Hi, my buddy has the chance of a 456. It is a 1995 car with 45,000 miles on the clock. Any things to look for when viewing the car? Many thanks, Al Cowan
Search is your friend-- many threads on this topic. The short list: service history, window fix, compression and leakdown check.
Is it an automatic? I have heard some interesting things about that tranny that I would make sure your friend has looked at; if you do a search you'll find out what I am thinking about... A very expensive fix supposidely...
You're not connected to the fellow on one of the UK fora looking are you - its just so unusual to get two people looking at 456 manuals at the same time
Ya need to make sure the side windows have had the conversion to fix the closing/gap problem and that they close corectly without gaps. Big expense to put right due to long hours on the job.
I guess this is a pretty good place to ask these questions then. The '95's are seductively inexpensive at between $70 and $80K listings. Are they worth it or are they to be avoided. They all seem to have the A/C deck warping and I've been told this is not worth fixing. I've been looking at 6-speeds. Have we seen the bottom on these cars yet? They were $200K cars and look like a steal. But are they time bombs, or what? Also, they don't look like they'd be particularly exciting to drive. Comments? Thanks.
95s are fine cars, although they are now past the 10 year mark, so lots of rubber parts should probably be replaced. Keep in mind that the 456 was introduced in Europe in 1992, so there were several years of improvements before they came to the US-- no "first year" 456s made it here. They are certainly not inexpensive to maintain. As you point out, they were $200k+ when new, and were not built with ease or low cost of maintenance in mind. With that said, mine has been expensive but reasonably reliable. As for "exciting to drive" I guess it depends on your perspective and what you want to do with the car. The 456 has tremendous power and performance, and is a phenomenal grand touring car. It's not the ideal car for tight, twisty roads, but it's actually much better than you expect. So, I don't know, if you are getting out of a modern Porsche Turbo or a Z06 or something, yeah, it's probably not all that exciting to drive. If you're coming from most "normal" cars, I'd way it's pretty darn fun to drive.
Thanks for your insight. So far the cars I am looking are the '94 348 SS, '90 TR and maybe a '95 456GTM. I guess they are all pretty different in characteristics. I don't really like the 996TT so anything that offers more excitement is okay. I was just wondering how hard u can push the 456. Mainly, I am amazed at the deal u can get this car for.
Out of those cars I would definatly go fot the 456GTM. They do drive really well for how big they are, driven well most people would have trouble leaving you behind in anything except the real tight and twisted canyons, and they are an excellent cruising/highway car. I have a client who's had 456,355,360 etc, and just went to a new 612, because he missed the feel of the 456. to each his own
456 GT was purchased yesterday by my buddy. Had full F service history, 2 owners from new, tool kit was all there and in pristine, unused condition under the hatch in the trunk. No gaps in either window but need to check the history for the window fix. A couple of light scratches on it. Lumbar support on drivers seat not working was the only electrical problem. Lovely car for no money what so ever, how cheap can these things go! Works out at about $55K in dollars!!!! Needs belt doing soon though, should be a fun job to do, lots of things under the bonnet! What exhausts can be fitted to the car for a bit more noise but not too much as it is very quiet with the standard system. Al Cowan
Tubi exausth system. $3,500 more or less in hardware, up to 5k total if you have installed (recommended).
Yeah - I wasted $5 bucks paying to download that "buyer's guide." It was all just general information. Much more is available for free here and other places on the Internet.
