are very low mile 430's worth the extra money?
Of course not. Undriven cars have more problems with seals and things like that due to sitting, hidden defects haven’t had a chance to manifest themselves yet, they cost more per mile, and you’re likely to drive them less for fear of depreciation.
To some people, yes they are worth more to others no... cars that aren’t driven may have issues from not being driven just as cars that are driven have worn out parts and issues. How low miles are you talking here, a few thousand or a few hundred? Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat.com mobile app
“Worth more” is a relative term. Buy for condition. There are 50,000 mile examples that show as new. There are 10,000 mile examples that have been neglected or abused. The odometer really doesn’t reveal much, aside from how many miles have been traversed.
Are you going to drive it Ferrari? 4k is in collector territory. Ferrari values relative to mileage are still stuck in the era when the cars tended to be more unreliable and used even less than today. There are F430's out there with high mileage - the highest I've seen is 276km and running fine on the original engine and gearbox. The definition of low mileage and the exponential premium attached to it doesn't make sense to me.
Unless you’re looking at a Scud, the premium probably isn’t worth it. A base F430 won’t ever be a collector car, save money and time in the shop
As with any used car you are buying unused mileage so yes a car with 4000 miles is worth more than a car with 40,000 miles if they are equal in condition. That is the caveat, equal condition. No one would buy an abused car just because it had low mileage. Just as buying an equal condition car with high mileage thinking it was somehow “better“ because of the miles makes no sense. All mechanical components have a finite life. This can be shortened or extended by maintenance, good or bad, but not avoided.
The more you drive a Ferrari the better it runs. As it's been said before "Cars are like people, if you don't use them, they dry out." Seriously I would be suspect of an extremely low mileage car that has sit for years as a garage queen.
I bought a MY 2003 360 with 3500 miles on it ~ 7 years ago. No problem with seals. Got 15,500 on it now....maybe just lucky.
A car doesn’t have to be rare to be collectible, look how many Mustangs, Corvettes, Camaros, and 911’s there are in the world. They all have an avid group of collectors. Very enthusiastic collectors.
Low mileage can be bad or not so bad. I usually look at how often the miles were put on the car. For me a car that sits idle for a year, or for some even more, and then driven 30 miles or so is not worth the extra $$. If the car was driven say every 2 to 3 weeks 30 or so miles ( with the engine brought up to operating temps) then maybe not so bad. IMO it's the cars that sit and sit unused for many months or even years that run the risk of a lot of things going bad or in need of refurbishing-- which of course can quickly erase any notion that paying more going in was a good idea. As said by many here, condition, a car driven with respect, and well looked after can often trump a low mileage unused car. Mileage counts of course but it's a balance. For me, depending on the year car, I usually have a mileage range I'd be looking for. Not super low, but also not in the range that would be considered "higher" mileage either. I want to drive my cars so I'd prefer to be the guy to put the miles on it. But with that said, cosmetic condition is vitally important to me. As such things as paint and interior flaws can also get real expensive real fast. Like most I want a "nice" car. As an interesting side note... I began thinking about the "unused" situation when looking at all the 360s, 430s, and even the 458s that have been on the market for the better part of a year or more that are probably not being driven in order to keep the mileage lower on a car that is up for sale. As it seems that there are plenty of these cars for sale, many will sit, and have, sat for a long time waiting for their new owners... Hmmmmm...
