Potential Owner has Questions

We have had our 400i since 2008. Today we have not spent $1.00 on maintence or repairs. I'm guessing we have driven this car around 5000 miles. We did recolor the interior and added new carpets. I aslo replaced the wheels and tires with inch rather than buying the over priced obolete metric tires.

We have not had any issues with the 400 since we purchased it. The car always starts and runs well and strong. Interesting we have not had to deal with belts, electrical gremlins, brake issues, or engine problems. I finally felt guilty last year and changed the oil and filters, it had synthetic when we purchased it with less than 300 miles on the odometer since the oil change. This Ferrari is driven by both my wife and i and neither of us has ever had an issue.

There are a number of parts suppliers that sponsor this site and they all have excellent reputations for supplying parts. As far as a daily drive these are the most trouble free V-12's I'm aware of.

A lot depends on the condition of the car you are planning on purchasing. I strongly reccomend PPI by a very knowledable person. The condition of the car and a detailed service history would be the very minumum to start with.

Howard Musolf
1981 308gtsi
1982 400i Cabriolet
1994 348 spyder

 

" If you park the car it WILL cost you so drive it!" That's the advice my mechanic gave me. Over 3000 mi since mid march in a 79 400GT. Replaced oil level sensor, bypassed instrument light potentiometer, braided oil lines, fuel return lines in the back, horn and clutch cable. Everything (incl electrics) works better the more i drive and I couldn't enjoy the car more. The downside with these while driving is folks pulling up to look the car over. (-*
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We've had our 412 for 4 years....other than routine upkeep we've had nothing but great fun with it. The only minor issue was the kick down switch which is under the throttle carrier bracket failed when we were on one of Rich and Jean Taylor's Rallies...I simply unplugged it and we continued onward. The switch was a"bear" to locate but once found took 15 minutes to install. Even though we have since acquired a 456 in addition, I still love the 412. It is absolutely true that the best maintenance for any collectible is regular use....Marc

 

je confirme bien que sur nos anciennes seul le fait de les faire rouler suffit avec bien sur l entretien preconise et usuel pour cette superbe voiture
nous avons déjà effectue 16850km en 1 an et 3 mois

 

If performance is a real issue for you then by all means don't buy ANYTHING from the 80s. Ferrari or otherwise.

These cars move down the road just fine, Thank You. They are the absolute best GT cars of the era, and ridiculously affordable and practical today. If you want to race look elsewhere. Buy a great one, invest in proper maintenance, learn to read a schematic and it's all good.

No need to modify or monkey with a 400 or 412. You cruise at triple digit speeds with air conditioning, basking in the leather and enjoying the waves, thumbs up and cell phone pictures of passers by.

I have a 5 speed and an auto. Honestly the auto is slower off the line and the faster at speed. The auto suits the character of the car- if you ask me. This is a rocket ship for executives, not a boy racer.

But by all means buy the very tippy-top of the market if you can. The difference between the worst car and the best car is not enough to bargain-hunt.
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babe still running. very good. finance finally getting stable here. no thanks to our govt. though. I have been putting the miles on my 80 coupe. changed to Amzoil and cannot believe the sound difference wonderful. miss a drop top so a getting Pete Townsend's RH drive out soon. did not understand just how nice the 400 is to drive until recent. r u going to Pebble Beach? I will b there 14-18 aug.

 

Lovely cars and very heartening news for interested buyers.

 

Love the red interior? Was that std on the 412?

 

There was no standard colour, there was a range of leather colours you could choose from. Ferrari had samples in each dealership to assist with the choice.

Actually you could chose the carpet colour, dash colour and the rest of interior colour.
Quite a few cars have the same colour for the dash and interior, but I have seen plenty with a black dash and another colour for the seats etc .

There is also the possibilty someone has had the interior re done since the car was built.

M

 

Yes this exact color combination of Grigrio Titanio and red leather was a fairly popular combination- I've seen at least three other cars with the same combination.

Looks nice in photos but in the flesh it's quite extraordinary- My car is an 88 412 and still smells showroom fresh.