Used 456 make sense?
Discussion
Just been looking at the prices of used 456's and I can't believe how cheap these appear to be getting..
e.g. Picking up a 96 example with 20-25k miles, thats just had service and belts done for 42-45k seems like an incredible bargain as long as it has a decent warranty.
An thoughts on the above? Would I be mad to even entertain the notion??
TIA
e.g. Picking up a 96 example with 20-25k miles, thats just had service and belts done for 42-45k seems like an incredible bargain as long as it has a decent warranty.
An thoughts on the above? Would I be mad to even entertain the notion??
TIA
Dean
My own opinion of these cars has to be prefaced by the fact that I'm a HUGE fan of them. There is no single car, on the planet, that I would prefer to own. Except maybe the 460GT when it emerges.
They are indeed a LOT of car for the money- they were when I bought mine, and are even more so now. By far and away the main cost of ownership has been depreciation, though for an early car this is obviously less. Expectb it to depreciate further though, because 4 seaters generally do.
The kicker is likely to be the running costs, which can be several grand a year. Many say that V12s cost more than V8s, though I have yet to see hard evidence of this with current models- you can end up the wrong side of bills of a similar magnitude with a V8 too.
My own view is that the key is to take your time and get a good one- to me that means steering clear of those that seem to have had lots of remedial work done, get it inspected etc. It's a lottery in which the stakes are quite high.
Kevin
My own opinion of these cars has to be prefaced by the fact that I'm a HUGE fan of them. There is no single car, on the planet, that I would prefer to own. Except maybe the 460GT when it emerges.
They are indeed a LOT of car for the money- they were when I bought mine, and are even more so now. By far and away the main cost of ownership has been depreciation, though for an early car this is obviously less. Expectb it to depreciate further though, because 4 seaters generally do.
The kicker is likely to be the running costs, which can be several grand a year. Many say that V12s cost more than V8s, though I have yet to see hard evidence of this with current models- you can end up the wrong side of bills of a similar magnitude with a V8 too.
My own view is that the key is to take your time and get a good one- to me that means steering clear of those that seem to have had lots of remedial work done, get it inspected etc. It's a lottery in which the stakes are quite high.
Kevin
Thanks Kevin,
I don't mind running costs in the 000's, it's how far in the thousands that worries me, e.g. 4/5k a year would be fine, 10-15k and I think I'd get pretty sick of it.
Depreciation doesn't really worry me either, thats just a fact of life with toys
I would definitely have any potential purchase vetted as thoroughly as I could.
Seems compelling IF I could find the right car, which as you rightly say, is a bit of a lottery..
I can feel a visit to a few cars coming up in the next few weeks
Dean
I don't mind running costs in the 000's, it's how far in the thousands that worries me, e.g. 4/5k a year would be fine, 10-15k and I think I'd get pretty sick of it.
Depreciation doesn't really worry me either, thats just a fact of life with toys
I would definitely have any potential purchase vetted as thoroughly as I could.
Seems compelling IF I could find the right car, which as you rightly say, is a bit of a lottery..
I can feel a visit to a few cars coming up in the next few weeks
Dean
I did an article for EVO about 6 months ago based on my running experiences.
Suffice to say, buy from a dealer or risk a heart stopping bill. New engine is 65k, rear transaxle is 20k, bonnet is 18k - get the picture?
What you save in depreciation you will spend in servicing costs etc.
A Maser 3200 has 90% of the character, but has fixed cost servicing and for 40k would only be 1/2 years old.
Bennno
GT2man-2 said: It could be complete bishop, but I heard the 456 needs a new steering rack every few years, priced at a wallet-choking £12,000
I've not heard this one before, though I wouldn't claim to know everything (BTW what's a 'bishop'? Is it the same as bollocks?). My direct costs of ownership are in my profile- I haven't hidden anything!
Bennno's article in EVO, which I read with interest, I think underscores the need to choose a good one- there are plenty of dogs out there. While I would question whether it really is 90% of the character for less money, I believe that a 3200GT is a viable alternative (shares some of the parts); funnily enough I thought about this the other day- given the choice would I choose a 3200 over an older 456? Nope. Well I told you I was a fan so what did you expect?
Hello Dean,
I bought a M-reg 456 GT last year, from a friend in the FOC. One owner and full Ferrari History. Looking through the service bills they average about 4-5K per year (main dealer prices) this does include brake pads and disks, also tyres. I have spent £250 on Air-con repairs, £100 on heater valve, £320 on Front tyres & 4 wheel tracking. and £130 on Cat computer. A total of £800 on maintenance/repair. The car had a major service before I bought it, hopefully this year's service will cost £300-500 (local specialist ). The other essential purchase was a Hamann exhaust from Manu and Ajay at Scuderia Systems, the car really sounds the Mutts Nutts now. I have certainly enjoyed 456 ownership over my previous 348 TB. Drop me a line if you want.
Good luck
G.
>> Edited by prancing on Friday 30th May 21:40
I bought a M-reg 456 GT last year, from a friend in the FOC. One owner and full Ferrari History. Looking through the service bills they average about 4-5K per year (main dealer prices) this does include brake pads and disks, also tyres. I have spent £250 on Air-con repairs, £100 on heater valve, £320 on Front tyres & 4 wheel tracking. and £130 on Cat computer. A total of £800 on maintenance/repair. The car had a major service before I bought it, hopefully this year's service will cost £300-500 (local specialist ). The other essential purchase was a Hamann exhaust from Manu and Ajay at Scuderia Systems, the car really sounds the Mutts Nutts now. I have certainly enjoyed 456 ownership over my previous 348 TB. Drop me a line if you want.
Good luck
G.
>> Edited by prancing on Friday 30th May 21:40
I concur with Prancing's prices (at a main dealer at least, I suspect an indy may be slightly more than 10% of main dealer costs) There are good indy specialists out there, but then there are bad ones to 
IMHO the 456 is as far from a 'budget' Ferrari as you could possibly get, that being said I've heard the tale about the steering racks a couple of times - it's complete bo__ocks thankfully.
It's probably worth buying from a main dealer for peace of mind and at the moment the price differential isn't that great. Jon's 456s will be sold in due course, probably by Nick Cartwright, I'll post when this happens. The M5 does everything I want, in a massively fast car with no vices and almost as much driving enjoyment.
BTW we've lost £30k a year on these cars. FFSH, new bonnet on one of them, heated dehumidified garaging, someone's going to get a bargain
IMHO the 456 is as far from a 'budget' Ferrari as you could possibly get, that being said I've heard the tale about the steering racks a couple of times - it's complete bo__ocks thankfully.
It's probably worth buying from a main dealer for peace of mind and at the moment the price differential isn't that great. Jon's 456s will be sold in due course, probably by Nick Cartwright, I'll post when this happens. The M5 does everything I want, in a massively fast car with no vices and almost as much driving enjoyment.
BTW we've lost £30k a year on these cars. FFSH, new bonnet on one of them, heated dehumidified garaging, someone's going to get a bargain
Steering rack had been replaced on my 456 and saw one at Verdi's having the same work done. Seems it is a known bug that effects the earlier cars but once sorted it doesnt reoccur and cost is more like 3k for a second hand rack.
On my car the main problems came from the need to replace the water pump and then when it sprang a camshaft oil leak - both of which if not courtesy of the supplying garage, would have cost £4K+ each as they needed cambelts off at £2000 for starters.
The main known problem on all but the latest 456 ferraris, is bad design of the door / window lift mechanisms. Essentially the mechanisms wear very rapidly, then they put stress on the doors. What you end up with is a rapidly increasing gap at the back of the window, which to sort properly will cost 8k and isnt covered under warranty as its a known defect.
456 you are right the 3200 doesnt have 90% of the character its more like 65%!
Bennnno
>> Edited by bennno on Saturday 31st May 08:07
I said:...I've heard the tale about the steering racks a couple of times - it's complete bo__ocks thankfully...
Please note, I do not hold some of the early cars having special equipment chocolate steering racks to be bo__ocks, simply that the price is way OTT (by approx 9500k)
Window mechanism replacement should be okay, the problem with the early cars is that by the time you see the problem it's a massive job to put right
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