Ferrari Testarossa Purchase

[oo7ml]

Hi,

I've been a long time admirer of the Testarossa. I find it a true personification of the 80's supercar.

While I've always loved classic cars, and have owned just one classic (911) for the last 2 years, I think I've reached a point in my life whereby i'm starting to appreciate the 'older stuff' more than the newer 'latest & greatest' cars.

My dream classic has always been a Testarossa, and while I was considering buying a 458 to avail of it's NA engine, I have decided to go for a Testarossa. I'm not interested in the older single mirror or the newer 512 TR... so I've narrowed my search down a little.

I've spent a considerable amount of time reading up on them, watching tonnes of YouTube reviews, from Harry's Garage through to DriveTribe, I still don't have a good grasp on what I should be looking out for.

I would greatly appreciate if someone could help me with the following:

01 - What should one look out for when buying one? What is the major thing to look out for?

02 - Did the Testarossa come with Scuderia Shields as an option, or are they just after market custom tweaks?

03 - How many different variation of wheel options did it come in? (i've seen single nut on Harry's Garage, and 5 nut with the Ferrari badge... are there others)

04 - Can anyone recommend a specialist to speak to?

Any other advice or input would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

[oo7ml]

Thank you Mitch, that is really helpful, thanks.

[oo7ml]

Great, thanks.

I'm hoping to view this car, this week. Thoughts?

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

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AmoCS said:

What about this one?

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/10323994?u...

Less miles, newer and £25k less in price.

It was sold on Friday :-(

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355fiorano said:

oo7ml said:

It was sold on Friday :-(

at collectingcars https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1988-ferrari-t...
For £84k + 6% commission

@Geffg: thanks I will keep the thread updated if I pick one up

@355fiorano: wow, that was a great price

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browngt3 said:

This one looks very nice. It's also a Monodado which would appeal more to me. Must be one of the last? However, I would be looking for a big improvement in the price. I note its recently had a big service but I would want to see a decent history with evidence of big bills over the years. Do you know anything about this dealer? For peace of mind I reckon I would want one from a recognised specialist that knows these cars inside out.

As usual prices are all over the place with many cars remaining unsold a very long time.

Thanks BrownGT3, it is listed as a Monodado, but I thought Monodado meant it would have only one mirror? I don't want the single mirror version. I understand they are rarer and more collectable but my OCD and symmetrical mind wouldn't settle with it :-)

I will keep the thread updated as I review more cars.

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yellowtr said:

I ran a Testarossa for 12yrs and I paid very very low £20s for it at the time and I sold it in 2015 for £97k via Silverstone Auctions. It was a very early single mirror, knock on wheel car. Originally the car was white but when I purchased the car it was yellow.

I adored the car and it became one of the most famous TR's as it was featured in loads of magazines (Evo, Classic and Sportscars amongst others) and other media. I used the car as a daily driver for a while in all sorts of weather conditions, for work, dump run, supermarket run, everything.

These cars need to be used, they don't like being treated as garage queens, which sadly loads have been and they drive dreadful if they have been. Miles wise, I would go with your eyes open as its very easy to disconnect the speedo on one and reconnect it. FSH doesn't mean anything unless there is documented evidence to back it up. They need a major major service 8-10yrs and that involves full engine out, checking the valves and I would seriously recommend getting the diff strength-end as it does let go, mine did and it was a pricey job but getting the parts was a pain in the bum.

Cambelt change is every 3 years and is fairly straight forward job. Allow anywhere between £1500-2000. Tyres can be a pain too as only Michelin make a set now whether it be Metric or standard tyres and they are about £1400 a set. Don't drive on old tyres, its dreadful.

Fusebox are a weak point and were not available but I believe Maranello Parts are remaking them (or have). New old stock of them does not exist, along with pretty much all body panels and exterior and interior parts. Indicator lenses are long unavailable and also rear lights are challenging to find. Electric windows commonly are slow and to fix them with a new motor isn't for the faint hearted.

Cars should come with the leather holder and service book and manual and the toolkit as well as the knock wheel tool kit if the car has them fitted.

Driving wise they are fabulous and on the open road they eat up the miles and are very civilised. I used to track mine and for a big arse ended car they aren't to bad-but its unlikely most owners now would ever track them.

Clutch wise, I replaced one clutch in all my time of ownership.

Steering wheel wise Testarossa only had once type. if it hasn't got the original one it needs money knocking off as they are a pain to find now

Price wise they are a bit all over the place and they take a while to sell.

You also need to find someone who knows about Testarossa's, very few specialists really know them. I used (and still use) Autofficina and they looked after mine for years.

Thanks YellowTR... this is very helpful, and I will be adding it to my print out when reviewing cars.

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AmoCS said:

What about these?

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/10353880?u...

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/10066317?u...

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/9281841?ut...

Slightly higher miles, but from a traders.

Edited by AmoCS on Sunday 12th July 20:28

Edited by AmoCS on Sunday 12th July 20:31

2 of those are single mirror, which I don't want :-)

The Foskers one does look good value, but I'm turned off by the fact someone added shields to it, and painted the bottom lips, front and side.

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T4Tiv said:

Also, available in a colour other than red. This one certainly looks nice

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1244923

Peter

It sure does, thanks for sending this on.

I didn’t think there would be cars on other sites that were no on PistonHeads

[oo7ml]

This... ticks every box... love the tan on black interior... and £30k plus spent on it 2 years ago at DK.

http://www.classicandsportscar.ltd.uk/Ferrari-Test...

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jtremlett said:

oo7ml said:

T4Tiv said:

Also, available in a colour other than red. This one certainly looks nice

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1244923

Peter

It sure does, thanks for sending this on.

I didn’t think there would be cars on other sites that were no on PistonHeads

It was on Pistonheads from June last year until mid-March. Listed by Preston Classics at £87,999 (having initially asked £97k). In fact, it is still on their website www.prestonclassicsltd.com/testarossa

Thanks for that.

I feel the iconic 80’s Ferrari has to be red? :-)

I REALLY like the one that Classic & Sportscar Centre have, however I think it is a little over priced? Thoughts?

http://www.classicandsportscar.ltd.uk/Ferrari-Test...

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Dinoboy said:

Definitely cast your net wider, I've bought and sold a lot of cars over the last 20 odd years and not one has come or gone through a Pistonheads ad.

Thanks Dinoboy, I would have presumed that while cars are advertised elsewhere, they would be added to PistonHeads to catch potential customers there too.

Any other sites worth reviewing?

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Jonny TVR said:

I have bought a couple of cars off James before and almost bought this one. I think it ticks all the boxes. I only backed out due to other commitments, still tempted! Have you actually spoken to James about it? Its worth a call.

Edited by Jonny TVR on Monday 13th July 10:50

Thanks Jonny, I spoke with Andrew this morning, and plan to view the car tomorrow.

Do you know if it has been on the market long? It's a little on the pricey side, so hoping to see if the condition and servicing stacks up to the price.

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Jonny TVR said:

Think it was the end of March. Good luck and from what I have seen I think you will like it. I believe the guy who owned it before only bought the best examples of cars and this formed part of his small collection on the channel islands.

I would add that my view is with these cars is that you should buy the very best example you can.

Edited by Jonny TVR on Monday 13th July 11:43

Thank you Jonny, I appreciate your input.

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jtremlett said:

don't have the advantage of having seen that particular car but I cannot believe it is the best example. It hasn't been properly driven or serviced in its entire life and is stupidly overpriced now. If you just want to look at it then maybe it would be fine but the listing shows you the kind of bill you're storing up by not using or servicing it properly.

My thinking was that while the car wasn't used a lot before the large bill, the fact that it has had so much work done to recondition it, would make it one of the better cars to buy?

[oo7ml]

@Jtremlett - thanks, it's a valid point.

I've noticed there are a lot of Testarossa's going for auction. I presume you need a Tan number or to be a dealer to bid on these type of auctions?

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thesmiths said:

You might want to get in touch with John Pogson at Italia Autosport.

He may know of one or two examples that may not be publicly for sale...

https://italiaautosport.com

Thank, I'll give him a shout in the morning.

Can anyone confirm how often the Cam Belt needs to be changed? I've read 5 years and 3 years.

[oo7ml]

Thanks AmoCS.

That was an interesting read this morning.

Yes, I reckon it is a photoshop, the lines don't seem to match up to the naked eye... but could be wrong.

[oo7ml]

Thanks. Outside of the '5 year Cam Belt' service, what other services are required annually or outside of the 'Cam Belt' service?

[oo7ml]

Thanks JTremlett.

I’m struggling with prices at the moment.

I had one guy tell me today who has bought and sold quite a few over the years, that I shouldn’t be paying anymore than £95k for a clean example, however most clean examples are well over £120k.

I’m definitely not looking to buy the cheapest one, but like anyone I want to buy a sensible car too.