456GTA or 550 that is the question???

Wow. Welcome to FChat.

Not knowing much about your shop facilities and mechanical skills, I'll venture that this is a route you don't want to go. Ferrari parts prices (and body panel prices) are terrifying. If your friend is a real Ferrari-trained master body technician, you could end up with a great car (with 'salvage' on the title) that would always be worth a fraction of what a non-wrecked car. The 360 has a complex aluminum body that requires specialized repair equipment - I think the 550 may fall into that category as well, being a more complicated than the average car.

For safety, finance and sanity reasons, I'd suggest starting your Ferrari experience with a good, undamaged car from Ron Tonkin (Portland) or Ferrari of Seattle, or another reputable Ferrari or exotic car dealership.

 

What he said -- squared.

The hood on a 550 Maranello is $11,000 smackers, just to give one example.

You'd be much better off to flip the cars to a parts breaker and buy a real car.

Trust me, this is the wrong way to join the club, unless you want to get a jump on the real Ferrari ownership experience, which is writing checks...

Dale

 

Between the two cars you listed, I'd probably go with the 550 depending on how hard the hit was. If it's destroyed up to the A-pillar, then that's kind of a tough one. You're starting out with a mangled car either way, go with the one that you can at least convince yourself will drive somewhat like a non-damaged car after you're done with it.

 

Listen, I don't mean to throw cold water on anybody's dream. Lord knows, I have done enuf stupid things in my time, perhaps too many.

But the reality is that Ferraris are stupid money. Period. End of statement. For $60,000, for example, you can get one hell of a nice Z-06.

Is the Vette as good as a Ferrari? No.

Is the Vette 9/10s as good as a Ferrari? Yes.

What you have to ask yourself is whether the 1/10 is worth it.

No. Scratch that. If you have to ask, then don't. Serioursly, this is the deep end of the pond. Only the truly deranged need apply. Don't ask me how I know.

Dale

 

Ask yourself whether you would really buy, say, a Porsche that was rolled or crashed. And the parts for those cars are (relatively) reasonable and available. For $60k you can get a nice Mondial t and bank a year or two worth of service. They aren't hard to find and you'll be much happier.

 

The old saying is that there is nothing more expensive than a cheap Ferrari!

And, I've personally verified that saying is correct.

For $60k, look for a 355b or possibly a decent 456GT or GTA with some miles. Stay far, far away from the rebuildable wrecks. Or an excellent Maserati.

 

Buy a F355.

 

you can find a decent 456gta or 456GT for under $60K. or even a 355.

 

Whoa!

just found this thread.

+1 from all the above in that this is not a good experience, TRUST US, to enter the enjoyment of any car ESPECIALLY a Ferrari.

IF you were a good mech and
IF you had the facilities and
IF you found the parts....SOMEWHERE, Europe or whatever,
you would be into this for some $$$$ a lot of time and not anything but the enjoyment of recreating the wheel

Much better to get one in condition, and/or few issues, and bring that one up to speed.


I've done a few 'project' cars.....not a good way to go when the IF's above are all messy.
rik

 

Everyone here has already expressed my sentiment, but a couple more dimes in the jukebox from me:

You do NOT want to go down this road, not in any circumstances, but especially being far away from dealers. You'll have to go by everyone's word when ordering bits and bobs, and who says any salvage parts will arrive in the condition they say it is? Airfreight's going to cost you a fortune, I think. You will also need specialist Ferrari tuning software to get your engine running smoothly for the 550 (and I think for the 456 as well), which is not for sale.

Instead, being far away from dealers, I would buy a 328 which is the last of the simpler Ferraris. It is a gorgeous car, and gives just as much pleasure as my own 550 IMHO. From the spare change in your budget you can run it for a decade, or you could buy a second hand Vette or an older Porsche or something. The F355 is available at the stretch of your budget but it is a much more complicated car.

By the time you have the 550 or 456 sorted out, I GUARANTEE it will have cost as much as a good one, and you will have "salvage" on the title which makes it very difficult to sell. So the options are:

1. SAVE UP! and buy a decent 550/456

or

2. SPEND LESS! and buy a fantastic 328.

I don't mean to be pedantic, truly, so don't feel offended by my exclamation marks, but I would hate to see you down a road that will lead you to misery, so I'm just trying to catch your attention.

I hope it all works out for you and that we can welcome you into the community as a happy camper, whatever you choose. Best of luck!!!



Onno