82 400i (green) in Mar Vista, CA

Can't remember right now (too much wine) but its either #39773 or #40875 or #41217
41217 is a black interior car that was was being parted out.
Can anyone tall what color the interior is on the above car?

Here is a pic of 39773:

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Nevermind

hehehehe to much wine or not, I don't miss much...... it is indeed #39773

 

I actually like that car! Looks pretty good. If the listed problems were the only ones then the car would be a good deal at $25k probably... Personally, I doubt those are the only issues...see how jaded I am now, and I don't yet even own one of these bad boys! See what you guys have done to me!

James

 

You don't think there could be 2 different green 400i parked on the same driveway?

 

EXACTLY! Doesn't matter how much wine you've had, you can't miss it

 

Keep that antifreeze out of the wine!

 

The owner cannot sell that in California, unless it is is on a Non-Operation Title. If so, then a CA buyer is giving up a lot of rights, and should make extra sure that there no back fees. You can call CA DMV and ask, they are pretty good about that.

If the guy bought this and never had it smogged or registered, perhaps not even transferred to his name, you need knock off at least 3K just for the hassle of dealing with the CA DMV. If you live in another state, it may be easier but only if the car is in his name, and on a non-op cert, with no fees due.

This car portends several pleasant afternoons of standing in line at the DMV.

The owner says the car isn't registered, but the blue sticker on the car is 2009, so I hope the guy hasnt been driving around with a sticker from another car.

my two cents of experience,

Jay

 

It has been my experience that in Kali-Fornia that AAA can be very helpful..the Van Nuys office on Sepulveda Blvd. has helped my with several sticky situations..it sure beats the DMV..Also Haggerty Ins. are very helpful..after all this is not the first case of this kind..hope this helps..Try these avenues first BEFORE DMV mucks it up..all the best..Jacques

 

I checked out s/n 39773 on Sunday and I found the owner to be very honest and up-front with pointing out the flaws of this car. Below is my assessment of the car in case any of you are interested.

1. This is probably the best running and smoothest idling 400i I have ever seen. The engine was cold and hadn't been started up recently when I came to see the car so I was very impressed at how perfectly it ran immediately upon being fired up. However, the hoses and gaskets appear to have not been replaced in quite some time so this is something the next owner will likely want to take care of in the near future (i.e. there is a very small leak on the valve cover that is leaks on the exhaust after it has run for a while causing a small amount of oil smoke). The owner mentioned he brought the car to Black Horse in L.A. to have a major service done and was told to leave the car alone as it was running so well.

2. The body has a few stress cracks in the paint on the typical areas (i.e. areas where panels/joints are welded). The bad thing about this is that the car was previously repainted so the next repaint will likely need to be a bare-metal respray. However, I consider the current paint to be very presentable and the car can probably be driven for several years before a respray is in order.

3. I looked over the body very carefully for rust and was amazed by how clean and rust-free the car is with the exception of a small area right above the rear window. In my opinion, this rust appears to have been caused by the silicon-based window sealant that Ferrari and other Italian automobile manufacturers used during this era, which causes rust. The rust concerns me because it appears to have developed from beneath sealant and worked its way out (i.e. hate to imagine what I would find if I ever removed the rear window).

4. The Michelin tires have lots a tread, but are totally dry-rotted and need to be replaced. Wheels are in very nice condition though.

5. One of the foglights behind the grill has a cracked lens. The Fog lights don't work, which may be do to a faulty interior switch.

6. The dash leather, rear shelf leather, and seats are in very nice condition; leaving me with the impression that the car has been kept indoors most of its life.

7. The A/C in inoperable. It is intact though and thankfully has never been converted over to r134a.

8. The passenger door window regulator appears to need repair. Window is currently closed and seals tight though.

9. The passenger side visor clip is broken

10. The clock is missing its small black knob and appears to be inoperative.

11. The car comes with a jack and tool kit, but some of the tools are missing.

12. The car has its original owner's manual and folder, which shows that its first owner bought the car new at Pozzi in France and drove it around before bringing it back to Louisiana. The current owner told me he bought it from a private party in the San Francisco area. The car does not come with any service records.

In summary, I found this 400i to be a honest and clean car that is just old. In my opinion, the unique color is an attractive bonus. However, even in the nice condition that it is in, I am sure the few things that it needs will end up setting back the new owner lot of $$$. In my opinion, this 400i and most 80's Ferraris are going to be expensive propositions as they aren't young cars anymore, but not old enough to have been subject to major repair/restoration work yet so the current owners of these cars are likely going to have incur the significant expense that comes with these age-related repairs. On a positive note, I believe 365/400/412 Ferraris are faring much better now than 456/550/612 Ferraris will when they are 21-35 years old.

Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have about the car.