Would a high mileage f430 scare you? Just put a deposit on a car with 50k miles

If it were me, knowing the mileage, I’d use this info as a negotiating tool. Just because the tires show some track useage means it was on the track at least once. Could mean anything. The rest are wear related items and to be honest should be kind of expected. The 3 items I would want to have addressed in order of seriousness is the fuel pump, the mufflers and the front break pads. Then I’d plan to do rear rotors, wheel bearings, tie rod ends and the boots pretty quickly. The damage on the diffuser is nothing to be concerned about really unless you want it fixed. Probably can and will happen again. For the asking price if the dealer will deal with the fuel pump and the muffler I’d say go for it and budget for the other repairs over the next few months so it’s ready for prime driving season. Good luck which what ever you decide.

 

If it were me, I’d find one that doesn’t have so many issues from being driven hard and pay the extra $ for some peace of mind, still knowing that there are no guarantees. These cars are holding their value well, so you can generally do well when selling. To me the real issue is not only the purchase price, but where you get in and out. Buy $100 sell for $90 is same outcome as buy $75 sell for $65. And how much will it cost you in $ and downtime at the shop for the brakes, tie rods, bearings, muffler, etc? If you get a cost estimate on that you might end up better off buying a higher priced car without these up-front issues. Just my 2 cents.


2006 F430 Spider, Rosso Corsa

 

I agree with Shawn and Frank - Either use this as a negotiating tool or simply wait and buy a car in better shape with a known history. Think about it this way, if you got this car cheap then spend another $20k+ to fix the issues, could you have bought a better car for the same price? I can't answer that as you are the only one who can determine that.

In my two buying experiences, I bought F-cars that had the options I wanted and fortunately, both had full service records from new. Did this mean I didn't put any money into them? No, but I knew exactly what I was getting and it meant more to me to have a full service history than not.

 

Honestly that's a PRETTY GOOD PPI for a f430 with 50k!

Good luck finding a better deal..let us know how that works out for you 3-5 years later.


Those are ALL minor things, price out repairing some of those items, likes rotors/pads, tie rod and wheel bearings, and negotiate it into the price. Good luck!

 

This is why I said use as a negotiating tool. Could you find something better? Yea maybe but let’s look at it from this angle, once your done with repairs you know the wheel bearings, fuel pumps, brakes, tie rod ends and boots and clutch are good. I omit the exaust because it will be an ongoing issue since f430’s need the exaust checked regularly. For 50k miles I believe all this is really to be expected, and if the engine checked out good during the Ferrari ppi then you can drive it and put miles on it worry free. Also while I would let Ferrari do some of the work it would be a good idea to find a competent independant to perform some of the work as well since you could save as much as half. Personally I’ve seen cars that had worse wrong for more money albeit less miles. I think you should think long and hard about what your ownership experience is going to be. Will you drive it for a few years then unload it? If so I’d probably recommend passing on this car. Are you planning to keep it a while and drive it somewhat often? I would probably seriously consider this car because it’s been driven it will never be worth what a car with 20k less miles is.

I would take it at the sellers asking price if they replace the fuel pump and repair or replace the muffler but I’d also see if you can get a concession for the wheel bearings and tie rod and boots. Since the Ferrari ppi said eventually on the brakes I doubt you’ll get a concession on them since at 75 k I’d almost expect worn brakes. The golden thing to remember is it’s a fairly new clutch. And since nearly everything on the Ferrari ppi is relatively minor it would make a good driver/fixer upper.

 

Well how handy are you in the shop? Are there any reputable independents in your area? A member here replaced his own wheel bearings and it didn’t appear to be that bad of a job, it looked far easier then the maintainance I just performed on one of my company trucks yesterday. Ordering parts at one of the parts vendors here can save you a good deal over dealer parts. If you have an Indi do it most of the time they will want to get the parts, but you will still save over the dealer. It makes since to do the brakes the same time you do the wheel bearings, as well as the tie rod and boots. This will knock a legitimate portion off the ppi list and you’ll feel good knowing they are new. For what it’s worth if it were me I’d pay the 1k for the second pump, however you don’t have to.

I think it’s worth taking a day to figure out what these repairs will cost, I doubt it will be 15k (and there’s no guarantee a 90k F430 won’t need work as well) so it’s really up to your personal preference.

 

Sounds this is like the time we teach you to start fishing instead of giving you the fish.

Check out this website, you'll need to know it and understand it well when you own a used Ferrari and you're budget-conscious.


Good luck young grasshopper.

https://www.ricambiamerica.com/car-diagrams/ferrari/v6-v8/430-group/f430-05-08.html

 

I spent $2000 for rotors, around $650-700 for pads and $500 for labor. So figure $3400 or so. This was at an independent shop. This was 2018 pricing.
Keep an eye on the headers (Mk. 2 included), tail light mounts. You will be spending some money on a 50K mile car and you would be spending money on a 15K mile car. There is no escaping dropping coin on these cars. I guarantee that it will cost a whole lot more than what you would want to spend!!!!

 

Hoping that price was for gyro discs. Oem Brembo rotors are $90 a piece and set of front or rear break pads is $55.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Superperformance UK, no affiliation with them whatsoever. However I was very pleased with them. Ordered on a Monday and had them at my door that Thursday and I’m in the US.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Do the break pads have the brake sensors in them?

 

I did the rears which don’t have them. They do sell the front with sensors for low hundred I think.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Dealer who did PPI and looked at it should be able to give you quote, and you can take list to an independent for another quote. Looks like pretty common wear items. So, no leaking valve cover gaskets or the like...?

 

I guess I'll be the Debbie Downer here. Wheel bearings + tie rod ends + (likely) ball joints + pads + rotors + fuel pumps + fiberglass repair/paint. What is the condition of the exhaust manifolds? How much sticky crap is inside the car? Etc. etc.

This might all be normal wear-n-tear (and it actually is).... but who wants to spend a bunch of money on a car and immediately spend even more, rather than just drive their new toy?

There are plenty of red F430's available.

 

All good points, but at the entry cost and the seller replacing the fuel pump at the Ferrari dealer you’ll have a few bucks to spend sure but you’ll know you have a pretty solid car once you replace the few things it really needs. For a 50k mile car the ppi report doesn’t seem that bad given the age of the car. I’ve see California ppi’s that looked worse. It really breaks down to your philosophy I guess.

 

I say get a 3rd PPI and see what else they find!

 

If you get the quote please let us know the details!


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app

 

My $.02, is you're basically getting what you can expect for the price. None of it seems out of the ordinary for a vehicle with this mileage, and the type of driving these cars get put through. You need to decide for yourself if you're willing to exchange the low price for a few headaches up front, or pay more for a better example and delay those headaches for later. If you keep the car long enough you'll be paying those costs one way or the other.

Ask yourself, do you have the stomach to take on a car that's a deal, or you want to pay more for the "peace of mind" of a "sorted" F430. You can't escape the trade off. Now that you found what you're looking for ("cheap" Ferrari), and the real cost of making that purchase has manifested itself, is this what you really want. If the answer is yes, finalize the deal, embrace whatever destiny results from the purchase, and enjoy the ownership experience.

 

And this is why people call it the “Ferrari tax”. It’s also why many F430 owners will say find a good indi mechanic or do some of the work yourself. I have to say I find the price for the muffler repair more then somewhat inflated. I think the parts quote you received from the dealer to be fairly accurate, and I’m just going to guess the labor will be maybe 3k to 3500 (depending on labor rates and how many man hours) maybe less especially since most of that work will be done while working on other parts in the same area (front brakes, tie rod ends and boots, wheel bearings, brake rotors).

Like I said in earlier posts if you purchase and do this work that’s a pretty large load off your mind since you know it to be done. Also ask for the parts that were removed. Many here do this and I think it is a good idea, for one you know it’s been done, second you can personally inspect the damaged parts yourself.

Also if you move forward budget for the tail lights you want to replace ( either new or used example from exotic auto recycling) and for F1 parts that will eventually fail, tires, paint correction, paint protection film, ceramic coating, and a laundry list of other things I don’t want to cramp my fingers typing.