Buying a press car

Hi Justin , welcome to the insanity!! Give me a call I’m happy to help you.
Mike 973-610-7111
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/anyone-that-wants-to-buy-or-sell-a-ferrari-the-right-way.586271/

 

Depends on what you are looking for. Just know any press car will have been driven hard, even if it was on the road. I wouldn't expect any damage to show up on a Carfax; I assume they self-insure.
If you are looking for a forever car its up to you if its a good way to go but, if you are looking to get out of it in a few years, why not if the price is right and the spec is unique?

 

After being at COTA F1 last season and getting early access to see Leclerc and Sainz absolutely thrash a pair of 296s on the track there’s essentially zero chance I’d buy a press car. YMMV

 

Having worked for another European manufacturer - press car is always a red flag and often had uncommon issues regarding premature wear

 

Mike will be able to help you out. Me personally? If buying something like that or a rental car was the only way I could afford to get into a particular model…..I would select something else or ask the boss for more overtime so I could save more.

 

I dunno. Everybody juices press cars. As long as I could see the service records and got the standard warranty, I'd consider it.

 

press cars are like rentals. they're given to people for short periods of time knowing it's NOT their car...so they pound on them....and when it comes to a Ferrari, i would venture to guess they pound on it even harder. I wouldn't consider it. If the car shows 10K miles, then the wear on the car is 100K in actuality.

 

Proverbially, it sounds like marrying a stripper.

 

ha, like even when you're in it you don't know what you're in for. LOL

 

On the bright side, you could have a nice collection of magazines with your car in it.

 

Not all press cars are created equally.

Some press cars have more power. Lol.

Ok but let's get on to the real stuff.

How many miles are on it? Was it given to every magazine or did it do the tour of events to be looked at and stared at and not touched and has 500 miles on it?


Press car can mean many different things.

Some are track dogs but typically those are preproduction cars that get crushed anyways. All press cars are not race cars.

It's a liability for the manufacturer as well so many times anything abused gets put out to pasture.

Anything more than 3% of damage must be disclosed by the original selling dealer.

 

This thread got me thinking about what happens to the Ferrari Experience cars. Does FNA disclose it when they sell them?

 

So . . . . pics? Or at least tell us what issues to buy?

 

I bought a press car once and had zero problems. One thing to note is often press cars are 'ringers' which maybe an advantage. How many miles?

 

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I am in the press, or the media, and I drive a lot of press cars.

The pros are that these cars get a full inspection by the best mechanics the manufacturer has in the country, every week. Anything amiss is fixed with no questions asked. Every week. Press Ferraris also have all their suspension parts replaced when defleeted.

There's also an unproven theory that some manufacturers including some based in Italy make press cars with additional spinach.

The cons are, without naming the manufacturers, I have been given press cars with less than 100 (that's right) miles on them on track or to drive as I wish. It felt like a sin but I'm not a mechanic. And yes they are like rentals but worse, nobody worries about problems they cause.

I guess the answer is whether the cons balance out the pros. I wouldn't buy one myself but I don't know whether I am just being ignorant. Weekly inspections by the best techs the manufacturer has to offer are quite a selling point. Trashing , not so sure.

 

Isn’t it still true that Ferrari themselves drive every Ferrari produced up to 50 miles on the track at Maranello …. And driven EXTREMELY HARD?? That’s how it always was— isn’t it still the same?

So much for breaking in?


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The difference is Ferrari hires professionals to conduct the shakedown runs. These drivers know what they’re doing. It’s in their best interest to put the cars to the test, yet not abuse them needlessly.
Members of the press however………draw your own conclusions as to how they treat the cars.
I spent 30+ yrs riding with “journalists “. Saw how they treated cars up close and personal. Some fancied themselves as race car drivers. There were some I declined to ride with.
Again, do whatever suits your needs. But I would never touch one of those former cars, regardless of price or all the repairs conducted to make the cars ‘as new’

 

That makes some sense I guess…. But a professional driver is still bringing the revs well up over 4k consistently etc etc so the only skill I can see a professional do over any of us is use the brakes in a proper way to seat them and break them in— as for the engine, either it’s reviving high or it’s not and the transmission as well


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I once bought a press car, only 5800km on it. A 2011 Mercedes SLS Gullwing. A smoking deal. They put new tires, replaced the windshield as it was horrifically pitted from loads of track use and they repainted the front bumper. It was my first real exotic and I didn’t care. About one year into ownership, they had to replace the whole transmission at a cost of 30k…under warranty. I realized the car was abused and it became more obvious over the years. I won’t do that again


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