LHD Ferrari F430

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ofenomeno99

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354
Hi Gents,

To cut this short, and as fellow car enthusiasts, I wanted to get a feel of the general consensus on an idea I have.

I used to live in Kuwait where exotic cars are absolutely dirt cheap, and are immaculately maintained and low mileage, and I always have this niggling thought of importing cars, put them through a full UK prep so that they are fully registered (IVA, MOT, DVLA Reg, Road Tax, No. Plates, VAT paid etc.) and selling them with a bit of a profit.

So as an example, if there was a 2008 Ferrari F430 (60th Anniversary) with 30,000 miles, full Ferrari service history, albeit imported and LHD (welcome to inspect the car anywhere you like in the UK), for sale for around £58,500? Would it be tempting to you or not?

The car in question is a friends car that I could buy off him.

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cheshiremaserati

Member
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1,121
I would not be interested in an import from that part of the world. And that colour scheme is absolutely awful........

I guess imports also have issues when it comes to insurance and of course selling them on when the time comes. I doubt any main dealer for the brand will take it in and perhaps the same reluctance from specialists? Ferraris are extremely mileage and colour combination sensitive. Voicey has a lot of knowledge if Ferrari and has a 430, perhaps he might be better placed to add a view of real value to help you decide?

But if you want a 430 for under £60k for yourself to keep for a long time, then it might be right for you.
 
allandwf

allandwf

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10,984
Tax and duty implications? and desert cars used to suffer I was told. Not sure I would take the chance.
 
whereskeith

whereskeith

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821
I think there is always a market at the right price.
The only way to tell is to buy it and see but have the idea of keeping it if you don't get a decent buyer.
 
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cheshiremaserati

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Messages
1,121
Desert cars do suffer. That's why I qualified my answer by saying "not from that part of the world"

People have looked at this for other marques and it is mainly a lame duck idea. But good luck to those who try.
"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is..."

And I see angels rushing to a spot where non-angels fear to tread....

I've heard it all before on another marque forum........
Zzzzzzzzz........
 
Andyk

Andyk

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61,124
Not sure about importing but I do like that...Much better than all those red and boring black interiors.
 
Contigo

Contigo

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Desert cars do suffer? Vague? Much?

I'd probably rather have a car owned by a rich Kuwaiti than one passed from owner to owner over here and neglected plus with the salt used on our roads and climate surely there can be no comparison?

Phil often comments on the difference between cars from the UK and NZ which he works on where wishbones and bushes look brand new on the NZ cars compared to rusty and ruined on the UK cars....
 
outrun

outrun

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5,017
Contigo said:
Desert cars do suffer? Vague? Much?

I'd probably rather have a car owned by a rich Kuwaiti than one passed from owner to owner over here and neglected plus with the salt used on our roads and climate surely there can be no comparison?

Phil often comments on the difference between cars from the UK and NZ which he works on where wishbones and bushes look brand new on the NZ cars compared to rusty and ruined on the UK cars....
Click to expand...

This.

The great ginger one speaks the truth.

I know that the desert cars suffer from dry and cracked plastics so you need to really go over the various hoses and connectors to ensure that nothing will disintegrate uner heavy load or with the change to added humidity.

Personally, given the prices of the F430 are in the 80s, I'd seriously consider a sub 60k left hooker provided Voicey took a good look and it passed inspection.

There will always be a market for them if the price is keen enough.
 
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ofenomeno99

Member
Messages
354
Thanks for the answers gents.

Like I said, cars there are immaculately maintained as people have the money and are not shy on spending on them. They're religiously serviced and nearly all cars over there have nano ceramic coats to protect paint work from sand particles in the air.

I do understand that as consumers, we would be weary of imported cars, however, I think that the stigma of them being imports from that part of the world would be eliminated if it gets a clean bill of health from one of the more reputable specialists, and we're talking about cars that can be sold (net of all import fees, VAT, reg etc.) for 20-40% of what a similar UK car would be sold for.

I created a spreadsheet that includes all costs involved to bringing cars to UK standards, and I'll post a few examples of whats realistically possible and if you're bored during this slow week, I'd appreciate it if you can comment on whether you would at least consider the car, or you would completely dismiss it.

Cheers!
 
voicey

voicey

Member
Messages
660
I've seen quite a few gulf cars and the quality varies from excellent to shouldn't-be-on-the-road. Any car should be assessed individually on its own merits.

OP: You have two routes to getting a modern car like that F430 UK registered - IVA and COC. The latter is expensive and difficult to obtain from the factory (one of my clients waited nearly a year). The IVA is straightforward apart from the headlights, which do not have the ability for the beam to be flattened.
 
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cheshiremaserati

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1,121
I know of an immaculate 3-something Ferrari (NOT a 360) with sub 10k miles at a local specialist in Cheshire that struggled to achieve a sale. Apparently it was an Australian car bought in UK, taken to Oz and then a buyer brought it back to the UK. It stuck for ages around Sept 2016 and in mid 2017 was sold to a guy in Oz who was having it exported there. The dealer said buyers are fussy - the history was impressive but yet its life in Oz proved to be a hurdle for too many enquiries!

I think with the expense and hassle of IVA and COC and possibly a similar experience when it comes to moving the said vehicle on, it might make the purchase less attractive. People will pay top dollar with a car that does not have to jump through provenance loopholes. But each to their own. As Duncan Ballatine might say ".... and for that reason I'm owoot"
 
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ofenomeno99

Member
Messages
354
Another example, 2010 Ferrari California, full Ferrari dealership service history, 48,000 miles, could realistically sell for 68,500 after all costs.

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Thoughts? Tempting?
 
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ofenomeno99

Member
Messages
354
cheshiremaserati said:
I know of an immaculate 3-something Ferrari (NOT a 360) with sub 10k miles at a local specialist in Cheshire that struggled to achieve a sale. Apparently it was an Australian car bought in UK, taken to Oz and then a buyer brought it back to the UK. It stuck for ages around Sept 2016 and in mid 2017 was sold to a guy in Oz who was having it exported there. The dealer said buyers are fussy - the history was impressive but yet its life in Oz proved to be a hurdle for too many enquiries!

I think with the expense and hassle of IVA and COC and possibly a similar experience when it comes to moving the said vehicle on, it might make the purchase less attractive. People will pay top dollar with a car that does not have to jump through provenance loopholes. But each to their own. As Duncan Ballatine might say ".... and for that reason I'm owoot"
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Do you know if he was selling it inline with UK market values? Because I believe for the cars to be attractive, besides getting the green light from specialists, is to price cars at least £20,000 cheaper than the market.
 
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cheshiremaserati

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Messages
1,121
ofenomeno99 said:
Do you know if he was selling it inline with UK market values? Because I believe for the cars to be attractive, besides getting the green light from specialists, is to price cars at least £20,000 cheaper than the market.
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I am not an expert on Ferrari pricing but what I could make out, it was a UK build spec car that went to Oz for several years. Then the owner brought it back to UK and part-ex for another model at that specialist. It had very low miles, full main dealer history in Oz and yet in UK wouldn't budge. I believe it was priced as UK market build car and must assume it did not fetch ticket price. Clearly having so much of its history outside of UK didn't help.
 
rossyl

rossyl

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3,312
I think you've got the right idea and the right pricing. The key is getting an opinions from someone who is actually a potential customer.

Whilst we are all petrol-heads on this forum, many opinions can be given without the slightest intention of follow through. What you really need is the opinion of someone who is actually in the market, with the money and wants to buy. It is their opinion that is really key.

By all means many on here can give a view, but I would not go basing a business on it.
 
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