Structural Front End Damage 458 italia

Have you considered resale value if you decide to part with the car sometime down the road? Ferrari buyer’s are a finicky lot as it is........

 

I've watched every video in detail - including the one where they had the frame aligned and welded at a Ferrari authorized frame shop.

I think the level of craftsmanship they have done on that car pretty much speaks for itself.

Ray

 

That's the only point I'll agree with -- the frame repair .

 

good luck to next buyer!

 

I wrecked an unnamed and somewhat rare super car a few years ago (don’t ask). Sickens me to this day. But in that the extent of the damage significantly exceeded the OP’s 458, I had no interest in living with it. It would never be right so the decision that it was a “total loss” allowed me to move on financially, although not yet emotionally.

 

The thing about tjhunt’s Ferrari 458 is they are doing it for YouTube views, and by all accounts he plans to keep the car, at least for a while. He also plans to install the liberty walk kit which in my opinion is ugly though there are plenty of people that like it so to each their own. The 458 rebuild for them is a multiple bonus for them, YouTube revenue, and with the new liberty walk kit the car is sure to be used as an advertising tool for their garage. If he later yes to sell and pass is off as a clean tile no accident vehicle in my opinion would be criminal, and as was stated shows a good example of why ppi needs to be done.

As far as the repairs, well they had a Ferrari certified shop do the frame repairs, used some new Ferrari parts, lots of used parts from exotic auto recycling and fabricated a power steering line from brake line and used non factory clamps. Soldering the connections with parts from a salvage harness is the easy way out but if done competently with good solder and heatshrink will work.

Taking all this into account was it worth it for tjhunt to repair this 458? In his instance yeah probably. The entire project is likely tax deductible or some portion of it is. Plus he’s generating revenue from YouTube, though how much is anyone’s guess unless he chooses to disclose it. And then there is the advertising aspect once the car is fitted with the liberty walk kit. Would I personally buy this car? No probably not. Has the series entertained me? Yes but it hasn’t inclined me to watch any of his other content.

 

azlin75,

I agree with your comments above. tjhunt's show was entertaining, but it didn't move me to watch other shows. I was only interested because it was a Ferrari. I was surprised he didn't have to go to the dealer to get any of the lights reset. Also, the triple flashing brake lights when you press on the brakes was weird to me. Maybe a third brake light flashing, but not your normal rear brake lights flashing as shown on the last episode. I've used Exotic Auto recycling and they are great. The Liberty Walk kit makes the car a hard re-sale because of the very limited appeal. Don't know how it could have a clean title, but any re-sale by tjhunt the buyer will know the history. Everything is on the internet these days. I like original screws and clips and on one episode he ran to the local hardware store some clips. I hate mismatch parts.

 

I know what they plan to do with it for YouTube. In the grand scheme of YouTube viewers it’s just a 458. If you repair things for a living and look at how they did it and their skill set it’s a total mess.

 

I’m pretty sure I recalled in one of the last couple of “episodes” they mentioned talking to their local Ferrari dealer about running a diagnostic. I did catch the comment about the clips and I know a lot of times, and I’m not saying it’s true in this case, many of the clips and hardware are easily sourced, probably from the same manufacturer. But odds are judging from the clamps they decided to change it’s likely there is mixed hardware. I think the clean title thing only helps really in this context for insurance purposes and to easily tag the vehicle. But since this series of videos is out there I’m sure the insurance company will scrutinize it if they are aware of it and I doubt it would be incurable for the same amount as a non wrecked 458. As far as the brake lights flickering I took that as led flicker and a low quality camera.

I’m betting it was a total ploy to get viewers, and in my case I was intrigued so I checked it out. I think the way they are repairing it is probably in line with how many people would do it, and let’s be honest probably better then most garden variety individuals. It’s certainly not a concourse restoration and certainly not something that would fly in a certified repair shop assuming they even took on the job to begin with.