When you bought your Ferrari....

I bought my 85 QV pretty much sight un seen, I didn't even test drive it when I got to the dealership. I guided the salesman as he drove the car up on the trailer. Mife wife drove it off the trailer when we got homeand around the neighborhood a bit as I remember.

The car ran, was clean, clean Car Fax and as was said here in the post, anything can happen after you own the car. In my case, the dealer didn't follow through on items promissed. I have had the car for almost 2 years, put 1300 miles on it, and sorted a few bugs out that probably wouldn't have been cought by the best of inspections like the CV joint boot that split and slung grease all over the place.

My 2 cents on the subject,

Most of what you guys are asking for to me is pointless. The car is 20 plus years old, it's not a Virgin, it's had some repairs, neglect of repairs will be obvious. No doubt there have been a few repairs done by mechanics/repair shops that have the tallent of a lawn mower mechanics. That Ferrari engine is pretty bullet proof. What do the gauges say, good oil temp & pressure? engine run smooth & strong. Send the dealer a deposit that is refundable upon inspection. Look over the care carefully, wouldn't hurt to drive the car, check the brakes, suspension, shifting. I have a good friend that knows the model really well come with you. Maintenance records are great... in a filing cabinet, but they don't indicate the cars condition. Wonderfull it has had the oil changed every 3000 miles with the best oil devoloped, but did the former owner let people learn to drive a stick in the hills on your future car? I have a friend that can make you any kind of receipt for your car you want if you want. There are going to be supprises with buying a exotic foreign car. It' is suppose to be part of the fun of ownership.

 

Bought mine without seeing it other than photos. The $$ didn't change hands until it was delivered though. And I could tell by the condition of the car and the previous owner crying that it was an OK car. The previous owner is a businessman about 150 miles away so I could easly drive up and throw a brick through his window if I got took. OK..that was a joke! NO really....it was just a joke! (grin) Hey Rick, I know you monitor this site...It was just a joke man! I've actually been very lucky over the years with some major purchases such as 2 airplanes I've bought and not seen until they flew in. Keeping my fingers crossed. Joe

 

Yes, but with a plane, you can drop the brick off at his office!

 

I know this is off topic a bit but just for kicks we dropped a 16lb bowling ball from a helicopter at 500 ft and 90kts into a large freshly rain soaked pasture. Made quite a crater but only penetrated about 3 ft. Just FYI if anyone needs to drop a bowling ball? (grin) Joe

 

I wonder if a turkey will make as big of hole?

 

I knew nothing about Ferraris when my 308 found me.
I saw the car in person,
wasn't allowed to test drive it, but did go for a ride.
had a crash course in the 308 on this site, ferrari list & others.
Had a PPI done by Ferrari dealer
re-neggotiated the price
I've been loving the car ever since.

 

the guy wanted you to buy his car....but wouldn't let you drive it, I hope you knocked off a bunch

 

I watched my 328 drive across the podium at a couple of events. I had been looking seriously, and had driven to look at several .. (ahem...) well used cars. Then I saw 'my' car come up for sale. I called and made an appointment to see it. Took it for a short, well supervised test drive, had a quick poke under the engine cover, and wrote the check.

Sure, I found a few things later on that needed looking after. Yes, since I was a Ferrari Newbie I really should have had a thorough PPI done. Had I known then about the items that needed work, would I still have written that check? Absolutely. I may have negotiated the price a luttle more aggressively (as I recall, it went something like "How much? OK!")

To answer the original question, no I did not by my car sight unseen, but I certainly did no more than the bare minimum in terms of inspection. In my case it has worked out well, and the prior owner and I have a very friendly relationship. For others asking the 'should I' question, my advice is to do all you can to be sure you know what you are getting into.

 

I'm glad to hear some of you have had good experiences buying sight unseen.

I'd never do it.

Transport driver said he'd seen people literally in tears when their bought sight unseen dream car shows up and it's a POS.

 

I purchased mine an unusual way. There was an F chatter in Spokane WA who had the car I wanted (88.5 GTS- red/ tan in good shape) but he was no where near a dealer or mechanic so no PPI possible. I had been dealing with Dave Helms to find a car and he came up with a unique idea (which he won't do again, he states). His wonderful daughter, Nikki who works in his shop and knows Ferraris very well went out to check out the car. Pricey, but worth it. I bought it and had it directly delivered to Dave. After his magic, I drove it home and unfortunately, had to put it to bed until spring (no snow tires).

 

I purchased mine from an F-chatter. Was looking for a black GTB, but he had a boxer paint red/black gtsi. I flew to AZ to look at it. We put it up on his lift, looked over all of the suspension, etc... drove it and deal was done. Once I got it back here (couple years later) come to find it had a ghetto rebuild that did more harm than good. Not his fault, as I don't think he did it, and no way a PPI would have caught it.
I love the car and have had it for a while. After my rebuild is finished, it will be one of the faster NA 308s out there... They are all just toys, you can't let them get you down no matter what.....