So you were the guy who bought that beautiful silver on black 5-speed that was on Ebay? What did you end up paying for it? I emailed the seller who sent me the full size pics....beautiful car. Timing wasn't right for me though or I would have beaten you to it. <grin>
As the owner for the past 7 years of a silver/black 5 speed 400i (46153, not that much earlier than yours) I must commend you on your excellent taste and your purchase. Have you taken delivery yet? Is this your first Ferrari? What can you tell us about the car, its history, your experience in buying it (did you buy it on ebay as it was listed or did you end up in a separate negotiation with the seller?), its condition and the price that you paid? I hope that you have many happy smiles and miles with the car! John
Welcome to the 400 owners club. If you haven't owned one before you're in for a treat. take a look at http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=96431&highlight=1%2C800+miles
Yes, this is my first Ferrari. It is the car that was listed on e-bay a couple of weeks ago. I've been looking for a 400i for about a year; my criteria were as follows: decent color scheme (I wasn't too picky); well maintained; must be in CA (smog checks in CA are a *****, and I didn't want to risk buying a car out of state and not having it pass smog). I purchased #47583 from Randy Simon in Beverly Hills, CA. He was acting as an agent for Peter at Forza Motorsports in CT, yet the car was in Beverly Hills. Randy aquired the car from the original owner who also lives in the LA area a few weeks prior, then had a major service done on the car. After talking with the mechanic, it sounds like even before the car went into service it was in beautiful mechanical condition. The original owner bought it in Monaco in late '83 and imported it; all of the original sales, import, and maintenance documents were included with the sale. Randy smogged the car while the e-bay listing was still up, and it passed fine (that is a law in CA, by the way - the seller is responsible for getting a vehicle to pass). We completed our deal and negotiations sitting in Randy's living room, not online. I drove the car home from Beverly Hills on Thursday, a trip of about 200 miles. I was very impressed at just how comfortable of a car this is! The timing on this purchase was not ideal for me either, but I realized that this was indeed a rare car to find. My wife is actually starting to admit that she likes the car, and my 2 year old daughter is so excited about the "horsy car" that I had to strap her car seat into the back and now that is the only car she wants to ride in. #47583 is in remarkable original condition. The interior is showing very little wear, and has never been dyed. The paint is lusterous and free of scratches and dings. The engine bay appears to have been detailed recently, as it is spotless. No sunroof, by the way. The original owner obviously pampered this car the first ten years of it's life, then stopped driving it altogether. It was on non-op registration for the last ten years. I found the description in the e-bay listing to be accurate and complete. There are a few minor questions and issues with the car that I need to get resolved. I will start a new thread with questions that I'm sure you all can answer for me. Cheers. Brennan Johnson San Luis Obispo, CA '84 400i #47583
Brennan Great story and sounds like you got a good one! They are rare cars indeed, only 82 5 speeds made in 1983 and 79 made in 1984. John P.S. My 400i was bought in Laguna Beach, where it had spent 10 years and only accumulated 4,000 miles. Before that it was in Texas and racked up 18,000 miles over 9 years.
I'm not comfortable releasing the final purchase price, but I can tell you that the Ebay bid was up to $32k when we shook hands, so you can safely assume that I paid more than that. I was reluctant to pay this much, even for a car as nice as mine, since I have only rarely seen them sell into the $30k range.
Anyone know how many 400i Convertibles there are? Saw this at the USGP. Image Unavailable, Please Login
How would you track the number of these, since the factory did not make them? There's a dealership in FL that had 4 or 5 of them when I was looking (for a coupe) in May.
#44053 is a Blue/Tan 1983 convert #45769 is a black/Tan 1983 convert #54745 is a black/Tan 1985 convert know of others?
