Seller is asking $53K.. really close to pulling the trigger. He doesn't know much history about that car, it was involved in an accident where the passenger front end collided with a guard rail and that side was repaired. Here are the pictures. It has 8k miles. It does need some re-sealing around the passenger headlight. Also the hood doesnt look straight to me, but the seller says its fine. The leather on the interior leather handle passenger side is also wearing away, and the drivers side visor bracket is broken Deal or no deal?
while not a 550/ 575 expert - its a lot of car for the money, but also LOTS of $$ to repair a bad job. PPI with a dealer would tell you wonders - especially with diagnostic equipment.
If you are not familiar with working on or maintaining Ferraris, that LOTS above is going to be significant. Multiply by at least two any estimates you have from other experience.
Those photos are horrible. Could he not step 2 feet back and get the whole car? I second what the others have said - I'd back away. Another consideration with salvage cars is insurance - you may not be able to get full coverage on it if it's salvaged.
If it is a cheap salvage 50% of the price why would you pay for insurance coverage? Drive it an enjoy it. I guess it is the same mentality that looks down on euro ferrias in the USA. News flash they are all euro ferraris. If the mild modern conversion has been down then there should not be any difference. To the OP you need a PPI and a trip to the body shop. Only the body guy can put the car on a jig to measure all points to make sure it was put together properly. If it was repaired right then no problem. Ferraris get totaled more than other cars for one reason and one reason only the cost of parts to repair them. One day I'll post a very sad/happy story about a salvage ferrari.
If you wreck it you might have 50k in parts! If you guy a $50k bmw it will be worth 20 in 5 years. If you buy the salvage for 50K you will probably be able to sell it for 50k in 5 years. Ferraris have been the cheapest cars I have ever owned and I have had 5 of them so far. You could pay 1500/yr for insurance and still only get actual cash value BS from the insurance co anyway. The parts are worth more than the salvage value. If you held the car for 5 yrs you probably get 50 back plus save 7,500. I think it comes down to ones driving records and exposure etc. If you bend the car and have a 10k repair and can't afford that then you aren't going to afford the upkeep either. Stickys 2500, major 8000, alternator 2000, brakes 2000, tires 1500, recover dash 1500, new cats 10,000, used cats 5000, 02 sensors 1000, replace front windshield 6000, oil change with codes 500 etc...
The price of $53k is cheap. You could most likely find a comparable car the same color for high $80's low $90's. You have to look deep down inside and decide why you want this car. If you want it to drive the snot out of it this is a good candidate. If you want to keep it and hope that it increases in value some day, I suggest you choose a car with NO stories. BTW a salvage car is easy to obtain insurance. They don't even ask. I have a salvage mule of a Honda civic no problems.
I guess it's just a matter of perspective. I have a beater F250 that I use for dump runs, trips to Home Depot, etc. I don't carry collision coverage on it because it's basically worthless. I wouldn't do that with a Ferrari. FWIW, my insurance company doesn't offer full coverage on salvaged cars.
If I were in the market, I'd be looking at it right now and getting it gone over with a fine tooth comb. I buy cars with the intention of never selling, though. Not that I think you'd have trouble selling it if it turns out to be straight, but from my perspective you will never get more car than that for less money. Plus, do you pull out your title and look at it before you drive the car? I sure don't, I think I've looked at it once, when I bought it and it has no bearing on how fun my car is to drive.
I drove a car with a salvage title for several years and insured it with State Farm. They had stamped the title salvage and then sold me the car back. They never asked as they knew and did not appear that concerned about it. The issue of the salvage titles comes when you actually have to determine market value of the vehicle in the event of claims, sale, stated value insurance and so forth.
Another funny thing about Ferrari "salvage" is the vintage market. some of those cars I have seen rebuilt from a vin plate into a million dollar+ show piece. No one seems to worried about those. Those buyers want a vin, restored to a certain level. If half those cars were crooked the drivers wouldn't even know. Most of their miles are from the trailer to the spot on the viewing grass.
53k is High for salvage ,35k would be a good deal. Structural damage check is a must .don't even think about buying it without it. Also check for body filler, easy to do job with pain meter. Cars with prior salvage history what were driven for couple years are less scare , prefferable to the car that was just repaired.
Agree with posts about paying a little more for an un wrecked 550, one in good shape but 30-50k miles. Probably several 550s out there for 65-70k. If you are keen on this car, I would pay no more than 45k, and that is after a PPI. I would budget 10-15k for hidden surprises in the first year. If you don't have 60k in cash (45 for the car and 15 in reserve), then I would not buy this car. It is not a bargain at 53k.
I wonder what the VIN is of that car. I looked at a salvage 575 that was hit in the front 3 yrs ago. Body wasnt that bad but the undercarriage and chassis was bent and twisted
The most expensive Ferrari you will ever buy is the cheapest. I dunno about a 575, but the hood for a 550 is $12k. Dale
When looking for my 550 my bank and credit union specifically said no to Salvage cars.Credit union requested a copy of sellers title before handing over the check. And after many Years of buying fixer uppers I never expected to get more than 50% of what a clean title of the same car would get. With patience the right car will come along .
