Hi all. Just bought my first Ferrari, an 82 400i (though I think it may actually be an 81). Serial number is 36919. What can I expect with this car? Is there a registry where I can find out previous owners, where it was originally sold overseas, things like that? Bought the car in NY, and it's currently in transit to me here in Southern California. The car has never had cats on it, so I could never get it smogged and titled here in CA, so I'm going to title it in IL as an antique, thereby avoiding any smog related issues. Thoughts? Kraig
How much will they stiff you for sales tax in Illinois? Here in Arkansas, they charge you sales tax no matter where you buy the car from if the selling price is over $2500.
Illinois charges the state sales tax on vehicles up to 10 years old, then it's a flat fee for older vehicles, I think it's $25. Here in CA it's the state sales tax applies as well, but they ASK you what you paid for the car, and let's just say out here, I buy a LOT of "project" cars...... Kraig
Congratulations on your new 400i! s/n 36919 was advertised for sale in August 2001 in FML by a seller in Wisconsin. Comments about the car included "45,000 miles, maintained at Lake Forest Sports Cars in Chicago, new carpets, taillights, window motor, vacuum hoses." I don't see any other ads for this car until January 2006 when it was advertised by Cannillo Motorsports on Long Island. John
Welcome to the world of big, fast, highway cruisers. I looked at your car pretty hard before I bought mine. Nice car, congrats! I wondered when somebody was going to pick that one up. I don't remember if your car has a KPH or an MPH speedo in it. If it is MPH realize that the mileage isn't correct. Your car would have been delivered with a KPH speedo in it when new. Your car has black inserts in the seats doesn't it?
Dave: You are correct, sir. MPH speedo in it, and I have all the paperwork going back to the late 80s. Black inserts on a tan interior. Is there any way to find out when it left the factory, what the selling dealer was, etc? May I ask what convinced you not to buy it? Kraig
There wasn't anything about the car itself that I had a problem with, I'm just not a real fan of the 365/400 body painted red. Other than that I thought it was a nice example of the 400 series. If you have the EPA/DOT papers check them and see if the importer is listed. Trace it backwards from there. If you don't have EPA/DOT papers, GET THEM! Those agencies are starting to frown on re-issuing those papers and I suspect will stop doing so very soon. Once you know when your car hit the US you'll be able to guess at the mileage. It is likely that the MPH speedo was installed when it hit US shores. OH! Double check the speedo. Mark off 1 mile exactly and then run it in your car to see if your miles match. If not then someone just put a decal over the speedo face and didn't replace it. This is a common fault and will throw off the mileage by quite a bit. Contact FML and get copies of all the ads for your car and contact the previous owners. You'll get some great stories. 400's are a blast out on the open road. Don't expect it to be nimble around town, it wasn't built for that. Out on the highway....MAMA MIA!
