Thinking of changing my car
Discussion
Having been looking at the price of older 456s in the classifieds here I am thinking of deserting the TVR marque and shifting allegiance to a yellow badged italian beasty sometime next year (30-40k: like this for example http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/719218.htm). But, other than having a look around a couple, I don't know an awful lot about them.
So, is anyone around here able to offer me advice as to what are the things to look for/think about? If I am buying a pre-April-2001 car then where are the places to take it for servicing and work - as people will know from my time with the Tuscan I am used to pretty big bills, but I wouldn't want to spend a lot more in maintenance than I already do.
Other suggestions would be welcome, but must tick at least these boxes:
2+2 (I am fed up of tooling around in then Mondeo if we want to take Jack somewhere)
Must have at least a semi-practical boot (see above)
NOT a hot family saloon/estate/hatch - must be a sports car - have the Mondeo for pace'n'space
I did have a serious look at DB7 prices earlier in the year, but when I had a more serious look around one at Le Mans I found that my head was constantly banging the roof-lining - either I am too tall, or too big-headed, you decide!
Gordon
So, is anyone around here able to offer me advice as to what are the things to look for/think about? If I am buying a pre-April-2001 car then where are the places to take it for servicing and work - as people will know from my time with the Tuscan I am used to pretty big bills, but I wouldn't want to spend a lot more in maintenance than I already do.
Other suggestions would be welcome, but must tick at least these boxes:
2+2 (I am fed up of tooling around in then Mondeo if we want to take Jack somewhere)
Must have at least a semi-practical boot (see above)
NOT a hot family saloon/estate/hatch - must be a sports car - have the Mondeo for pace'n'space
I did have a serious look at DB7 prices earlier in the year, but when I had a more serious look around one at Le Mans I found that my head was constantly banging the roof-lining - either I am too tall, or too big-headed, you decide!
Gordon
Edited by the-gofer on Sunday 28th September 11:37
Only when it comes to the cam belt change, where the mid-engined need the engine dropping.
911 Turbo ... are you avin a laff Tom ... plenty of torque ... the the Italian V12 does it all without the need for blowers though
Great cars Gordon and I have been humming and harring for the last two years ... but I will probably go for the 550 as in reality, I would rarely take all four of us out in a Ferrari.
The two main things are window seals, which are a constant niggle. Not drastic but annoying (and expensive to replace) AND rear suspension is £5k a set so check carefully for any leaks from the shocks or, even better, proof of recent replacement.
911 Turbo ... are you avin a laff Tom ... plenty of torque ... the the Italian V12 does it all without the need for blowers though
Great cars Gordon and I have been humming and harring for the last two years ... but I will probably go for the 550 as in reality, I would rarely take all four of us out in a Ferrari.
The two main things are window seals, which are a constant niggle. Not drastic but annoying (and expensive to replace) AND rear suspension is £5k a set so check carefully for any leaks from the shocks or, even better, proof of recent replacement.
A topic I've been pondering over occasionally myself.... With a little un on the way I've been wondering if I should change the ZM.
Not wanting to distract from your question though, and having no experience on a 2+2 (except for the Cerbera and Alfa GTV), if there's one car I've heard about big bills on it's the 456....
Maybe it's just the internet talk but I've heard it too often in relation to that car for it to be all coincidence surely. I assume you've asked on the Ferrari forum...
Maybe it's boring but the sensible (and reliable?) choice must be the 911.
Not wanting to distract from your question though, and having no experience on a 2+2 (except for the Cerbera and Alfa GTV), if there's one car I've heard about big bills on it's the 456....
Maybe it's just the internet talk but I've heard it too often in relation to that car for it to be all coincidence surely. I assume you've asked on the Ferrari forum...
Maybe it's boring but the sensible (and reliable?) choice must be the 911.
Thanks fellas. I am guessing no one has first hand advice, so what about other fezzas then, are we talking more than 3-4k per year in maintenance for a car that'll probably do around 6-8k miles?
On the Porsche note - whilst a very capable machine and with prices of 996 turbos in the right ball park, I can honestly say that they just don't do it for me. Don't know why, they just don't. Part of it is that they are just a bit too common (in the OED sense, not in a derogatory way). I like the idea of something a bit rarer.
Ok. So since there are a couple of us in the same boat now I started looking at other options, and a brief flash of inspiration led me to look at these: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/611471.htm
Anyone know much about 4200s?
On the Porsche note - whilst a very capable machine and with prices of 996 turbos in the right ball park, I can honestly say that they just don't do it for me. Don't know why, they just don't. Part of it is that they are just a bit too common (in the OED sense, not in a derogatory way). I like the idea of something a bit rarer.
Ok. So since there are a couple of us in the same boat now I started looking at other options, and a brief flash of inspiration led me to look at these: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/611471.htm
Anyone know much about 4200s?
Edited by the-gofer on Monday 29th September 19:45
Not got the soul of Ferrari though have they Andy?
A lot of the scare mongering is inter-net bull. The 456 is door seals and rear shocks as the typical bits to watch. People say £8k for a bonnet, but what would you do to a bonnet that wasn't covered by insurance?
Gordon, get yourself onto clubscuderia.com or ferrarichat.com ... plenty of owners over there. (or the FLM section on here as an obvious first stop).
A lot of the scare mongering is inter-net bull. The 456 is door seals and rear shocks as the typical bits to watch. People say £8k for a bonnet, but what would you do to a bonnet that wasn't covered by insurance?
Gordon, get yourself onto clubscuderia.com or ferrarichat.com ... plenty of owners over there. (or the FLM section on here as an obvious first stop).
Yeah, I know Al, hence why I said it may just be internet talk.
There was a 456 that used to sit on the driveway near a friends house in Morley. Not sure how much use it got as it never seemed to move very much. I do like the old beasts though.
The M6 and 911 are the relatively safe choices (if any car with the capacity for enormous bills can be considered safe). In my case I don't think Paola would be too keen to go back to Cerbera levels of costs (£17k in <3 years, not all of it declared!!!) until the mortgage is a bit less.
In reality though I'll probably do completely the opposite and get something like an Aero8!!!
Good luck Gordon (DB9's are down in the £50ks now)
There was a 456 that used to sit on the driveway near a friends house in Morley. Not sure how much use it got as it never seemed to move very much. I do like the old beasts though.
The M6 and 911 are the relatively safe choices (if any car with the capacity for enormous bills can be considered safe). In my case I don't think Paola would be too keen to go back to Cerbera levels of costs (£17k in <3 years, not all of it declared!!!) until the mortgage is a bit less.
In reality though I'll probably do completely the opposite and get something like an Aero8!!!
Good luck Gordon (DB9's are down in the £50ks now)
Hmm. I can see the cost of a new car rocketing here - 50k is somewhat more than I was thinking and I have to assume that Aston bills aren't going to be cheap either. I'll have to put my daily rate up, and given the current climate I can see that earning me my marching orders!
I have had a look at a few ferrarichat threads now and it appears that the Door Seal issue is not all bad - just annoying, no-one seems to have suffered flooded cars as a result, just noise at speed. The idea of paying up to a £1k for a fix (that may or may not work) doesn't scare me that much as I am tainted by the Speed Six. Rear shocks, it appears, don't necessarily have to be replaced, they can be rebuilt if you don't mind the car being off the road. It'd be a second car so not much of a problem if it is out of action for a few weeks every now and then.
I have to say a lot of this is that I have the Ferrari itch that is just going to have to be scratched sooner or later. Ho-hum. It might be the case that I buy one, have it for a while and never buy another again - but looking at the (slightly fanatical) following, I doubt it!
I have had a look at a few ferrarichat threads now and it appears that the Door Seal issue is not all bad - just annoying, no-one seems to have suffered flooded cars as a result, just noise at speed. The idea of paying up to a £1k for a fix (that may or may not work) doesn't scare me that much as I am tainted by the Speed Six. Rear shocks, it appears, don't necessarily have to be replaced, they can be rebuilt if you don't mind the car being off the road. It'd be a second car so not much of a problem if it is out of action for a few weeks every now and then.
I have to say a lot of this is that I have the Ferrari itch that is just going to have to be scratched sooner or later. Ho-hum. It might be the case that I buy one, have it for a while and never buy another again - but looking at the (slightly fanatical) following, I doubt it!
Hmm. I can see the cost of a new car rocketing here - 50k is somewhat more than I was thinking and I have to assume that Aston bills aren't going to be cheap either. I'll have to put my daily rate up, and given the current climate I can see that earning me my marching orders!
I have had a look at a few ferrarichat threads now and it appears that the Door Seal issue is not all bad - just annoying, no-one seems to have suffered flooded cars as a result, just noise at speed. The idea of paying up to a £1k for a fix (that may or may not work) doesn't scare me that much as I am tainted by the Speed Six. Rear shocks, it appears, don't necessarily have to be replaced, they can be rebuilt if you don't mind the car being off the road. It'd be a second car so not much of a problem if it is out of action for a few weeks every now and then.
I have to say a lot of this is that I have the Ferrari itch that is just going to have to be scratched sooner or later. Ho-hum. It might be the case that I buy one, have it for a while and never buy another again - but looking at the (slightly fanatical) following, I doubt it!
I have had a look at a few ferrarichat threads now and it appears that the Door Seal issue is not all bad - just annoying, no-one seems to have suffered flooded cars as a result, just noise at speed. The idea of paying up to a £1k for a fix (that may or may not work) doesn't scare me that much as I am tainted by the Speed Six. Rear shocks, it appears, don't necessarily have to be replaced, they can be rebuilt if you don't mind the car being off the road. It'd be a second car so not much of a problem if it is out of action for a few weeks every now and then.
I have to say a lot of this is that I have the Ferrari itch that is just going to have to be scratched sooner or later. Ho-hum. It might be the case that I buy one, have it for a while and never buy another again - but looking at the (slightly fanatical) following, I doubt it!
burriana said:
ted 191 said:
I know were there is a good 456 at mid 20`s, does need rear shocks and a service though
Can you vouch for it Chris? And what sort of spec is it?It seems to be the case that mid 30s buys an 'M' car with a recent cam belt service, <30k miles and it doesn't appear to alter the price much for Auto or Manual although I am only interested in a manual.
As I found on Wikipedia the M cars' major differences are a revised door seal arrangement (although not necessarily a fix!), different undertray at the rear that is fixed and not speed related, and a different front grill for cooling reasons.
Ok, so a change of plan! The Ferrari is on hold for a while - will look again maybe at the end of next year if I am still employed and society hasn't descended into complete anarchy.
I decided to change the Mondeo for something more interesting and with the recent plummet in luxo-barge prices have managed to get hold of a 2005 A8 4.0 Quattro Tip for a song.
It has lots and lots of toys, is incredibly comfortable and even though it is an oil burner it is capable of hurling itself at the horizon with alarming alacrity - all this and lower fuel bills than the Mondeo which absolutely drank fuel. Will get some piccies sometime when I am home and it isn't dark, raining or snowing
Edited to spell Ferarri correctly. Oops.
I decided to change the Mondeo for something more interesting and with the recent plummet in luxo-barge prices have managed to get hold of a 2005 A8 4.0 Quattro Tip for a song.
It has lots and lots of toys, is incredibly comfortable and even though it is an oil burner it is capable of hurling itself at the horizon with alarming alacrity - all this and lower fuel bills than the Mondeo which absolutely drank fuel. Will get some piccies sometime when I am home and it isn't dark, raining or snowing
Edited to spell Ferarri correctly. Oops.
Edited by the-gofer on Friday 19th December 12:05
the-gofer said:
Ok, so a change of plan! The Ferarri is on hold for a while - will look again maybe at the end of next year if I am still employed and society hasn't descended into complete anarchy.
I decided to change the Mondeo for something more interesting and with the recent plummet in luxo-barge prices have managed to get hold of a 2005 A8 4.0 Quattro Tip for a song.
It has lots and lots of toys, is incredibly comfortable and even though it is an oil burner it is capable of hurling itself at the horizon with alarming alacrity - all this and lower fuel bills than the Mondeo which absolutely drank fuel. Will get some piccies sometime when I am home and it isn't dark, raining or snowing
Congrats and welcome to the world of Luxo-barging I decided to change the Mondeo for something more interesting and with the recent plummet in luxo-barge prices have managed to get hold of a 2005 A8 4.0 Quattro Tip for a song.
It has lots and lots of toys, is incredibly comfortable and even though it is an oil burner it is capable of hurling itself at the horizon with alarming alacrity - all this and lower fuel bills than the Mondeo which absolutely drank fuel. Will get some piccies sometime when I am home and it isn't dark, raining or snowing
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