Buying a California
Discussion
Hi, this is my first visit, so please be gentle!
I've been thinking of buying a Ferrari California for some time, and I'm now more or less ready to go ahead. I'm thinking this is probably the best time of year to buy, as it's a convertible and logic says they would be in more demand when it's warm and sunny (a rarity in this part of the world!)
I've never owned this type of car before, so it's a fairly nerve-wracking experience and any general advice / tips would be appreciated. But in particular I've the following questions:
1. The car's likely to be 6 or 7 years old, as I can't afford a newer one, but many of that age only seem to have mileages of 15-25k anyway. However, because of the amount of cash I'm spending I'm thinking it would be worth having it checked over by an independent specialist. Would you agree? If so, what sort of cost is involved and how would I find one?
2. I'm very conscious of the fact that although I've read numerous reviews and watched every YouTube video going I've never actually driven one. I could just trust to the opinions of others and buy it `blind', but I'd obviously prefer to drive one first, if possible.
The problem is how to get a drive. I really don't want a test drive with a gimlet eyed dealer sat next to me, but I rather doubt they'd let me drive it away by myself.
I was looking at one of the supercar experiences which had a Cali, but just as I was about to book they went bust! But this would have been ideal, as it was fairly cheap and I'd at least have got a feel for it. Hiring one for a day is ludicrously expensive, so any suggestions would be welcome - or would you just buy it anyway and hope it lived up to expectations?
3. A bit boring, but how often should it be serviced? I'd only envisage putting around 5,000 miles a year on, if that. And would you recommend using a main dealer or a specialist independent? If the latter, is there a list of them, or can anyone recommend one (I'm in Lancashire)?
4. Any tips on negotiating the price? All the ones I've seen are for sale through dealers, so how much percentage discount could I realistically expect to negotiate? I'm intending to pay cash, but I've heard that if I buy it on finance I'd get a better price because the dealer gets commission from the finance company and takes that into account. Is that true? If it is, I assume I could buy on finance then just pay it off.
Thanks for any responses. And please - I know all too well that a Cali is looked down on by Ferrari purists as a `woman's Ferrari' or a rebadged Maserati, but I'm happy with my choice so don't try to convince me otherwise! ;-)
I've been thinking of buying a Ferrari California for some time, and I'm now more or less ready to go ahead. I'm thinking this is probably the best time of year to buy, as it's a convertible and logic says they would be in more demand when it's warm and sunny (a rarity in this part of the world!)
I've never owned this type of car before, so it's a fairly nerve-wracking experience and any general advice / tips would be appreciated. But in particular I've the following questions:
1. The car's likely to be 6 or 7 years old, as I can't afford a newer one, but many of that age only seem to have mileages of 15-25k anyway. However, because of the amount of cash I'm spending I'm thinking it would be worth having it checked over by an independent specialist. Would you agree? If so, what sort of cost is involved and how would I find one?
2. I'm very conscious of the fact that although I've read numerous reviews and watched every YouTube video going I've never actually driven one. I could just trust to the opinions of others and buy it `blind', but I'd obviously prefer to drive one first, if possible.
The problem is how to get a drive. I really don't want a test drive with a gimlet eyed dealer sat next to me, but I rather doubt they'd let me drive it away by myself.
I was looking at one of the supercar experiences which had a Cali, but just as I was about to book they went bust! But this would have been ideal, as it was fairly cheap and I'd at least have got a feel for it. Hiring one for a day is ludicrously expensive, so any suggestions would be welcome - or would you just buy it anyway and hope it lived up to expectations?
3. A bit boring, but how often should it be serviced? I'd only envisage putting around 5,000 miles a year on, if that. And would you recommend using a main dealer or a specialist independent? If the latter, is there a list of them, or can anyone recommend one (I'm in Lancashire)?
4. Any tips on negotiating the price? All the ones I've seen are for sale through dealers, so how much percentage discount could I realistically expect to negotiate? I'm intending to pay cash, but I've heard that if I buy it on finance I'd get a better price because the dealer gets commission from the finance company and takes that into account. Is that true? If it is, I assume I could buy on finance then just pay it off.
Thanks for any responses. And please - I know all too well that a Cali is looked down on by Ferrari purists as a `woman's Ferrari' or a rebadged Maserati, but I'm happy with my choice so don't try to convince me otherwise! ;-)
Thanks for all the help so far – I’m impressed, this is an excellent site.
A few comments in response:
Check one of the peer-to-peer lending car platforms in the UK. I know someone had a California on there for rent at £250 for the day. Good luck
Thanks for this tip, as I didn’t even know such sites existed. But having checked a few of them I’ve found none offering a Cali – they mostly seem to be bread and butter cars. I can understand this, as there must be serious insurance problems.
If a Dealer has an appropriate car why not ask them for a test drive, if you're serious I'm sure they'd do it. Worst case get a cheap flight to Bologna and go to one of the self drive places in Maranello, probably cost €250 all up
The problem with a dealer test drive is that I really don’t want someone sitting in the car with me, but I doubt they’d let me take it out alone. There’s also the feeling of pressure to buy that particular car. I want to be able to drive a car that isn’t for sale, so that I can feel totally relaxed about it.
I was in Florence recently, and they were offering a Cali `test drive’ for a very reasonable price - http://www.testdrivefirenze.com/en/ Unfortunately, they were all booked up at the time I was there. Having said that, although driving on the other side of the road with an instructor / guide sounds great I’m not sure how useful it would be in getting a proper impression of the car.
The pedant in me says a California is not a Supercar but a V8 Ferrari !
Yes, I’d expected some such remark! I did have a look at the Ferrari V8 site, but it seemed very specialist / purist, there was no mention of a Cali (I suspect they consider the fact that the Cali has a V8 as an embarrassment!) and I thought the post would get more traffic on this site.
Very interested in this thread as I to am considering a Cali, to replace my Boxster, but my main concern is depreciation.
I’ve been vaguely thinking about this for a year or so, and I’ve not noticed much reduction at the `cheap’ end, where I’m looking. Cars that I looked at last year at £90k still seem to be about the same price.
I suspect that the heaviest depreciation is during the first 4 or 5 years, after which it tails off.
But I’ve also come to the conclusion after a life of hard work that money is meant to be enjoyed rather than sat in a pension fund / ISA / whatever, so if it does depreciate I’m really not that bothered provided I’ve enjoyed owning it.
Just a thought on your negotiating question, with around 150 of them for sale, it should be easy enough to knock several k off, shouldn’t it.?
The difficulty here is that I’m at the bottom end of the market, with an absolute ceiling of £100k. At present there are 42 cars in that category on Auto Trader. But I’m also fussy about the colour.
I’ve given a lot of thought to this. Odd as it may sound I want the car to be as low key as possible, and although I realise it’s not to everyone’s taste – in fact probably most people’s – I’ve decided on the Grigio Silverstone.
To my eyes the Cali doesn’t look good in lighter colours, including the standard rosso, though there’s a dark red metallic which is very attractive.
Also, a lot of them have pretty garish upholstery, with strips of coloured leather, which I think is pretty naff. And I also (again, probably different to most people) don’t like the coloured brake callipers, though I suppose these could be repainted.
Narrowing it down like this there are usually only a single figure number of candidates. I know the seller won’t know that I’m so pernickety, but it does mean my choice is very limited, and I don’t want to irritate the seller of a car that would have suited me by offering a silly price.
But in looking around I’ve found someone who does hire at £500 a day, and although it’s expensive I think, as someone said, I’m better wasting £500 than the price of the car, so I think that’s my next step. The trouble is getting it on a good weather day at this time of year. I really don’t want to drive it for the first time it if it’s p’ing down or if the roads are likely to be slippery.
Still, it’s an enjoyable quest and keep the comments coming, I’m learning a lot.
A few comments in response:
Check one of the peer-to-peer lending car platforms in the UK. I know someone had a California on there for rent at £250 for the day. Good luck
Thanks for this tip, as I didn’t even know such sites existed. But having checked a few of them I’ve found none offering a Cali – they mostly seem to be bread and butter cars. I can understand this, as there must be serious insurance problems.
If a Dealer has an appropriate car why not ask them for a test drive, if you're serious I'm sure they'd do it. Worst case get a cheap flight to Bologna and go to one of the self drive places in Maranello, probably cost €250 all up
The problem with a dealer test drive is that I really don’t want someone sitting in the car with me, but I doubt they’d let me take it out alone. There’s also the feeling of pressure to buy that particular car. I want to be able to drive a car that isn’t for sale, so that I can feel totally relaxed about it.
I was in Florence recently, and they were offering a Cali `test drive’ for a very reasonable price - http://www.testdrivefirenze.com/en/ Unfortunately, they were all booked up at the time I was there. Having said that, although driving on the other side of the road with an instructor / guide sounds great I’m not sure how useful it would be in getting a proper impression of the car.
The pedant in me says a California is not a Supercar but a V8 Ferrari !
Yes, I’d expected some such remark! I did have a look at the Ferrari V8 site, but it seemed very specialist / purist, there was no mention of a Cali (I suspect they consider the fact that the Cali has a V8 as an embarrassment!) and I thought the post would get more traffic on this site.
Very interested in this thread as I to am considering a Cali, to replace my Boxster, but my main concern is depreciation.
I’ve been vaguely thinking about this for a year or so, and I’ve not noticed much reduction at the `cheap’ end, where I’m looking. Cars that I looked at last year at £90k still seem to be about the same price.
I suspect that the heaviest depreciation is during the first 4 or 5 years, after which it tails off.
But I’ve also come to the conclusion after a life of hard work that money is meant to be enjoyed rather than sat in a pension fund / ISA / whatever, so if it does depreciate I’m really not that bothered provided I’ve enjoyed owning it.
Just a thought on your negotiating question, with around 150 of them for sale, it should be easy enough to knock several k off, shouldn’t it.?
The difficulty here is that I’m at the bottom end of the market, with an absolute ceiling of £100k. At present there are 42 cars in that category on Auto Trader. But I’m also fussy about the colour.
I’ve given a lot of thought to this. Odd as it may sound I want the car to be as low key as possible, and although I realise it’s not to everyone’s taste – in fact probably most people’s – I’ve decided on the Grigio Silverstone.
To my eyes the Cali doesn’t look good in lighter colours, including the standard rosso, though there’s a dark red metallic which is very attractive.
Also, a lot of them have pretty garish upholstery, with strips of coloured leather, which I think is pretty naff. And I also (again, probably different to most people) don’t like the coloured brake callipers, though I suppose these could be repainted.
Narrowing it down like this there are usually only a single figure number of candidates. I know the seller won’t know that I’m so pernickety, but it does mean my choice is very limited, and I don’t want to irritate the seller of a car that would have suited me by offering a silly price.
But in looking around I’ve found someone who does hire at £500 a day, and although it’s expensive I think, as someone said, I’m better wasting £500 than the price of the car, so I think that’s my next step. The trouble is getting it on a good weather day at this time of year. I really don’t want to drive it for the first time it if it’s p’ing down or if the roads are likely to be slippery.
Still, it’s an enjoyable quest and keep the comments coming, I’m learning a lot.
Thanks again to everyone who’s contributed, I hadn’t expected such a helpful response. And particularly to jon66 for his very kind offer (though I can’t see how to pm someone on this forum – anyone care to enlighten me?)
But although I really appreciate this offer I’d feel very inhibited driving someone’s own car that they’d been kind enough to hand over the keys to – at least if it’s a commercial deal and something goes wrong the insurance will cough up!
I did have a look at the supercardrivedays website, and thanks for flagging it up. I was going to book, but unfortunately neither the Leeds nor the 3 Sisters tracks are available till next year, though I may consider travelling to one of the others further south. My main concern is the weather at this time of year – there’s a high chance it’ll be wet or that the roads will be slippery, which wouldn’t enable me to get a feel for the full performance.
I’m not sure if it’s OK to discuss individual cars, but I can't see any rule against it, so this is one that ticks most of my boxes – any views?
http://www.saxton4x4.co.uk/used/4x4/ferrari/califo...
I know that many of you won’t like the colour, but as I said, I want it to be low key and I really like it.
I’ve also contacted the people in Maidstone, who were really helpful, but they’re limited as to an inspection unless it’s at their premises, and when I mentioned this to the seller they were, shall we say, not enthusiastic – hardly surprising, I suppose.
They also said there was no room to move on price, which I was rather surprised by. I suspect they will if a firm offer’s made, but I really do want to try and drive one first. I’d be interested to hear any comments from those in the know about the price. Bearing in mind the fairly low mileage it doesn’t seem OTT to me, but what do I know!
But there is a 6 month warranty, and there’s also an RAC warranty available at £1,250 a year, which doesn’t seem unreasonable (though I’ve not looked into it, so it may be full of loopholes).
Incidentally, I mentioned at the outset that every car I’ve seen has been a dealer sale. Is this just because people who own these can’t be bothered with the hassle of a private sale and would prefer to pay a dealer to sell for them even if it does net them a few thousand quid less?
I’ve now found a firm that will hire for £500 a day plus £1 a mile over the first 100, and I’m probably going to go with them.
It seems a hell of a lot to pay for an elongated test drive, but this is a big lump of money to spend and although I’m pretty sure I’ll enjoy driving it I want to be 100% sure. I fully take on board the comments that when I sell I’m going to lose quite a lot. I can live with that if I’ve had a great time with it, but it would be painful if I was selling just because it wasn’t what I’d hoped for.
Anyway, thanks for all the help so far, and I’ll keep you posted of any major developments.
But although I really appreciate this offer I’d feel very inhibited driving someone’s own car that they’d been kind enough to hand over the keys to – at least if it’s a commercial deal and something goes wrong the insurance will cough up!
I did have a look at the supercardrivedays website, and thanks for flagging it up. I was going to book, but unfortunately neither the Leeds nor the 3 Sisters tracks are available till next year, though I may consider travelling to one of the others further south. My main concern is the weather at this time of year – there’s a high chance it’ll be wet or that the roads will be slippery, which wouldn’t enable me to get a feel for the full performance.
I’m not sure if it’s OK to discuss individual cars, but I can't see any rule against it, so this is one that ticks most of my boxes – any views?
http://www.saxton4x4.co.uk/used/4x4/ferrari/califo...
I know that many of you won’t like the colour, but as I said, I want it to be low key and I really like it.
I’ve also contacted the people in Maidstone, who were really helpful, but they’re limited as to an inspection unless it’s at their premises, and when I mentioned this to the seller they were, shall we say, not enthusiastic – hardly surprising, I suppose.
They also said there was no room to move on price, which I was rather surprised by. I suspect they will if a firm offer’s made, but I really do want to try and drive one first. I’d be interested to hear any comments from those in the know about the price. Bearing in mind the fairly low mileage it doesn’t seem OTT to me, but what do I know!
But there is a 6 month warranty, and there’s also an RAC warranty available at £1,250 a year, which doesn’t seem unreasonable (though I’ve not looked into it, so it may be full of loopholes).
Incidentally, I mentioned at the outset that every car I’ve seen has been a dealer sale. Is this just because people who own these can’t be bothered with the hassle of a private sale and would prefer to pay a dealer to sell for them even if it does net them a few thousand quid less?
I’ve now found a firm that will hire for £500 a day plus £1 a mile over the first 100, and I’m probably going to go with them.
It seems a hell of a lot to pay for an elongated test drive, but this is a big lump of money to spend and although I’m pretty sure I’ll enjoy driving it I want to be 100% sure. I fully take on board the comments that when I sell I’m going to lose quite a lot. I can live with that if I’ve had a great time with it, but it would be painful if I was selling just because it wasn’t what I’d hoped for.
Anyway, thanks for all the help so far, and I’ll keep you posted of any major developments.
You're easily put off! But then you were one of the people who saw the Cali as a rebadged Maserati, so I suspect you really want a 458 anyway and that there's a bit of confirmation bias kicking in! 
That's fair enough. The 458's a fantastic car, but it's much too flamboyant for what I want, and if I'm honest a car like that deserves a far better driver than me. (The fact that it would cost twice as much as a Cali is, of course, neiher here nor there!)
There's no such thing as a perfect car, and I'm sure that if you started a thread about buying a 458 - or, indeed, any car at all - you'd get people who'd owned them and could identify faults with them.
The criticisms by LukeyLikey seem pretty mild to me, and I got the impression that he liked the car overall. That's also the message I've taken from nearly all the people who have actually owned one - that perhaps contrary to their expectations they've really enjoyed owning them. I've so far not heard anyone say they were really disappointed with it or just didn't like the car.
I've found the comments on here extremely helpful, and overall they've reinforced my decison to buy one.
And the project is now one step closer. I contacted the hire firm offering the Cali for £500 a day and said I didn't want it for 24 hours, so we did a deal whereby I can pick it up in the morning and take it back later that day for £250, which I think is fair enough.
It should enable me to get a good feel for the car without the pressure of a dealer trying to sell it to me and without the stress of having someone else in the car when I just want to concentrate on driving it.
We've also agreed that if it's crap weather on the day I can change to a different day, which was important to me..
So I'm really looking forward to it - the perfect Christmas present to myself!
That's fair enough. The 458's a fantastic car, but it's much too flamboyant for what I want, and if I'm honest a car like that deserves a far better driver than me. (The fact that it would cost twice as much as a Cali is, of course, neiher here nor there!)
There's no such thing as a perfect car, and I'm sure that if you started a thread about buying a 458 - or, indeed, any car at all - you'd get people who'd owned them and could identify faults with them.
The criticisms by LukeyLikey seem pretty mild to me, and I got the impression that he liked the car overall. That's also the message I've taken from nearly all the people who have actually owned one - that perhaps contrary to their expectations they've really enjoyed owning them. I've so far not heard anyone say they were really disappointed with it or just didn't like the car.
I've found the comments on here extremely helpful, and overall they've reinforced my decison to buy one.
And the project is now one step closer. I contacted the hire firm offering the Cali for £500 a day and said I didn't want it for 24 hours, so we did a deal whereby I can pick it up in the morning and take it back later that day for £250, which I think is fair enough.
It should enable me to get a good feel for the car without the pressure of a dealer trying to sell it to me and without the stress of having someone else in the car when I just want to concentrate on driving it.
We've also agreed that if it's crap weather on the day I can change to a different day, which was important to me..
So I'm really looking forward to it - the perfect Christmas present to myself!
100 IAN said:
There's one you might not have seen posted up for sale here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1476226932463208/
nb. I don't know the car, I've just seen the ad.
Thanks for the link - unfortunately it's LHD, which I don't think would be a great idea.nb. I don't know the car, I've just seen the ad.
One point I mentioned in the original post that's not been addressed is the question of whether I'm likely to get a better deal if I take out some finance on the car. I've heard that because the dealer gets paid commission they may be prepared to accept a lower offer.
Does anyone know if this is true? If so, any idea about how much commission would be paid, so I can pitch my offer accordingly?
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