What is the difference b/w a US 360 and Euro 360 model if it is already in the USA? Should there be a price difference? Thanks, Tim
They are discounted somewaht due to market perception that they are some how inferior, which seems very silly to me, provided that they were properly converted and certified with the proper authorites, etc.
The discounting is not due to a perception that the Euro-converted model is inferior. The reason is the lack of a warranty and the difficulty in getting some Ferrari dealers to service such a car.
In my view, they all rolled off the same assembly line and I've got a friend with a Euro Ferrari who gets the car serviced the same way as anyone else who has a Ferrari, which is at any Ferrari dealership (money is money for these guys). The one difference (and this would only be on 02 and greater) would be the fact that the warranty in the US would be null and void. The other difference that I've seen is in resale in that Ferrari purists seem to attach a stigma to Euros and you will have a tougher time selling in say 3-4 yrs than you would with a US model, but then again, you will pay less now as well.
The warranty on emission-related components is 7 or 8 years so more than just 2002 and later cars are affected. And the unfortunate reality is that there are some Ferrari dealers that will not service these cars.
I keep hearing stories about "people who know people" who couldn't get their Euro cars serviced, but I've never heard a story straight from the mouth of somebody who couldn't get it done. I've got a good friend that owns a Euro 360 Coupe. His car has received a substantial amount of service, and has visited all three authorized dealers in the New York area. He has NEVER been turned down for service. At the end of the day, money is money is money. And there is no better place for a dealership to make money than in the service department.
Actually Euro cars used to be an advantage because sometime cars were released in Europe before the US so, if you wanted it, you had to pay for shipping then a US DOT Conversion. So people spent some money on these. I guess warrantee issue wasn't an issue back then as it is now. I would definitely want a new car covered under warrantee but if it was used and out of warrantee I don't think there is any difference.
Timing aside, the other reason for the importation of Euro cars to the US was because people would arbitrage the difference in exchange rates, getting a 360 Spider in to the US, for say, $175K vs. the $230K you'd pay if you bought a US-spec on the open market at its height. Interestingly, given the weaking of the dollar, you're now seeing reverse arbitrage. I understand that people are now important Carrera GT's into Europe as it is much cheaper to buy them here.
WELL I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THE EUROS ARE FASTER HAVE MORE LOW END TORQUE. two of my friends have euro 360s one is a f1 and the other is 6speed believe it or not the euro 6 speed has much more torque then the f1 the f1 is 00 and the 6 speed is a99 actually the 99 has a press sticker like it was a the 29th one made or some shiit like that any way euros have less restrictions in the cats too almost like its a fake cat because they look the same but his passed under emmissions. euros also have 200 parts missing from the standard us model i wonder if the euros are lighter then the us model? Anyway driving my friends 99 euro 6 speed you can feel and hear a difference the exhaust is also louder and much different sound as well. as far as it not being able to get serviced that is a mith
I've said it before, I'll say it again, the only real difference is in resale and if you're a buyer, could work to your advantage.
The US spec'ed 99's were also introduced w/o the pre-cats and air injection pump and associated plumbing, which made them a bit lighter and also a bit more powerful. Of course there are other reinforcement within the bumpers and door panels that make a Euro spec. car lighter than the US car as well. I don't know the entire differences. But like anything else with Ferrari dealers servicing a euro spec car is a crab shoot. I have a friend with a 2001 euro spider (he opted to import it himself since there were no indication he was going to get one even though he was on the list) and he services it at the local dealer. There is also this post from a fellow fchatter with a euro 360: http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=134350157&postcount=101 He had a hard time with a local dealer. So who knows what the dealer would do when it comes down to servicing your euro spec car.
You will still be covered by the Euro Warranty. Therefore you would not pay for the parts. Only the shipping from the EU and Labour (worst case). I'm guessing the parts covered for 7-8 years would not include Labour in any case.
The warranty does include labor on failed emission-related parts. A cat converter failed on my F355 last year and it was replaced by my dealer free of any charge under warranty.
When Road and Track tested the F430 they tested a Euro model that has launch control (0-60=3.5sec and 1/4 mile=11.7sec) and the US model(0-60=3.9sec)will not have launch control. Now to me this is a big differance in performance!
Must be a low failure rate if they're prepared to cover parts and labour. Or is it a US specific requirement? In any case its not this cover that you need to worry about losing. How likely is it that faults like this would wipe out your saving if you imported when the $ was strong? The bigger issue is major faults in the first 3 years, for which labour could be costly. Can you not buy the warranty? For example in the UK we can buy the same warranty (for imported cars) from the manufacturer that the dealer does. For example many manufacturers offer 3 years in the uk, but only 2 on the continent. The manufacturer is obliged to sell this extra year at a similar price to anyone. Pretty much a mute point at the moment though, considering the weakness of the $.
The issue isn't whether or not a fault not covered by warranty will wipe out your savings. The question of this thread is why Euro cars sell for less money than US cars and the lack of a warranty is one of the reasons.
I can tell you from first hand experience, a set of precats and main cats on my 3 year old US spec California car were destroyed last summer...cost $18,624 which was mostly parts but also included a $900 labor. After so many months of investigation and root cause analysis through ARB (Air Resource Board) and others and a letter to FNA I received a call from my local dealer within two days whom claimed he was authorized to refund me the entire bill. We now know why they failed and why they should have been covered under state and federally mandated emission warranties. Is it worth the extra penny one would pay for a US car? Also, for those who buy their cars in California, above and beyond the federally mandated warranties there are California specific warranties that come in handy in the 7yr/70K period for cars that are sold and registered in California. If a California car was registered out of state to save sales taxes will have a voided California warranty (sort of like Euro vs. US in this case CA vs. US). I really question the people who buy these expensive cars and register them out of state to save $10-$15k in taxes... There is a warranty supplement that comes with every California car which explains in detail the components and type of coverage. Most buyers are unaware and dealers choose not to inform the buyer.
Erm.... and why is the lack of warranty one of the issues????? Because potentially a fault could wipe out your savings.
Well, paying for a $20,000 repair out of my own pocket won't come even close to wiping out my savings (or that of many Ferrari owners), but the exposure to such an expenditure does affect the amount I would be willing to pay for a car.
I do have one observation, which is that Euro dealers have a much sleazier feel that most selling US cars...strictly personal experience and I'm guessing there are some out there that are on the up and up, but none that I've seen...better question: does someone know a reputable Euro dealership?
I think 5to1 meant the saving's one would realize on a Euro spec car buying it for less than a US car...
I can tell you one to avoid. TAMSEN (Germany) Raised price at last minute (after i'd flown in especially to buy the vehicle and spent a few days in a hotel), missing airbag keys, wrong name on warranty book. And A few other things to boot! And Lamborghini haven't done much to deal with the issue, they haven't even responded to my last few emails querying whats going on. Your going to get bad dealers everywhere. But the one advantage in the EU is its an open market. Dealers are obliged to sell you a car no matter where you come from (in the EU at least). Failure to do so and any obstruction by the manufacturer results in big fines. As a result as a buyer you have more power. The EU is a big place and you can quite easily take your business elsewhere. You can also take advantage of cheaper prices in other countries
