New member, F430 advice wanted please

[Gary18]

Hello,
I have had the urge to own a F430 for some years and now I think it's time to seriously look into it. I normally hold on to my car for a few years so it's got to be the right thing to do and will be used as a daily driver instead of a weekend car. Anyway, here we go:
What are the common faults (if any) to be aware of?
What should be set aside for annual running & service costs? What about contingency if there is no manufacturer's warranty left?
What is service interval on these cars and is it regardless of mileage? Any engine out jobs (clutch)?
Any common corrosion issues that I will need to be aware of?
What are they like as an ownership proposition? I fully expect to lose money over the length of ownership it's just a matter of how much.
Finally I guess my budget will be up to £100K but I don't feel compelled to have to go all the way if something really nice came up for less. I should add that I have never owned any form of supercar, superbikes yes but cars no (current car is a 530 sport).

Regards,

Gary

[lambo_xx]

Gary18 said:

Hello,
I have had the urge to own a F430 for some years and now I think it's time to seriously look into it. I normally hold on to my car for a few years so it's got to be the right thing to do and will be used as a daily driver instead of a weekend car. Anyway, here we go:
What are the common faults (if any) to be aware of?
What should be set aside for annual running & service costs? What about contingency if there is no manufacturer's warranty left?
What is service interval on these cars and is it regardless of mileage? Any engine out jobs (clutch)?
Any common corrosion issues that I will need to be aware of?
What are they like as an ownership proposition? I fully expect to lose money over the length of ownership it's just a matter of how much.
Finally I guess my budget will be up to £100K but I don't feel compelled to have to go all the way if something really nice came up for less. I should add that I have never owned any form of supercar, superbikes yes but cars no (current car is a 530 sport).

Regards,

Gary

I bought a 430 Spider in December so hopefully I can help.
Common faults: I'm not actually sure. I haven't had any issues with mine except that the battery goes flat if you don't use it for a week or so.
I would set aside a minimum of £1k per year for maintenance. Some years it might be a lot less but some years it might be more. They are pretty reliable cars though if looked after properly.
The car is made of aluminium so it won't rust. I did read something about stone chips on the wheel arches bubbling, but I've never seen that before.
As for what are they like as an ownership proposition, well they are a brilliant car to drive. When (and If) the sun comes out and the road dries up they are an absolute blast. Also the noise is just insane. Word of warning though, when the roads are wet it's very easy to spin the rear wheels which sounds entertaining but that can be a bit annoying.
£100k should get you an absolutely mint example, but I completely agree that there’s no need to spend that much if there’s a good one for less. Ferrari is now offering a 2 year warranty on all their approved used cars, so that might be worth looking at just for peace of mind.
If you do however find a car outside the Ferrari network you can get a Ferrari warranty added on for around £2.5k, as long as the car has only ever been looked after by a main dealer not a specialist.

They are a very good and usable car, the boots huge (for a supercar) and the ride is firm but very comfortable, far better than the Gallardo. Saying that though it is still a Ferrari so be prepared for a lot of attention. I use mine every day, however I have other cars which I park in multi story car parks etc. The Ferrari is very low, so you do have to watch it on speed bumps. Also, you do worry about leaving it parked on the street in case some little chav decides to write his name in the paintwork.
As for depreciation, who knows? I would guess you’ll probably lose about £5-10k a year but to be honest I’m really not sure. If you have any more questions feel free to PM me and I’ll be glad to help.

[NORFE]

Gary18 said:

Hello,
I have had the urge to own a F430 for some years and now I think it's time to seriously look into it. I normally hold on to my car for a few years so it's got to be the right thing to do and will be used as a daily driver instead of a weekend car. Anyway, here we go:
What are the common faults (if any) to be aware of?
What should be set aside for annual running & service costs? What about contingency if there is no manufacturer's warranty left?
What is service interval on these cars and is it regardless of mileage? Any engine out jobs (clutch)?
Any common corrosion issues that I will need to be aware of?
What are they like as an ownership proposition? I fully expect to lose money over the length of ownership it's just a matter of how much.
Finally I guess my budget will be up to £100K but I don't feel compelled to have to go all the way if something really nice came up for less. I should add that I have never owned any form of supercar, superbikes yes but cars no (current car is a 530 sport).

Regards,

Gary

I have just bought a F430 F1 and did alot of research on them before i made the purchase. This is my 1st Ferrari.


Some things to watch out for when buying.

1. Buy from a main dealer as 9 times out of 10 the car will have full Ferrari history and you get the 2 year warranty and the 100 point check.
2. Ask for the diagnostic readout on the Clutch if buying the F1 which to be honest you really should buy. The dealer will be able to tell you how much life the clutch has left in it. If its got more than 50% use then the dealer should be replacing it for the warranty to be applied.
3. Warm her up before booting her. I let her idle on the driveway for 10 mins before taking her out, and then for the first 10 miles i drive her softly, then i let her rip.
4. Take your time getting use to her. The "little switch" Manatino is your friend. Keep her on the "Slippy" setting when wet, Put her into "Sport" when dry and when you are comfortable with driving her try the "Race". As long as you apply the throttle gently when pulling away and ease the power in she will play nice and will not eat your backend.
5. If you go for the F1 try not to do any Launch Control starts OR floor it at lights in 1st. This will eat the clutch.
6. As for driving her everyday, it depends how much money you want ot drop on her over the year. If you keep the milage down to say 4 to 6K then you should lose around 10K in money over the year as long as she is looked after.

Personally I went for a F430 that was a little older but cheaper and put the remainder of my budget into another daily driver. You really do not want to be taking her out in the snow that we just had.

Hope that helps

Edited by NORFE on Saturday 20th February 19:07

[steelej]

Gary18 said:

Hello,
I have had the urge to own a F430 for some years and now I think it's time to seriously look into it. I normally hold on to my car for a few years so it's got to be the right thing to do and will be used as a daily driver instead of a weekend car. Anyway, here we go:
What are the common faults (if any) to be aware of?
What should be set aside for annual running & service costs? What about contingency if there is no manufacturer's warranty left?
What is service interval on these cars and is it regardless of mileage? Any engine out jobs (clutch)?
Any common corrosion issues that I will need to be aware of?
What are they like as an ownership proposition? I fully expect to lose money over the length of ownership it's just a matter of how much.
Finally I guess my budget will be up to £100K but I don't feel compelled to have to go all the way if something really nice came up for less. I should add that I have never owned any form of supercar, superbikes yes but cars no (current car is a 530 sport).

Regards,

Gary

Hi Gary, I got my 430 coupe in November last year, like you had been wanting one for a long time, the car is simply fantastic, there's not been a situation since I've had it that it's been anything other than brilliant. I've done just over 3000 miles since I got it and have loved every single one. I think the only real common fault is exhaust manifolds failing, they updated them in 2007/2008 I think, apart from that the consensus is the 430 is pretty reliable, they do need to be driven though, I'm sure they can be as temperamental as any other car if it's not driven regularly.

Having only been 4 months into ownership maintenance costs aren't on my mind yet, but depending on how many miles you do a year you'll either be on an annual service at around 900quid at main dealer or every 12000 miles you'll be in for a biggie at around 1800quid at main dealer. Unfortunately I missed the 2 year warranty by 6 weeks so if you do buy from main dealer you're onto a winner with the 2 year warranty.

In terms of depreciation I'm of the opinion the early cars are a better buy right now, they're relative bargains, there's a few 06's and 07's available floating around the 80-85k mark, I'm sure they'll still drop a bit of cash but may be a better proposition than spending an extra 15-20 grand in the first place.

My car was a Sept 2006 with 6000 miles, didn't have a mark on it so really felt like a brand new car.

Good luck with the search

John.

[steelej]

NORFE said:

4. Take your time getting use to her. The "little switch" Manatino is your friend. Keep her on the "Slippy" setting when wet, Put her into "Sport" when dry and when you are comfortable with driving her try the "Race". As long as you apply the throttle gently when pulling away and ease the power in she will play nice and will not eat your backend.

Hi Norfe,

All the advice I've read is the car should be in sport all the time and slippy shouldn't be used, Supposedly the slippy mode can cause additional clutch wear as it slips the clutch more, so the advice is keep it in sport and just be a bit more careful.

When I got my car at 6000 miles it had 21.50% clutch wear, I used the slippy mode for the first 1000 miles as the weather was really bad, I was at the dealer at 7000miles and got another clutch readout this time it was 24.70 I read up about how to mimise clutch wear and the slippy mode was mentioned alot, since then I've been driving in sport and was back at the dealer recently at 8500 odd miles and got another reading this time 24.72 so there may be some substance to that advice. By the way my dealer visits were not actually for any problems, just incase the OP was worried , just had a few questions about things as I got to know the car, they all turned out to be completely normal and while I was there I got them to give me the readouts

John.

Edited by steelej on Saturday 20th February 19:18

[NORFE]

steelej said:

NORFE said:

4. Take your time getting use to her. The "little switch" Manatino is your friend. Keep her on the "Slippy" setting when wet, Put her into "Sport" when dry and when you are comfortable with driving her try the "Race". As long as you apply the throttle gently when pulling away and ease the power in she will play nice and will not eat your backend.

Hi Norfe,

All the advice I've read is the car should be in sport all the time and slippy shouldn't be used, Supposedly the slippy mode can cause additional clutch wear as it slips the clutch more, so the advice is keep it in sport and just be a bit more careful.

When I got my car at 6000 miles it had 21.50% clutch wear, I used the slippy mode for the first 1000 miles as the weather was really bad, I was at the dealer at 7000miles and got another clutch readout this time it was 24.70 I read up about how to mimise clutch wear and the slippy mode was mentioned alot, since then I've been driving in sport and was back at the dealer recently at 8500 odd miles and got another reading this time 24.72 so there may be some substance to that advice. By the way my dealer visits were not actually for any problems, just incase the OP was worried , just had a few questions about things as I got to know the car, they all turned out to be completely normal and while I was there I got them to give me the readouts

John.

Edited by steelej on Saturday 20th February 19:18

Hi John

Interesting stuff....That makes sense. TBH i have only had her in "slippy" when it has been really bad out there. Most of the time I have had her in sport as well but will be keeping her in sport all the time now.

Thanks

Paul

[Gary18]

Thanks for the replies & advice guys, it's much appreciated - now where do I start looking. I'm sure there will be more things I think of so no doubt the search button will be taking a few hits.

Gary

[UH-Matt]

Make sure you look at plenty of examples. I saw some great ones and some very poor ones when I had a look (ended up in a Gallardo).

Perhaps a good start is to go to your nearest dealer with a few examples in stock, have a drive, see the various options etc etc.. Enjoy the shopping experience!

[steelej]

Gary18 said:

Thanks for the replies & advice guys, it's much appreciated - now where do I start looking. I'm sure there will be more things I think of so no doubt the search button will be taking a few hits.

Gary

First port of call Gary is here

http://www.ferrariapproved.com/

John.

[WCZ]

NORFE said:

3. Warm her up before booting her. I let her idle on the driveway for 10 mins before taking her out, and then for the first 10 miles i drive her softly, then i let her rip.

He did mention that it would be his daily driver, I can imagine that would be quite an impracticality to do before every journey!

[MaxAndRuby]

Just bought one(2006 Manual Berlinetta, 6.5k), pick her up on wednesday

Looking forward to posting something a bit more meaningful after some ownership experience!

[ferdi p]

Was it the one at Car Solutions?
Great car... Enjoy..

[MaxAndRuby]

ferdi p said:

Was it the one at Car Solutions?
Great car... Enjoy..

Yes, it was. Thanks. How on earth......?

[wossy]

LOL! it really is a small world..

[galt]

I too bought my f430 recently (last year around July). It is a Spider. It is just a fantastic car. Really like taking the top down--as much for the raise in the volume dial as well as to enjoy the weather!!

Also, when I was looking I wanted to get the Daytona seats, but ended up buying a car with the racing seats which I had some reservations about. So far I really like them. I don't feel I miss the heated seats, and I think they help you to sit just a touch lower in the car which I prefer--especially with the top down so that less wind hits you. FYI--I am 6ft tall.

I can echo the meed to warm the car up. It definitely feels a bit rough when it is cold--but a warm up easily rectifies this. Just good sense to take it super easy until the temperatures go up..

Another thing perhaps worth mentioning. The ceramic brakes. I did not think these were necessary, but after getting a car that has them I really like them. Additional benefits are that IMO they look much better because they fill up the empty space in the wheel--also there is not brake dust problem.

[NORFE]

WCZ said:

NORFE said:

3. Warm her up before booting her. I let her idle on the driveway for 10 mins before taking her out, and then for the first 10 miles i drive her softly, then i let her rip.

He did mention that it would be his daily driver, I can imagine that would be quite an impracticality to do before every journey!

Jeez...if your life is that hectic that you need to rush around everywhere then i guess it would be a pain...however i like a slow life and plan things in advance....which in turn is going to keep my V8 in tip top health rather than thrashing her straight out of the gate.