I wonder if mint exists outside of museum pieces which might have all sorts of hidden nasties? I looked at a fair few in my search and didn't see one that hadn't had paint or didn't need it. I was OK with this because the cars are Italian and at least 11 years old. I was impressed at the absence of any serious corrosion, most being surface stuff that was just becoming visible under the paint. It could be a mistake to get something perfect - or even recreate perfect - because it's all downhill from there. Part of the 348's appeal for me was that the cars look great , but have nicely used feel to them, meaning I'm not paranoid about every new stonechip or mark.
Being Italian and 11 years old is no excuse for a car to have been poorly repaired,and looked after,which a lot of the cars I have seen,have been.The ones that haven't been codged up are in need of quite alot of work,both bodily and in the servicing department.However these in themselves don't present a problem,the problem(as I have stated in other threads) is the prices do not reflect the condition and the amount of work required to sort these cars out. What amazes me is the people buy these cars that have been repaired/codged and they have no idea how poor the repair is.Or the owners that have the repairs done and can't see how bad a job they have had done.
I wouldn't dispute your first point Steve, although you sound like you may be a perfectionist....... As for prices, I suspect people know they have a rare car (esp a spider) and provided they don't need the cash, they'll hold out. Your last point's interesting too. I could have picked a few holes in 'my' car, beyond normal wear and tear, but ultimatelty I relied on an inspection. I was quite surprised that the inspecting dealer seemed more relaxed about these bits and pieces than me. I'll remember that if I ever ask them for a trade in.
Over here, 348 Spider still keep such a HIGH purchase price !! I'ts almost the price of a 355 B, first model and high mileage... I'd go for a 348 GTS which is my favorite one with all the latest improvements and the shape is still impressive and headturner.... Could be my next step car.
I suppose some may call me a perfectionist,but really is all I'm after is a car that is right,just how I want it.If I can't buy one how I want it then I'll buy one that I can make how I want it. I agree about the spider being a rare car,but check autotrader,the same cars have been for sale for months,so what does that tell you. To me a 348 spider,about 20k miles,mint inside & out,cambelted,warranted at a dealer should go for around 38/40K. The same car privately about 35K I looked at a spider a couple of weeks ago up for £35K,but needed the following 1.Cambelt service,not been done for 4 years,so there's 2K at least. 2.Full front end,rear wings,mirrors,Engine cover, & sill repaint,another 2/3K. 3.Interior needed work,so another few hundred quid there. 4.2 front tyres,£300/400 5.Screen delaminating,£500 But it was a good base to make a very nice car out of. With the above in mind I offered £30K for the car,which I think was fair. Viewed a car in Bolton at a dealer one thursday morning,didn't buy it.By the time I'd got back to work about an hour later it was on autotraders website again at another dealer.About a month later the same car was for sale at a dealer in Inverness,then another few weeks later at dealer in Hull.Last spotted at a dealer in Aberdeen about 2 months ago. This car had covered 28k miles,was up for £38K,had been buffed through the paint to the primer all over,had corrosion on the screen pillar,sills,wings and the best bit,the front N/S wing had been stuffed,removed(or should I say ripped off)repaired and refit very badly.This car was not on the HPI register so someone will have paid a lot of money for a nail. My point is that the dealers would seem laid back over some issues because either they don't know about them or they don't know the implications of them.
I agree with the point that there are some bad looking cars out there. I watched 7 348's before I bought mine 2 months ago. You know, they all impress you in the adds here with the belt and service just done. But do you care about that if the paint and bodywork looks very poor and an interior like the dog slept in it 5 years ? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Seems reasonable to me. What was the seller's response (obviously they rejected it)? I mean they can hardly deny the work needs doing, which would mean they think their car would be worth at least £40K privately if it was all done!
So far i've seen three 348's at Independents. Two in very good condition and one ok, but needed a few bits done. However, all three had service histories with big gaps in them, between 3 and 7 years in some cases, which is something I'm not too comfortable with although the dealers think there's nothing wrong with them.
The most important service, is the most recent one. You want to look at how long it has been since the very last service, and what was done, especially the belts.
I'm definitely asking you to check over my next car purchase In fact, I'll probably ask your opinion on the value of mine when I put it up for sale as you are rapidly becoming considered the oracle on all things 348 Spidery (LOL!) Will you be going down to the Concourse at Boughton Steve? And would you recommend the paint shop that A&R Automotive use for when I give my front end a nice shiny new coat after its run down to Spain and back? (if you know who they use that is?) Or are your guys pretty reasonable?
Yes they did reject my offer and the car is still for sale. What makes me laugh is they all tell you that the cars mint before you travel hundreds of miles to see it.Either they are that numb they can't see what's wrong with the car or they have buried their heads in the sand and ignored the problem and are hoping no one else will spot the flaws. Viewed another car about 3 months back,quite local to me.It had 15K miles,needed a belt service and a complete repaint.The guy wouldn't take any less than £36K for it,again I offered £30K because it was a car that hadn't been messed with a was a really good base to make a nice car from. Because he was local to my workshop he asked me to quote on the body repairs and repaint,my estimate was about 6/7K.Add a belt service to this and my £30K offer is about right(to me anyway).Needless to say he didn't have the work done,said he could get the job done for about £1500. About 3/4 weeks later the same car is back for sale not at £37K which it was when I saw it,but at £40K.Now that tells me that the car has had a £1500 codge up and a car that was unmolested,with potential to be a really nice car has been ruined. There is no way that the repairs that were needed could be done well for £1500.
You're giving me far to much credit there M8,still got lots to learn about these cars,but that is half the fun for me. Hopefully as long as the weather is good. Never had any dealings with A&R,so can't really comment.But what amazes me is that non of the Ferrari specialists do their own bodywork,they all farm it out to a local shop. We have our own bodyshop so everything is done in house,so I would have to say that they are pretty reasonable
And guess what the bodyshop does with the cars after repairing them. Example 1 My brother in law was good friends with a guy who did Ferrari bodywork repairs for well known Ferrari independents. They would regularly thrash the cars and I mean THRASH them. Example 2 My cousin worked at a body repair place. The local Mercedes Franchise dealer would give him repairs to do. Once, the painshop owner brought round an SL55 he repaired ande took me for a drive. That's all they ever did, thrash the cars after repairs.
Well, as I have heard others recommend your place, could you get an approx cost from your guys please. Basically the front spoiler and bumper has some very tiny, but quite a lot of them, stone chips and I can only assume there will be a lot more when I return from Spain. Also, as you know, I recently spotted a tiny bit of oxidisation starting along the front corner of the bonnet so I definately want the bonnet doing. The guy at GrayPaul said that if they do the bonnet, then they would want to do the whole front end (I presume meaning wings aswell) so they get a really good match. Now this makes sense I suppose but I was nonetheless a bit surprised, and surely if they are worried about blending bonnet and wings perfectly, does this not apply to wings and doors? I would have thought doing just the nose and bonnet was a fairly straight forward job for a decent paint shop, or am I wrong? Of course this means that once I get back from Spain, have a fresh nose job and a service, i won't want to drive the damn thing for fear of spoiling it before I sell it!!!
Here's mine guy's just brought it and its better than mint,Its a 1990 model. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Stunning car Dale.Don't suppose you can find me a spider or GTS in that condition. Mind you the front wheels look out of balance M8.
