How does a negative report on a car fax affect the price of a pre-owned Ferrari

of damage. then your call. if you are buying to enjoy for the long term then you need to decide. as a investment, stay away

 

Depends. If it's accident damage then walk IMHO.

If its an odometer discrepancy.. meh does it correspond with the condition of the car.

All depends what the issue is?

I was REALLY lenient when I bought my 360 because I know I'd be keeping her for a long time.

 

What does he/you consider "negative " on the report?

 

There are myriad collector cars rebuilt from the ground up due to accidents, disuse, modifications, etc. Sorry, you're way off base with this argument. But you are on to something in that there is a difference between a driver and a collector car.

 

purchased wreck, 2000, 550. in April 2003. every panel bent, both bumper broken, all wheels broken. paid $52,000. cost $25,000 to repair. cost included a $12,000 paint job. had less than 2,000 miles. has 20,000 now. love the car.
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Depends which kind of collector car. A 360 accident and totaling is significant to value. An Enzo with 2 significant accidents has very little bearing on value. All depends on car and minor issue. IMHO

 

Because the factory builds a new Enzo around the data plate.

 

They can rebuild a vehicle around a few parts.
Rowan Atkinsons McLaren was pretty much reconstructed twice.
A good friends MB G-wagen was reconstructed ( import duty reason) once.

I think a small accident that is properly repaired does not matter for the value. A major accident should.

 

Pretty good story around 134952. Do a search here and read away. It's not the only one either.

 

Yeah that makes no sense.

 

The point being that once a car becomes so rare and so desired accident history isn't even relevant. Go into a showroom with a legitimate 1958 250 GTO and tell them that you want a 10% reduction in their asking price because it was in an accident. They're going to laugh.

The 360 and most modern Ferrari's are made in enough #'s that there are usually a few other cars to choose from in the national market.

 

Continental Auto in Chicago has a 2012 458 Spider that is under 12K miles and is CPO. Problem is a car fax report. Dealer said is should have been listed as minor repair, not collision. Owner said neighbor backed into door while backing out of driveway. Assume neighbor turned it into insurance, hence the scarlet letter. Still gathering intel.

They Want $259K. How much discount is the car fax ding worth?

 

Do they have pictures of the accident and receipts of the repair? No.. then I'd tell them that they have no clue what actually happened to the car and shouldn't be making up stories. Personally I could give a **** what a dealership says. It's very likely not true.

If you want to have the car for decades, who cares. If you're going to sell it, you will deal with the question in the future. And someone will be asking for pictures. When I bought my 997 from Carmax in 2014, the carfax was PERFECT. They advertised a carfax guarantee. If something pops up in a year on carfax, they'll buy the car back. I looked into selling it in 2020 when I was moving. Got the carfax and LO AND BEHOLD an accident the september prior! Not reported when I bought the car. 6 years later it's there as a low speed accident on the right front end. I didn't sell it for the $14k they offered and kept it and couldn't be happier. She drives great and I can't wait to get back into her and now I can probably sell her for $30k more. Doesn't matter because I love the car and will keep it.

As far as the PPI recommendation many have, they won't let the PPI shop dismantle the car to assess a prior repair. So that will have limited value.

I can only imagine the image below: "It was a low speed bump into the door while backing out of the driveway. It should be listed as a minor ding."
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Problems with dings on Carfax is 1. Fairly vague and hard to verify extent or real amount of damage. 2. Can be flat out wrong 3. People overly emphasize the reports (which cant be helped)

Hardest part is not how much less you think you should pay, its having to explain it away or answer questions down the road when you go to sell. You will find a buyer it just takes longer. Sad part is, many many cars have had minor incidents which never got reported to insurance for this very reason so hundreds of people are driving around in cars they think are perfect but are not... I find it interesting how people put some much value on the piece of paper whether its squeaky clean, not or not as squeaky clean as it says.

 

We are schizophrenic on this issue in our community.

When someone says a carfax issue people say walk.
Even when there are pictures and the person is one of us they say don’t touch it.


A well known member here had a valet back his car into something. Pictures everything. Person is on here for let’s say a decade with extensive ownership history of great cars and when he went to sell here crickets. Crickets.

We demand perfection in cars we drive and use and a carfax issue is death sentence.


I had an FF. Like @vrsurgeon I had an issue pop up well after I bought it from two years before. I ultimately offered for sale to buy a newer FF - ultimately a Lusso through the dealer consigned with a warranty. I serviced and had the Ff for a couple of years with no issues and people counseled those who asked questions of my sale to stay away. I’ll point to the thread - all maintenance all records well cared for with 20k miles - more than 15k since the accident. High options. Ceramic coat PPF PTU done. Crickets.

My FF’s new owner is on the board and he has had no problems and is loving the car now for a number of years later. The dealer gave me a solid number on trade for the lusso and I believe the new owner got a good deal to get into that car - a car which was no different than it was before the carfax event showed up. I know the dealer did not know because I asked if I could buy that FF when it was in for service from the Lamborghini dealer. They got it for me.

I presented on here -for an opinion - a 16m locally selling - in my dream colors with a carfax accident - this one moderate. The repairs were ten years ago. The second owner had pictures of the prior owners accident and had a member here with a speed shop go through the car bolt by bolt and document the repairs as authentic. There is a thread here on that car which I found and talked to the speed shop about the repairs.

People counseled me to offer 70-150k for the car. Certainly the experience of the car and the not the idea of the car was worth more than that on a special car like a 16m. I did not buy because I did not want the hassle of selling such a car if I wanted to later.

There are very few enthusiasts who are willing to purchase a vehicle as a forever purchase in this realm and don’t car about the ramifications of the carfax ding.

That creates a world where most of us would repair a car after an event and not report an accident such as a garage incident or other little event requiring paint work or minor work due to the carfax up to 15% of value. Who knows what’s out there not on carfax or auto report.

The poster was right when they said that on rare cars and in enough time (I add) carfax doesn’t matter which is paradoxical considering we expect a twenty year old 360 to be perfect or demand a steep discount.

What is a ding on carfax worth? Exactly what you want to pay. The body shop or prior owner should have repair invoices. If truly minor (less than 5000usd) and paintwork limited -5% in this market. It would take a car down one category. Buy it don’t buy it it’s a choice. As vrsurgeon said and I’ll paraphrase - if you want the car make a reasonable offer -10%- demand a warranty - and negotiate from there they know it and will work with you in the middle of winter in Chicago. If you want the idea of the car. Move on. There are many cars for sale in this market. Good luck buy what makes you happy at the risk level you are comfortable with.

 

I see the same car your looking at. The spec is really nice! But yeah you dont know what really happened unless you can track down the owner at the time (is that possible?) but yeah considering these were really cheap a yr or so ago its hard to pay $259,000 with collision on the car fax.

 

Thanks everyone. I will see what Continental sends me.

 

Here’s the thing. The dealer
Likely doesn’t want to know or represent to you anything they are not certain of.
That said if you talked to the owner and he represented facts that were not true the dealer
Wouldn’t be responsible.

That said it is likely there is paperwork but sometimes when they say the previous owners they mean the previous previous owner and don’t have the actual information.


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