Is there a way to tell???????

While I have no knowledge of your car,
I'll bet that if the car had cracked exhaust manifolds that were not fixed, I doubt that anything else has been done as well, including any of the services.

 

Without the documentation, and people to call to confirm it, I would assume nothing. The car is worth more at auction with the papers, so if they are missing, it was not done, plain and simple.

 

I too would assume nothing much has been done.
Safest bet is to do a 30k Major.

 

find out where the car came from then contact the dealer nearest to them - see if they will look up the vin, carfax will tell you where the car was registered. The ferrari system should be able to tell you services done

 

No one would put a car up for auction and also do the 30k at 27k miles. By the way what is the going auction price?

 

75K

 

67k

 

broken motor mount as well?

 

60k

 

It doesn't matter what you paid for it, in the future that will never be an issue. The fact is you now have a great car and if you take care of it, it will always be worth at least what you paid for it or more.

Yes, the 30K service is expensive, and any "honest" Ferrari garage can tell if its been done yet, but if not and you have to pay for it - hey that's the price you have to pay for owning the damn thing.

 

I believe a car like that is worth around 60k, I also think that you likely paid around 72-75k, as auctions can be unpredictable and people can get a little carried away.

Regardless, as Donald said, the price isn't that big a deal. If you get the stuff fixed, and a major done, you'll have a car that will give you a great deal of driving pleasure. A few grand either way, ain't a big deal.

Now if something turns up during the major, because of the lack of documentation, and unknown history....then all bets are off. I certainly hope that is not the case.

 

Add $5000 for the major service Plus what they find wrong in the engine bay. As long as the engine is out of the car, have them look at the clutch and slave cylinder, and replace much of the rubber hoses and things that are not accessible in the engine bay with the engine in place. Don't forget to change all the fluids, check brake rotors and pads, and rebalance the tires.

I have not heard of them, I doubt that they will actually cover the kinds of things that actually might go wrong.

Ferraris are expensive to 'operate', and even more expensive NOT to operate. Considering Major service every 5 years of 30K miles, the minimum cost of ownership is $0.40 per mile. And if you don't drive it much, it can be as high as $1.50 per mile.

 

I would agree with Mitch and not trust the paper those warrantees are printed on....a LOT of fraud in that. Unless someone can confirm a claim with them (you could check other boards or do a "google search"), I would put the $3k in the bank as an "emergency fund" for the car.

 

F355Fly - I would do a little homework before spending $7,000+ on a major (plus ancillary items).

First, there is likely a way to determine from FNA where the car was originally sold. In that state, there is likely a limited number of mechanics or dealers that would work on the car. Start with what you know, and trace the history of the car. CarFax (sp) might supply some pertinant information with regard to where, when and who did service.

Finally, a small investment in a private investigators time might provide Department of Motor Vehicles information concerning previous registration, etc. Sounds like overkill, but spend a few hundred to save a few thousand.

This raises an interesting business opportunity. If all mechanics who work on Ferraris documented the VIN, model, owner and date in an on-line database, then over a period of years all F-cars would have a history available for future owners.

Jim S.

 

$53.5k

 

F355Fly

If you are having the manifolds done (about 8 hours as the dry sump tank has to come out to do the r/h one) and you find the service hasn't, have them done at the same time, it'll save you some money!

 

55k - 60k

 

Yes, and then that 5 grand could save you 20 grand.

 

Mitch is right on the money.

Re: Exotic....send me a PM

Rgds
Frank