High Mileage Ferraris

To the OP -> cars are not horses.
They can eventually be old and have many miles but still they can run as good as new.
Even a well repaired ex-youtuber wrecked car with a history of an accident can be a better purchase than a ceramic coated garage queen with ten year old tyres, perished belts and stuck brake calipers.

Find one that runs well, buy it, enjoy it and trust me, there is a market for everything out there, if you bought it, the somebody else will buy it from you when time comes.
Cheers

 

I know of a F50 with 59.000 kms that’s still in perfect condition.

 

I have owned her for 10 years. My 1988 Mondial 3.2 cabriolet has just over 51,000 mi, she has been well maintained, starts on the first tick and runs like a scalded dog! I drive her at least once a week, sometimes more often if I can, unfortunately today anything with more than 20K miles is considered "high mileage," LOL.
Alden

 

20k miles is an improvement. It used to be rolling the clock to 10,000 was the kiss of death.

 

I bought an 84 308 GTSi recently with just shy of 89,000 miles. I’ve had it only a few months, but I just sent it to Norwood to have things gone over. The owner prior to me had the car for well over a decade and a whopping 300 miles put on in that time. The last major was 3yrs ago, and I just did another since all the seals commonly replaced with it were leaking upon their inspection. Much like the first annual inspection on my plane, I fix what others neglected and sitting is what causes the issues. For cripes sake, DRIVE THESE CARS!!!. It’s a first world problem, I know. “Man, I have to go drive the Ferrari today. Life is so unfair!”

Bur seriously, it seems that most of all the problems with these cars, as mentioned, come from sitting and my experience proved that to me. I’m fixing minor things now all related to sitting. Take your car out. Enjoy miles of smiles as you weave your way through the masses of Hondas. Not many have that opportunity.

Cheers
Dave

 

Bringing up a dead post, apologies for that.
With your experience, would you say your cars have required more, or less maintenance than if they simply sat idle?
Obviously there are more oil changes and such, but the random stuff, do you think driving cars often helps them?

 

I have owned this beauty for 19 years. 56k miles, always properly and up-to-date maintained, and it still runs/drives (and looks) like new.

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I find it so crazy that 10,20,30, 50k miles is considered high. I wish I knew why this became a thing with ferrari. I mean, seriously, 56k on a 20+ yr old car is ULTRA LOW mileage. Also, I think ferrari engines are solid and much better built than toyotas etc so why is everyone afraid to drive them or put 5-15k miles per year on them? I understand it's hard to drive THAT much in a ferrari since it's probably the fun, event, weekend car but still, doing 5-8k per year seems like it should be a norm and not a crazy one off example....

 

You have to decide if you are a collector or a driver. Collectors don't drive their cars and want as close to zero miles as they can get.

 

Ferrari is one of the few brands whose owners brag about how little they use their cars.

 

I think not driving these cars is a shame. I happen to know a big collector, who has vintage corvettes as well as Ferraris. Never drives any of them, and has a team of guys to keep up with the cleaning, as all of them leak all over the place from dried out seals and gaskets.

When I went looking for a Ferrari, I deliberately went looking for one that had been driven. In theory, the car, having been driven should have everything sorted and in working order, cause the last owner was driving the car. On top of that, it made a staggering difference in price. So, I got a 14 year old gorgeous piece of automotive art for the price of a new truck. I will take that ANY day, and drive it!

 

Everyone has their own story. 2 years ago I bought a 328 with almost 80K miles. It was in beautiful physical shape but I knew it needed maybe 10 grand when I bought it on mechanical issues and maintenance. Turned out to be more like 12 grand but much of that was me replacing stuff that was still OK, but just old. I wanted it to be dependable because I intended on driving it, which I do.

I could have bought a lower mileage "perfect one". It would have costed me much more. But it really wasn't the money. It was more that I wanted to have my mechanic and my decisions what to do and what to decide when we found problems. I now know everything about this car. I know that parts that could break or rupture have a lower chance of that happening.

Now I drive it several times a week and don't worry about "mileage" because its already "high" (whatever that is). Its not going to depreciate any more with a few thousand miles. So it really depends on what you intend on doing with the car. A well sorted car is really just that -- well sorted. If you want to drive some, its probably what most will want that. If you are looking for a collector piece, then you want low mileage -- even very low mileage. I don't see the point of owning that but each to their own.

The answer is there is no real answer. It depends on too many factors.

And remember, father time often does as much damage to metal, plastic, leather, rubber, oil, water, gasoline -- and whatever else makes up a car. Oxidation does not rest. It rusts.

 

I'm not really talking about the difference between a collector car and a daily driver.... I'm talking more of the 80+ % of owners who have one but if they get above 8k miles in 4+ years, it's considered high and they stop driving it in fear of further depreciation etc. hard to explain but I mean just the standard production ferrari once it goes over 7-8k miles, suddenly it's 'high mileage', even if it;s 3,4,5 or 6 years old. I'ts just weird to me even though I know it's a real thing.

 

The Ferrari myth was built by playboys, the Jet Set, and industrialists who didn't give a ****. They already had more money than God. There are stories about a 250 GTO being painted in cameo.

Fast forward to today, and you have buyers who are not playboys, Jet Setters and Industrialists. They have to keep their powder dry. They can afford to take a big hit, but it will hurt.

Sample size of one. The only new Ferrari I have ever brought, and probably will be the only one, was a 2004 Challenge Stradale in 2005. The original buyer fell out of bed, and I said, "Why not?" Scuderia red with a stripe. I drove the **** out it for a year and sold it for what I paid. I was concerned it would fall in price. For a while, they did.

Stupid me.

 

I have a 2001 360 spider F1 with 132’000klm on the clock, I drive it almost daily and it runs perfectly, the engines on these things are incredibly robust, just drive them every week and they’ll be fine
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