458/488 Potential Purchase Advice

[MisterBigglesworth]

Congratulations Chipper. That looks lovely and I’m sure you will be thrilled with it.

Unfortunately I appear to have accidentally punched a sizeable hole in my replacement 458 spider fund with an unplanned impulse purchase of another red Italian.

I have been trying to figure out since Saturday why I bought it and the only conclusion I got to was ‘it’s an Alfa and it’s red’.

[Gibbo205]

MisterBigglesworth said:

Congratulations Chipper. That looks lovely and I’m sure you will be thrilled with it.

Unfortunately I appear to have accidentally punched a sizeable hole in my replacement 458 spider fund with an unplanned impulse purchase of another red Italian.

I have been trying to figure out since Saturday why I bought it and the only conclusion I got to was ‘it’s an Alfa and it’s red’.

Very nice I recently bagged myself one of those too, a risky move as mine has 114,000 miles but at 26k gamble I took.

[vanman1936]

The Alfa 2.9 TT engine is special….I have the Stelvio variant and, for a SUV, it is insanely good.

[MisterBigglesworth]

Gibbo205 said:

Very nice I recently bagged myself one of those too, a risky move as mine has 114,000 miles but at 26k gamble I took.

Thanks Gibbo, reading your thread was a key influencer in my decision.

Deal just confirmed as going through, so scheduled for collection on the 4th.

It's a 2020 MY facelift car that has the interior refresh and L2 autonomy bits but before they stopped Comp red and yellow caliper options. Was a Alfa UK management car apparently 11k miles - has carbon exposed roof, carbon sparco seats, carbon mirrors, factory akrapovic exhaust, driver assistance pack, convenience pack and harmon kardon.

Lovely thing to drive, did notice the torque limiting in 1st and 2nd you reported but doesnt seem to hold back in race mode. Has the SW revision to open the exhaust at 3k in dynamic as well although will probably look to get the akra exhaust controller added.

Not quite the bargain yours was but 32k off new list for 11k miles still feels good value.

Puts it in context of the 458 spider finance deal quoted - this is near enough what the 50k interest bill buys in cash

[FFinally]

Nice Spider. The Giulia chat brings back very good memories. I had a Quad for just over four years before part exchanging it for an F8. I had thought 500ish HP was enough. Turns out 700ish is.

[Chad_Hugo]

Nice colour on that 488 (Argento Nürburgring silver?)- enjoy it in good health. I really like grey/silver 458/488'S.

I was in the same position around a year and a half ago and after experiencing a Cali T, 430 scud, 458, 488 over a period of a few months found the 458 was by far the car I enjoyed driving the most overall in terms of driving feel, performance+comfort and usability, and strongly preferred it looks wise as to me it's the perfect blend of classic lines and bold, beautiful design, easily one of the best looking Ferrari's ever IMO. The NA sound in race mode was also a factor for me as there's just nothing like it

A friend of mine has had a 488 GTB for 2 years and he loves it, a great car too and the spyder will be a lot of fun!

Edited by Chad_Hugo on Sunday 29th January 23:06

Edited by Chad_Hugo on Sunday 29th January 23:07

[willy wombat]

Sorry but it’s spider, not spyder.

[bigleefish]

Chipper said:

I’ve be looking at a few forums on this but I’m just under 6’4 and I can’t get comfortable in an R8 or a McLaren 570. I’m going to hopefully look at a 488 coupe on Tuesday but what I really want is a spider. I take it I need the Goldrake seats to get comfortable ?
On the Ferrari website there is a yellow spider which I would love but it doesn’t have the lift. Annoyingly I have a slight slope into my garage and have had no problem getting 911 GTS into but it’s close. Is this lift vital as I really want to go into Europe driving if I bought one.

Many thanks

Edited by Chipper on Monday 23 January 08:43

Interestingly in 6’5” and have a Gen 1 R8 V10 manual spider and it’s works fine for me, albeit it’s tight. I can’t fit in any McLaren other than the 720s and the 488 spider gives me a numb bum in anything other than the carbon race seat. Horses for courses lol. What did you go for in the end? My choice is between 720s or 488 coupes (or a slim chance of a 991.2GT3) but not the spiders due to fit.

[WCZ]

bigleefish said:

Interestingly in 6’5” and have a Gen 1 R8 V10 manual spider and it’s works fine for me, albeit it’s tight. I can’t fit in any McLaren other than the 720s and the 488 spider gives me a numb bum in anything other than the carbon race seat. Horses for courses lol. What did you go for in the end? My choice is between 720s or 488 coupes (or a slim chance of a 991.2GT3) but not the spiders due to fit.

I think the 720 is probably the best value car at that price range that exists imo - personally i'd rather go 458 over a 488

[bigleefish]

WCZ said:

I think the 720 is probably the best value car at that price range that exists imo

I'd be inclined to agree but the future values give me the fear!

[Gibbo205]

bigleefish said:

I'd be inclined to agree but the future values give me the fear!

For same money 600 LT Spider is wiser money, limited edition in far fewer numbers and with no more sport series cars to be produced the 600 LT is the last of its kind from Mclaren, top exit exhaust, back window and roof you can drop, cracking buys in the 150k region.

[Trev450]

Ressurecting this old thread as I didn't see the point of starting a new one.

I've noticed that some 458's have a black roof and/or sills. I'm assuming this was a factory option and if so, is there an official name given to it please?

[andyr]

When I was looking to buy one, they were generally aftermarket wraps.

[Chris355]

Some black roofs are painted, some are wrapped. With the last 6 digits of the chassis number any main dealer will be able to tell you whether it was factory painted. The painted option was quite expensive 7-8k from memory (on a 488 genuine ones are listed on the options plaque).

Factory sport sills are grey or black. Alternatively, it might be they have been wrapped. Again, dealer can tell you.

[Trev450]

Thank you for the clarification.

[7GJR]

Trev450 said:

Ressurecting this old thread as I didn't see the point of starting a new one.

I've noticed that some 458's have a black roof and/or sills. I'm assuming this was a factory option and if so, is there an official name given to it please?

Lifting the front boot and checking the paint sticker will tell you if it’s factory or not. My yellow sticker says both Grigio Silverstone for the body, and Nero for the roof.

The black sills are the ‘sports sill cover’ option

[Trev450]

7GJR said:

Trev450 said:

Ressurecting this old thread as I didn't see the point of starting a new one.

I've noticed that some 458's have a black roof and/or sills. I'm assuming this was a factory option and if so, is there an official name given to it please?

Lifting the front boot and checking the paint sticker will tell you if it’s factory or not. My yellow sticker says both Grigio Silverstone for the body, and Nero for the roof.

The black sills are the ‘sports sill cover’ option

Very useful to know. Many thanks.

[Trev450]

Another question please.

I've noticed that some of the 488's that are specced with the race seats state that they are 'large size'.

Does anyone have first hand experience of these more generous perches please? How much larger are they than the normal race seats.

I ask specifically because I am quite small of frame and don't want to be floating around like a cock in a sock.

[supersport]

Bloat up a bit

[Trev450]

supersport said:

Bloat up a bit

At 65kg I think I'd have to do more than a bit.