Looking to purchase a 2007 f430 coupe

Jojo,

I bought my 07 F430 Coupe, offered by Ferrari of Washington, in March.

I would suggest looking at the online market and developing a feel for the proper asking price for your car. Mike Sheehan suggests taking 10 percent off the asking price to give you your offering price, but I’m not sure that will fly with every seller. You can, at least, ask for their best price and expect 2 or 3 percent off their published asking price. Also, many factors, including the options on your subject car, affect the price, up and down. Ultimately, it’s what YOU want to pay that is most important. It is highly unlikely that you will “steal” an F430.

First and foremost, get a PPI. If you don’t know of a trustworthy, competent party to perform one, you can ask for recommendations on FerrariChat. I paid $900 to a FerrariChat suggestee and it was worth every penny. Before putting down anything substantial, ask the seller if he will fix any or all of the deficiencies, found by the inspector, at the seller’s expense. Like me, you will likely share the expenses with the seller.

Read FORZA magazine’s buyer’s guide on the F430. It is available free online. The two main problem areas on the F430 are the exhaust and the engine mounts. The exhaust can be further subdivided into failure-prone mounts and failure-prone headers. My car had recently had the headers replaced, but I had the PP Inspector borescope all eight cylinders to make sure the engine had not sucked bits of broken header or pre-cat into one or more cylinders (luckily, the borescoping came out clean). The buyer’s guide will help you determine specific areas of attention for your PP Inspector.

Unless the car already has an aftermarket exhaust system, or, at least the Capristo mount, plan on getting the mount. It can save you a five-figure repair job down the road (pun intended).

I performed the following things on my car after purchase: repainted the front bumper and rocker panels, installed front bumper skid plates, touched up the black chassis paint in the front boot and the door front jambs, replaced many parts with carbon fiber equivalents, de-stickied several of the remaining black plastic parts and replaced the entire exhaust system to include the Capristo mount.

Hope this helps.


Tom

 

You have not given a location so it is hard to assess the market value and/or currency

Spend some time looking thro and reading some of the many other how to buy a 430 threads

 

Also, is it a 6 speed? Or an F1. You can expect to pay a premium for a 6 speed manual in today's market.

 

I just bought a 430 last week after several months of looking. I had a spreadsheet that pointed to the mid to high 130's for an 07 with 10-12K miles. There are some that are less, they have 25+ miles, no history listed and offered by a company that I would think require a PPI. Some are offered by F car dealers like foreign cars italia in NC or some of the other f car dealers that offer a fully serviced car, some even a CPO with 1 yr warranty.

 

$120-130k for an F1, probably $10K more for manual (although folks are asking a lot more than that at the moment, doubt they are getting it). Assuming PPI checks out, serviced, campaigns done, decent clutch and CCB life remaining.

 

Actually, I would not need a PPI from a Ferrari dealer if it was me. As it was explained to me by the local dealer (where I was considering a car), any cars they sell have to meet minimum standards set by Ferrari. And some model years qualify for a warranty.

Of course, the decision is up to you. I would talk with the sales guy.

 

I did a PPI including the extra compression test when I bought my F430 from a Ferrari dealership.

 

PM Sent

 

Jojo,

Just remember, the salesman is loyal to the dealership, the PPI inspector is loyal to you. The inspector will tell you (and should provide photos along with his written report) about the scuffed seat leather, the scraped bumper and rocker panels, those nicks on the wheels, those inoperative light bulbs, the sticky controls, the cracked exhaust mount, the possible fender repaint job and that de-silvering mirror. You can ask him to devote special attention to certain areas like borescoping the cylinders for damage from header or cat failure. After the inspection, you can talk to the inspector and get a real, honest feel for the condition of the car. If the salesman even knows the condition of the car, his veracity will always be suspect. In the end, you can ask the inspector, “If you were in the market for this model car, would you buy this particular one?”, and expect a reasonably honest answer. Also, the report will enable you to negotiate repairs, some or all of which the seller may absorb, before the car is even shipped. With a dealer, you can get him to throw in a cover and an installed battery tender. At least, you’ll know what to expect when the door opens on the transporter. The inspection I got was an absolutely accurate assessment of the car in which I was interested.

Just sayin’

Tom