trust me

 

I use Maranello Autosport in Eustis. Bruce Anderson is the proprietor...very well known in the F-car world. Folks from all over Florida come to him...and some of the more well heeled actually fly him to their location. All that, of course, means that he stays busy!

 

Roger that… I hear you!

 

Sounds like you got the answer. I love this forum!

 

I have had a growing interest in a 550 Maranello for some time now and am attracted to the V12 and obviously the gated shift. A few concerns that I would appreciate input on:

A) I have had a F355, 360, 430, and 458 but have never had a front engine Ferrari or a V12 Ferrari. I love the V12 aspect but I’m worried the car will be very boring compared to the other cars I have experience with.

B) FHP appears to be VERY rare and I read a number of posts about the non-FHP cars not handling so great.

C) It’s hard to ignore the gut feel that prices seem absurdly high at the moment. Additionally, I could be wrong because I’m not following closely but it seems you see cars advertised for months and months and months without selling but then cars go on the auction sites and can bring what to me are absurd (I’m sorry) prices that don’t seem attainable outside an auction site. What is the deal? Are the auctions legitimate? Also feels like when prices start to soften and dealers have inventory they are upside down on all of a sudden the auction sites start to produce good comps. Can anyone explain this phenomenon?

 

550s do not need FHP. More useful on early 575Ms. Do some more reading on this site and you can answer most of your own questions. If a 550 bores you, take up sky-diving.

Last all manual, front engine V12 and prices are going up? Not too surprising. Especially since they only made 3083 of them compared to the ~20,000 each of the V8 models.

 

The 550 was lovely out the box but definitely not as frenetic as say a 430 or 458. It’s a GT car, not a sports car after all. Of the listed, its build quality is closest to later 355s.

Only later cars had options and of those only a handful had FHP. As mentioned, generally not needed for the 550 and if strongly interested can retrofit most key parts without issue.

Prices reflect the natural trend of Ferrari 2 seat V12s. Case in point: early 512TRs are now 2-300k cars when 5 years ago you would have to look hard to find cars over 200…now similar is happening with its grandchild.

 

Very boring are words that might offend us 550 owners. Is it boring to go 200+ MPH? Is it boring to rev a V12 Ferrari beast to redline shift after shift? Is it boring to hear the tick tick tick as you are shifting? You will have to answer for yourself.

I have extensive time in all the cars you owned (primarily on track) and we own a 550. The 430 and 458 will be more dynamic on track or in a tight canyon for sure. But asking to compare them to a 550 is like asking if apples are as tasty as avocados. They are just different. Find a 550 on TURO or a rental site or a friend with one and experience it.

For me, the overall "experience" in the 550 is far superior. I live in AZ, and we are like super car central with car meets/shows every weekend. Lots of standard 360/430/458's show up. But when I drive in with the 550, people take notice.

But again asking if something will be boring is impossible to answer. Almost every supercar pre 2018 is boring to me as I have so much seat time in them.

The 550 is the last analog V12 FE/6MT that Ferrari will ever make. And it will continue to appreciate* (see more below)

As others have said you don't need it. Teh 550 is not a 430/458. It will not handle like they do, regardless of what you do to it. It is not engineered to. Just like those cars will not effortlessly transport you like the 550 does. Again, 2 completely different beasts. I am not sure who says the 550 doesn't handle great. I think Moter Trend called it the best handling car of the decade back in the day. Street or track, they handle extremely well. But it is not a 430/458.

The pricing is correct if you do any trend analysis. Again, the last analog V12 FE 6MT. These will never drop and will continue to climb. If you want one , buy it now. This time next year they will be 50-100K more. Yes, the vast majority of the auctions are legitimate as are the private sales. There is some debate about one auction, but that is ONE auction. I will say it again, don't just trust me - do a trend analysis. The ones that sold cheap had issues (poor seller transparency, lots of maintenance needed, etc). I am not sure why you say these prices are not attainable private party - I have seen cars sell for these prices private. Crap, our local Scottsdale Ferrari had one for $350K. IMHO it shows a lack of understanding of the car and the market to say that the prices are not legitimate or attainable.

 

A.) Drive one. It’s the only way you’ll know if she’s right for you.
B.) In it’s day, numerous journalists declared it the best handling car in the world. That doesn’t mean it’s a mid engine race car, but boring would be a rare opinion.
C.) Many recent sales, particularly on BAT, have been super low mileage queens. They’re still out there under $200k if you’re ok with 30, 40, 50k+ miles. As the saying goes, buy condition and records, not miles.

Good luck and enjoy! I know a few guys who have a 550 and a 355 and they love the pair to pieces.

 

What does “boring” mean to you?

 

Will be interesting to see where the 58k-mile 550 that just went up on BAT will go. In my mind, a well cared for, higher mileage driver will almost certainly provide a solid data point for the lower end of the good car range.

Of course, this is BAT. To be totally fair to @PininfarinaSF, I too have scratched my head over some of the BAT results relative to other cars at lower prices. There is definitely a BAT effect that shouldn’t be denied. I happen to blame it for the majority of the insanity in the relatively plentiful aircooled Porsche market. Lots of spectacular, very public results in a short amount of time.

Someone is welcome to tell me why that’s wrong.

 

I know that car that just went live on bat. I knew the former owner well. It’s a nice car. Shows as having way less miles. That could be a great deal, but it’s already bid over a super low mile 575m. I think that should show that the reality in 550 pricing and desirability.

 

Reading the narrative on the 57K 1998 that just went live, seller notes 20mm spacers… I assume Hill Engineering because the replaced bearing are, and on the rear only? Also, reading various Fchats there seems to be consensus HE makes a high-quality (the best?) center fit spacer kit, but not a consensus per se about the ‘right’ size, and/or whether spacers are needed on the front. I’m pretty sure it’s a personal preference thing, but I read everything from 15 mm - 40mm (which seems to much) all around to just the rears, so curious folks thoughts here.

 

Oh, and by the way… Happy New Year everyone.

 

The Hill spacers are not TUV approved, but the H&R are TUV approved. I don’t know why anyone would use anything other than the H&R. I am biased as we commissioned the H&R in 30mm rear back when we first got our car (we were an H&R premier dealer - I am not in the business anymore). Having visited the factory in Germany many times and seeing the testing done, it’s a no brainer.

IMHO for OE wheels, 15mm front and 30mm rear are perfect. This is what we ran from 1999 to 2018 (when I put HRE’s on the car). This gives the same gap front and rear. Anything less than 30 rear with the 15 front gives an uneven depth front to rear. I am really picky about wheel fitment, so this bugs me. It can look too aggressive in pics (especially with a car at stock ride height (another pet peeve - why would you run us stock ride height? Just lower it!)

 

Copy… I did not (obviously) realize the HE spacers are not TUV … thanks