Quote:
Originally Posted by kaisen
The general concensus would be to buy the nicest, most recently-serviced, best-documented, best-provenance, newest Ferrari you can afford.
I've never subscribed to that philosophy. Ferrari buyers avoid cars with ANY issues like the plague, so there are great deals on cars that might need something small. Parts can be very expensive, but some Porsche parts are too. Ditto for labor. Ferraris of that vintage were not well thought out in terms of ease-of-service, so some labor ops are ridiculous.
DO NOT forgo a good PPI by a well-versed independent Ferrari mechanic
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I agree with most of that, and the links are good.
BUT, IMO it's also nice to get opinions from others, who own and work on their Ferraris, but are not part of the "Ferrari scene." (not directed to you, but to some of the links)
The "Ferrari scene" is pretty interesting, and very different from the Porsche/911 scene. There is not a huge DIY base like there is for 911. That's not to say there is NO DIY base, because there is. But it's smaller and as a whole not as deep as the 911 base.
(Although while the numbers aren't as high, there are some amazing Ferrari DIY'ers who undergo incredible projects, including full on ground up restoration, engine rebuild, etc.).
Because most buyers have little or no mechanical knowledge, and don't intend to do even the most basic things (like oil changes), they do tend to avoid cars with any issues like the plague. Which does make for some tremendous deals.
At the end of the day, these are just cars, bolted together like any other car, 4 wheels, an engine, trans and clutch, etc.
The only thing I'd disagree with on is the parts. While you can find exceptions to the rule, in general, 911 parts are inexpensive and easy to get. Some Ferrari parts are not too bad, and you can get, but other stuff is really crazy. Things like turn stalk switches, lenses, interior bits, certain things like wheel bearings, etc. Stuff that is "crazy" expensive. And, on a 911, you can get anything used, b/c there were so many made. On a 328, not so much. You can have a real hard time even finding a used part, and if you do you are at the mercy of the seller if you really need it.
As far as shop labor, Ferrari mechanics have more of a monopoly than Porsche mechanics in their geographic area, and they aren't afraid to use it.
If you rely only on the "Ferrari scene" when you are looking to buy a car, you may never end up buying one, and you'll pass up good deals on good cars, IMO.