550 Maranello article - they'll be £200k before you know it!
Discussion
Mine was TDF and Tan, and my 355 was BLM and Crema. Loved both colour combos but hand on heart I think that latter is a slightly nicer combo, but IME does not wear as well with age.
Good that 550 (asking) prices appear to have settled down a bit so that maybe more people have the budget to enjoy them. Loooovely car, especially in today's uber-electronics-paddle-shift-double-clutch etc era, but as old school (in a good way) as the driving experience is, these are max £85K cars even in today's daft market IMO for RHD, sensible mileage, good history, good condition etc given how much they cost to look after properly. Much like a 355 actually.
Good that 550 (asking) prices appear to have settled down a bit so that maybe more people have the budget to enjoy them. Loooovely car, especially in today's uber-electronics-paddle-shift-double-clutch etc era, but as old school (in a good way) as the driving experience is, these are max £85K cars even in today's daft market IMO for RHD, sensible mileage, good history, good condition etc given how much they cost to look after properly. Much like a 355 actually.
harrykul said:
Mine too, it had to be Grigio titanium/Bordeaux/black for me. Still have the magazine articles from the launch containing the above combination and had to have one.
Same combo for me except my paint is Argento. Would have settled for a Grigio one though, but IMO you need the black carpets - as much as I love the bordeaux leather, the carpets the same colour is a bit much.I'm really struggling with the thought of putting mine away for the winter this year. The roads are salty already but I keep hoping for a bit of rain to wash it away, then one last drive...
cgt2 said:
Grigio/Bordeaux/Bordeaux was perfect for me
Perfection indeed!Looks identical to my old 550. You didn't buy that from Simon Furlonger around 2011 did you, by any chance cgt2?
God I regret selling that car. What on earth was I thinking! Recently let me 599 go and I'm seriously considering another 550, although it is hard to swallow paying double what I sold mine for. Hmmm...
harrykul said:
Sorry for the screenshot pic, but this is the most I've seen for one recently @ £175k. Looks lovely.
Romans also have one @£130k iirc. They say it's got the fiorano pack, but it doesn't have the visual attributes of one (calipers and ride height). Again, looks the part.
The Blue TDF was that Gordon Ramsay's car ? Romans also have one @£130k iirc. They say it's got the fiorano pack, but it doesn't have the visual attributes of one (calipers and ride height). Again, looks the part.
SL550M said:
Perfection indeed!
Looks identical to my old 550. You didn't buy that from Simon Furlonger around 2011 did you, by any chance cgt2?
God I regret selling that car. What on earth was I thinking! Recently let me 599 go and I'm seriously considering another 550, although it is hard to swallow paying double what I sold mine for. Hmmm...
No I bought it privately in 2013. I agree with you, loved all my 550s but I simply dont think they are worth the kind of money being asked these days, and I've probably done more mileage across three 550's than most have done in two decades. Looks identical to my old 550. You didn't buy that from Simon Furlonger around 2011 did you, by any chance cgt2?
God I regret selling that car. What on earth was I thinking! Recently let me 599 go and I'm seriously considering another 550, although it is hard to swallow paying double what I sold mine for. Hmmm...
A great car in many ways but there's no denying the handling was a bit stodgy and the weight in the nose of the car was very obvious when pushing on. Though I never owned a WSR or Fiorano 550, I did own a Fiorano 575. Most modern GT's deliver a much more enjoyable drive being brutally honest, but lack the sense of occasion. The F12 left me quite cold with all the technology and gizmos, so there seems to be no obvious answer other than an Aston I guess.
cgt2 said:
No I bought it privately in 2013. I agree with you, loved all my 550s but I simply dont think they are worth the kind of money being asked these days, and I've probably done more mileage across three 550's than most have done in two decades.
A great car in many ways but there's no denying the handling was a bit stodgy and the weight in the nose of the car was very obvious when pushing on. Though I never owned a WSR or Fiorano 550, I did own a Fiorano 575. Most modern GT's deliver a much more enjoyable drive being brutally honest, but lack the sense of occasion. The F12 left me quite cold with all the technology and gizmos, so there seems to be no obvious answer other than an Aston I guess.
Amen ref the heavy nose. Did the Norway tour with PhN about 5 years ago in my old 550, fabulous GT machine and through sweeping country/mountain roads, but in the fjords with lots of tight turns and lots of braking it started to feel rather clumsy.A great car in many ways but there's no denying the handling was a bit stodgy and the weight in the nose of the car was very obvious when pushing on. Though I never owned a WSR or Fiorano 550, I did own a Fiorano 575. Most modern GT's deliver a much more enjoyable drive being brutally honest, but lack the sense of occasion. The F12 left me quite cold with all the technology and gizmos, so there seems to be no obvious answer other than an Aston I guess.
That said, the vast majority of the time you drive them at 7/10ths or so where it doesn't matter. Loved that big V12. Have cast an eye over 612s (could only justify a 4-seat car due to one existing and one impending child) in the classifieds and could be tempted in 6 - 12 months depending on where prices are and what the economy looks like.
MDL111 said:
how about this then ... just keep driving the car throughout the year
The roads around here end up looking like the sahara desert with the amount of salt they chuck down, and I plan to keep the car for good so I really don't want to do anything to it that would hasten its demisemon the fish said:
MDL111 said:
how about this then ... just keep driving the car throughout the year
The roads around here end up looking like the sahara desert with the amount of salt they chuck down, and I plan to keep the car for good so I really don't want to do anything to it that would hasten its demiseHIS LM said:
The Blue TDF was that Gordon Ramsay's car ?
Sounds like a tidy one in the ad. Ramsays had damage at some point, but not clear how much.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1360217/Fie...
Pork said:
Sounds like a tidy one in the ad. Ramsays had damage at some point, but not clear how much.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1360217/Fie...
Says at the bottom of the article it was written off, so I suspect quite a lot....http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1360217/Fie...
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