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

[johnnyreggae]

Absolute purists might object to the origin but its been in the UK quite a while now so there's good local history - one fob may be missing and look out for sticky buttons

[jtremlett]

I know the car, seen it many times, and know the owner slightly. I don't know of anything bad about it.

Singapore cars are basically UK-spec but with km odometers.

I don't know if it has sticky buttons but, as far as I'm aware, there's no way of avoiding it and it is more-or-less something that happens after a certain time and you get sorted. No reflection on how the car has been looked after. Mine need doing and it is rather annoying that I can't get them done now when I can't use the car.

[Mogul]

Singapore car looks nice.

Shields are aftermarket/stick-on.

Intake plénums have been refurbed in red (not standard, but seemingly well done and not unattractive).

Some shrinkage of the black dash above the passenger airbag...

Spiel mentions cambelt service is due but will be done within the asking price...

Fast-classics appear to be closely related to Millenium Heroes. What’s the score here?

[21ATS]

DBSNOOR said:

Does anyone have a view/knowledge on this one...

https://www.fast-classics.com/cars/ferrari-550-mar...

Any negative of the singaporean origins?

If you're after a Rosso 550 give KHPC a call (The Ferrari Centre) they have a Rosso 550 available "off market" it's owner has three of them (550's that is - as well as other Ferraris), I was after his TDF blue one but he's unlikely to move that unless I offer daft money. They mentioned the Red one was available. I just don't want a red one.

[GTSJOE]

You also mentioned a Verde Zelweg car in another thread. Is that with the same collector?

[Bluebottle911]

MDL111 said:

I am pretty sure that I posted on this thread that the car is not rare enough imo to warrant the prices that people paid for them / the price increase (esp if you add 550 and 575 together) - and - to a degree - I exclude the mint 3k mile examples from that, as those have rarity going for them. For cars to stay at a high price / increase in price over time they need to be supported by the collector market as fewer and fewer “drivers” will buy them to use. IMO the 550 doesn’t really qualify, also because it has no use as a car for historic rallies and the like (unlike say a 2.7RS / various vintage 911s).

I imagine people were saying much the same about Dinos when they were selling for £5K.

[21ATS]

GTSJOE said:

You also mentioned a Verde Zelweg car in another thread. Is that with the same collector?

No it's not, it's one of their other customers. I've known about the car for two years. The owner finally decided to trade to a 599 and I got the call. Green is my first choice for one of these.

Having slept on it he couldn't part with it - so back to the drawing board.

The conversation about the owner that has three 550's arose after the green car blew out. KHPC knew I'd seen his blue one. I'd walked into the showroom a year ago and it was there. It had sold the day it arrived before it was even advertised. I would have bought it that day if it were available.

They suggested he might move it on if I offered £xx.

£xx being more than my comfort zone unfortunately. However he would sell the Red one for market price.

Edited by 21ATS on Tuesday 12th May 19:53

[davejones]

I've been following this and other similar threads here and on Ferrari Chat for some time - I was agonising for ages about getting a 550 as I've always liked the looks and the fact that, limited number specials apart, it represents the final real manual front engine twelve cylinder Ferrari. I agonized over several cars when they were in the £35-40k range and also considered the Banks car last year, as I believe there are several Garage Queen collector examples out there with tiny mileages that harbour a lot of future grief - these are 20+ year old cars and many have done much less than 1000 miles per year - so I was very circumspect about buying one I had no knowledge of, but more willing to pay a little less and get a leggy, well maintained example. .
Two things happened in the last twelve months to make my dream a reality, firstly a car I knew well came available and as I was wrestling with whether I should purchase or not when a good friend died very suddenly, it made me think that I should live for today and not worry so much about the future. Sure the value of these cars is of interest but I rationalize that given their relative rarity and desirability, there will always be a market for decent well historied examples and in any case I want to own one and enjoy the driving experience.
So now I am the proud owner of a LHD Giallo Fly example - not I must admit my first colour choice, however since acquiring it I think it accentuates the lines and looks pretty cool, it certainly brings a smile to my face every time I open the garage door. Sadly this Covid-19 situation has curtailed my plans to undertake an Easter European road trip, but hopefully that will become a reality in the coming months. So far I've only covered a few hundred miles but the car is everything I hoped it would be and Harry Metcalfe's real world view video is bang on - If you don't have to borrow globs of money to afford one, get off the fence and go and buy one - there may be a premium for good ones but hell you only live once!!!!

[Mogul]

Well played.

Giallo Fly will make for some epic photo opportunities but if you tire of it, there aren’t many cars that are easier to colour-change and properly done, it wouldn’t be a bad investment.

Don’t forget to drive it though - long days at the wheel are an essential part of the ownership experience IMO.

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/operatio...

[Not Ideal]

^^ great to hear Dave. Good on your. More feedback on the car when you can please !

[davejones]

Mogul said:

Well played.

Giallo Fly will make for some epic photo opportunities but if you tire of it, there aren’t many cars that are easier to colour-change and properly done, it wouldn’t be a bad investment.

Don’t forget to drive it though - long days at the wheel are an essential part of the ownership experience IMO.

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/operatio...

Awesome drive - yes I have this ambition to take the car to France for the summer season and attend a number of those uniquely French car events such as the GP de Tours in Chinon, Angouleme, The Monaco Classic and suchlike in style..... have to wait for another year!!! As for the colour, it has really grown on me and so for now I think I'll keep it stock.

[cayman-black]

davejones said:

I've been following this and other similar threads here and on Ferrari Chat for some time - I was agonising for ages about getting a 550 as I've always liked the looks and the fact that, limited number specials apart, it represents the final real manual front engine twelve cylinder Ferrari. I agonized over several cars when they were in the £35-40k range and also considered the Banks car last year, as I believe there are several Garage Queen collector examples out there with tiny mileages that harbour a lot of future grief - these are 20+ year old cars and many have done much less than 1000 miles per year - so I was very circumspect about buying one I had no knowledge of, but more willing to pay a little less and get a leggy, well maintained example. .
Two things happened in the last twelve months to make my dream a reality, firstly a car I knew well came available and as I was wrestling with whether I should purchase or not when a good friend died very suddenly, it made me think that I should live for today and not worry so much about the future. Sure the value of these cars is of interest but I rationalize that given their relative rarity and desirability, there will always be a market for decent well historied examples and in any case I want to own one and enjoy the driving experience.
So now I am the proud owner of a LHD Giallo Fly example - not I must admit my first colour choice, however since acquiring it I think it accentuates the lines and looks pretty cool, it certainly brings a smile to my face every time I open the garage door. Sadly this Covid-19 situation has curtailed my plans to undertake an Easter European road trip, but hopefully that will become a reality in the coming months. So far I've only covered a few hundred miles but the car is everything I hoped it would be and Harry Metcalfe's real world view video is bang on - If you don't have to borrow globs of money to afford one, get off the fence and go and buy one - there may be a premium for good ones but hell you only live once!!!!


Congratulations. I bought a LHD Modena in Giallo with blue leather ,(carta zucchero)in 2000 love the colour. The interior was superb also.

[davejones]

Not Ideal said:

^^ great to hear Dave. Good on your. More feedback on the car when you can please !

Sure will do - before I bought the car the friend I was buying it from took it to a local specialist to appraise it, service it and fix any issues - they replaced the rear discs and handbrake hardware as well as some minor issues, however I have taken the car to KHPC to have the sticky switches fixed as well as a precautionary belt and engine mount change. I will collect soon and post a more comprehensive analysis.

[550M]

Welcome to the ownership experience Dave. Your only regret is going to be wondering why you didn’t take the plunge earlier!

I’ve had mine knocking on for 15 years now, and had big plans this year for a trip to Laon, and then on to Bergamo for a wedding in her. All gone out of the window now of course.

Here she is at a photo shoot for EVO with Harry at the helm a few year ago. I blagged a blast in his Countach for that!

[urquattroGus]

Justin banks still trying to sell the 103k Mile one for £59K.

True value in today's market £46k ish???

[markiii]

less i reckon

[SL550M]

Ever since selling my 550 in 2011 I've thought about buying another. My old car came up for sale last week at £95k (Grigio with Bordeaux, a 2001 car). Tempting! But I must confess this one looks even better...actually it looks perfect to me!

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

Bit pricey, though?

[markiii]

id have that in a heartbeat best colour combo, but yes the little matter of the price

rather toppy at teh mo, but then reflective of never having seen one come up in that colour combo

[Petrus1983]

SL550M said:

Ever since selling my 550 in 2011 I've thought about buying another. My old car came up for sale last week at £95k (Grigio with Bordeaux, a 2001 car). Tempting! But I must confess this one looks even better...actually it looks perfect to me!

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

Bit pricey, though?

It’s stunning - but these aren’t 6 figure cars anymore. Infact even at £70k I’d say it was steep money.

[21ATS]

SL550M said:

Ever since selling my 550 in 2011 I've thought about buying another. My old car came up for sale last week at £95k (Grigio with Bordeaux, a 2001 car). Tempting! But I must confess this one looks even better...actually it looks perfect to me!

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

Bit pricey, though?

That's been for sale at Slades on an off for at least a couple of years.