Hello everyone, I am getting ready to pull the trigger here on one of my life long dreams of getting a Ferrari. I have my eye on a couple of F430 where all of them are in about the same price range, advertised condition, and milage. Are there any specific things I should be looking out for? I know service records are important, but is having a PPI done absolutely necessary? In general how are the F1 transmissions on the F430s? I know with similar year Bull cars, there are several things to do and not to do with the egear transmission. Do F430s have and similar dos and donts?
oem headers crack and f1 solenoids go....otherwise pretty routine... search will give you hours of reading....
I have started to go through search results here. The search functionality here is far more useful than most sites.
i wld do a PPI if you can. post targets here and you will get alot of astute feedback and someone may even know the car intimately
the exhaust manifolds are the biggie, make sure those are replaced. exhaust brackets are also known to crack. I would say a PPI is necessary. Check the clutch wear as these clutches will wear out fast and are about $6-8k to replace. Sticky issues of course. the F1 transmission is fun to drive under a load. in traffic not so good. The only think i can think of avoiding is going in reverse up a hill. my driveway is slightly, slightly uphill and i backed in once and i could hear the clutch burning. so avoid reverse when you can.
Probably been found in search already but... 1. All factory Exhaust manifolds crack - easy fix - replace with aftermarket 2. Engine mounts need to be checked - easy fix 3. Rear exhaust brackets crack - easy fix - mine need to be replaced at the moment 4. Sticky interior parts - 91% isopropyl alcohol solves most issues by removing the coating (all models from many years not just the 430) 5. Not much more
Ferrari sport exhaust seems to protect the manifolds by removing rigidity from the system, so you can retain the factory manifolds.
When first starting my car for the day, I found out that warm-up time is my best friend. When I first got my 2005 F430 I thought I could use it like a normal car. Get in, start it and go. I would get transmission error codes and various other gremlins. I had the trans pump and relay changed and hoses replaced. Still had trans warnings on the panel. Now, I start the car and go through a little routine. Clean windows, wipe her down with cloth rag, check tires, inspect for bird droppings, etc. It takes about 4 minutes. No issues since. Well, actually once I was in a hurry and only allowed 2 minutes. Warnings happened.
In general I would go with PPI, but funny enough I didn't perform a PPI on the F430 I purchased. However, it was from a fairly large luxury car dealer with a close relationship to the local Ferrari dealer. I figured if I was sold a lemon, I'd have some sort of recourse. Turns out the car had manifolds needing replacement, and the fuel pumps were leaking. Had I not decided to fly in to to pick up the car and drive it back, something tells me the dealer wanted the fuel pumps to be my problem; but they got them fixed up for me before I left the lot once they found out I was about to put 1000 miles on the car that day. The manifolds, I discovered after having a shop look over the car a few months later for a checkup, and as everyone says it's an easy fix (installed Fabspeed headers). I think it just depends on price. I got a great deal on mine, and expected some minor issues which I did find. If paying top dollar, I would get the PPI and expect a clean car; if getting a deal, you kind of know that you're probably rolling the dice. That said, expensive doesn't mean problem free either. Agree with Bill on the warm up. I always turn the car on in the garage and let it run while I do a few other things before going for a drive, I also keep it on a trickle charger when not in use.
All points above are great. Check for fuel pump leaks. This is a common failure mode. If there is leaking, you will smell fuel near the pumps which are located in the engine bay in front of the engine and under the rear window area. I would also check to see if there have been any issues with the F1 transmission. The PPI is something I would insist on, but you cannot solely rely on it. I had it done and some escapes still occurred.
My battery lasted from Jan 2008 until March 2019. I do use a tender Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk
OK, I am starting to narrow things down a lot. Shortly here I will be posting links to good candidates in original post for input. Unfortunately all of them are out of state. I would love some input on how out of state transactions work as all my purchases so far have been in person: sign, pay, and drive off. I assume most people/dealers want a wire transfer. Do you get some type of confirmation that X amount of funds went to person/busines Y. As far as shipping then, I would guess that only covered transport is real option.
I went in person to pick up my car. I'm a "Trust but verify" kind of guy so I needed to actually drive the car myself before I would complete the transaction. A plane ticket is cheap. Part of the fun of having one of these cars is driving it so unless the distance is more than 500 miles, you should consider driving it home. I drove my new-to-me 360 Spider 100 miles to my sister's house, then put it on a UHaul and drove the remaining 1300 miles to my home in Memphis. The entire experience from climbing on board the plane to arriving in my driveway was an unforgettable adventure. I strongly suggest getting a PPI done from a knowledgeable expert. You don't want to find out something bad after you take possession. It's too late at that point. Further, if you have any doubts or questions about buying a Ferrari, call Mike at Yellow Compass Supercars 973-610-7111. He's got contacts for doing a PPI, transport and a ton of general information about these cars that is quite rich and deep.
to me a PPI is a must... As stated check service records to see if headers have been replaced already. they are known for cracking. PPI have them check clutch usage
You mean Yellow Compass guy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Super knowledgeable guy, but I have never seen someone use more!’s in my life Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app