Q re F430 Spider hoods

[GT3 APE]

Considering a F430 Spider and after 1st test drive of one, have to say I'm sold by the whole driving experience

However I've noticed on the older cars the hoods are starting to look a little worn vs look of rest of car. Must admit it was only 2 cars I looked at in Ferrari dealership but there seemed to be fading at the folds on the hood, the plastic rear windows were pretty scratched and 1 car had worn areas to piping at edge of roof.

Is this normal ? Any way to restore faded areas ? Can rear windows be replaced ? I assume a lot of this could be due to roofs being kept down in garages.

Thanks in advance for advice.

Dave.

[Scottish16M]

GT3 APE said:

Considering a F430 Spider and after 1st test drive of one, have to say I'm sold by the whole driving experience

However I've noticed on the older cars the hoods are starting to look a little worn vs look of rest of car. Must admit it was only 2 cars I looked at in Ferrari dealership but there seemed to be fading at the folds on the hood, the plastic rear windows were pretty scratched and 1 car had worn areas to piping at edge of roof.

Is this normal ? Any way to restore faded areas ? Can rear windows be replaced ? I assume a lot of this could be due to roofs being kept down in garages.

Thanks in advance for advice.

Dave.

Hi Dave

Clean the hoods and reproof, Autoglym do a magical product for this.
The plastic rear windows are replaceable, they zip out so it's a simple fix.
It will doubtless be caused by the roofs being almost permanently folded as you suspect.

Go fro a F430, you won't be disappointed on any level, its a magnificent Ferrari.

All the best
Peter

[GT3 APE]

Thanks for taking time to reply Peter. Good news re rear window.

Dave.

[isuk]

A replacement rear window is close to £700 from memory. It's possible to remove a lot of scratches (assuming they are not deep) using a product like Meguiars Plastic Cleaner polish and an orbital machine polisher with a small 75mm polishing pad. Cleaning the roof helps with the fading but to completey eradicate it may require redying it. This is pretty easy to do with a product like VHT vinyl dye which is suitable for use on fabrics and comes in an aerosol. It is easy to work with. You just need to mask up areas correctly to avoid overspray. A dealer should be able to organise this or negotiate a reduced price if you are up to doing it yourself or to cover the cost of a detailer doing it for you.

Edited by isuk on Thursday 14th July 11:56

[neil-f]

My 360 spider was marked at the folds and all the cars I looked at prior to purchase had the same marks.
The window on the 360 does not zip out, was not aware the 430's did!

[isuk]

I'm pretty sure the top on the 360 is exactly the same as the 430. The rear window is listed for it as well. The zip is hidden by a fabric seam if you look closely.

[GT3 APE]

Thanks guys.

[neil-f]

isuk thanks, I did not know that, thought it looked bonded in, I knew you could get it replaced at considerable cost but did not realise it was simply a matter of zipping it out new one in!!!!