Is it insane to buy a Spider with bad history but good PPI?

Personally I would pass and find a better example, unless it was a really brilliant deal and my own PPI showed zero issues. Forget resale value, I would be more worried about unknown issues that pop up and take the fun out of driving, or give you no confidence that you can drive without fear of breaking down.
Spiders can be had in the upper $180’s that are clean.

 

What do the service records show?

 

This is NOT the car you’re looking for. Best , Kirk.

 

Listen to this OP.

 

Run as fast as you can (away) from this. The damage history is way too significant. If you can't budget for a "good" one, you will end up paying even more in the end. Fortunately I learned this lesson the hard way on my first car way before getting into exotics.

 

Unless you are pals with TJ Hunt, my advice would be to find a car which has not been in any sort of accident. The 458 contains a myriad of sophisticated systems, all of which make everything function, so buying a car which has been through several bad accidents is usually not the best idea. I mean, it can be done and people have rebuilt 458's with plenty of success, but unless you know the people doing the restoration and/or are doing it yourself, then I think you are taking a very big gamble.

Also, given that your budget appears to already be constrained somewhat (due to outside forces), what's going to happen if you are suddenly facing a high $$$ repair bill due to shoddy work on some of those accident repairs? Nothing on the 458 that needs replacing costs less than about $3K to $5K at the dealer. Even something "simple" like new brake pads can set you back $4K if you aren't doing the work yourself.

Personally, I think you'd be wise to save up a bit more money and purchase a car which has lower miles and no stories; ideally, from a Ferrari dealership where they know the previous owners and/or where it's one of those situations where the dealer originally sold the car, serviced it every time, then sold it to another good customer they also know, etc, etc. Those sorts of cars usually do not have any strange stories associated with them and typically have relatively few issues. The sweet spot for a used 458, as far as miles goes, is maybe around 6-8 thousand miles. That way you have a car which is just getting broken in and has been driven enough to where anything that might go wrong probably would go wrong by now.

Being rear ended is definitely a deal breaker for me, given that the motor is in the back. Front end damage is bad enough, but you don't want any impacts near the motor. I had a case where I was involved in a very bad head-on collision once and nearly killed. The car was front engine, so the impact was against the motor. The motor was a race motor I had built myself, using forged pistons. I sold the motor used when I parted out the car. Later, the guy who bought the motor told me it had a cracked piston. Either he ran the wrong timing or the piston had been compromised due to the impact forced during the crash. Either way, buying a Ferrari where there had been a significant impact to the motor/gearbox area would be super low on my list of things to do.

Good luck finding a car and welcome to the forum! The right car will come along eventually, just be patient. Also, you might try putting the word out to your local dealers, as they often know what cars are coming to market soon and/or they will call you when cars show up meeting your criteria, etc.

Ray

 

Both my cars have “history”, one a measly $6k of verified damage and the other that was so minor that it wasn’t fixed so my inspector could easily piece the story together.

If I can’t confirm what happened, I’m not going to be a buyer.....

 

If it was just a paint respray that would be fine and I would not worry about it. But if panels were replaced or even worse in the rear end impact radiators were damaged and replaced then I would get a very good ppi as said before. If this info is not available I’d either offer in the $150s or keep looking for other cars. Best of luck!


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Does it have to be a spider? You should be able to find a nice coupe in that range. I agree with the other posts, would not buy it unless the price was way below market for a clean car, like WAY below ($30k+). Rather have a higher mile clean car. Spend a little more and get a CPO car with warranty. This one is listed at $195k with 2-year CPO warranty, maybe you can get them down to $175-180k range. :

https://preowned.ferrari.com/us/US/search/2014/ferrari/458_spider/2014_ferrari_458_spider-ferrari_of_salt_lake_city-ZFF68NHA8E0199966

After having just bought a CPO car and seeing how much they spent to get it up to CPO specs, I would be very hesitant to buy a car that may need work done in addition to having the accident history. My sales guy said the dealer spent over $20k getting my car up to CPO standards.

 

lots of 458s out there for sale. As the months pass many will get a price reduction. Since you don't want a red one, you probably will save on a silver one. Be patient. Keep looking and you will find a car that lets you sleep a little sounder every night.
This one... I'd pass.
Even a "perfect" PPI is never a certification that will relieve the car of future issues. And this one is one that is ripe for future issues. This is about more than just body repairs. There's a lot of electrical / technical stuff that can be damaged and you have to hope that all of that was addressed as well.

enjoy the hunt

 

Good call passing on this one OP. "The cheapest Ferrari to buy is often the most expensive to own."

 

It depends what your goals are with the car. If you can reasonably confirm beyond reasonable doubt that the repairs were done to factory spec, then it is a way to get into a car that is functionally identical to a non-storied car but for a much lower price.

However, the "price" that you pay for the stories will be resale. You will not only take a significant hit to the selling price, but also have a much smaller set of buyers. But the key thing is as a rule, the older the car gets, the less "stories" matter and impact resale value. For example, looking at half century old cars, buyers don't care about accidents much because it's assumed that the cars are going to have to be rebuilt due to unavoidable wear and tear and rot anyways.

To sum it up, if this is a 10 year+ ownership, then it can make a lot of sense. If it's a 2 year quick fun, then no way.

 

@ However, the "price" that you pay for the stories will be resale. You will not only take a significant hit to the selling price, but also have a much smaller set of buyers. @

THIS is it …. EVEN if you yourself stay out of troubles ...

 

One more thing... I really can't see how saving $20K on a "stories" car is worth the risk. So many downsides have already been voiced here.

But to add, these cars, as we know, are very expensive to repair and even the smallest repairs can cost thousands. I could see a car you buy for 20K under market with a questionable history costing you as much as one with a much better history should a few "issues" arise within the first year of ownership. Too much of a gamble for me to end up with a car I now have to ask myself; Is it even worth putting the $$ into it? But at that point, what else can you do but bite the bullet since resale at that point--- looking at a car needing thousands in repairs with a bad history--- is pretty much going to have to be a fire sale.

 

If I may draw an analogy, a 458 involved in an accident is like me. I have an old tennis injury from when I was younger, which developed into a cronic injury. That’s the accident.

I received all the appropriate treatment for it, and if you see me on a nice summer’s day today, even while playing, I’m in good shape. That’s the PPI. Important, but a snapshot in time.

On occasion, if I sleep in a certain awkward position or if the weather is really cold and dry, I need to take expensive painkillers. That’s what the future may hold on that car, that no one can predict, but to which a car with a complicated history (the car equivalent to a tennis injury) is always more susceptible to.

No shortage of properly sorted and looked after 458s for sale out there. Saving a couple thousand bucks on a Ferrari doesn’t exist: the cheapest Ferrari is always the most expensive. Even more so for the OP, once he’s told us he intends to keep the car for the foreseeable future. Plenty of time for the accidents’ sequels to emerge.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/283952991320

Looks like it could interest u? Maybe?


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Worrying about legitimate potential problems occuring in the future would completely rob enjoyment of my ownership experience.

That interior hurts my eyes to look at

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/283950425370

Honestly it looks decent!

But I agree another 20k and u get a sweet deal... I partially live in Miami and ppl drive crazy and dealers hip can be suspicious... I’d pass!


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to the question asked in the title, my answer is yes.

 

+1