550 Maranello article - they'll be £200k before you know it!

[Mario149]

I think buying LHD at this point is a smart move. Firstly you get yourself a cheaper car but the same experience, and secondly, if the 550 becomes a genuine classic like older FE V12 Ferraris, the LHD/RHD prices will likely converge anyway

[TKH]

They have been a well kept secret that are only now being fully appreciated and appreciating

Took my newly acquired 550 out on Sunday when we had a glimpse of sun every time I drive it I fall deeper in love
if only the alarm would stop randomly going off

[harrykul]

Thanks again guys

There is definitely a shortage in recent months. My car was bought through a guy that buys and sells, as well as doing PPIs. He commented on how difficult it was to find good stock....

The first of many questions: for those that have imported, what is the situation with the speedo and the MOT? Have you changed the unit out, or fitted a converter of some sort? To pass the NI MOT it has to read mph.
Similarly, I've found a thread to convert the headlight from LHD to RHD- have any of you tackled this, or just replace the lights?

Sorry if it's kinda OT

Edited by harrykul on Wednesday 18th February 13:27

[phib]

Re lights, I did mine you don't have to replace, you simply invert. I will find the link and post it.

Re speedo, you can just replace the dial

It took about an hour

Phib

[F355spider]

roygarth said:

I started this thread 7 months ago as a joke, but £200K is getting closer....

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...

Come on you beauty!

Edited by roygarth on Wednesday 3rd December 10:19

Dad has identical car, but 40k miles. Be interested to see what value is by comparison

[ferrisbueller]

phib said:

Re lights, I did mine you don't have to replace, you simply invert. I will find the link and post it.

Re speedo, you can just replace the dial

It took about an hour

Phib

Lights:

http://www.ferrarilife.com/forums/modern-v12s-456-...

Speedo.
You don't have to convert it to be compliant. You can get a GPS speedo or Sat Nav for £40 if you don't want to do the mental arithmetic. More accurate than the speedo anyway. I like GPS speed for SPECS zones, whatever car I'm in.

[phib]

99% sure a sat nav or GPS speedo won't pass an mot and is not enough.

Mainly as when you loose signal you have no speedo and therefore illegal.

Phib

[phib]

99% sure a sat nav or GPS speedo won't pass an mot and is not enough.

Mainly as when you loose signal you have no speedo and therefore illegal.

Phib

[ferrisbueller]

100% certain a speedo in km/h will pass the MOT.

A GPS is what I was suggesting to avoid arithmetic.

[harrykul]

In NI it won't pass- the speedo must be dual marked mph/kmh (or at least mph). I've had this issue in the past with Jap imports. I've found the F355 speedo face at Lockwood, is this the same as the 550 item?

[ferrisbueller]

harrykul said:

In NI it won't pass- the speedo must be dual marked mph/kmh (or at least mph). I've had this issue in the past with Jap imports. I've found the F355 speedo face at Lockwood, is this the same as the 550 item?

Weird, and a subtle differentiation to the MOT elsewhere, I assume because you could drive it over the border?

What exactly does the book say? Dual display, switchable?

ETA 355 is different to 550 AFAIK.

Another option is to buy a replacement RHD speedo, reset the miles and fit it.

Edited by ferrisbueller on Thursday 19th February 11:34

[harrykul]

Don't have the exact definition, but the following are passable:
mph with kmh
mph only
kmh speedo with switchable digital mph display


kmh only is out.

The 355 one looks very close- I plan to speak to them and get one made up to suit if it doesnt fit.

http://www.lockwoodinternational.co.uk/ferrari-355...

[jtremlett]

harrykul said:

Don't have the exact definition, but the following are passable:
mph with kmh
mph only
kmh speedo with switchable digital mph display


kmh only is out...

Interestingly the official government website doesn't mention the speedometer as being checked at all (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/your-car-and-the-mot/your-car-and-the-mot--3).

According to the AA "The car will fail if a speedometer is not fitted, is incomplete, inoperative, has a dial glass broken/missing or cannot be illuminated." (http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/car-servicing-repair/mot-changes-2012.html).

www.mot.co.uk in its tester's manual adds:

1. Check that a speedometer is fitted

2. Check the condition of the speedometer

reason for rejection:

1. Speedometer not fitted.

2. Speedometer not complete or clearly inoperative, or dial glass broken or missing.

Note: It is not a Reason for Rejection if the dial glass is cracked, providing:
· there is no possibility of misreading the speedometer or
· there is no possibility fouling of the indicator needle or
· the cracked glass does not create a safety hazard.

3. The speedometer cannot be illuminated.

My 348, imported from Germany fifteen years ago, still has the original kph speedometer fitted with no mph markings and has never (so far!) had a problem with the MOT as a result. That said, it may be a requirement of the import process now.

Jonathan

Edited by jtremlett on Thursday 19th February 13:50

[ferrisbueller]

It's the NI bit which makes it different.

[phib]

Normally ..... it should fail for a kmph speedo in the UK

Phib

[FalconWood]

phib said:

Normally ..... it should fail for a kmph speedo in the UK

Phib

Mine has a km speedo and has passed every MOT test since it was imported in 2000!!??

[FalconWood]

phib said:

Normally ..... it should fail for a kmph speedo in the UK

Phib

Mine has a km speedo and has passed every MOT test since it was imported in 2000!!??

[harrykul]

Not an option for me to leave it Smarty. Or find a friendly MOT place: all MOTs in NI are in dedicated DVLNI centres- you can't go to a garage for a test. So what they say, goes.

[phib]

FalconWood said:

Mine has a km speedo and has passed every MOT test since it was imported in 2000!!??

I would say that's a friendly mot centre ! ( which was what I was trying to say) which is no bad thing !!

It is a straight fail normally though !! Especially in ni or ROI

Phib

[ferrisbueller]

phib said:

FalconWood said:

Mine has a km speedo and has passed every MOT test since it was imported in 2000!!??

I would say that's a friendly mot centre ! ( which was what I was trying to say) which is no bad thing !!

It is a straight fail normally though !! Especially in ni or ROI

Phib

Section 6.7 of the handbook suggests otherwise.

http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m4s06000701.htm

NI, as above, is different on this specific point.