anyone check out this boxer? http://www.bobileff.com/ferrari_frame.html?77_512bb_main.htm i searched but couldnt find anything, but pretty sure one of us has checked it out. thanks. hoping there's still time to get a mechanically sound boxer under 75k before too long!
I like the interior, suits the black exterior very well. As much as I love my red on tan BBi, a black one could make me sell or trade.
Good day Bill, Be thankful that you did not purchase this car. Apparently, there are some nasty issues with that car and sadly the new owner will be spending some good $$$ to sort it out... Given my somewhat limited exposure to Bobileff, I would not purchase any cars from them without a very thorough and independent PPI. Cheers, Sam
i am curious to hear more on this? my experience w/ gary is that he is solid and really knows his ferraris and lambos. please elaborate but do it from first hand knowledge and w/ some real basis please...otherwise maybe best to recant. as far as i know, the black bb is apparently a decent car.
Actually I saw this car in person and it looked pretty good - dated and a bit tired, but nice. In fact so nice I put in a back up offer. I was going to change out the interior with tan, as was the buyer. Buyer's plans changed when it need a bit more mechanical attention than thought - belts, water pump as far as I know. Maybe more, I'll check in with Gary and find out. Bobileff is a quality guy. Still, I would never ask a seller to do a PPI on a car he is listing - just in case it might color his judgement. The car also needs some cats to pass smog, so they are doing the old retrofit to cats, rebuild carbs with small jets, test (and pass) then back to per-test specs. Figure that's about $5K the buyer did not plan for. It's a carbed Boxer for $74.9K - what do u expect? It wasn't a thrasher but had some issues (esp that ugly white interior, IMO). Still, I wasn't shying awaying from it. Despite the on-going maintenance on the car (it still has not left Bobileff's as of last week), I probably still would have bought the thing. What u out-of-CA guys fail to appreciate is that this was a legal CA BAR sticker car. Granted, this was maybe not the best situation for someone out of state. For us slobs, we myust have that BAR sticker or it's off to our vacation homes to register it. Unfortunately, my vacation home is still in CA. My point is that the BAR sticker and CA creds adds value if ur gonna keep the car here.
If the buyer knew he was going to register in CA, and the car did not have cats, why did he think he would not need them and therefore not factor that into the cost? The car clearly needed service, usually a $5,000 proposition or so on Boxers. I'm a bit confused about what caught him off-guard here. I've never known Gary not to be a straight shooter. He can't x-ray a car and tell you everything that is or might be wrong with a car, but if he knows or suspects there's an issue, he'll tell you about it. As an aside, my rule of thumb now is to add 10% to 15% of the purchase price to ANY car for incidentals and while you're at its when I am thinking about buying a car, no matter how good it looks or checks out. This is based on personal experience. It is a much more realistic view of the real price of the car for me anyway. P.S. Vasallo, are you related to the Vasallo's in Puerto Rico? Alberto
its all wrong.No air holes,sills wrong colour match,pleating looks cheap,were is the rear parcel shelf fence.
In CA, unless the buyer deals to tackle it himself, its on the Sellers nickel to smog certify the car at the time of the sale. When I bought my car at Bobileffs it was the seller that had to supply new cats, air pump, and tuning to get it to pass. I was only responsible ($200) for re-tuning so it would actually run on the road. As for Gary not disclosing problems with the car, at least in my experience, is pure nonsense. He was most forthcoming, going over the past service records with me, and pointing out a few other items with the car that would need attention down the road. A good example of this is the clutch, which for some reason, my car seems to burn through every 4/5K miles. He informed me of the cost of a clutch replacement, and that this clutch had 2K miles on it. So far, a year and a half later, the only unforeseen problem with the car has been a bad bearing in the distributor. And with 3K more miles on it, the clutch is starting to slip. Maybe my experience with him was extraordinary, but he made the purchase a great experience and made sure my eyes were open wide as to joys and pitfalls of Boxer ownership. As far as Im concerned, the word integrity fits him perfectly! John
Good day Peter, I am glad that your experiences with Bobileff have been good, however, mine have not been that well. That being said, I feel that it is totally inappropriate to provide such details on such an open forum. After all I am not trying to "slag" anyone, but merely informing others of my less than positive experience with them. As for a recant, I think not, as I have not said anything inappropriate about Bobileff other than to provide my feelings about the need to do a thorough PPI...and that I would not buy a car from them simply on their word. As for the quality of the Black BB, this is obviously based upon one's perspective. The intent of my post was to ensure that one would not get the impression that the car was some sort of fantastic "deal". As with all cars their are or can be issues with them that the purchaser needs to realize and understand... hence the need for a PPI. To what degree the new owner understood the car's state is between Bobileff and the owner. Cheers, Sam
thanks everybody for the insights into the black boxer. it doesnt sound like it was the one for me. and even if it was... too late! somebody else is in that driver seat. the hunt continues....
It's not a matter of defending anyone. It's called fair play. If you say that a vendor did something wrong and are unwilling to document/explain what happened, I think that is unfair not only to the vendor and but also to others who might have otherwise considered using that vendor in the future. Let's be fair whether the feedback is good or bad. Alberto
Well, after seeing the title of this thread I was curious as to what would be said about this particular car as it has been discussed in minor detail in the past. But I felt inclined to clear up some , if not all of the rumors surrounding this car and Gary Bobileff. Yes, the car is sold and has been bought by me. It has been since 9/23. Prior to my informed purchase, I had a thorough discussion of the car's past ownership (one owner) and maintenance history. It seems that the prevoius owner had lots of practice in deferred maintenance and in utilizing multiple mechanics who may have been less than optimal in their abilities to properly service the car. It has gone through several exterior and interior color changes, hence the odd color combination and the missing or incorrect interior items. It has been in the shop since purchase because it needed a timing belt change (paid by the previous owner), a few other mechanical issues and a smog certification before the entire deal would be completed. In the state of CA, it is the previous owner's responsibility to smog certify the car (whatever that entails) prior to possession by the next owner in order to be registered with the DMV. I test drove it twice on 2 seperate occasions prior to my decision and was made fully aware of the car and it's current issues and what my costs would be. The car will not leave the shop until all agreed details are done which explains why it is still there. There are some mechanical details that I paid for since the engine was out as well as obtaining the correct mirrors for that year. There has been a minor problem with the smog shop used by the previous owner and it is now being done (correctly) by Bobileff at his shop and should be completed this week. I have found Bobileff to be a completely honest, straightforward professional. I bought, restored , and sold a Lambo Urraco (for $15k more than I paid )from him and would recommend his knowledge, experience and abilities to anyone. So, that's the story of the Bobileff Boxer in a nutshell. I am respectfully thankful of everyone's information and input. I look forward to getting it home to enjoy and maintain. I have a $20k reserve to handle most, if not all mechanical and cosmetic issues. This isn't my first Ferrari, so I don't worry that things are going to eventually need attention. After all, it's a 30 year old Ferrari.
Thanks for setting us straight! And, good luck with the car! Please ask away with any questions you might have.
Yes, Argento. I do plan to keep it and restore/refurbish each system ( such as suspension, brakes, cooling, etc) mechanically and cosmetically on the car over time until everything is in perfect working order. Any infor from you that I don't already know would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Thank you very much. I know that I will need your help as time goes on. I certainly will ask when the times come.
