I just found out the 360 I "was" buying was a rental car

Not sure if I would like to marry a hooker

Markus

 

Don't care how good it looks. RUN... Don't walk away!

 

Hahaha u got a point

 

Run Away - Especially if you ever intend on getting your value back out of the car if you sell it. Non matching enigine number - rental history - OUCH!

 

Side note: I have never rented a car - any car - that did not smell like stale cigarettes. Not one.

There was a debate on here not long ago about smoking in your Ferrari, and smokers claim it's no big deal, and why is everyone whining? It is a big deal. I can smell it, and it smells disgusting. And you can NEVER wash it off.

Rental = smoked in.

For me, that by itself would stop me buying this. Not that there aren't a thousand other good reasons.

 

Or you could buy it and keep renting it out

 

I would also cancel the sale. Too many 360 for sale to buy a car that had hard life and an engine swap.

 

Only you can decide what you are comfortable with. It seems that, at best, you are rolling the dice with this car. Even if you were to get the car for a "steal", will you enjoy it with the cloud of the car's rental history hanging over the car -- not to mention the potential maintenance headaches that you may have to endure? I waited a year for my brand new 360 Spider to be delivered. The day after the car arrived at the Ferrari dealership, they discovered that the engine had an unknown noise in it. After many failed attempts to locate the source of the noise, Ferrari sent a new engine for the car. The dealership persuaded me to take delivery of the car with the new engine installed; but with the provision that I could return the car if I decided to. Although I owned the car for a couple of months, I simply couldn't enjoy the car... every time I heard the slightest noise, I thought that something drastic was about to go wrong with the new replacement engine. I finally returned the car. It would be unfortunate for you to experience similar mental angst with your Ferrari!

 

What condition are the gearbox, clutch, and F1 system - more parts to go wrong - if the engine needed to be replaced?

I would follow previous poster's advice, RUN.

 

Crazy if you buy it

 

Pass.

 

Nope. If you're looking for a Rosso 360 spider I'm sure there are others out there! It'll be worth the wait to get one that's clean.

 

Let's count the red flags. 1) What happened to the original engine? Why not rebuild it? 2) A 'new' 2500 mile engine in need of a belt service. 3) Mechanics say it led a rough life. 4) A rental history 5) Only 10K off market value. 6) All indications pointing to cheap-cheap-cheap. I'm sure there's more but why not wait for a well sorted (I have learned to respect that term) well loved example? Guaranteed less $$$ in the long run.

 

I think you've gotten the point by now, but just in case you needed another opinion. I would not buy the car.

 

Run Forest Run!

 

Every car has its price. If you're going to drive and thrash the car and not treat it like a princess and expect to sell it for much less than you bought it.. Then price it in. If you're going to be afraid of the car, walk. At the end its a frickin' car. Too many FCar buyers are skittish IMHO... Omg there's a wrinkle in the leather on the airbag -or- the wheel wells were too dirty for the miles, or not dirty enough. If it were a Kia, would you buy it? Personally, the price would have to be really sweet for me to consider a rental car, even a Kia. I'd pass if I were you.

 

Please please tell us how you discovered the rental history. That is my biggest fear with used ferrari. I would guess the rental companies hide the ownership history too. You are very luck to find out before purchase.

 

RUN

 

I'll bet finding a pair of lacy panties, a hotel keycard and an old ticket from Disney World under the seats might be an indicator as past use as a rental car?

 

I hope this isn't too much of a de-rail of the OP...but do you guys give similar "bad marks" to a car that has a lease history? Say, for example, a couple of the owners had (1) year leases...as determined per Carfax...would you guys view this a negative?

 

I know how I drive rentals. No one wants to own a car I've rented.

 

Lease isn't a deal breaker, but I know the cars I lease aren't taken care of like the ones I own. Many business owner lease cars for tax reasons, but they still aren't cared for like long term property.

 

Renegotiate another 15K off and drive it like a beater. Have a ball and (while properly maintaining it) run it hard till it begs for mercy.

If other the other hand you want a special car to cherish and use on special occations, find a better car.

I like the comment about marrying a prostitute. This car should continue to be used hard for dark pleasure and driven into the ground or eventually dumped. Who knows, in time you may become fond of it and it may become the loyal abused dog that keeps coming back for more. Or it could be a needy PITA that thinks it's a goddess when it's actually a whore.

 

STAY AWAY!

Not enough room here to enumerate the myriad of EXPENSIVE problems you will have with a car that was abused like this one. You will go thru threw 10K savings in the first month if not sooner!

There are plenty of other cars out there. Forget this one, and look for one with a proper history of care.

 

don't just walk away, run

save your money for a car where you have a better history and a better chance to sell it in the future.