Nice looking early 575. For me two question appears..... First, the wear on the side bolster of the drivers seat, with such a low mileage (according to european standards...) there shouldn't be any visible wear..., or at least it should have been adjusted before the pics... Secondly, new clutch �� with 11.000 Miles, either the F1 system is completely unreliable, Terry , - or the car has been driven by a incompetent previous owner. 575's with the F1 system and appr. 25.000 miles I've checked showed just in the average 25 % of use showed on the report...
imho, ferrari leather isnt the most durable and the bolster do stick out with those seats. as far as the clutch. could have been any number of issues but also a driver that got a little over active in using reverse, stop/go traffic and or hills.
…so, if even if it's like that, why not to rework the leather for a few dollars? Just my five cents, the live span for an average BMW's clutch is in the average about 80/100.000 mls., my 60.000 mls. gated Porsche 993 has it's first clutch (…considered by my local specialist as "normal") and the wear of my 550 clutch with 16.000 miles is below 20 %…
I'm gonna guess the carbon seat backs are real stiff so the bolster probably didn't flex as much, thus causing more wear. The angle and padding may be different too, don't know. As for the clutch, you shouldn't need a new (?) clutch at such low mileage. Especially when the clutch actuation is automatic. It's not like you have the chance to fry the clutch by slipping it too much or doing neutral drops/"drag race starts" all the time. The F1 trans. has surely been calibrated to minimize such abuse. To some extent, it can protect itself from an abusive driver more than a pure, gated manual can. Even in the latter case you really would have to be a fool to wear out a clutch so quickly. I have A LOT of fun with my 575, but I don't abuse it. No need to. I've put almost 4k miles (almost 18k now) on it in a bit over a year, half of it on the drive home. Some of it at some sustained high speeds (South Dakota at night). My clutch is just fine, thanks. Still can't believe I need to change belts and bearings at such low miles but better safe than sorry since the car may have sat a bit in its early life. Domenic advised me to do it and that's advice I'll surely/gladly take.
Gooding have added a second 575M to this weekend's auction.. Lot 048 F1 2002 Ferrari 575M | Gooding & Company - (without reserve, est. $180-$240k) Lot 148 Manual 2002 Ferrari 575M | Gooding & Company - (est. $350-$450k) Image Unavailable, Please Login
The last time Gooding sold a Maranello (a 550) at 'no reserve' with a high estimate, they delivered a record price... 1998 Ferrari 550 Maranello | Gooding & Company
And yet there are still plenty of 'trade buyers' at auctions who are looking to pick up stock with a view to making a turn on it. I don't know the circumstances here but this lovely-looking Verde Zetlweg F1 is currently for sale at JD Classics, an impressive business with a substantial balance sheet (net assets above £50 million). This car was sold by RM in London in Sep'16 (e.g. just 4 months ago) for £134,400 (€160k, $180k) http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/456-550-575-sponsored-bradan/530400-verde-zeltweg-f1-rm-london.html
Lot 048 575M F1 (Without Reserve est. $180 - $240k) Sold for $145k (plus commission) on Friday. Lot 148 is tonight.
I was referring to 355dreamer who predicted $250k and it sat there for what seemed like eternity... Given the low end of the estimate range at $350k, I would have put money on it being a 'no sale' but the vendor appears to have been realistic, if not quite brave enough to have let it go through without reserve. You could sense the excitement when the auctioneer said that he could sell the car but I believe he was only able to pull in the last $10k. An interesting result overall to compare these two almost back-to-back sales of 'comparable' 575Ms. The F1 car had lower miles, carbon seats and modulars. The manual car is closer to 20,000 miles than 10,000 and snazzy interior aside, lacks those two 'desirable'/expensive factory options but none the less, it ended up pulling in twice the moolah.
