Ferrari hunt

[Vivakenaldo]

I’m about to start my search for a long held dream of mine , my first Ferrari over the next week .

I have tried to do as much homework as possible and have followed these pages and been a long term stalker of these pages , the buying guide thread/ market watch threads over the last year or so .

I have identified four cars that I hope to see over the next two weeks and hope that one of these will be the right car .

However I do have a few outstanding questions that I would welcome any extra tips or advice that anyone may feel would be helpful .

1, manifolds . Yes as expected this would not be a F430 thread without questions about a manifolds . If the original ones have been replaced with Ferrari manifolds will these be any better or do they have to be after market ? I have seen voicey had written that these were a “ticking time bomb “

And also will a main dealer retail a car with aftermarket manifolds on as 3 of the four cars I have identified to view are at a main dealer .

2, warranties . Do I need a power warranty if I purchase from a main dealer .

3 , discount . Is a percentage discount possible on a no px deal from a specialist or a dealer . This is where I would really appreciate some help from anyone who has purchased any Ferrari .
What percentage discount have you been able to negotiate. 5% . 10 percent % more..
As I know two of the four cars have been sat advertised since July last year .

Any comments would be welcome as I go into battle next week !!

Best wishes

Vivakenaldo

[Vivakenaldo]

Thanks for the replies gents .

So from what I have learned ,

manifolds after 2007 will have the mk2 fitted by Ferrari .although this is not the perfect solution I guess any issues would be covered by their own warranty.

Main dealer will not retail anything with aftermarket manifolds on .

Power warranty will only be required if I buy from a non franchised dealer .

Standard seats are a no no?

Lots have incorrect mileage.but I would only buy with a comprehensive history anyhow .

I’m encouraged that in the past 5k has been discounted and I’m mindful that we are in a very different market place now . I have noticed that over the period I’ve monitored cars for sale that maindealers rarely seem to reduce cars ,yet independents who reduce prices seem to shift their cars , so possibly they will have more flexibility on their own margins .

Edited by Vivakenaldo on Tuesday 23 April 23:05

[Vivakenaldo]

Thanks gents for your input .

I have sadly missed out on an example in the midlands that I was eyeing and have two others in mind that I would like to see . Sadly one is in Edinburgh and another in Hampshire , they really couldn’t be further apart ! I also have a local reputable supercar dealer on the lookout for me too .

It’s my first Ferrari so I’m pretty rigid on spec ,but you can probably guess .

Fingers crossed I’m hoping that a dealer may sniff that there is a deal to be done .

[Vivakenaldo]

Yes , I’m kicking myself I should have got to it earlier .

My other two options are with 4K more miles or 4K less miles but 5k more expensive . The later has been with the dealer since July last year .

[Vivakenaldo]

Yes it looks good I checked over it , the only concession to make is the desirable Daytona seats .

The one I missed out on was at graypaul nottingham . 17k miles £95k also had Daytona seats and rear shelf .

Sean I’m new to the forum so I’ll check my settings ,

[Vivakenaldo]

sean-20bf8 said:

As your profile does not permit dm's as have tried could you send me a email ? Thanks.

Sean you are not set up also to receive emails ?

[Vivakenaldo]

I made an enquiry on the Edinburgh car today . It has 8 previous owners ,which seems like a lot .

[Vivakenaldo]

Just an update on where I’m up to :

The Graypaul Nottingham car sold before I got to it .this had the desirable Daytona seats and looked a decent buy , however someone else must also have felt the same .

I enquired about the Edinburgh car and the salesperson was kind enough to send me a video , however I was off put by scuff marks on the drivers seat and 8 previous owners , which I thought was a lot .

Next up was a car at Meridien Modena , which had sold on the weekend before I enquired , despite being with them since July last year .

I have enquired about the vehicle at Graypaul Birmingham today , which despite not having Daytona seats does have the drivers side bolster in pretty decent condition.

The stamps all look good , although curiously for a car that has done less than 16k it has done less than one thousand miles in the last 9 years ?

So 14k in its first two years and hardly anything since .

Best wishes ken

[Vivakenaldo]

Speed buzz thank you for the offer offer , although I think I’m leaning towards a coupe .

Best wishes ken

[Vivakenaldo]

jtremlett said:

raypaul Birmingham sold it to the last (and third) owner in 2009 when it was on 14k miles. So it is basically that the last owner has barely used it whereas the previous two did.

Interestingly it has only been listed for 6 weeks and they've knocked 7k off the asking price (although it is still more than they asked for it in 2009!).

Great info , thank you . Where did you find this ?

I’m going to call back today and likely go and see it .

Ken

[Vivakenaldo]

Ken
[/quote]I keep track of Ferraris. It has grown from work I did originally for the Ferrari Owners' Club but after they lost interest I have carried on.

[/quote]

So is this car known to you ?
I has had a Jekyll and Hyde mileage . But there does nt seem to be anything untoward in its service history apart from a missed mot in 2018

[Vivakenaldo]

Gents , thanks for taking an interest in my thread , here is the conclusion.

I went to see the car at the main dealer having arranged to see it some two weeks before hand . It was convenient to wait two weeks as my father had not long come out of hospital and I really wanted him to come with me and also for the salesman as they had the F8 launch a week prior to my visit .

In the mean time I sent an email to Aldous Voice from AV engineering . I hoped he did not find it cheeky but I wanted another opinion , mainly on the vehicles jekyl & Hyde mileage ( the car had covered 14k miles its first three years of life and then less than 1k in the following nine years )

A lovely man named Harvey Neale replied with some pointers to look out for and said I was welcome to call for a chat ,which I did . He urged me to look at the car and go through a check list , but also to be careful. The thinking was that the car could develop some issues as it effectively had been sat for 9 years and therefore had a deferred maintenance and potential issues with seals ,leaks etc .

At the dealership I was pleased with the welcome they gave and how I was treated , however a little disappointed that the car had nt been properly prepared. It was clean but the interior leather and engine bay had not been well prepared. However I thought it had the basis of being a good car , albeit there was little in the form of supporting documents other than a well stamped service book to see .Some of the minor issues I wanted to be rectified were agreed to and maybe hastily of me we got down to do a deal .

However there was little or next to no movement on price but we were not very far away at all .
The dealer said they would call in a day or so to give me some answers on a couple of outstanding questions that the service manager would know .

At this point I left with two thoughts .-
1-that they would be back to me to conclude a deal as we were only a very small amount apart

2-a very real thought in my mind was I wanted to see another car to measure this against . Was this a good car ?

After a sleepless night I decided to write a report on my checklist and emailed Harvey . It was an early hour and to my surprise a got a reply almost immediately and Harvey and I had a lengthy chat. I explained that my thoughts were to see another car to measure this against and that there was a similar one advertised at an independent some 78 miles away .

Harvey offered that I could come down to AV engineering , to have a chat to Aldous and also that he had model in that I could measure the dealership car against , as in his words this was one of the best that he had seen and was a very special car . However , that the car would be sold to a buyer who had looked over over the car prior to me contacting him .

So I set the alarm for 3am and set off on a 550 mile, 9 hour round trip. I can honestly say it was worth every second as Aldous generously gave me his valuable time to show me through what I should be looking for when searching for the right car . He kindly shared his knowledge , enthusiasm and honesty whilst also making us feel very welcomed .

Harvey wasn’t wrong about the car that he had in either . It was worlds away from the dealership car . Aldous had shown me through the files of what you should expect to see when looking for a well cared for car . He had wad of paperwork and it was pretty clear the owner had cherished this car and it had not wanted for anything . He also showed me the astonishing level of detail that he goes to when servicing a car at AV engineering

It was also pretty clear to me that the dealership car deal was dead . I already had doubts in my mind and putting this against a stunning car set a new benchmark of what I should be looking for .
Maybe it was a stroke of luck that I didn’t go ahead with the dealership car .


Anyhow my next stoke of luck was most unexpected .
Harvey replied to my email of thanks and said we should keep in touch and he would keep an eye open for me , even posting a piston heads wanted advert .

Only for him to call me a day later to say his buyer had pulled out for his own personal reasons and would I be interested . Within a heartbeat I said I would and also that I would be more than happy to pay the asking price .

There where some details in the car that Harvey would attend to , stickers , number plates , a small paint blemish etc and that he and Aldous would set to work and get the car ready in super quick time .

So on Saturday Harvey took the car to his home in London where I concluded the best part of 1300 miles travelling this week by being collected at the station to be whisked off to fulfil a life long dream of becoming a Ferrari driver .

I honestly can’t tell you how ecstatic I am with the car and I shall post some pictures shortly .

However most of all I can tell you that these two gents at AV engineering have enriched the whole experience immeasurably, thank you both so much .

Edited by Vivakenaldo on Monday 3rd June 00:33

Edited by Vivakenaldo on Monday 3rd June 06:03

Edited by Vivakenaldo on Monday 3rd June 06:04

[Vivakenaldo]

We love a happy ending . I’m pleased as punch with this one !

[Vivakenaldo]

[Vivakenaldo]

[Vivakenaldo]