PPI inspection for F430

Hey guys. Hope all is well with everyone out there. Interested in a F430 sitting at a porsche dealership too far away for me to inspect. I had asked them if I could arrange a ppi, as I can’t fork over that much money without knowing the details of the car. The sales manager told me that I would’nt be able to do that as the car is sitting stationary in their lot. They are willing to do a video inspection. Any thoughts guys?

 

to me a PPI is a waste of time and money, i would personally go there myself to inspect it and take it home if it meets expectations, if thats not what you want to do, than i would move onto the next car, theres plenty of F430's to find about

 

Depends on the warranty offered and the reliability of the dealer. Personally I wouldn’t buy such a car without a PPI by a Ferrari dealer or well respected independent as you will at least find some of the big issues if there are any. You’ll never find all of course but it will give some comfort.

 

Completely disagree, a good PPI has saved me a couple of times from bad purchases just like alot of us. These are 20 year old cars.....condition is everything, and you can't verify that by just looking at it. The problem with just flying out to look at it yourself is 99% of buyers are not knowledgeable enough to do anything more than just look at the pretty car and fall in love on the spot.

OP, the problem with this particular car is they are resistant to allow a PPI.....this is a clear sign to walk away. There are too many 430s out there to put up with this behavior.

 

+1.

A video inspection only shows cosmetics, not how good the mechanical components are. An experienced mechanic (PPI) needs to see the car and be allowed to plug his tools and check various things. I have not done PPIs when buying from a Ferrari dealer (cpos) or a well known and reputable independent dealer, but ppi in other situations (and of course only when buying a special car).

 

Don’t walk run away from that dealership

 

For me, the worst cars ive ever bought, were the ones i did a PPI on and the dealer that did said PPI (not selling dealer, as i dont buy from dealers, only private in all price ranges) told me no issues blablabla, they all had loads of issues. If your not knowledgeable enough, do something about it and learn about it before you buy it, dont depend on someone elses opinion that your not close to that can be bought. And if you cant "learn it" bring a klowledgeable friend/family member along.

 

I am curious to know how many people on here actually bought a Ferrari 360/430 or 458 within the last four years from a dealership? Do they even give or have service records? I personally would never buy one from a dealer.

 

Probably close to zero.....a Ferrari dealer would have no interest in selling old non-classic models, a Lamborghini dealer would feel the same way about a 2004 Gallardo. If they get one on trade, they will wholesale it out.

 

Whether or not you find value in a PPI (I'm personally hesitant to trust them anymore), the fact they refuse allowing a PPI is all you need to know. Agree with others, I'd move on.

 

Not true. Ferrari dealers will sell older cars depending on condition.

On PPI, while some PPIs aren't worth the paper they are printed on, some are valuable. You need a mechanic who is familiar with the car and the specific model to look for known issues. They also require the right computer to read the vehicle, allowing them to detect wear, such as clutch and brakes, if the vehicle has F1 or ceramic brakes. They will also look at the computer for specific ECU and TCU data to look for problems. They will also use a paint meter to determine if any paintwork has been done on the car. FYI: Almost every Ferrari has minor paint work, usually the front bumper, but many were painted at the "port" and still considered factory paint. Also, with the price of these cars and depreciation for anything noted on the title, repairs happen without the insurance or Carfax/Car Vertical knowledge more often than not.

 

Let me phrase this question differently, would you buy one from an independent dealer that isn’t a Franchise location?

 

Yes, there is a number of places I would buy from (if the PPI works)....some examples include

Curated
ILusso
ForeignCars Italia
Driver Source
Interstate Motorcars

And I would also buy a Ferrari from Lamborghini and McLaren dealers and vice-versa.

 

I bought mine from a use car dealer sight unseen. I didn’t know a lot back then and I tend to be impulsive but I don’t think even I was brave enough to buy a used Ferrari without some sort of record of service. Especially with the stereotype that all Ferrari’s have stacks of service records with them. The dealer did not offer any sort of PPI but said I was more than happy to flatbed it to the PPI location of my choice. The car was in the middle of nowhere so I passed on that. However, it did have a rather complete service history from a Ferrari dealer going all the way back to new with everything documented. The only things that were obviously not right but not disclosed was the condition of the top. It was worked on by the dealership briefly but clearly did not function right and the question about it working was sort of dodged. Post sale inspection showed a bad A/C clutch and some leaky valve cover gaskets and that was all so I feel like I really lucked out. Been driving the car for three years now with only small expected service items. I don’t think I would have trusted the car without having all the service records though. There’s been too many stories on here with cars missing all the records and coming up with thousands worth of deferred maintenance.

 

I am always curious how some of these cars end up’s on a small lot but I assume some owners just don’t want the hassle of private selling. The previous owner of my car was so tired of the process he was in disbelief someone actually bought it. I am sure all of us have to be mentally prepared for the private sale brain damage.

 

All PPI will tell you is paint thickness and quality, if there are weird noises when idling and driving, if all buttons work and if they are sticky, they are kinda pointless unless you are forking over more money for lets say a compression check which is not part of a standard PPI.
Best to buy private, you are not only buying the car, but also the owner, can't get that from a dealer.

 

Do you think him being a member on here also matters more? I would assume all of us if a member on here care more about our cars and more of an enthusiast.

 

I think its a bonus but not a deal breaker.

 

So the fact that you have a bad record of choosing service providers is reason not to perform due diligence?
And that serves as logic?

 

I agree with oc23, a video inspection is worthless. Though a PPI is valuable (from a Ferrari dealer) they to can make mistakes. A few years ago I bought a mint 08 F430 spider with 4,700 miles, 2 owner car. From the photos it looked as new. This Ferrari dealer even spent $7,000 (of their own money) addressing what they found during their PPI.
They replaced 4 tires, a new battery, had all sickies fixed at SNM, tightened both side mirrors, and fixed curb rash on one wheel. They also replace all brake lines.
They swore the exhaust headers were fine based on listening to the exhaust and smelling for raw gas in the engine bay. We'll you can guess what's next - when I got the car my mechanic did a smoke test and both headers had cracks. A smoke test is the only way to assess header health.
Well the selling dealer sent me $3,000 to help with my cost ( $10k for Tubi headers installed)

So a PPI is helpful but errors can occure.

 

It’s a crap shoot even with a quality PPI. Fuel pumps could die a mile from the dealership. Potentiometers could give out. I could on. Many things won’t be caught, but having a stack of service records lets you know what has been addressed. I’ll take that over a PPI but that’s just me.

 

This is really for anyone who strolls upon this thread: always get a PPI, but I would say get it from a place that the dealer you're buying from doesn't seemingly have an "in" with.

What I mean by that is if it's direct purchase from the Ferrari dealer, great. But I got my inspection done by the Ferrari dealership down the street from the Mclaren dealer I was buying from (they had the F430 on consignment). I'm about 90% certain that they didn't even take the bottom cover off to look at things, otherwise they would have immediately seen the leaking water pump and told me about it. Because the places are so close and obviously have a good relationship, it felt like I spent $900 for "give him the clutch wear percentage and maybe take it around the block."

There's always going to be some things they might miss, or things that are played off, but hopefully the inspection will give you a good baseline. Do all the fluids, fix a couple things here and there, then you can go completely off the deep end like everyone else here and start modifying anyway!

 

Thanks so much guys. Appreciate all your help. The dealer did reach out to me and offered an on site only inspection with a reputable Ferrari person they work with. Of course I’d be charged $750 for that service. Ugh

 

Depending what that includes it could be a bargain....don't cheap out on something important. I generally pay $1000-$1,500 for a local guy, but I specify what I want done, what photos I want, how much are repairs for items found deficient, etc.

 

This is the correct and only answer. Unless you are a qualified mechanic or VERY experienced in wrenching your own cars, a good PPI for a car like this is nearly mandatory. I’m 430 shopping right now and have already done 1 PPI and ended up walking away from that car. I have a couple I’m looking at, including one that is a “leading contender” - one of the first questions I asked that seller (even though his car *looks* excellent and I can tell it’s been well cared for) is whether I could do a PPI and he said yes. I would Have walked away without hesitation if he denied that.