What to look for buying a wrecked 360 Coupe

As far as mileage goes for a clean title Ferrari, what should I look for. I've been on cars.com on and off since last summer, and I've seen a couple of the same cars on there, that have been on there for months. One I've been looking at has about 36,500 miles. It's grey, with blue interior (not a fan of the interior color, but hey...)

 

A lot cheaper to piece meal over time a more "normal" color interior than fix a wreck. Get the black ratio up and maybe leave a little blue for contrast.

 

I agree. I can always have the dash re done further down the road. After all I'm more worried about the drivability of the car rather than an outdated blue interior. Lol.

 

You said something very scary:

"down payment on one and finance the rest
(this is a few years down the road, I need to
pay my current car down quite a bit and rebuild my credit)".

Financing this or any other Ferrari has the potential to create a monster financial hardship for you as the repair/maintenance for a Ferrari is daunting. These cars are for people that can afford the expense way, way separate from ordinary living expenses. If the expense of this car in any way cuts into your living expenses, you should seriously rethink it.

 

I totally agree with this. Even a perfect 360 (which is most likely less than 6,000 miles) will cost you a lot in maintenance. Now, if your thinking to cutback on maintenance to make it affordable to own it will be a deathwish. In the end, it will cost you more because if you don't give this vehicle proper attention maintenance-wise, all the repairs will start to pile up.

In my personal experience, and I do my own maintenance. You need to be able to dish around $1,500 annually in parts and fluids. If you need brake pads which this car eats like breakfast it will cost you around $800. Yes, just the brake pads. No calipers and such.

No matter how you care for the car, a used Ferrari will have parts that will break that will cost an arm and a leg even if you do your own repairs.. Like if the fuel pump breaks, it will cost you around $500 for just the part and there's two of them. Fuel pumps starts leaking on this cars around 10 -15 years of age. Also clutch / TOB, just the parts are $3,000+. You will need to this one day, no Ifs on this one.

So even if you do your own maintenance, you will need to save around $1,500 per year for maintenance parts, another $1,000 a year for minor repair parts that occurred during the year like door actuator, cables, etc. and another $1,000/year as piggy bank for future major breakdown that maybe (most likely WILL) two to three years down the road. This is the minimum considering nothing major breaks right away.

Not to discourage you, but you need to think of upkeep as well as surprise repairs which is pretty much expected with any used 360 and much worse with high miles 360 or wrecked. This cost waaaaay more than your average sports car to maintain even if your handy with the wrench.

You mentioned that you will make sure to be able to squeeze your budget to afford the monthly payments. If your already tight with the monthly payments it will be hard to set aside, $3,500 annually (that's another $300 / month to set aside on top of your car monthly payment) and this is a conservative number. Even this you still need to cross your fingers that nothing major breaks which will decommission your 360 if short in budget.

Again, this is based on my own experience. I do my own maintenance and some repairs as you are planning to do as well. It will be way more if you have it serviced, like ten times more $.

I hope this helps guide you. Keep on dreaming on mate! One day you'll have a Ferrari but we want to make sure it won't be an experience you'll regret. Wait a little, save-up and make sure you can afford to maintain and repair it. Buying the car is the easiest part, the upkeep budget is the hardest. Unless you don't care to have an expensive none-moving garage display.

 

how much do you want to spend initially in down payment and amount financed?

 

It took me eight years to buy a Ferrari..

The first goal was to pay off my house. Bought bank stocks when everyone hated them in 2008 through 2010. Took profits and paid off our home December 2013
In April 2014 I upgraded to a smart phone!
On February 29, 2016..... GLORY.

Patience padawan... patience.

 

Thanks for the positive words of encouragement and advice. I know this thing will take time, and I'm super anxious to make it happen, but I know I gotta be patient. I've done some price shopping on parts from the local Ferrari dealership, and I'm aware of the cost. All my friends have expansive drift cars, and all I want is my Ferrari. Lol

 

I'm looking to put about $15,000 down, and I'd like to not finance much more than $70,000. I've seen quite a few between the $50,000-$70,000 range. So I'm guessing it's pretty doable? Again, I need to pay off my Civic Si first.

 

I think all of us can understand your impatience.

Here's a question.

Look back at Janas experience with her 360.

What happens if you get a clean car, financed the way you want it and then need to pay out 30k over the next two years to get it fixed? Exotic cars are nothing like your friends drift cars - unless they're drifting exotics. Working on a 360 takes a few special tools and a bit of electronics. All of those are really expensive and not very easy to get nor work with if you're not trained. Somewhere down the line, you'll have to pay the "Ferrari Tax" on either maintenance or repairs.

You have to understand that the only thing you can predict is that this will cost you more that you thought. A 360 can break sitting in your garage. You need a "safety net" and you can't get that if you finance the car like you plan. I'm not saying you can't finance at some point, but you should wait at the very least till your other car is paid, and you have 75% of the price. Then you can finance 70% of the car and have some money on the side for unexpected problems and maintenance.

Listen to what people here say as we've all tried it. There are no easy way to get into a well running Ferrari. You need to work and be patient unless you have funding from someplace else. I keep coming back to the fact that you talk about saving up for the down payment of 15k. It's simple. If you have to save up for that, you can't afford a 360. 15k should not be an issue if you buy a 360. If you can save up 15k within a foreseeable short future, you can also get rid of debt and save up more within a reasonable time frame. This is also a good thing as it will give you time to think about it. Once you have the means, you may realize that this is not even what you want. Before you strap yourself down, make sure this is not a summer fling.

Best of luck.

 

"I want a Ferrari really bad, partially to prove to the people that have their doubts, that I can do it."
This is a TERRIBLE reason... Terrible. Ferrari is a symbol of wealth... and you can say "look at me I'm in a Ferrari. I did it!"
The problem is.. it's fake. It's not real. And everyone that you want to prove to will know it. The first flounder that life throws at you they'll be at you with twice the venom and will laugh twice as hard. The worst part is... you move backward in life to where you want to be not forward. You want to be at the end.. and avoid the middle work to get there. We've all been there. It's youth.

 

Well said and an excellent, objective perspective.

 

Yup I agree with this. The best approach is to prove something (above average financial stability) and then buy a Ferrari. If you buy a Ferrari to prove something (faking financial success) is a recipe for disaster.

I'm still in the younger age spectrum of typical Ferrari owners so I was at your situation not too long ago. I waited until I'm REALLY more than financially stable before I took the plunge. I'm glad I did, it made my ownership a good experience (well except for mulitple F1 issues that I lately resolved by going gated)

When I purchased my first Ferrari I have my truck as primary and my Porsche 911 as backup. If you look at Ferrari owner's garages / driveway, you'll notice there's typically 3 or more cars.

I remember I've read an article years ago discussing Ferrari ownership. A Ferrari is not supposed to be a primary car or even a backup. It's best when it's the back-up of the back-up car.

 

Yup, the only time you know that you can afford a Ferrari is when you know that you can flush $5,000 cash in the toilet and not be phased by it. Well some sweat is justified.

Because when something major breaks, you need to be able to dish out $10,000 cash at least. If your thinking to use credit card for this kind of surprise situation, Ferrari ownership to you will be more of a burden than bliss.

We want you to take a step back and know what you might be getting yourself into before free falling in the future.

 

You may be more set up to get a first gen nsx. Still mid engine, can make a nice sound with the right exhaust and bullet proof reliable compared to a 360. I've had my nsx for over 12 years and as much as I want a 360 I can't get to the point of pulling the trigger when I start wrapping my head around possible ownership costs.

 

Like your NSX, I was enjoying my 911 while preparing patiently before I purchased my first Ferrari.

So maybe the OP may need to have a real fun car (obviously Honda SI is not that - no offense) at the moment while patiently preparing to dive into to the dark side.

To the OP, along with the NSX; maybe a 911 (997 or 991) generations for now. They cost half to maintain compared to Ferrari IMHO.

 

I've had my F430 a couple of years and even though I do my own maintenance (Brakes, rotors, brake fluid flush and bleed, motor oil, transxaxle oil, coolant, etc), I've still managed to spend about $25k in those two years. Minor things come up that add up....maybe you want to install a new stereo, reverse camera, headers, exhaust, tune, motor mounts go on you..... You can definitely save cash doing the work yourself, but just be ready for things you don't expect (ball joints? flamblocs? brake pads?)

 

Is this for real? A Civic Si?

 

Repectfully, such a bad idea.
Fortunately I think the banks will prevent you from hurting yourself financially..

 

You are getting a lot of great advice from some pretty smart people and you are just rationalizing and blowing it off.


Tell me again why you came here asking advice?

 

Yes!!!! Porsche is a lot more economically friendly to maintain. I would suggest you drive one and see how you like it. You can purchase a pretty stunning 996 C4S for around $30,000. If it's well maintained and sorted (i.e. has things like the IMS dealt with), it will serve you for years. For about $50,000, you can get a 996 Turbo...they are fantastic cars and great value. Go and drive some and see for yourself...you will not be disappointed.

 

I have to (for once) go along with the naysayers on this one. If all you are doing is looking to prove something for the doubters, there are way less expensive ways to go about it...and let's be honest: most people will have the same reaction to you buying a nice Porsche.

 

Or if you want fun and reliability, consider a GT-R. Our GT-R never needs much of anything and performs incredibly.

I also agree with the others - you should never, ever buy something because of what other people think. That is a recipe for a long road of never ending debt.

 

What to look for? I'm thinking a psychiatrist because this idea is crazy.

 

You could do worse than to buy a Rolex submariner instead
Much less likely to get in over your head, solid return on investment, and plenty of baller cred.
It will make you happy every time you look at your wrist