Genuine question - why would you ever sell an F40?

[chilistrucker]

[redacted]

[Camlet]

chilistrucker said:

If you had a car as rare as say the F40/F50 how often would you/should you, 'take one out for a run?' Genuine question.
Also is there a minimum distance you would run said car for to get all the fluids working properly.

Edited by chilistrucker on Wednesday 15th March 21:09

Thanks. Any car that's laid up for a long period of time is likely to be a problem. They're machines after all. I use the F40 and F50 at least once a month, and for a minimum of couple of hours each. The F50 in particular needs a minimum of 10 miles before she's remotely ready for play. Both cars are over 20 years old and as one might expect, items gradually need replacing.

But being laid up only increases the risk of damage. Air con clutches, turbos, seals etc. The F50 has a digital instrument display with its own battery. If it powers down you're in perhaps 15,000 pounds worth of trouble as there's only one specialist in Italy that can bring them back to life. Less important but still worth noting is the re-chargeable torch in the F50 which doubles up as a vanity light when opening the doors. I had to take mine to a top electrician to gut and repair, my Ferrari dealer couldn't get to make it work (it's perfect now - the dealer had no idea it works when the doors open).

Each to their own but I find it depressing people would own cars like these and keep them locked up. They are works of art, you need to hear them, smell them, feel them, even clean them. Not just look at them. Of course money is a major factor, and heavy mileage might wipe several hundred thousand off values. But here's the thing. Values are highly volatile, people have very, very short memories. More important, life is very short.

When the day comes the Grim Reaper has invited himself to dinner, I am determined to shake his hand, wink at him, have a little smile and remember the good things I've experienced.

Edited by Camlet on Thursday 16th March 06:30

[MDL111]

Camlet said:

chilistrucker said:

If you had a car as rare as say the F40/F50 how often would you/should you, 'take one out for a run?' Genuine question.
Also is there a minimum distance you would run said car for to get all the fluids working properly.

Edited by chilistrucker on Wednesday 15th March 21:09

Thanks. Any car that's laid up for a long period of time is likely to be a problem. They're machines after all. I use the F40 and F50 at least once a month, and for a minimum of couple of hours each. The F50 in particular needs a minimum of 10 miles before she's remotely ready for play. Both cars are over 20 years old and as one might expect, items gradually need replacing.

But being laid up only increases the risk of damage. Air con clutches, turbos, seals etc. The F50 has a digital instrument display with its own battery. If it powers down you're in perhaps 15,000 pounds worth of trouble as there's only one specialist in Italy that can bring them back to life. Less important but still worth noting is the re-chargeable torch in the F50 which doubles up as a vanity light when opening the doors. I had to take mine to a top electrician to gut and repair, my Ferrari dealer couldn't get to make it work (it's perfect now - the dealer had no idea it works when the doors open).

Each to their own but I find it depressing people would own cars like these and keep them locked up. They are works of art, you need to hear them, smell them, feel them, even clean them. Not just look at them. Of course money is a major factor, and heavy mileage might wipe several hundred thousand off values. But here's the thing. Values are highly volatile, people have very, very short memories. More important, life is very short.

When the day comes the Grim Reaper has invited himself to dinner, I am determined to shake his hand, wink at him, have a little smile and remember the good things I've experienced.

Edited by Camlet on Thursday 16th March 06:30

Amen to that
Depreciation due to mileage is on theoretical anyway ....
Have you got a picture yet of the 2 F cars with the tdF .... kinda 3 F cars then
Or even better of the entire stable together

[andy355]

Wise words camlet. I considered a f40 when they were sub 200k but wasn't sure I could afford bills. Plus being no driving god I thought it would kill me!

[Camlet]

MDL111 said:

Camlet said:

chilistrucker said:

If you had a car as rare as say the F40/F50 how often would you/should you, 'take one out for a run?' Genuine question.
Also is there a minimum distance you would run said car for to get all the fluids working properly.

Edited by chilistrucker on Wednesday 15th March 21:09

Thanks. Any car that's laid up for a long period of time is likely to be a problem. They're machines after all. I use the F40 and F50 at least once a month, and for a minimum of couple of hours each. The F50 in particular needs a minimum of 10 miles before she's remotely ready for play. Both cars are over 20 years old and as one might expect, items gradually need replacing.

But being laid up only increases the risk of damage. Air con clutches, turbos, seals etc. The F50 has a digital instrument display with its own battery. If it powers down you're in perhaps 15,000 pounds worth of trouble as there's only one specialist in Italy that can bring them back to life. Less important but still worth noting is the re-chargeable torch in the F50 which doubles up as a vanity light when opening the doors. I had to take mine to a top electrician to gut and repair, my Ferrari dealer couldn't get to make it work (it's perfect now - the dealer had no idea it works when the doors open).

Each to their own but I find it depressing people would own cars like these and keep them locked up. They are works of art, you need to hear them, smell them, feel them, even clean them. Not just look at them. Of course money is a major factor, and heavy mileage might wipe several hundred thousand off values. But here's the thing. Values are highly volatile, people have very, very short memories. More important, life is very short.

When the day comes the Grim Reaper has invited himself to dinner, I am determined to shake his hand, wink at him, have a little smile and remember the good things I've experienced.

Edited by Camlet on Thursday 16th March 06:30

Amen to that
Depreciation due to mileage is on theoretical anyway ....
Have you got a picture yet of the 2 F cars with the tdF .... kinda 3 F cars then
Or even better of the entire stable together

I don't have a shot of the entire stable as to bring them together for one shot is a headache, they are in secure locations. I would need several drivers too (not an invite - yet haha). But a must-do one day. Here's a shot of the F50 and tdf together.

[Camlet]

andy355 said:

Wise words camlet. I considered a f40 when they were sub 200k but wasn't sure I could afford bills. Plus being no driving god I thought it would kill me!

Cheers. Appreciated.

I'm no driving god either. Far from it. But these cars are easy to drive if one takes the time to really get to know them well........and one doesn't act like a dick in front of people/passengers.

No car can defy the laws of physics, especially cars with no driver aids!

[MDL111]

Camlet said:

MDL111 said:

Camlet said:

chilistrucker said:

If you had a car as rare as say the F40/F50 how often would you/should you, 'take one out for a run?' Genuine question.
Also is there a minimum distance you would run said car for to get all the fluids working properly.

Edited by chilistrucker on Wednesday 15th March 21:09

Thanks. Any car that's laid up for a long period of time is likely to be a problem. They're machines after all. I use the F40 and F50 at least once a month, and for a minimum of couple of hours each. The F50 in particular needs a minimum of 10 miles before she's remotely ready for play. Both cars are over 20 years old and as one might expect, items gradually need replacing.

But being laid up only increases the risk of damage. Air con clutches, turbos, seals etc. The F50 has a digital instrument display with its own battery. If it powers down you're in perhaps 15,000 pounds worth of trouble as there's only one specialist in Italy that can bring them back to life. Less important but still worth noting is the re-chargeable torch in the F50 which doubles up as a vanity light when opening the doors. I had to take mine to a top electrician to gut and repair, my Ferrari dealer couldn't get to make it work (it's perfect now - the dealer had no idea it works when the doors open).

Each to their own but I find it depressing people would own cars like these and keep them locked up. They are works of art, you need to hear them, smell them, feel them, even clean them. Not just look at them. Of course money is a major factor, and heavy mileage might wipe several hundred thousand off values. But here's the thing. Values are highly volatile, people have very, very short memories. More important, life is very short.

When the day comes the Grim Reaper has invited himself to dinner, I am determined to shake his hand, wink at him, have a little smile and remember the good things I've experienced.

Edited by Camlet on Thursday 16th March 06:30

Amen to that
Depreciation due to mileage is on theoretical anyway ....
Have you got a picture yet of the 2 F cars with the tdF .... kinda 3 F cars then
Or even better of the entire stable together

I don't have a shot of the entire stable as to bring them together for one shot is a headache, they are in secure locations. I would need several drivers too (not an invite - yet haha). But a must-do one day. Here's a shot of the F50 and tdf together.

Thank you - very big fan of your tdf - love the colour scheme you chose - enjoy it - summer is on its way

[andy355]

I guess I have got less brave as I got older. My first fast cars in the 90s were a Maserati biturbo then a ghibli (of the biturbo variety) that liked to go sideways even off boost - that seemed normal at the time.

Camlet do you have a 288? If so how does that compare? That was always my favourite for its old school looks

[Trackside Junior]

Camlet said:

Thanks. Any car that's laid up for a long period of time is likely to be a problem. They're machines after all. I use the F40 and F50 at least once a month, and for a minimum of couple of hours each. The F50 in particular needs a minimum of 10 miles before she's remotely ready for play. Both cars are over 20 years old and as one might expect, items gradually need replacing.

But being laid up only increases the risk of damage. Air con clutches, turbos, seals etc. The F50 has a digital instrument display with its own battery. If it powers down you're in perhaps 15,000 pounds worth of trouble as there's only one specialist in Italy that can bring them back to life. Less important but still worth noting is the re-chargeable torch in the F50 which doubles up as a vanity light when opening the doors. I had to take mine to a top electrician to gut and repair, my Ferrari dealer couldn't get to make it work (it's perfect now - the dealer had no idea it works when the doors open).

Each to their own but I find it depressing people would own cars like these and keep them locked up. They are works of art, you need to hear them, smell them, feel them, even clean them. Not just look at them. Of course money is a major factor, and heavy mileage might wipe several hundred thousand off values. But here's the thing. Values are highly volatile, people have very, very short memories. More important, life is very short.

When the day comes the Grim Reaper has invited himself to dinner, I am determined to shake his hand, wink at him, have a little smile and remember the good things I've experienced.

Edited by Camlet on Thursday 16th March 06:30

Very true! I don't understand when people have cars like that and don't drive them either due to the mileage increase - the way I think of it it's like saving your girlfriend for the next guy in case you split up.

You've got quite the collection there too!

P.S. If you ever have the urge to drop by Milton Keynes on your travels in the F40....

[chilistrucker]

Thanks for the replies all, very interesting.
I have tbh the car in question does get used when the family are here, but sits stagnant the other 8 months which breaks my heart and I raised issues with the families, let's call him, "accountant!"
I tried to explain as best I could that I thought that car, and the rest of the fleet needed a yearly service and monthly use as described by Camlet.
He point blank chose not to listen, said it was not needed.
When I spoke to the insurers at the start of last summer they informed me they had changed the value on the car as its value had risen significantly, to approx 300,000k in their opinion.

I explained to him the value, rarity and mechanics of the car and what long term effects there would be if it wasn't looked after properly, he still wouldn't listen.
He is a bit special.

I went through the service folder last summer and couldn't find any documentation of when the car was last serviced, I think if the son who's car it is knew, he'd go nuts, but as a lowly part time chauffeur I don't pull the relevant strings. I bought some special metal polish last year and was laying under the car doing the rear exhausts, money man turned up and questioned the cost and how long I took to clean the vehicles.

I probably won't be going back this summer

[Camlet]

andy355 said:

I guess I have got less brave as I got older. My first fast cars in the 90s were a Maserati biturbo then a ghibli (of the biturbo variety) that liked to go sideways even off boost - that seemed normal at the time.

Camlet do you have a 288? If so how does that compare? That was always my favourite for its old school looks

Nope. No 288. Had a chance in late 2012 but had bought the F40 12 months earlier, and while I agree the 288 GTO is painfully beautiful, the F40 is the better iteration of it. Then in 2013 I went to an event with the F40 and was parked up next to someone with an F50. I hadn't seen one in the flesh, I was blown away with it, the itch had begun. I was surprised how similar it was in dimension to the F40 (it's 6 inches longer but much the same width and height) yet much more sophisticated in its design/construction (Formula 1 inspired carbon tub, V12, much superior quality build vs. the F40). 15 months later I added the F50.

[andy355]

F50 looks a lot longer than f40 - surprised I is similar. I used to live down the road from a chap who had one when they first came out. Think he did computer game software. Had a chat to him once when he was giving the wheels a wash. Much prefer 288 f40 f50 to enzo LAF

[Camlet]

andy355 said:

F50 looks a lot longer than f40 - surprised I is similar. I used to live down the road from a chap who had one when they first came out. Think he did computer game software. Had a chat to him once when he was giving the wheels a wash. Much prefer 288 f40 f50 to enzo LAF

Agree, the F50 looks so much better in the flesh. And IMO with its roof on. The LaF is remarkable (again smaller than it looks in pictures - about the same size as a 458) and I'd be delighted to try one out, the Enzo less so.

[chilistrucker]

andy355 said:

I guess I have got less brave as I got older. My first fast cars in the 90s were a Maserati biturbo then a ghibli (of the biturbo variety) that liked to go sideways even off boost - that seemed normal at the time.

Camlet do you have a 288? If so how does that compare? That was always my favourite for its old school looks

I like the age issue here as I thought it may just have been me, as I have also found the older I get the less brave I appear to be, why? Self preservation, experiences and reality I guess?

I haven't owned particularly expensive/collectable cars over the years, but have had a couple of quick ones that back in the day I drove hard, a200sx and a BMW M5 E34.

I've also got to drive a variety of vehicles in some weird and wonderful places over the years and never thought twice about it, but these days it is a little different.

I never had any issues backing an articulated wagon into the arena in Milan. Its a steep uphill, from light into dark and is slightly off centre a third of the way up. Its also so narrow that you have to fold the mirrors in on one side to fit and once you're in its a bugger to open the door and get out. I could do it pretty much blindfold.

Today, ask me to back my bosses 2 seater sports car out of a garage, I seem to get a lot more nervous and take twice as long as needs be.

As a side note the wheels on that wagon in the pic need a bloody good clean

Edited by chilistrucker on Saturday 18th March 20:50

[geopetrolhead]

Camlet said:

Talking of F40's, was clearing out some crap and came across 2nd October 2005 edition of the Sunday Times driving section. Spot the asking price of the F40.

Hilarious.

And how everything has changed, along came the iPhone in 2007. Wait for the Sunday Times to check out what's around? Seems like 50 years ago.

Holy crap, I knew they were low but not that low!! I remember Tiff Needell's F40 buyers guide on 5th gear, he claimed you could buy from 250 up to 400k. He mentioned the fuel tanks being expensive too.

[jakesmith]

Glasgowrob said:

getting to a point where no sane person would use one every day, if I had one i'd punt it rather than not use it.

I see one pootling around Cobham every now and again, a rare sight being used on the roads. I wonder how many get used anywhere near their performance potential now though. Not many I'd guess

[K50 DEL]

isaldiri said:

There's a further reason linked to taking profit but not exacty the same - the car has now risen to the point where one feels uncomfortable driving a car of that value. It's a first world problem of course but still potentially an issue for some people....

This is a concept that I've never really understood... it's a very real one though, a friend's Father-in-law recently sold a nice Lancia Evo II as the increase in value (to all of about 20k) made him too nervous to drive it.

[johnnyreggae]

jakesmith said:

I see one pootling around Cobham every now and again, a rare sight being used on the roads.

Possibly the same one that pootled down to the Fairmile meet at the beginning of June

[Robert W]

Trackside Junior said:

Hi all

Might seem like a silly question, but I often keep an eye on what F40s are doing as I will own one day.

I've wanted one since I was old enough to say Ferrari, and every career decision I make is pretty much with that goal in mind, so I always wonder why anyone would sell one.

So I'm interested, why would you sell a Ferrari F40? Other than not being able to afford it/ the capital aspect.

Er......People will sell them because they don't like them (as much as you clearly do!). People will buy an F40 because it seems a great car, then they find it uncomfortable, hard to drive, they can't really use it easily (you need pretty good roads nearby, and I'd guess speed humps would be tricky), keeps going wrong, hard to keep in perfect condition, the usual with Ferraris!

But I agree with you - if I had an F40, I'd NEVER sell it!

[Fun Bus]

Robert W said:

Er......People will sell them because they don't like them (as much as you clearly do!). People will buy an F40 because it seems a great car, then they find it uncomfortable, hard to drive, they can't really use it easily (you need pretty good roads nearby, and I'd guess speed humps would be tricky), keeps going wrong, hard to keep in perfect condition, the usual with Ferraris!

I'm sorry but I don't agree.

Why would someone buy one in the first place if "they don't like them"?

Why hard to keep in perfect condition? I'm sure F40 specialist DK Engineering or John Pogson wouldn't agree. And then there are Ferrari main dealers.

"Keeps going wrong" - do they? I can't comment, never owned one.

And as for "can't really use it easily" - people use F40s in Central London and, until recently, one member used one as his everyday car.

I'm sure they have some potential for huge bills but, properly looked after and with an owner with deep pockets that is rarely a problem.