Ferrari Brave Pill

outrun

Member
Messages
5,017
Might just be the light / reflection but the headlamps look off colour and the front bumper faded.

View attachment 110463

I think it was just washed prior to the photo and that's steam from the radiator causing condensation on the bumper. Not sure about the headlight but you can restore them easily enough, just bought a kit to do my Cayenne.
 

Scaf

Member
Messages
6,512
I think it was just washed prior to the photo and that's steam from the radiator causing condensation on the bumper. Not sure about the headlight but you can restore them easily enough, just bought a kit to do my Cayenne.
Either way does not show the car in its best light.
 

Guy

Member
Messages
2,003
Build quality, progression through the years, gearbox hardware and software to name a few. Drive one, they’re light years apart. I told @Guy not to buy one as I’d driven an 05 with a clean bill of health from Ferrari, new clutch, belts, brakes etc. It was crashy, uninspiring, just not a pleasant place to be, after driving, he agreed. I then got an 07MY one in LHD that was well looked after and drove miles better than an 05. I had also the chance to drive a 1to1 2009 which was even better again. Guy came and drove the 07MY and couldn’t believe the improvement over the early car; so much so we managed to find a 2008 for him which he currently owns. Ask him, he knows his cars very well indeed, and loves his Scaglietti.
That is certainly my experience. I drove 3 hours to convince myself that the early car can't be that bad but as i was driving a '14 MC Shift at the time, it felt like I would be going backwards simply to have a V12 Ferrari. I subsequently bought a '16 Stradale from Richard, which was fantastic and a worthwhile improvement over the std MC shift. A great car but once I had driven the revised 612 I knew I could have V12 Ferrari without compromise. Better gearbox, better handling, much better ride, lovely exhaust not (ferrari Sports exhaust) and hugely powerful Ceramic brakes. Richard found me the perfect car and it was and is indistinguishable from new (it still has that rich smell of new leather whenever I get into it). 13k miles in 13 years and 12 MD services, all on time and I have now added 7k more and had it MD serviced twice at Carrs Exeter. They actually had one in the showroom for sale on my last visit a couple of months ago. Another Daytona '08 car, the sales guy saw me looking at it and commented 'you don't see many like this anymore, 3 owners, full history and only 30k miles'. I suggested he checked their workshop! Mine has needed a starter motor and a couple of hubs for ABS sensors (same common issue as Masers). I will hopefully keep it another couple of years but a potential extension on our place in Portugal may need the money so keep watching Richard's stock list!
 

Corranga

Member
Messages
1,219
Go on talk me out of this ...


Interestingly this thing is still there £47,950 at the moment (perhaps it was back in Jan too).

I expect that even beyond the chat previously about it being an early car etc. that a mere mortal like me attempting to run a V12 Ferrari on a budget is probably not a great idea, but it's a nice looking car.
I see it needs a clutch and a belt service. The latter seems to be about £900, the former... no idea, but parts are comparable (or perhaps even cheaper...) than a the Maser Coupe! I expect it'll be quite similar to the Maserati in some ways, DIY-able if you can get the car in the air, but setting bite point likely needs some s/w most won't have.


<warning I'm digging a hole here>
Moving on a bit, and hopefully not drifting too far from the whole idea of the Ferrari brave pill...
How does one go about buying one of these cars?
I've been looking recently (but not necessarily that seriously) as I figure if I don't actually start planning, I'll never do it.
Realistically, I probably can't afford one, which is always a good place to start, but ignoring that for now (;)) , and with an imaginary budget of say £50-55k, should I just walk away?
Pistonheads / autotrader / carandclassic seem to have a small number of vastly differently priced cars at the moment (some of which are undisclosed CAT cars at that...) (where do people actually sell Ferraris!)
I presume that a lot of these are prospectively priced, and certainly these seems to be plenty of cars that were bought <12 months ago for substantially less than the current asking price.
CollectingCars seem to have occasional well priced examples, but presumably trying to organise a PPI on one is basically a no go, so really, if it's at the other end of the country, it's purchase based on some text and 100 photos.

I'm looking at 90s on, so really, 348, 355 (probably unlikely), 360 (preferably manual, which I know is another ask altogether!), the 456 terrifies me in terms of what could go wrong, the 612 seems to overcome some of that but introduce new potential issues, and I think early Cali's are just out of reach.

Like many others, I don't want to look at the Mondial (the styling doesn't do it for me). I don't value the cheaper 80s and before cars as being worth as much or more than the 90s stuff.
I want to actually use the thing, so a <20k miles car that I'll immediately devalue isn't my thing, if anything a rough edges car is more my thing, if it's already less than perfect, I don't have to worry if I
"Mechanically sound" would be my aim, I'm not looking to own a show car, I'm happy to spanner a little with things, but being able to use it whilst fixing aircon, or having an electric seat issue or something isn't much of an issue for me.

This is probably the start of a long journey rather than an immediate jump in (as raising funds is likely to include liquidating some assets, including my Coupe and a sizable video game collection ;) but having something to aim towards is always good - even if that's "you need to raise that budget" or as I said earlier "just walk away."
 

williamsmix

Member
Messages
545
Interestingly this thing is still there £47,950 at the moment (perhaps it was back in Jan too).

I expect that even beyond the chat previously about it being an early car etc. that a mere mortal like me attempting to run a V12 Ferrari on a budget is probably not a great idea, but it's a nice looking car.
I see it needs a clutch and a belt service. The latter seems to be about £900, the former... no idea, but parts are comparable (or perhaps even cheaper...) than a the Maser Coupe! I expect it'll be quite similar to the Maserati in some ways, DIY-able if you can get the car in the air, but setting bite point likely needs some s/w most won't have.


<warning I'm digging a hole here>
Moving on a bit, and hopefully not drifting too far from the whole idea of the Ferrari brave pill...
How does one go about buying one of these cars?
I've been looking recently (but not necessarily that seriously) as I figure if I don't actually start planning, I'll never do it.
Realistically, I probably can't afford one, which is always a good place to start, but ignoring that for now (;)) , and with an imaginary budget of say £50-55k, should I just walk away?
Pistonheads / autotrader / carandclassic seem to have a small number of vastly differently priced cars at the moment (some of which are undisclosed CAT cars at that...) (where do people actually sell Ferraris!)
I presume that a lot of these are prospectively priced, and certainly these seems to be plenty of cars that were bought <12 months ago for substantially less than the current asking price.
CollectingCars seem to have occasional well priced examples, but presumably trying to organise a PPI on one is basically a no go, so really, if it's at the other end of the country, it's purchase based on some text and 100 photos.

I'm looking at 90s on, so really, 348, 355 (probably unlikely), 360 (preferably manual, which I know is another ask altogether!), the 456 terrifies me in terms of what could go wrong, the 612 seems to overcome some of that but introduce new potential issues, and I think early Cali's are just out of reach.

Like many others, I don't want to look at the Mondial (the styling doesn't do it for me). I don't value the cheaper 80s and before cars as being worth as much or more than the 90s stuff.
I want to actually use the thing, so a <20k miles car that I'll immediately devalue isn't my thing, if anything a rough edges car is more my thing, if it's already less than perfect, I don't have to worry if I
"Mechanically sound" would be my aim, I'm not looking to own a show car, I'm happy to spanner a little with things, but being able to use it whilst fixing aircon, or having an electric seat issue or something isn't much of an issue for me.

This is probably the start of a long journey rather than an immediate jump in (as raising funds is likely to include liquidating some assets, including my Coupe and a sizable video game collection ;) but having something to aim towards is always good - even if that's "you need to raise that budget" or as I said earlier "just walk away."
Sounds like you and I have a similar starting point for a similar decision / journey. I like the idea of a 360 Modena (the coupe) with the F1 system. 348s seem to be slightly cheaper but then the cambelt change is engine out and a lot more costly. Besides, the 360 seems to have a reputation for being a bit more usable and I don't do "garage queens"! Personally, I quite like the Mondial. I know a lot of people on here trash it but I'm capable of making my own mind up about things ... that's how I bought a 3200. The Mondial T has the same layout and cambelt cost as the 348 and is probably the best of the bunch. But the early cars are fast approaching road tax / MOT / ULEZ free status, which has a lot going for it IMHO.
 

allandwf

Member
Messages
10,958
You are faced with the same choices I had. 348, 355, and 360 were all contenders. The cars get better, or should I say easier to drive as they go on, I discounted the 360 for that reason. The 355 is pretty but can have valve issues and seems quite fragile. The 348 in comparison is raw, abs being the only driver aid, no power steering, dog leg box, for me the last old school Ferrari. I love mine. Yes it's tatty around some edges, but very DIY friendly, it's work in progress. Engine out service is no big deal, it was designed to drop out. The whole lot comes out in one lump, and gives access to lots of other stuff while you are there.
 

Gazcw

Member
Messages
7,699
Sounds like you and I have a similar starting point for a similar decision / journey. I like the idea of a 360 Modena (the coupe) with the F1 system. 348s seem to be slightly cheaper but then the cambelt change is engine out and a lot more costly. Besides, the 360 seems to have a reputation for being a bit more usable and I don't do "garage queens"! Personally, I quite like the Mondial. I know a lot of people on here trash it but I'm capable of making my own mind up about things ... that's how I bought a 3200. The Mondial T has the same layout and cambelt cost as the 348 and is probably the best of the bunch. But the early cars are fast approaching road tax / MOT / ULEZ free status, which has a lot going for it IMHO.
With you on the later Mondial that was my favourite as a teen and still like them today. Love the spider.
 

Ewan

Member
Messages
6,757
You'll not get a worthwhile 355 at that money. And the 456 can be VERY costly, as can an early 612.
At that price bracket, I'd go for a 360 coupe. Great to drive, well built, with good reliability and parts availability. Definitely the safest choice at that money, and undoubtedly a proper Ferrari experience. Especially if you fit a Tubi-Style exhaust such as I had on mine.
Get a manual version if you can.
 

midlifecrisis

Member
Messages
16,102
As @Ewan says, get a 360. £50-55k is a leggy manual, or more likely a 40-50k mile late (03-04MY) F1 Modena. Later ones had better gearbox software and are better than early cars. In my opinion it is easily the best value Ferrari at that price point.
Funnily enough, I've started looking at 360s myself. Moving North has its benefits, so we'll see what the summer brings...
 

Bebs

Member
Messages
3,272
For 360s a PPI is essential from someone like AV Engineering. There are a lot of dogs out there with major deferred maintenance from when they were £35k+.
It’s very easy to throw £10-20k at one in order to bring it up to a decent level. As Ewan rightly points out, they do need a sports exhaust as the OEM box totally strangles that 3.6 flat plane crank wail.
Great cars, I’ve had mine for 22 years.
 

Corranga

Member
Messages
1,219
A couple of you have explicitly said Coupe, is there a reason to avoid the 360 Spider other than the complications of the roof mechanism? Scuttle shake bad?
 

Bebs

Member
Messages
3,272
I think we mentioned 599s, A ferrari V12 with only 91k miles on it.

Nice, but can be extremely costly to run.
Friend has thrown 30+k at one over 3 years on service and gearbox issues.
20+k for new ceramics. Ouch.
Positively makes Zep’s larger disc upgrade cheap! :)