458 - Ferrari 458 Pre Purchase Inspection dillema | FerrariChat

458 Ferrari 458 Pre Purchase Inspection dillema

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by RT777, Apr 28, 2020.

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  1. RT777

    RT777 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Apr 23, 2020
    25
    Full Name:
    Roy T
    Hello everyone, I have been looking to buy a 458 for a couple of months and the right one was finally listed a few days ago with only 20,500 kms(just under 13,000 miles) on the odometer. The car is due for it's yearly service(it was last serviced in April of 2019 and was only driven around 1,000 kms in the past year.

    The issue I have is that the owner refuses to have the car checked anywhere other than the dealership, a professional Ferrari Specialist garage that I have used before charges $270; however, the inspection at the dealership costs around $1,200, while the minor service he claims costs around $1,500. My offer was that I would pay for the service(before purchasing it) and if everything checks out(with nothing major flagged for the repair) I would go ahead and purchase the car at the full asking price, and if anything major pops up he would refund me the cost of the service. He is however unwilling to do that.

    Am I being unreasonable in not wanting to service someone's Ferrari and not end up buying or should I pay for the $1,500 service and that way I would have at least gotten my money's worth if I go ahead with the deal.

    Thank you for reading!
     
  2. BruceC

    BruceC Karting
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    Apr 26, 2018
    249
    Tucson, AZ
    I feel your offer is generous giving you're willing to pay the full asking price if the car checks out. I've been shopping 458s for almost a year (for a specific and somewhat uncommon color combination) and would not expect to pay full list price. Maybe that's delusional on my part, but while 458s are still trading hands, the inventory of available 458s seems plentiful enough particularly for the more common colors to suggest it's not a full-on seller's market.

    Dealing with individual owners often adds another layer of difficulty in the negotiating process.
     
  3. ArtOnWheels

    ArtOnWheels Rookie

    Sep 11, 2018
    38
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    Full Name
    Since you are talking KM’s and $’s I’m thinking you are in Canada. I see 2 on autotrader, both through a dealership. If so and they are on consignment I believe the dealer does a full PPI.
     
  4. up4speed

    up4speed F1 Rookie
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    Feb 16, 2012
    3,543
    Long Island, NY
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    Chris
    That's a tough one because I can make excuses on both ends why he wouldn't.
    1- He's trying to hide something, but knows the dealership, and they may "overlook" it during PPI (unlikely)
    2- He doesn't trust other shops to touch his car while HE still owns it, and if they damage it, you walk, and he's left with a damaged car (likely)
     
    bball16 likes this.
  5. bball16

    bball16 F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Dec 2, 2011
    3,846
    NY LI FtL
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    Mike
    2
     
  6. Coincid

    Coincid F1 Rookie

    Dec 9, 2014
    3,577
    Canada
    I cant blame the seller. Why should he take a risk on a shop unbeknownst to him doing a PPI.
     
  7. 3POINT8

    3POINT8 F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jan 23, 2014
    4,399
    My thought is if he was serious about selling it he would have the service already completed at the Ferrari shop. This may be his first time selling a car. It is common for a seller to take it to a private shop for a PPI. I wouldn't want to work with this seller.
     
    turbokraft likes this.
  8. Tamahal

    Tamahal Formula Junior

    Mar 8, 2019
    480
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    TAMAHAL
    I agree on the sellers request for a dealer to do the PPI, but i dont agree with him not wanting to work with you. Move on , there will be another car shortly, there always is. Something sounds fishy to me.
     
    turbokraft and LVP488 like this.
  9. turbokraft

    turbokraft Rookie

    Jun 10, 2019
    39
    Full Name:
    Johnathan David Adams
    Any shop with Ferrari credentials will have a ton of garage liability insurance, same as those who service Kias. So I don't see him out of anything that way, you are being very generous in my opinion and if you still want the car offer to have him present during the inspection if the facility will permit that.
     
  10. Rory breaker

    Rory breaker Formula Junior

    Apr 17, 2017
    269
    I don’t blame the seller. He/she is basically saying “look I have a product for sale. If you want to buy it buy it. If you don’t, don’t. But I don’t have time to go to some new shop and deal with new people and waste time..:if you want it buy it, if not it’ll go to the next person.”

    Maybe not the way everyone rolls, but don’t blame them for having that perspective. Is what it is.
     
  11. obbob

    obbob Formula Junior

    Aug 14, 2017
    774
    if sales was a no effort endeavour then we wouldn’t have sales people. If the seller wants a no effort sale then he should trade it in at the dealership. Maybe the money list is worth more than his time.

    To OP, I personally would let any reputable shop inspect my car, so I think the seller is being unreasonable. At the very least you can negotiate that he cover some of the difference of the Ferrari dealer’s PPI. But in the end, it sounds like he just doesn’t want to sell the car. This close to a sale and he’s letting such a minor thing stop it?
     
    EastMemphis likes this.
  12. Rory breaker

    Rory breaker Formula Junior

    Apr 17, 2017
    269
    Exactly. Who says the seller has to put effort into anything? If they choose to list it and wait until someone buys it the easiest way possible for them...that’s up to them. If the buyer doesn’t like it, buy another car. I personally would find a way to work with the buyer, but that’s my choice, this seller operates differently. Not wrong, different. Maybe the seller doesn’t like/gets a bad vibe from the buyer, who knows.
     
  13. RT777

    RT777 Rookie
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    Apr 23, 2020
    25
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    Roy T
    Thank you for all the replies guys! I called Ferrari today and asked them about the car, they said that it is due for a $2,000+ service, not the cheaper one that the seller claimed was due. I think that given that he said the service would cost $1,200-$1,300, and once I offered to pay that, he couldn't back track and say that it will actually cost $2,000+, I will call him later today and post an update.
     
  14. ttforcefed

    ttforcefed F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Aug 22, 2002
    18,772
    not necessarily - i'd rather buy a car that needs the latest service because i wld want it done by my guys. its 50/50.
    roy - not sure what $2k service means for 458. its basically fluids. if the car is exactly what you want just make the deal work. the achilles heel is DCT so aside from hooking it up to the diagnostic computer there isnt alot you are going to see. if he has records for it and its what you want just get the deal done.
     

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