Shopping 488 Spider

My old 488 spider is for sale at FTampa . I did spec it new some years ago it’s Nero Daytona with a black interior. The car was flawless when I owned it . I traded it in 2021 for my F8 spider after owning it for 3 trouble free years. It was sold some time back and the gentleman who bought it traded in only adding 1400 miles. I have NO affiliation with the car other than I owned it for 3 years and never had any issues. Ps. The car was completely wrapped in PPF film.

 

You'll soon discover that the older models are more sought after than the garbage they are putting out these days. You'll be more than happy in a 488!

 

I'd never buy any Ferrari without the carbon race seats...the majority of the market wants carbon seats, carbon wheel, shields, and lift. Stay with those in a good color combo and you'll be ok with resale.

 

Hi. Enjoy the car, it looks great. But - I would not expect $225k with 30k miles. My guess. But you will have a lot of fun, the car is a thrill to drive.

 

My guess is it will cost you about min 15-20k per year to own plus any repair issues. No way it’s 225k in three years and 30k miles.

 

When you say "what matters most" that statement is highly personal in nature. Are you primarily concerned with usability? Desirability? Resale?

Some people like standard seats and others will only purchase a car with race seats. Some folks will not purchase a car without nose lift and others say it is not required. Any Ferrari with over 15,000 miles on the odometer will always suffer from higher-than-average depreciation. It is HIGHLY unlikely that a low-optioned car with 30K miles is going to command $225K.

 

As others are saying, options are important for resale values. The hottest "must haves" are the carbon fiber, racing seats, lift, and shields. *EDIT, I also LOVE having apple carplay in my car.

Bare bones 488s will be cheaper and will depreciate faster. I mean... look at the original MSRP itself. A basic 488 would have an MSRP ~low $300k, but heavily optioned can get close to $500k.

I got my 2019 488 spider for $285k with 10k miles. It had an MSRP of ~$430k with another ~$100k in aftermarket mods. I'd aim to spend an extra $20-$30k and get a better optioned car if you are concerned about resale values.

 

I am also quite frugal and am very careful about my spending, so I understand. My mental logic for myself when I bought the car is it is now worth $0. I specifically told myself I bought it purely for my enjoyment and already put 5k miles in one year. If you will be fretting about resale value with every mile you drive, do NOT buy the car. Get a Porsche GT3 or stick to the Z06. One of my friends has both a 488 and Z06. He sold the Z06 in about a year into his ownership, but is still keeping his 488 (and he has 10 other cars). I think that says enough to why Ferrari is so special. No other car brand I tried (Lambo, Aston Martin, or McLaren) came close in pure emotion and driving pleasure for me.

My only complaint, is the car is a diva. For the 12 months I've had it, it's been in service for 5 months (luckily I still had 2 years of original factory warranty and another 2 of CPO, so it was all covered for free). I had mystery misfires caused by a cracked fuel hose clamp, issues with the convertible top, and leather peeling up on the dash. All was fixed, but it takes AGES to get parts from Italy.

 

Since you asked - I really dont like black wheels nor the black 2 tone treatment. The 488 has such great agressive styling features that I think dont need a lot of extra stuff taking away from the strong presence. If you really like white, I think the car at Naples is really nice.

Dont overthink it. You already have a cool, silly car, getting a Ferrari is even sillier from a financial perspective, but it brings all kinds of other pleasure into play. If you dont feel it, then no car or price is worth it. If you really want it and think about it all day, then buy it, and assume it will not make financial sense so dont try.