Tips On Purchasing A 430 Berlinetta

Let me start by saying that I am in the market for a F430... Been looking at cars for about 10 months...

Hope this helps.

 

I like the deep pockets comment. When i was shopping, i fell in love with the F1 even though i originally set out for a 6 speed. When i was recently on an exotic car racetrack in Vegas, i really found out how much more amazing an F1 tranny is over the stick. Theres so many threads on this but you basically should not rule out the F1 until you drive a good example. The F430 is a great bargain right now pricewise if youre open to F1. I saw a fully loaded 2008 rosso corsa with low miles at Marshal Goldman in OH for low 150s last month. Berlinettas will be significantly less.

I bought mine from a dealer moreso because they had the right car: checked all the boxes except 6 sp stick but the F1 won me over. After sales is pretty decent too. My salesperson still sets me up with parts and accesories when i reach out. I also think if one wants a factory tour, an authorized dealership may need to get involved??? Others can chime in to that respect. I did NOT go along with the dealers inspection. Instead i found a reputable 3rd party to do my ppi. Feel free to PM me if you'd like.

 

Dang, took my 3-4 weeks.

 

My F430 Spider took 24 hours
Ferrari of Washington
Ask for Carlo

 

Its more budget than anything and I go a few months without looking..
I am a buyer in the low 100's. and wanted to go private party. In Arizona if you purchase private party there is no sales tax.. (savings of 7k).

I am finding A LOT of F430 with either a bad car fax, or when I see the maintenance records, they are incomplete, or just plain missing. 100k is a lot of money to me. I have been saving for a long time. I want to make sure I am not buying a car that is going to put me in the poor house due to it being poorly maintained.

ex.. the F430 I am looking at in Miami has records up to 20k miles... the car has 30k miles on it now... (and 3 more owners)... This is a red flag to me... I may still fly out and see the car... but I am hesitant.



The deep pocket comment is referring to the six speed F430.... I mean its a 10 year old car that is normally 100-120k going for 200k or more. I think that is a little crazy.. but to each his own...

 

Yeah, don't get in a hurry.

 

Im not super in a rush (waited this long right)... and if I keep putting $ in the Ferrari fund, ill be at a 458 price range in 18 months....LOL...

 

Make a list of important options and don't settle for much less than that. There are a lot of F1 430s out there.

 

PM me if anyone is looking for Black/Black F1

 

458 and don't look back!

 

- Is there a major advantage to purchasing from a dealer?

Normally you can get the extended warranty for free (1yr). An F dealer wont sell you a crappy car and they'll make sure that the maintenance is current, that's been my experience.

- Do dealers commonly allow PPI's? I had heard rumors from some that some dealers get weird about this.

My car from the F-dealer didn't have a PPI, however in order to get the extended warranty (I got it for free), your car needs to pass a rigorous inspection.

- Common problems/issues with the car?

Ball joints
Headers
shock absorber bushes
sticky buttons

- Key maintenance thresholds I should be aware of
Just do all your fluids yearly. You can do it all yourself if you are a DIYer.

- I prefer a 6 speed over F1. Any particular thoughts on this?

Depends on what you want? Some people love the sound of the gated shifter and the entire manual experience, some prefer F1. Expect to pay a premium for the manual car.

- Anything else I should have my eyes open about?

F430 >= 2008 come with carbon ceramic rotors/brakes. This is good and bad, you can think of the good stuff on your own, but the bad comes in the form of maintenance, probably close to a $20k brake job if the rotors have to be replaced, which is why many people convert to steel rotors when the rotors and pads need to be replaced. It is no surprise that the resell value for F430s is higher for those cars with steel brakes rather than carbon ceramic ones.

Hope this helps.

 

I disagree that steel brakes are more desirable than carbon ceramic. If you track the car, then I can see the appeal. The CCB will last the lifetime of the car more than likely if you don't track it.

They are standard equipment on all Ferraris now. There must be a reason for that other than more profit. They look fantastic and no brake dust.

 

Everyone will have their own opinion so here is mine.

Dealer purchase. If you buy from a dealer its already certified. So, no PPT necessary. And you can usually negotiate some kind of extended warranty period thrown in Disadvantage is you'll pay more for it but the dealers only keep the best stuff. One other advantage. If you buy the car from your local dealer, it's easier to get a new model in the future. But if you buy it from "any" dealer, your local won't give you squat priority.

Dealers allow PPI. Official dealers --Not in your life. They are not going to let you take an F430 to some indy mechanic. But if the car is certified, its coming with the dealer's word it's OK.

Common problems: Worn clutches. Have the clutch checked (the dealer can give you the read outs). Earlier ones had issues of broken headers which in rare cases could cause an engine failure -- but that's really rare. 2008 models were IMO the best. Almost no 2009 models were coupes unless it was a Scuderia. They stopped production at the half year to change over to the 458 which came out in Europe as a 2010 model.

Key maintenance: the yearly service which runs about $1300. The car should have had it no matter what the mileage. Dealers cannot give you the records due to some legal issues. But if they say it's had it's service, have them put it in writing and then you can trust that it has.

6 speed. Good luck on that one. Very hard to find. IMO, the 360 is a better car with the 6 speed and the F430 is better with the F1. However, if you like to shift, then you need a 6 speed. Biggest disadvantage to a 6 speed is the wait to find the right one, it won't be in the color combo you want, and it's going to cost you more to buy.

Eyes open: Crashes and heavily worn interiors (the seats do wear easily). I don't believe any dealer will certify a car if its had a major crash and repaired. Minor they will. Make sure it has all the books, tools, and the flashlight in the glove box. IMO, I would not buy one that's been lowered, had spacers added, has aftermarket wheels, or has an aftermarket exhaust. If you want that stuff do it yourself so it's done correctly.

IMO, mileage is not as important as condition. Most of these are sold between the 10-20K mark. Let's face it, for a 10 year old car that's pretty much nothing if its' been properly cared for.

One last thing. This is not a contest to see how cheap you can buy a car. Find the right car and buy the one you want. Price is not nearly as important. You don't buy these things everyday so get the one you really want.

Never lose a good car for a few grand.

Oh, and find yourself a mechanic you trust (it could be the dealer) before you buy the car. Its too late to be looking for one when you're on the side of the road.

Good luck in the search. This is the fun part -- if you like self mutilation that is.

 

I'm typically a lurker, but had to respond to give thanks and praise to this extremely helpful/insightful post.

[also my first post].