360 without service records?

Rather than worry about buying a car without service records I would think about how to sell a car without service records.

I just sold my car with service records and I can tell you this, these cars don't sell themselves.

 

Lemme guess -- of the 2002 and 2004 per your prior post, it's the 2004 without the service records, correct?

 

there are literally 100's of 360s to choose from.

Why pick one without service records?

Is the price so alluring that you don't have to worry about resale?

I dunno, if it was the last 360 out there, then yep, I'd take a chance, and I would think a good PPI would help reassure you, but . . .

I'd still look for one with service records as a better choice.

D

 

I think I'd be ok with the lack of service records if the car has had only one prior owner. Obviously there really should have been some service work documented in the period but on the assumption that a ppi by a suitably qualified person tells you that the car is in good order I'd say go ahead and buy if price is right for you.

As regards selling you'll be building a service record from 6500 miles + so I don't think you'll necessarily have a problem down the road.

 

I agree with Dave on this one. There are too many 360s available with service records (and documentation of the factory upgrade programs that should have been done under warranty for the 99-2000's) that unless it is some really funky option combo that you won't ever find again I would look for one with good documentation. How many ads have you seen touting a "fresh belt change" or clutch from five or six years ago?

 

You guys crack me up. I haven't followed any of the other threads but based on just the question asked here I have a different opinion. The car has 6500 miles. A good PPI will tell if there is accident damage or the engine or tranny have been grenaded. You will also be able to tell if it was stored well or in poor conditions that could result in moisture absorption, corrosion, etc.

Assuming you aren't buying the car to park hoping for it to be a collectible. And assuming you are going to keep it several years. I would say:

Get a good PPI. If the car checks out, get a full service including belts and drive the car. 3 years or more down the road when it come time to sell, you will have 30k miles (or whatever) and a robust service history so it won't really matter. Remember that VERY few cars have all service history back to the first day.

Buy condition not paper. As noted in so many threads a clear carfax doesn't mean a lot so why do you think that missing a service history in the first 6500 miles would?

 

BS

Even Ferrari has made it to the computer age. If a dealer can't pull it up, it doesn't exist.

You got this part right. Gerald Roush, of FML fame, used to say that only three things count when buying a Ferrari: Condition, condition, condition.

Dale

 

So, you'd buy this car without records? Even wit h100 others with records out there?

Now who's cracking up?

That's insane. If this was the only car out there, sure, you'd do the deal. But, if the engine grenaded (your words) and was repaired, you'd never know it. If the tranny dropped out on the highway, you'd never know it. And, if the car was repaired without insurance paying, then that might not show either. Most guys don't want to do PPIs anymore because the liability can't possibly outweigh what they'll get paid to do it.

So, go ahead, buy a car with no history. It was owned by a guy who didn't understand the importance of keeping track of what service was done to his $160K car. Safe bet? Bad one.

D

 

I have looked at a lot of 360's and all of them have imperfect records. Some worse than others. The one I am negotiating on now has all of the original owner's service records but not the last 3 years. A fresh selt of belts and bearings plus fluid changes and it will be good to go.

 

So from some of the post this car should only be used for parts. How ridiculous!!

PPI , major service and wheels $10-12k and drive the snot out of it !

These are cars not airplanes ...

 

BS? Good grief. At least be correct when calling BS....first, F-dealer computers do not track service from independant service providers. Second, the F-dealer database (I've seen it with my own eyes, have you?) only lists the date of service and warranty/champaign's completed. It does not, to my knowledge or based on what the few techs I've asked about it believe, track maint services.

 

Exactly. I've evaluated dozens of cars over the past 4 months of my search and literally NONE of them have all the service records.

To be sure, I believe there are cars with all service records in hand by the current owner...I guess I have been unable to find them thus far! There are MANY that SAY they have all the records, but don't when asked to provide them.

On a related matter, I have yet to see a 360 with all of the "accessories" (covers, books, tools, tire inflator/spare, flashlight, PIN code, 1 red fob, 2 black fobs, 2 keys) actually in hand either. Again, I'm not saying they don't exist, but its kinda hard to find one.

I guess you could search for a car with only those things first rather than for the year, model, color, options and mileage you want. But I tend to look for the those first and then try to find one with the documents and accessories. Haven't found one yet...

 

Any clue on where the car was serviced before? Have the dealer print out the service history. Next best thing.

 

To me a car with no records gives me the feeling that the prior owner(s) did not care about the car and figured it would be someone else's problem someday. I just cannot see how anyone could spend $200k for a car and not keep all the records or at least dealer service it while under warranty. I always do all of the maintenance in my cars at the dealer and according to the book. I also take very good care of my cars. Many people don't, unfortunately.

A car with no records on the other hand could just be that, recordless but not one that was not serviced. Depends on if you are a gambler.

I looked at a 2003 360 Spider and it was allegedly a one owner car originally sold by the dealer who was offering it. The car had zero records and according to the service department had never been to any Ferrari dealer for any warranty work or campaigns. This dealer serviced the car when they took possession but no one could say if the car ever even had the oil changed.

On a final note, people will say that there are 100's of 360's for sale but that is bent truth. The reality is that there are only a handful of cars in the continental U.S. that meet your needs. Further, many of these cars are located 100's if not 1000's of miles from your home. We are all busy, and we cannot run around the country inspecting cars before we decide to plunk down money for a PPI.

 

It's a mark against the car but not a deal breaker. Get it checked out. 6500 miles -- this car is still new.

If you like the car after it checks out, buy the car. If you can find another with records, then go for that one instead.

Then, do all the service on the car to bring it up to date (fluids, belts, battery, etc) just in case. Before you buy it, add all these costs together and then discount them from the price being offered. You may be getting a bargain in the long run.

If this were a higher mileage car (like 20K+), for me it would be a deal breaker.

 

the one at my dealer does.

They only have their own records, of course, but they can tell me every detail of every service the car received at their shop.

I have most of the other records from other dealers, and I would suggest if the car was dealer serviced, the records for any newer car would be available.

D

 

Sorry to poke fun Dave but "most"? Why isn't that 100% and why wasn't it a deal breaker when you bought?

 

I assume that you mean 20K and no records; not 20k with no records in the first 6k

 

+ 1

 

I wasn't talking about the service invoice/computer at the local shop. Of course each shop keeps that and can get those details (if they are willing to give it to a prospective buyer/future owner inspite of privacy law compliance- so will, some won't).

I was speaking to a different database that is accessable by each F-dealer that is a global (or national, not sure) tracking of warranty and champaign service (and, some techs say and some disagree, maint service at F-shops as well). On that last point, I think the answer is both yes and no...meaning I think the db allows that to be put in by the local dealer when servicing a car, but not all dealers do all the time). I'm looking at one such print out on a car I evaluated this past week and it only shows warranty and champaign entries in the history (many of those by the way!).

 

Missing one record from year two or three of ownership, (don't recall which) a standard fluid change that the owner insisted he had done, but could not find the records for.

I have the two majors, belt services, recalls, etc, it's about a dozen trips to the dealer in all.

And I bought the car with a 60 day warranty from the dealer that shook out a couple other issues that they took care of, including a fairly pricey one that popped up AFTER the warranty period expired.

The car had stupid high miles on it, almost 17K when I bought it. That had more affect on price than anything else. It now has even more stupid miles on it, making it practically unsellable.

D

 

This is exactly what I'm likely to do this week. I found the car I wanted in terms options, colors, etc and its has 13k miles.

But it does not have any service records with it...despite me being able to track its ownership through the years and despite it being owned by a very respected F-chat member (I have a PM into him to see if he had any service done or records).

It is getting a PPI as I type this and my plan is to get everything done that comes up and deduct that from what I think is a fair market price for the car. Its a bit of a good news / bad news proposition though...I suspect there are some issues that need to be sorted (some would call it "deferred maint"). So, I will have a car with all new fluids, belts, tires, battery, filters, clutch, some gaskets (leaking a bit), etc but I have no proof of what maint was done over the 7 years of its life and first 13k miles...

What say F-chat members of that trade-off?

 

Yes. I mean if a car had 20K miles and no records, for me that would be a deal breaker.

At 6500, it's still on below it's first major service so I would consider that new.

Like I said, I would assume nothing on this car has been done and that it needs everything to bring it up to standard because -- you just don't know. Then, take all that maintenance and deduct it from the asking price. If you get that, then you get all the maintenance essentially for free.