Ferrari 550, 1 owner, only 109,000 miles FSH.Well would you?
Discussion
Excellent update, glad to hear all is going well 
These Ferrari 12's appear incredibly strong, here's a 599 with 164k miles!
http://www.lacentrale.fr/auto-occasion-annonce-230...
These Ferrari 12's appear incredibly strong, here's a 599 with 164k miles!
http://www.lacentrale.fr/auto-occasion-annonce-230...
The visit to Rardley for its first proper ‘service and going over’ since purchase in July 2012 – albeit with only shy of 1,000 miles on the clock during that time, has resulted in a slightly eye watering bill 
, but a huge slice of ‘peace of mind’. 
I had noticed the smallest of water weeps on the floor of the garage and didn’t bother to mention this to Rardley since I had no suspicion that it was a serious issue. However, having checked the car over from end to end and having confirmed that my worry about rear end suspension noise was no more than a loose floor section, Rardley called me to say that there was a weep from the water pump gasket. I have been aware that the hoses in the engine V are liable to catastrophic failure, however, knowing that the top main hose had been replaced prior to purchase, this didn’t seem an immediate worry. However, it would be foolish to ignore any sort of apparent water leak, especially when the car has been ‘laid up’ and is about to do the European road trip, so Rardley were given the go-ahead to examine further in order to eliminate the leak.
The resultant strip down of engine ancillairies and front cam covers revealed that the V top hose was indeed brand new but the small bottom hose was shot to pieces.
Rardley have always recommended that their ‘in house’ mod be fitted which is a pair of silicon hoses which are armoured to protect against the higher than normal water pressure immediately behind the thermostat housing. These were fitted. The water pump was found to be working OK but the bearings were noisy and clearly worn so for £286 the pump was exchanged for a new one and the water pump O rings were replaced – the source of the small water leaks.
Other details which were rectified upon re-assembling the engine was a kinked plenum gasket and distorted inlet manifold gaskets, which had not been fitted properly. Cost of gaskets are peanuts - £27 for both sets, but the risk of messing up the mixture when the inlet gaskets are not sealing made this a no brainer.
Another small detail was sorted which was the radiator bleed hose which tends to become restricted due to the rubber perishing inside – looks similar to cholesterol build up – this was replaced for the part cost of £10.
Other detail items on my list for attention were a problem with the alarm which was keeping the warning light on at all times (flat alarm battery). This can fail completely and immobilise the car so a new alarm battery was fitted.
The driver side front window had been causing an annoying squeak and wind noise unless cracked open at all times but this was eliminated by re-aligning the window which had tipped forwards very slightly and was not sealing properly (a VERY common problem on 550s) Rather labour intensive due to the necessity to strip down the door but well worth it when the squeak and all wind noise is now eliminated, added to which it looks far better.
Finally, the heavier than normal accelerator pedal pressure was diagnosed as being a section of rusted cable where the cable divides in the engine bay. A new section was fitted – part cost £85.
The car was extensively road tested and the health check report was as good as I could have expected. Basically Rardley are adamant that the mechanical condition of the car is as good as, if not significantly better, than cars that pass through their workshops with 30-35k miles on the clock. The cosmetic condition is essentially that of a car that has covered 1000 miles as it was totally resprayed before I bought it and Ive seen that the interior has been spruced as documented previously in this forum (in addition to little bits like having the hubs done, calipers done, new wheel nuts etc etc etc) “Ah yes they are clearly buttering me up” you may be thinking, but Rardley have nothing to prove, they have been around for so long and have looked after and bought and sold more Ferraris than I could shake a stick at.
So now I am £2,100 poorer but my confidence is hugely boosted regarding the insanity of buying the car with more than 100k miles on the clock.
Next big outing is the Europe 3,000 mile round trip and I will keep the thread posted with photos and anything interesting which may befall me/ the car. There are also few more pictures to come of the engine with the new hoses etc which I will post as soon as I can get them off the camera!! Watch this space...
, but a huge slice of ‘peace of mind’. I had noticed the smallest of water weeps on the floor of the garage and didn’t bother to mention this to Rardley since I had no suspicion that it was a serious issue. However, having checked the car over from end to end and having confirmed that my worry about rear end suspension noise was no more than a loose floor section, Rardley called me to say that there was a weep from the water pump gasket. I have been aware that the hoses in the engine V are liable to catastrophic failure, however, knowing that the top main hose had been replaced prior to purchase, this didn’t seem an immediate worry. However, it would be foolish to ignore any sort of apparent water leak, especially when the car has been ‘laid up’ and is about to do the European road trip, so Rardley were given the go-ahead to examine further in order to eliminate the leak.
The resultant strip down of engine ancillairies and front cam covers revealed that the V top hose was indeed brand new but the small bottom hose was shot to pieces.
Rardley have always recommended that their ‘in house’ mod be fitted which is a pair of silicon hoses which are armoured to protect against the higher than normal water pressure immediately behind the thermostat housing. These were fitted. The water pump was found to be working OK but the bearings were noisy and clearly worn so for £286 the pump was exchanged for a new one and the water pump O rings were replaced – the source of the small water leaks.
Other details which were rectified upon re-assembling the engine was a kinked plenum gasket and distorted inlet manifold gaskets, which had not been fitted properly. Cost of gaskets are peanuts - £27 for both sets, but the risk of messing up the mixture when the inlet gaskets are not sealing made this a no brainer.
Another small detail was sorted which was the radiator bleed hose which tends to become restricted due to the rubber perishing inside – looks similar to cholesterol build up – this was replaced for the part cost of £10.
Other detail items on my list for attention were a problem with the alarm which was keeping the warning light on at all times (flat alarm battery). This can fail completely and immobilise the car so a new alarm battery was fitted.
The driver side front window had been causing an annoying squeak and wind noise unless cracked open at all times but this was eliminated by re-aligning the window which had tipped forwards very slightly and was not sealing properly (a VERY common problem on 550s) Rather labour intensive due to the necessity to strip down the door but well worth it when the squeak and all wind noise is now eliminated, added to which it looks far better.
Finally, the heavier than normal accelerator pedal pressure was diagnosed as being a section of rusted cable where the cable divides in the engine bay. A new section was fitted – part cost £85.
The car was extensively road tested and the health check report was as good as I could have expected. Basically Rardley are adamant that the mechanical condition of the car is as good as, if not significantly better, than cars that pass through their workshops with 30-35k miles on the clock. The cosmetic condition is essentially that of a car that has covered 1000 miles as it was totally resprayed before I bought it and Ive seen that the interior has been spruced as documented previously in this forum (in addition to little bits like having the hubs done, calipers done, new wheel nuts etc etc etc) “Ah yes they are clearly buttering me up” you may be thinking, but Rardley have nothing to prove, they have been around for so long and have looked after and bought and sold more Ferraris than I could shake a stick at.
So now I am £2,100 poorer but my confidence is hugely boosted regarding the insanity of buying the car with more than 100k miles on the clock.
Next big outing is the Europe 3,000 mile round trip and I will keep the thread posted with photos and anything interesting which may befall me/ the car. There are also few more pictures to come of the engine with the new hoses etc which I will post as soon as I can get them off the camera!! Watch this space...
Thanks for the updates, it's a brilliant read.
I think the odd £2k bill here and there is more than acceptable for a 5.5 V12 super car.
And they did plenty of work. It's not like it was oil and filter and a quick tap round, lol.
Nice to hear some professional opinions on the condition of your car I'm sure?
It looks the business, congratulations on having the minerals to buy it!
I think the odd £2k bill here and there is more than acceptable for a 5.5 V12 super car.
And they did plenty of work. It's not like it was oil and filter and a quick tap round, lol.
Nice to hear some professional opinions on the condition of your car I'm sure?
It looks the business, congratulations on having the minerals to buy it!
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