458 Speciale buying guide and issues to look out for

Naturally, most of the answers to these questions will be shared with the non-Speciale 458 models. Have you read through search results? This is a heavily covered topic in past discussions. Enjoy the search!

 

the batteries aren't great !

 

You won't be able to wipe the smile off your face and you may never turn the radio on, the roar of the 9000 RPM will cover that.

 

As others have noted, there aren’t really many specific things to look out for in a Speciale, at least compared to a non-Speciale 458. There are tons of threads covering buying a 458 on the forum - search is your friend.

Additionally, I found the following to be super useful when I purchased my Speciale, if only to just familiarize myself with the 458 (no affiliation, other than being a happy customer): https://www.normalguysupercar.com/the-ultimate-ferrari-458-buyers-guide/ well worth the $10 download.

Enjoy the hunt. They are amazing cars, but beware: the Speciale will ruin every other car in the world for you - none will compare.

 

Good luck! Ive been looking for one since last year. Look forward to hearing your views when you fine one.I have the 458 Italia. I think speciale should be relatively consistent. Gearbox/transmission sensor issues, sticky buttons would be the two things that come to mind. I doubt speciale will have the latter as they typically are not driven as much as Italia but it can happen regardless. Other than the tranny sensor issue i think the 458 platform is very solid.

 

The Speciale is a car I always grab the keys for first. Such a fun/easy car to drive around town. I've had no issues with mine but I also think driving frequently is a good habit with Ferrari. Enjoy the search, Graham Rahal has a great one for sale. Pay up for the right car.

 

Feel the brake rotors across their surface to see if they are smooth or rough. Not exactly quantitative, but may provide insight on how hard they've been used.

 

which should they be? Ceramic or not?

 

Congratulations on your search!

I moved from an Italia to a Speciale a little over a year ago and each car search took about a year before I found the one.

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Above is a video from Roman’s international that discusses desirable spec and is mainly for thinking about what is popular and could help resale value. It does a great job about discussing spec and options and was valuable to me.

Advice:

- watch all apps like cars, Autotrader, CarGurus etc at all times. You never know when your dream spec may hit the internet

- do your due diligence with carfax or auto check understanding the limitations of those services and do video calls with the seller to show you the car. Always get a PPI and I did so even tho it was a CPO car from a Ferrari dealer.

Test drive if you can. I chose not to with my Speciale, I just couldn’t make it work, but I did with my Italia and it answered many of my questions to do so.

A Ferrari dealer can also look up if the car was maintained properly and this was mandatory for me.

It will always be a leap of faith, you never know how a car was treated, but get as much info as you can and take the leap when you feel it’s right.

The hunt is one of the best parts of the Ferrari experience IMO and enjoy it!

 

I’ve had 3 and they are indeed the pinnacle of NA V8. I’ve had no issues with any of the 3 that I have owned. The only issue in my mind is that the exhaust needs to be opened up (full IPE headers back on mine).
Good luck and let us know when you find one!




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