Interesting. That is not a VIN in the register at all. Sequentially, the car should be a '01. My sequence of VINs jumps from 23852 to 24615. Now I really want to know more. All part of the fun of trying to keep track of these beasts.
Bumping this thread. Giving my overall impressions as a new 456 shopper and also specifics should someone search for this car. I went and saw ZFFWP50A7Y0120015 (Assembly 37375) yesterday which is for sale in the Bay Area. Almost 29k miles. Asking $60k, on consignment according to the dealer. It is Grigo Ingrid with a tan interior, black dash and steering wheel. Shields (factory?) and chromed wheels (more on those later). Carfax shows 9 owners (maybe some dealers) and sales history in several parts of the country. This is my first time being up-close with a 456 since deciding that it was the Ferrari that I wanted, and I used this car to get a feel for sizing (I need to get small kids in the back) and also to familiarize myself with how to systematically approach checking one out in person. I am using the excellent 456 PPI checklist and I also bring with me a paint meter, flashlight and OBD-2 scanner. For my purposes I brought along a child seat and measuring tape. This car was interesting for many reasons, and also had some stark contrasts. Firstly, let me say that the 456 lines are absolutely stunning - the car is so pretty from every angle. Grigo Ingrid is also a very captivating color that presents much better in person than in the dealer photos. I thought it suited the 456. Nice interior color combo too. However, this car is a poor example, and in my opinion is not worth remotely close to the asking. There were a number of issues that would have to be dealt with before you could even begin to negotiate on price. First amongst that is the lack of documentation. Apart from the owners manual, there is nothing. Google mentions a 30k service but that was in 2012! The car was at 26k miles when being sold then. There was a random collection of receipts in the glove compartment but nothing useful. Body: There were the usual small stone chips up front and a dime size chip by the front left wheel arch. There was a quarter size bubble of rust on the A-pillar about 1/3 of the way down from the windscreen. I imagine that would be an expensive fix (glass-out, repaint, color-match). Small bits of accumulated leaf litter under the hood, and a non-OEM outdoor cover in the trunk made me suspect this was parked outdoors. Panels seemed to line up well. Shields were not recessed into the bodywork but I don't know if that determines factory or not - they were faded and paint was missing. Glass looked to be original and without damage. Interestingly the windows lined-up nicely, but the passenger side B-pillar rubber was torn. Wheels were chromed at some stage, was that a factory option? Definitely not to my taste. Tires looked ok (Bridgestone in OEM sizes) but couldn't find the date codes. Interior: leather was ok, no rips but moderate wear on front seats and doors. Dash has pulled somewhat. Roof lining actually better than I expected. The stickies in the center console had been addressed but the air vents and door handles had not. Non-OEM floor mats. Seat electronics worked but were slow and jittered. Radio was asking for a code (which was available after a search). At 6'2" I was able to get a reasonable driving position but would like to have more time to finesse it. I could get a small child behind me in a booster. Driving: Cold start, no issues and no smoke. Let it warm up a bit before heading out. Short freeway drive. I really liked the Auto far more than I expected. Easy car to negotiate around freeway lanes, ramps and side streets. Gauges all read within spec. Great visibility out all windows. Headlights did not work consistently, the motor on the driver side seemed to hesitate. No CEL codes, but didn't bother running an OBD scan. A/C seemed to work. Overall: The dealer was helpful but clearly knew little about the car (both the model in general and this particular example). It felt like an auction flip rather than a consignment. Only one key, one black fob and zero documents. I can't see this selling anytime soon. On the plus, I gained some experience with what to look for in a 456 (apart from getting a PPI) and some hands on driving time and a good feel for the interior space. Overall I love this car and I think it's only a matter of time before I find the right one for me. Again, thanks to everyone who has been helping me on this journey so far. Ferrari research is a hell of a lot of fun!
Grigio Titanio over Nero 2001 456M GTA up for insurance auction in Philadelphia with no reported or visible damage: https://www.iaai.com/VehicleDetails?itemid=41138323&RowNumber=11&similarVehicleItemId=&isNext=&loadRecent=true The auction states it is a Canadian car, but the speedo is in MPH. Anyone know more about this one?
Repair cost of $35k with no damage. Insured for catastrophic mechanical failure? Loss: Other Primary Damage: None Actual Cash Value: $50,000 USD Estimated Repair Cost: $34,892 USD
@niftyfivefifty you are my “Maranello hero”….are you shopping 456’s to add one I hope while not letting your Maranello go (I hope)…..my intention is to watch you take your Maranello up to and beyond 100k miles!
Key present but no start code definitely supports this theory. Hopefully someone can save it. It is fun to see what pops up at the auctions, but the 550 is still my one true love! It is just about to hit 47k too.
Looking for a 456 and found this thread from last year thanks to @dr_rob review of ZFFWP50A7Y0120015 which is now up on Bring a Trailer.
Seems that the last documented service for the Grigo Ingrid 456 on BaT was 3,000 miles / 6 years ago, but supposedly had service since, but no documentation. Any thoughts on a 456 that needs a major? How much would you budget for it?
It’s not the service that gets you on a 456, it’s what they find when they’re doing it. $7500 for a belt service with seals and a full fluid change plus maybe a small issue or two is what I’ve been using in my budgeting for cars where it’s a bit of a mystery.
Once I started digging into mine, it was over $10K before I trusted it on an overnighter. ~$25K before I had it perfectly sorted out.
It really does feel like 456 can get insanely expensive with deferred items. Someone experienced on a PPI would make tons of sense to provide a buyer on how insane it could possibly get. I was so grateful for the PPI on my 550. It was all easy stuff and it’s shocking how easy it is to get to $20k (I was $19k and change and left a few things off on mine)….and mine was owned and loved by the prior owner (not ignored).
I heard recently: 456’s were cheap because they were so expensive not even Ferrari owners wanted them
That’s funny. It blows my mind how many cars get bought without a PPI and then the “to do list” is huge. I fell subject to the “red mist” on #ProjectTalladega a magazine car and didn’t do a PPI and got to learn first hand how expensive that can be…..not doing that again.
Buy the spec you want if you can find it, spend the $20-30k to sort it out and you have a real keeper. Then watch & listen to everybody who never gets around to buying one endlessly pontificate... Driving my GTA up PCH to Monterey tomorrow with the wife and daughter for a week of banging around up and down the bay. Good times and yeah…worth the investment ! Everybody who died yesterday had plans today.
It does matter what the spec is. Very much. Unbelievably, this is the only 456M that is Rosso Corsa with shields and a tan Daytona interior in the US. The only one! There are pre-M's that way, and there are several in the UK and Europe, but it's the only one here. Well worth rescuing. Image Unavailable, Please Login And this is one of only two 360 sunroof/stick cars in the US that is yellow. The other has shields and a black Daytona interior. Another worth rescuing, and it cost a LOT more than the 456M to restore. Worth it. Image Unavailable, Please Login There is also ONE yellow 612 manual. That's the only other Ferrari I'm interested in if I can find it. Otherwise I'm done.
Very cool. Note that there are ZERO pre-M cars with factory shields OR Daytona seats. Only the M cars had those options. My 2003M GTA. Pretty discreet! I believe it was last (or second to last) 456M imported/assembled.
Nice pics and great collection. Yes, you can find Corsa on the earlier 456's but I've never seen it on an M. One of the very rare white 456 GT's is available... Black interior, red carpets... Strongly fighting the urge to do something stupid to get that one, since it's not a trivial amount over budget for me.
I LOVE a long painful hunt! I agree with Mirek, just be educated on how big the maintenance pain is and buy and enjoy. I was 47 and had told my wife id hunt and wait till 50 but the absolute perfect MSW and spec came open so I got the spousal buy in to spend the (for me) big money. i think another example was this weeks yellow 550 on bat. Find carbon and quilted shelf/roof on a Giallo….1 of 1? That one pulled strong money for the miles for a good reason.
Now THAT is an amazing M. The tint does it all for that car. I had forgotten that the pre-M's didn't have the shields/Daytona options. Are you... Batman?
Depends on your budget and just as important your availability. I’ve looked on and off for about 2 years for a GT. Either the timing has been bad, or a cars gone over budget, or it just wasn’t the one I wanted. But there’s been a couple I had a feeling I’d regret missing out on, but one came available right after I got laid off, and another I would have been scheduling PPI’s and flying out to look at it in between closing on a house and moving. So had to let them both go. The hunt continues. 2 years is probably a bit excessive for a GTA/MGTA, but don’t expect it to come overnight, and be ready to pull the trigger when the right one comes.
